This article is to discuss local (Tactical) style communication. I am by far not an expert so if you can recommend something I can add or if I am incorrect about something please let me know.

This is not for Long range communication! If that is what you are looking for then please see the HAM section.

This was quite a learning process for me so hopefully this can shorten the learning curve for others.

First off, again, if you’re looking for more than 10 miles of reliable consistent range stop reading because it’s not going to happen below.

General equipment consists of the following:
1-Radio
2-Antenna
3-Push to Talk
4-Headphones
5-Radio Pouches (MOLLE)

Radio - Frequencies:
First you need to decide what frequency you want to broadcast in. VHF or UHF. From my understand UHF works better penetrating walls and VHF is better for open/outdoor spaces. With this being said I went VHF.

On VHF you are limited to only a couple channels if you do not want to register a “business” frequency or get a license. These channels are called MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service).

By using MURS you are supposed to broadcast no more than 2 Watts. This is to help with station interference with others using the same station.

MURS frequencies are the following:
-151.820
-151.880
-151.940
-154.570
-154.600
As far as UHF goes hopefully somebody can chime in here.

Radio – Manufactures
The two types of radio manufactures I have used with success are ICOM and Motorola.

ICOM is easier to acquire programming software and can be easier to find surplus push to talk units.

Motorola has some very nice units and I am currently using a CP200XLS.

If you are looking for top of the line I would look into the Motorola XTS.

For more budget radios look into used units on eBay like the HT1000.

Radio – Mobile Units
You can get mobile units that can be mounted in a vehicle that can output over 50 watts. Now this does violate MURS so I cannot recommend doing this. This will extend your range a bit.

Radio – Repeaters
Mobile Vehicle repeaters are also available. This allows you to broadcast from your handheld, the signal is then picked up in the vehicle, and then output in the mobile unit’s higher watt output thus furthering range. Again cannot recommend doing this on MURS.

This also requires a radio that can listen on one channel and output on another. Again maybe someone can chime in on this.

Antennas – Stock units
Out of the stock units I have been able to get about 1-3 miles at 5 watts. This is a realistic range, with obstructions and hills. Under better conditions you will get more.

Antennas – MOLLE Mounted Splitters/Extenders
TCI makes an antenna relocation kit that goes on your carrier that gets your antenna up over your body as your body itself is one more obstruction. I have no experience with these at the moment so hopefully someone can post who has.

Antennas – Aftermarket units
::Place Holder::

Push to Talks – Manufactures
Manufactures of Push to Talks (PTT) that I know of are Tactical Command Industries (TCI), Television Equipment Associates (TEA), and Peltor.

I use a TEA U94 which ran about $145

Do not cheap out here. Get a quality unit.

Also the PTT unit matches your headphone unit and radio. Headsets can have a LOW or HIGH impedance input.  Make sure you tell the manufacture what headset you are using and radio type.

Headphones – Manufactures
Peltor and MSA Sordin make great units. TCI carries a line of MSA Sordin under their name that has a great reputation.

Be cautious of the Green MSA units on eBay because from what I hear they are not sold or warranted in the USA as only black units are sold here. If you need warrantee work that have to be returned to the original distributor overseas. Cannot confirm or deny this. I am using one of these units, have had no issues yet.

Headphones – Connectors
I have found two types of connectors. The TP 120 and the LEMO. Stay away from the LEMO and thank me later.

The TP120 looks sort of like an oversized audio plug. This is considered the NATO standard. All off the shelf PTT units work with this connector.

If you do end up with the LEMO (like I did before I knew better) TCI will convert your headset for $35 or TEA will make an adapter cable.

Headphones – Headband vs Strap/Behind the head
I personally use the headband. This really comes down to personal preference and what you like. The over the headband does work with the mich helmet and the Ops Core OCC Dial system. Cannot speak for anything else.

Peltor does have a system that works with the Ops Core ARC helmet mount. Looks nice, wish MSA had something similar.

Radio Pouches – Manufactures
All major nylon MOLLE manufactures make radio pouches. I personally like the Maxpedition system.

I will add more to this as I think of it just wanted to get this up.

Pictures of my Radio and some of my PTTs. Will review each unit.



From left to right: Old Style MSA U94, TCI Puck Style, and Chinese Element Copy.

