Posted: 8/29/2011 6:11:38 PM EDT
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Does anyone know where these radios can be purchased surplus?
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Does anyone know where these radios can be purchased surplus? Thanks you might be able to get one of the 5 finger discounted ones on Ebay. They show up there occasionally. They come with a free visit from your local CID or NCIS agents and a no money back guarantee! 
Blackheart International has legit civilian legal ones listed on their website. Be prepared to harvest several kidneys to buy a set though. |
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I will pass on the Info about Blackheart.
I tried to get the guy to see the way of ham radio, but he wants an MBITR, as he used one in the sandbox. All you can do is try to change minds. I would not want CID/NCIS/FBI doing the snoop thing. Thanks to all who responded. |
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They also have the nifty airsoft ones, that are a hollowed out plastic box to put a radio in of your choice. Even a real h-250 handset and tape antenna!  
I presume the friend is familiar with Army radio fans and these I think are available to civilians with lots of money: Micom-Pathfinder |
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Buying an MBITR for your civilian communications needs would be like buying an uparmored humvee for a commuter car.
Sure, it'd be a fun HT if they sold for $500. You could get monumentally more utility for a fraction of the cost by utilizing other communications products. I did post a humor thread back in 2008 about a group buy on MBITRs though 
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The big reason that they are so freaking expensive is that they are SDR radios. No, the reason they are so expensive is because they are a specialty product made for a captive government/military market. Elecraft KX3 is an SDR with an expected retail under $1k. |
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No, he's not familiar with that site I don't think but I will pass it on.
He says the MBITR is a great rig, and as I have not used one, I have no idea. He's a civilian LEO with about 22 years as a Marine then an Army troop. He has a Racal headset he wants to have a pigtail made for to hook to his issued Kenwood radio as he is on the Special Response Team. But Thales Communications is too good to make a connector cable for a Kenwood. I'll have to try and find him a site to try and have that pigtail made. |
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Not familiar with the headset, but I know Newark Electronics was carrying quite a few of the wierd (to us civis) milspec
connectors, though at expectedly outrageous prices. I was able to pick up a few chassis connectors for H-350 handsets at a mere $40 each a couple years ago. If you know the headset model number, the connector part number, number or can post a pic it should be relatively easy to figure out the mating component for an adapter cable build. |
I would love to have a couple of MBITRs so that I can become a military UHF SATCOM pirate 
It's a cool radio, no doubt, but it's only real claim to fame for civvies is that it will run 20-512MHz. I can't think of any other radio available to the civilian market that will do that (except the newer and even more expensive JEM, also from Thales). |
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I would love to have a couple of MBITRs so that I can become a military UHF SATCOM pirate
I have an antenna. Buddy buys boxes of stuff from DRMO. It's a cool radio, no doubt, but it's only real claim to fame for civvies is that it will run 20-512MHz. I can't think of any other radio available to the civilian market that will do that (except the newer and even more expensive JEM, also from Thales). Government issue stuff like that is always stupid expensive due to rigorous standards that require quite a bit of testing. This testing takes time and cubic dollars worth of money. The R&D costs aren't spread across 100,000 units like regular gear. Also the high unit cost often includes spares and test equipment. There is a geosynchronous ham repeater in the works. Techs will be able to work DX soon. |
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I would love to have a couple of MBITRs so that I can become a military UHF SATCOM pirate
It's a cool radio, no doubt, but it's only real claim to fame for civvies is that it will run 20-512MHz. I can't think of any other radio available to the civilian market that will do that (except the newer and even more expensive JEM, also from Thales). It's 30-512Mhz, not 20 |
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There is a geosynchronous ham repeater in the works. Techs will be able to work DX soon. Where can we read more about this? Link |
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There is a geosynchronous ham repeater in the works. Techs will be able to work DX soon. Where can we read more about this? Link Cool. That's been an obvious avenue to take for both satellite in general as well as emcomm for a really long time. The biggest problem is lack of equipment for the higher bands that are often needed. |
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There is a geosynchronous ham repeater in the works. Techs will be able to work DX soon. Where can we read more about this? Link OK, so it's all vaporware for now. Sounds like it's at least 10 years down the road. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: There is a geosynchronous ham repeater in the works. Techs will be able to work DX soon. Where can we read more about this? Link OK, so it's all vaporware for now. Sounds like it's at least 10 years down the road. gives me an excuse to get ready:  |
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OK, so it's all vaporware for now. Sounds like it's at least 10 years down the road. Yep, reminds me a lot of phase 3-D back in the 90s, where tons of resources were devoted to one expensive, do-it-all Molinya-orbit satellite that had its booster fail. I think we're way better off with lots of microsats that can be deployed now. |
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gives me an excuse to get ready: Yeah, if they put it on 222MHz  (which they'd never do, even though it would probably work out well)
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I would love to have a couple of MBITRs so that I can become a military UHF SATCOM pirate
It's a cool radio, no doubt, but it's only real claim to fame for civvies is that it will run 20-512MHz. I can't think of any other radio available to the civilian market that will do that (except the newer and even more expensive JEM, also from Thales). Why would you think an MBITR would allow you to access military UHF satellites? It's just a radio. It's a very good radio, but it's just a radio. Without crypto it's useless in the mode you want to use it, and even with it it's not very useful, as it's not a satcom radio. |
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I would love to have a couple of MBITRs so that I can become a military UHF SATCOM pirate
It's a cool radio, no doubt, but it's only real claim to fame for civvies is that it will run 20-512MHz. I can't think of any other radio available to the civilian market that will do that (except the newer and even more expensive JEM, also from Thales). Why would you think an MBITR would allow you to access military UHF satellites? It's just a radio. It's a very good radio, but it's just a radio. Without crypto it's useless in the mode you want to use it, and even with it it's not very useful, as it's not a satcom radio. Ah, grasshopper, you put far too much "Hollywood" into how UHF military satellites work. 