Have not been able to test yet waiting for a TEA unit as well.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The LEMO connector:


Male Connector found on MSA Universal PTT Cable:


Females Connector found on MSA Headsets:






PART NUMBERS!!!
Male Connector: PHL.1L.306.BLLC65Z
Rubber Boot: KNP.1S.1B.218.

Working on aquireing the parts now to test.

::Place holder for pictures and other information::

Tag.

Thanks for the write up.

Other services available to civilians that do not require amateur radio or business licenses:

FRS- toy radios from bubble packs.

GMRS. 4watt UHF. Much more capable than the above and cheap surplus commercial gear can be used. Can also use a repeater although there are strict output limits. License requires no studying and covers a family.

900mhz ISM band. Either linked radios or old nextel/motorola IDEN Direct Talk phones. This is really the only "secure" option as they are spread spectrum freq hoppers. 900mw output limit and nothing else is compatible....


Radios:

Old Motorolas like HT1000s, Sabers, etc, are about as tough as it gets, but require a lot of specific, obsolete equipment to program, and software that is impossible to obtain legally. If you have everything you need already, these radios are fantastic units that will likely outlast anything made since.

Newer Motos of any quality are expensive- XTS series, etc. The others are not anywhere near the equal of the older Jedi, Radius, and Sabers.

Bendix King (King radio) EPH/LPH series are common and keypad programmable via a shorting bar. Watch the band splits when buying, as they came in some odd splits...

Best bet is a newer ICOM/Kenwood/Vertex USB progammable LMR. You can take care of programming yourself with any modern computer if you need to.

Repeaters:

Crossband. This is going to be HAM only. A number of small vehicle radios with full duplex capability can receive on one side (UHF or VHF) and simultaneously transmit on the other (UHF or VHF, whichever is not receiving). This usually takes the form of 70cm/2m band crossband repeating. The different bands used take care of the desensing issues you are going to run into if you try and use a repeater on the same band without a significant split between tx/rx frequencies, the antennas placed far apart, or large cavity duplexers.

GMRS and commercial portable repeaters are available at significant cost that also work.

It is also possible to homebrew a repeater with a duplexer, controller software, and some other interface equipment. I have heard of it done with well shielded suplus mobiles like Motorola Maxtracs, but have not done it personally.


Again, I stress that there is no way to legally get "secure comms" without commercial licensing. The 900mhz ISM radios mentioned above are pretty close, though.

Nice man!

Good sticky candidate.

fo sho. I'm learning lots. Comms is probably my next logical purchase and I don't know where to start.

SO not worth the money for a crappy cable and crimp connectors, any ham operator or local radio shop could make the cable for probably less than $10. You don't need the mount either, slide your antenna itself into your MOLLE web and secure it with a zip tie (if needed).

ETA picture of some of the cables I made at my last unit. Solder/clamp connectors, LMR195UF cable & heat shrink.

Subscribed.

Some type of radios (two at least, four possibly) is what I'm looking into purchasing next just for the family for emergency communications. I'm looking to get handheld units or something halfway small that will be able to communicate for about a mile, but reliably through some wooded areas and residential areas. Is there anything that can do that well? The biggest issue here is that I really know nothing about radios, or how they work or what the many acronyms are. I would like to eventually have a headset(s) for the radios as well.

Are there any other concerns I should have for what I want to do?

All I really need is about 1 mile range through wooded/residential area, headset capable, two way communication. Seems pretty simple from what some of the specs I've been reading but the acronyms sort of overwhelm me at the moment.

this is exactly the kind of thread i was hoping someone with more knowledge than me would start. thanks OP!

communications is the next logical step after weapons, ammo, gear and training. im looking forward to the evolution of this thread.

GMRS or MURS will do this reliably. I get 1 mile crystal clear in the combination I am using.  I am using a Motorola CP200 VHF. Just make sure the radios you get cover the frequency range of GMRS or MURS.

Tagged. Thanks for all the input, guys.

I second that. It was so frustrating going to the HAM forum and asking about radio options for a simple setup: 4-6 people, and the ability to talk to a stationary "HQ" unit up to 10 miles away if not more. All those in the know would be like "Well what do you want it for/what are you gonna use it for/why do you want to have that?" Maybe I don't feel like delving into every detal, OPSEC/PERSEC in mind.

So a dedicated thread for this specific sort of thing was needed, for people to elaborate on their setups, and for the rest of us to learn from when trying to set up our own.

Just as important as your commo equipment is your actual commo plan.

We all need to understand that because we will be using commercial off the shelf (COTS) stuff that anyone with the same equipment can listen in to what we may be saying. It is very important to have a firm understanding com COMSEC or communications security. In the military we deal with this using encryption. some LEO elements have encrypted radios but the digital stuff is just as good for casual listeners though it is cost prohibitive for the individual.

Your commo plan needs to address a few things:

Primary and alternate frequencies/channels. You may find that when moving though an area someone else is on your net. You can then just tell your team to move to alternate freq/channel # and boom, everyone switches over and your all good. You can also set up time sensitive freqs. Based on your commo plan you might move off freqs every hour or so on the hour. This way if someone does find you and starts listening they will only be able to listen for a limited amount of time. variations on this concept and never creating a patter will give you some security.

Net discipline. Everyone needs to know the rules. If one station is transmitting another station is not allowed to interupt unless they have priority information. Because your team will be operating on a certain "net" everyone will have the ability to transmit whenever they want. Basically its a conference call. You dont want people interupting you. Priority traffic should be proceeded with a Proword such as FLASH, PRIORITY or whatever you come up with.

You also want to keep you transmissions short and to the point. You are not using a telephone. Short clipped sentences are all you need. Prolonged messages will get cut off and become incoherent due to the limitations of mics radios and enviromental considerations.

Understanding who is talking to who is very important. Each station (a station is a radio so each person would be a station) should have its own unique call sign, numbers work well as do names that are not too complicated. If there are 7 people in your group each could be numbered 1-7 or A-G you could also assign numbers or letters at random ie 12....6....98.....45 etc. You usually want to keep you individual call sign the same or change them periodically so everyone knows who corresponds to each call sign. Teams can have names or numbers with individuals listed in side. Such as A3 or A4 and B3 or B8 would mean A team member 3 or 4 and B team member 3 or 8. Again variations on this concept will offer even more security.
“Hey you this is me” is a good phrase to use memorize to understand who is calling. When a new transmission is started the initiating station calls the receiving station and identifies themselves. So let’s pretend I want to talk to you and your call sign is Alpha 4 and my call sign is Charlie 6. This is what it would sound like.

Me: “Alpha four this is Charlie six, over.”
You: Charlie six, Alpha four, send traffic over.”
Me: “Cookies are done, move to the house over.”
You: “Roger Charlie six, wilco. Over.”
Me: “Roger, six out.”

Lets break that all down. First I identified who I was and who I needed to talk to. This opens the net to this transmission. Everyone listening knows not to interrupt.

You answered me confirming who you are and who you are talking too. This eliminates the possibility that one of us fucked up and is talking to the wrong person. If you had said “Roger Charlie seven” then that station would chime in and correct you. This is VITAL to accurate effective communications.

Next I told you that mom has finished baking the cookies and you need to come eat this shit cuz theyre fresh and good. Again using short sentences is very important.

Next you said “roger” that means you understood what I want.  “Wilco” means will comply. Youre gonna do what I said. Notice that “over” is said at the end of each sentence. That means that you are done and awaiting a reply.

Finally I identify you again and say “out.” Out means our transmission is done and the net is now clear for others to use. No one else will jump into the net until a long enough time has passed or “out” is said. Remember the initiating station always terminates the transmission. This is all military protocol and is not set in stone by any means but it’s a good place to start.

Length of transmission is important. I said to keep it short and sweet. Clarity is one reason but triangulation is another. An opposing force may have the ability to locate you using triangulation. Keeping transmissions short will ensure that this possibility is reduced.