They are nothing but channelized bent pipe transponders. No crypto required. The channelizations are well known (http://www.uhf-satcom.com/uhf/uhffr.html, among other resources). Illegally using them is a favorite Brazilian pastime (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-nw7sl3ik4) There are four things that keep unauthorized people off of them: 1. Fear of prosecution. 2. The lack of suitable and affordable radios to use them (as you can see from the channelizations). 3. The net control stations will stomp on you with a massive signal in an attempt to get you off the channel. 4. They will track you down (see #1 above). FM signals on the transponder are hugely noticeable. If you came up with a narrowband SSB signal it might not be so bad. I've always wondered if a 31Hz wide PSK signal would even be noticed. Or maybe an MT63 signal, as a 2KHz MT63 signal might be mistaken for noise. As for the MBITR not being a SATCOM radio, nothing could be further from the truth. It is indeed a SATCOM radio and needs only a nice antenna like the one someone pictured above to work. I've done it personally (and in an authorized fashion!) You only need about 50W of EIRP to get good link margin. 5W radio + 10dB antenna = UHF military SATCOM. Also, the radio works perfectly fine in un-encrypted mode, being capable of AM and FM transmissions. If it had an SSB mode it would be perfect. |
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I would love to have a couple of MBITRs so that I can become a military UHF SATCOM pirate
It's a cool radio, no doubt, but it's only real claim to fame for civvies is that it will run 20-512MHz. I can't think of any other radio available to the civilian market that will do that (except the newer and even more expensive JEM, also from Thales). Why would you think an MBITR would allow you to access military UHF satellites? It's just a radio. It's a very good radio, but it's just a radio. Without crypto it's useless in the mode you want to use it, and even with it it's not very useful, as it's not a satcom radio. Ah, grasshopper, you put far too much "Hollywood" into how UHF military satellites work.
They are nothing but channelized bent pipe transponders. No crypto required. The channelizations are well known (http://www.uhf-satcom.com/uhf/uhffr.html, among other resources). Illegally using them is a favorite Brazilian pastime (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-nw7sl3ik4) There are four things that keep unauthorized people off of them: 1. Fear of prosecution. 2. The lack of suitable and affordable radios to use them (as you can see from the channelizations). 3. The net control stations will stomp on you with a massive signal in an attempt to get you off the channel. 4. They will track you down (see #1 above). FM signals on the transponder are hugely noticeable. If you came up with a narrowband SSB signal it might not be so bad. I've always wondered if a 31Hz wide PSK signal would even be noticed. Or maybe an MT63 signal, as a 2KHz MT63 signal might be mistaken for noise. As for the MBITR not being a SATCOM radio, nothing could be further from the truth. It is indeed a SATCOM radio and needs only a nice antenna like the one someone pictured above to work. I've done it personally (and in an authorized fashion!) You only need about 50W of EIRP to get good link margin. 5W radio + 10dB antenna = UHF military SATCOM. Also, the radio works perfectly fine in un-encrypted mode, being capable of AM and FM transmissions. If it had an SSB mode it would be perfect. Yes, one can "use" a military satellite, I didn't say that was impossible, did I? I asked why you think an MBITR would provide you with access to them. The MBITR is absolutely *NOT* a satcom radio, not certified for it, and you should not use it in that manner. Does that mean I didn't carry a DMC-125 in my kit on the off chance I needed to use it in an emergency? No –– but it is *NOT* a satcom radio and should not be used as one. The PRC-152 & PRC-117f & g are designed to be used as satcom radios –– the MBITR is absolutely not. |
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The MBITR is absolutely *NOT* a satcom radio, not certified for it, and you should not use it in that manner. Does that mean I didn't carry a DMC-125 in my kit on the off chance I needed to use it in an emergency? No –– but it is *NOT* a satcom radio and should not be used as one. The PRC-152 & PRC-117f & g are designed to be used as satcom radios –– the MBITR is absolutely not. Josh––I have no idea why you would say this. About a month ago I participated in a week long SATCOM work-up that utilized the PRC148 MBITR, PRC148 JEM, PRC152, PRC117F, PRC117G, PSC5D and ARC231 radios. We used them all in fixed, mounted and dismounted roles (except ARC231). They are all fine SATCOM radios and are used that way every day. |