Prowords are words that mean certain things ive already talked about over, wilco, out and roger. There are others. The following is taken from armystudyguide
ALL AFTER The portion of the message to which I have reference is all that which follows ______.
ALL BEFORE The portion of the message to which I have reference is all that which precedes ______.  
AUTHENTICATE The station called is to reply to the challenge which follows  
AUTHENTICATION IS The transmission authentication of this message is ______.  
BREAK I hereby indicate the separation of the text from other portions of the message.  
BROADCAST YOUR NET Link the two nets under your control for automatic rebroadcast.  
CALL SIGN The group that follows is a call sign.
CORRECT You are correct, or what you have transmitted is correct.  
CORRECTION An error has been made in this transmission.  Transmission will continue with the last word correctly transmitted.
An error has been made in this transmission (or message indicated).  The correct version is ______.
That which follows is a corrected version in answer to your request for verification.
DISREGARD THIS TRANSMISSION –– OUT This transmission is in error.  Disregard it.  This PROWORD shall not be used to cancel any message that has been completely transmitted and for which receipt or acknowledgement has been received.  
DO NOT ANSWER Stations called are not to answer this call, receipt for this message, or otherwise to transmit in connection with this transmission.  When this PROWORD is employed, the transmission shall be ended with the PROWORD "OUT".
EXECUTE Carr out the purpose of the message or signal to which this applies.  To be used only with the executive mode.
{5 second dash}
EXECUTE TO FOLLOW Action on the message or signal which follows is to be carried out upon receipt of the PROWORD "EXECUTE".  To be used only with the delayed executive method. IX
EXEMPT The addressees immediately following are exempted from the collective call.
FIGURES- Numerals or numbers follow.  
FLASH - Precedence FLASH  
FROM - The originator of this message is indicated by the address designator immediately following.
GROUPS - This message contains the number of groups indicated by the numeral following.  
GROUP NO COUNT - The groups in this message have not been counted.
I AUTHENTICATE - The group that follows is the reply to your challenge to authenticate.  
IMMEDIATE - Precedence IMMEDIATE. O
IMMEDIATE EXECUTE - Action on the message or signal following is to be carried out on receipt of the word EXECUTE.  To be sued only with the Immediate Executive Method.
INFO - The addresses immediately following are addressed for information.  
I READ BACK -The following is my response to your instructions to read back.  
I SAY AGAIN - I am repeating transmission or portion indicated. IMI
I SPELL - I shall spell the next word phonetically  
I VERIFY - That which follows has been verified at your request and is repeated.  To be used only as a reply to VERIFY.  
MESSAGE - A message which requires recording is about to follow.  Transmitted immediately after the call.  (This PROWORD is not used on nets primarily employed for conveying messages.  It is intended for use when messages are passed on tactical or reporting nets.)  
MORE TO FOLLOW - Transmitting station has additional traffic for the receiving station.  
NET NOW - All stations are to net their radios on the unmodulated carrier wave which I am about to transmit.  
NUMBER -Station Serial Number
OUT -This is the end of my transmission to you and no answer is required or expected.  
OVER - This is the end of my transmission to you and a response is necessary.  Go ahead, transmit
PRIORITY- Precedence PRIORITY
READ BACK - Repeat this entire transmission back to me exactly as received.
RELAY (TO) Transmit this message to all addressees (or addressees immediately following this PROWORD).  The address component is mandatory when this PROWORD is used.
ROGER I have received your last transmission satisfactorily.
ROUTINE -Precedence ROUTINE
SAY AGAIN- Repeat all of your last transmission. Followed by identification data means "Repeat _____ (portion indicated)".
SERVICE -The message that follows is a SERVICE message.
SIGNALS -The groups which follow are taken from a signal book.  (This PROWORD is not used on nets primarily employed for conveying signals.  It is intended for use when tactical signals are passed on non-technical nets).  
SILENCE -(Repeated three or more times) Cease transmission on this net immediately.  Silence will be maintained until lifted.  (When an authentication system is in force, the transmission imposing silence is to be authenticated).
SILENCE LIFTED- Silence is lifted.  (When an authentication system is in force, the transmission lifting silence is to be authenticated).  
SPEAK SLOWER -Your transmission is at too fast a speed.  Reduce speed of transmission.  
STOP REBROADCASTING -Cut the automatic link between the two nets that are being rebroadcast and revert to normal working.  
THIS IS -This transmission is from the station whose designator immediately follows.
TIME -That which immediately follows is the time or date time-time group of the message.  
TO -The addressees immediately following are addressed for action.
UNKNOWN STATION -The identity of the station with whom I am attempting to establish communication is unknown.
VERIFY - Verify entire message (or portion indicated) with the originator and send the correct version.  To be used only at the discretion of or by the addresses to which the questioned message was directed.
WAIT -I must pause for a few seconds
WAIT - OUT I must pause longer than a few seconds.
WILCO-I have received your signal, understand it, and will comply.  To be used only by the addressee.  Since the meaning of ROGER is included in that of WILCO, the two PROWORDS are never used together.  
WORD AFTER-The word of the message to which I have reference is that which follows ______.  
WORD BEFORE- The word of the message to which I have reference is that precedes ______.
WORDS TWICE -Communication is difficult.  Transmit (transmitting) each phrase (or each code group) twice.  This PROWORD may be used as an order, request, or as information.  
WRONG -your last transmission was incorrect.  The correct version is _____.  
Also youll want to learn the phonetic alphabet. Below is the letter the spelling and the pronunciation.  
A ALFA AL FAH
B BRAVO BRAH VOH
C CHARLIE CHAR LEE  
D DELTA DELL TAH
E ECHO ECK OH
F FOXTROT FOKS TROT
G GOLF GOLF
H HOTEL HOH TELL
I INDIA IN DEE AH
J JULIETT JEW LEE ETT
K KILO KEY LOW
L LIMA LEE MAH
M MIKE MIKE
N NOVEMBER NO VEM BER
O OSCAR OSS CAH
P PAPA PAH PAH
Q QUEBEC KEH BECK
R ROMEO ROW ME OH
S SIERRA SEE AIR RAH
T TANGO TANG GO
U UNIFORM YOU NEE FORM  
V VICTOR VIK TAH
W WHISKEY WISS KEY
X XRAY ECKS RAY
Y YANKEE YANG KEY
Z ZULU ZOO LOO
Ok boys and girls that’s all I got for now. Maybe I’ll add more. Or just post again. Please disreguard errors in spelling or anything else. it took a while to write this out.

very nice I plan on getting some comms for a few friends and maybe a repeater. Ham is nice but my friends dont want to invest in the equipment. we need to find links to radios so people can see them.

Green Sordins have been sold here in the past.  I have a set from back about 2002 that are green and I am pretty sure they came from T.C.I.  Just a quick point.  I know nothing of the newer ones.

TCI marked units would not be what would have the warrantee issue. Just the MSA units you see on eBay.

Tagged for great info. MODS get this man a sticky

tagged for any questions that may come up


















 

Tagged for info and later reading.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

I'm currently in market for a Comm setup and these are a few sites that I have found informative.  Especially since I know nothing when it comes to communication gear.  Hope it helps.

Good Read on FRS:

http://www.itstactical.com/digicom/comms/family-radio-service-an-option-for-neighborhood-emergency-communications/

General Radio info for most (FRS/GMRS/MURS/etc):

http://www.ultimatefrs.com/frs.html

Find a repeater near you:

http://k5ehx.net/repeaters/qrepeater.php

Information on MURS in general:

http://home.provide.net/~prsg/murs_faq.htm

Im having good results using nextel phones in direct talk mode. Cheaper than blister packs and fairly good security.

Bump for more info

Updated with some pictures. More to come. Waiting for parts.

Also working on a LEMO iPod adapter.

Good reading in this post so far.

My own taccom set-up using yaesu FT60:

I use four Motorola CLS 1410 UHF radios w/ headsets. I have spare OEM chargers, batteries, mounts, and holsters for them as well. Though the channels aren't the most secure, they work extremely well and have great range and clarity and the batteries will power each unit for 8-12 hours under heavy use on a single charge. They're tough as nails too, and the earpieces/headsets work extremely well and stay put when running, etc.

These are old crappy pics but you can (sorta) see two of them here:



And (sorta) how I have one wired in to my rig:



I'll have to remember to take current pictures later, but the setup on my chest rig hasn't changed. They fit perfectly into the Condor radio pouch you see on the rig, and despite Condor's reputation for garbage gear, these radio pouches are actually quite nice. I don't know that I'd buy anything from Condor that saw severe use, but this product at least is definitely surpassing my expectations.

Check out some of the Chinese UHF/VHF radios out there, pretty low priced.  I've got 4 Fiedexian Corp. (FDC) radios.  3 UHF 1 VHF.  The UHF radios get used the most and have had the crap kciked out of them.  One of them has a cracked display screen and keeps running.

I used to buy them from EBAY not sure if they are still on there or not.

I've got one setup on my "Wargear" with the radio in a pouch and a handmic ran over my shoulder.    The rest are loose in the house and get handmics when it's convient to use them.

Ok I have a question. I am looking for a radio to use in case SHTF and also to scan my local DES channels to keep informed of whats going on. I want it to be rugged, easily field programmed, light weight, and easily powered.