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The MBITR is absolutely *NOT* a satcom radio, not certified for it, and you should not use it in that manner. Does that mean I didn't carry a DMC-125 in my kit on the off chance I needed to use it in an emergency? No –– but it is *NOT* a satcom radio and should not be used as one. The PRC-152 & PRC-117f & g are designed to be used as satcom radios –– the MBITR is absolutely not. Josh––I have no idea why you would say this. About a month ago I participated in a week long SATCOM work-up that utilized the PRC148 MBITR, PRC148 JEM, PRC152, PRC117F, PRC117G, PSC5D and ARC231 radios. We used them all in fixed, mounted and dismounted roles (except ARC231). They are all fine SATCOM radios and are used that way every day. The MBITR has specific issues that preclude its use on the satellites. It's not designed for it, and should not be used for it. People have died in the field because they relied on the MBITR to do satcom. I won't expand on that here, but it's easy enough to find out what I'm talking about. First of all, the MBITR is *NOT/NOT* JTIC certified for satcom. That alone should stop you from using it. Second, the MBITR is not designed for satcom, and cannot and will not be certified for it, because its modulation is not precise enough to avoid stomping on other channels on the bird in the event you are able to make comms. Third, 5 watts is generally not enough to do it, though that's not always an insurmountable obstacle to it. The PRC-152, for reference, does 10 watts for satcom, and even though it is not JTIC certified it was designed from day one to do satcom. Of course the other radios you mention are actually JTIC certified satcom radios. http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=224137 –– look at Bubba's post about half-way down the page, that statement is pretty much accepted as gospel in the sof comms community. |
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The MBITR is absolutely *NOT* a satcom radio, not certified for it, and you should not use it in that manner. Does that mean I didn't carry a DMC-125 in my kit on the off chance I needed to use it in an emergency? No –– but it is *NOT* a satcom radio and should not be used as one. The PRC-152 & PRC-117f & g are designed to be used as satcom radios –– the MBITR is absolutely not. Josh––I have no idea why you would say this. About a month ago I participated in a week long SATCOM work-up that utilized the PRC148 MBITR, PRC148 JEM, PRC152, PRC117F, PRC117G, PSC5D and ARC231 radios. We used them all in fixed, mounted and dismounted roles (except ARC231). They are all fine SATCOM radios and are used that way every day. The MBITR has specific issues that preclude its use on the satellites. It's not designed for it, and should not be used for it. People have died in the field because they relied on the MBITR to do satcom. I won't expand on that here, but it's easy enough to find out what I'm talking about. First of all, the MBITR is *NOT/NOT* JTIC certified for satcom. That alone should stop you from using it. Second, the MBITR is not designed for satcom, and cannot and will not be certified for it, because its modulation is not precise enough to avoid stomping on other channels on the bird in the event you are able to make comms. Third, 5 watts is generally not enough to do it, though that's not always an insurmountable obstacle to it. The PRC-152, for reference, does 10 watts for satcom, and even though it is not JTIC certified it was designed from day one to do satcom. Of course the other radios you mention are actually JTIC certified satcom radios. http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=224137 –– look at Bubba's post about half-way down the page, that statement is pretty much accepted as gospel in the sof comms community. Chief just as FYI the JEM (not to be confused with the old MBITR) should have the JTIC certification for SATCOM in the near future per my Thales rep. |
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The MBITR is absolutely *NOT* a satcom radio, not certified for it, and you should not use it in that manner. Does that mean I didn't carry a DMC-125 in my kit on the off chance I needed to use it in an emergency? No –– but it is *NOT* a satcom radio and should not be used as one. The PRC-152 & PRC-117f & g are designed to be used as satcom radios –– the MBITR is absolutely not. Josh––I have no idea why you would say this. About a month ago I participated in a week long SATCOM work-up that utilized the PRC148 MBITR, PRC148 JEM, PRC152, PRC117F, PRC117G, PSC5D and ARC231 radios. We used them all in fixed, mounted and dismounted roles (except ARC231). They are all fine SATCOM radios and are used that way every day. The MBITR has specific issues that preclude its use on the satellites. It's not designed for it, and should not be used for it. People have died in the field because they relied on the MBITR to do satcom. I won't expand on that here, but it's easy enough to find out what I'm talking about. First of all, the MBITR is *NOT/NOT* JTIC certified for satcom. That alone should stop you from using it. Second, the MBITR is not designed for satcom, and cannot and will not be certified for it, because its modulation is not precise enough to avoid stomping on other channels on the bird in the event you are able to make comms. Third, 5 watts is generally not enough to do it, though that's not always an insurmountable obstacle to it. The PRC-152, for reference, does 10 watts for satcom, and even though it is not JTIC certified it was designed from day one to do satcom. Of course the other radios you mention are actually JTIC certified satcom radios. http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=224137 –– look at Bubba's post about half-way down the page, that statement is pretty much accepted as gospel in the sof comms community. Chief just as FYI the JEM (not to be confused with the old MBITR) should have the JTIC certification for SATCOM in the near future per my Thales rep. Good to know - thanks. I'm not really familiar with the JEM. |
| If you're just after the look of a PRC-148, there's a 440 mhz ham one. Surprisingly solid and works pretty well. I have one and will do a review on it one of these days. |