At work we use Bendix King digital radios that are very rugged but are VERY heavy and large. I am very familiar with these radios as I use them every day. They are also very expensive if you want to buy the new digital version ($2k+). I can find the older versions for $150, but would like to find something smaller and more user friendly.

I have a buddy who is looking to sell an ICOM (IC-F30GT) radio, would this be a decent choice? I would love to find a Thales Racal but those are very hard to find.

Thanks for every ones help.

ARE you buying these phones or are you using the service on a phone you already have?

 

New info on the LEMO connector added. Working on getting the parts now for testing. Also working on wirering scematics and a LEMO iPod adapter.

2 questions -

Anyone have a website that sells radio connectors for the Nacre QP ?

Are there any civilian legal 800MHz range freqs

No, but the 33cm ham band covers 902-928.

My emergency portable comm setup needed to be multi-purpose and versatile, so I went in a slightly different direction.

My headset is a Sordin Bluetooth setup that I can use to connect to my Droid X2 cell phone, my portable two-way radios, or my laptop-I use it for shooting too. Depending on who I need to talk to I have portables that are compatible with both VHF and UHF, which gives me 2m ham, MURS, public safety, GMRS, 70cm ham, UHF biz band, and others. My UHF radios are also fully backwards compatible with GMRS bubblepack radios, including the PL tones.

Sordin headset and EMCOMM radios:


UHF portable and Bluetooth earpiece in my wife's emergency vehicle kit. It's default frequency is a mountaintop GMRS repeater with regional reach:


Home base station:

Could those of you who have this equipment post some links to reliable vendors that we could order from?

I can not recommend TEA enough.

CJan
Can you advise what model those Icom HT those are?
Thanks

No problem

The UHF HTs are F40GT-2s, and the VHF models are F30GTs. Also shown are Icom IC-V82s-those are VHF ham portables. The most common HT in my stockpile are the F40GTs, because my family backup comm plan revolves around GMRS frequencies and repeaters for short to medium range communication. Ham would be more ideal for us, but my girls are unwilling to get their ham licenses-so a family GMRS license had to do.

As far as Bluetooth adapters go, I've tried them all and had have had the best luck so far with Pryme brand adapters and dongles. Pryme makes them for Icom, Motorola, Vertex/Yaesu etc. They are bulletproof and easy to use. Ease of operation is a big thing for me with radios for family and friends. When you get into things like trunking and encryption sometimes these get fairly complicated to operate. I've tried very hard to make it so someone can simply flip a switch and start talking.


Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

CJan,

Just to make sure I have the model number right the F40GT-2 are the radios that will work with GMRS?  I looked up the model numbers , but just want to be sure.  I should just get my Ham ticket––no I should've had it decades ago but...

Maybe a few of these radios will motivate me to get it this time.  Don't worry, I still know a few Hams, and even have a few study guides. I have no interest in xmting on a net I'm not allowed.

You are correct! The Icom F40GT-2 can be programmed for 70cm ham and GMRS

If you buy an F40 from eBay (or anywhere else on the secondary market), be very certain that the seller indicates you are buying a "-2" model, or a 440-480MHz frequency split. There are several of the -1 models floating around, and since they have a 400-430MHz split they are utterly worthless to you.

If the seller is unsure, the model designation can be found on the back of the radio:


At the following link is an example of an F40GT that looks outwardly the same, but due to the frequency split is no good for you: eBay Link

I am really digging the motorolla i355 direct talks. I picked up 7 of them with sim cards, chargers, and car chargers for $60  on ebay.

they easily out perform my blister pack gmrs radios, can be programmed with user groups or private numbers, and the security is sbonus. In addition, they are damn near bulletproof: rain, dust, shock and waterproof.

If you are wiling to do a little research online, there is a lot of good info out there on these for folks who are interested in local secure coms and not into ham...

Thanks!!

Edit: when it comes to comms––I know just enough to be dangerous.  My first MOS in the Army was 31C.  I was a RATT rig operator.  I had an AM SSB radio, a modem, a new (for then––1986) word processor, and the  old ticker tape type teletypes in my rig.  I could pull in CB, VOA, radio moscow, and so much more.  It was also secure (another ancient creation), and inside an M577 track which I drove all over W Germany.  What more could an 18 yo want?

CJan_NH
Thanks for the info. Not a comms/signals guy but always trying to learn more from any and all sources.
Like army03crna said "I know just enough to be dangerous" in my case slighly less than dangerous