Jim:
Fred the Valmet-meister’s letter got me thinking about radios. I’ve been using the SpecOps AN/PRC-104 HF radio, I have more than one, and I am continuously amazed. This afternoon, from my box canyon in central Colorado, wearing the backpack 20 watt radio, I held conversations with friends in Michigan, Virginia, SoCal, Oregon, Kansas and others of “The Group”. This isn’t what some call skip, this is a knowledgeable amateur operator plying the trade. The conversations were generally telephone quality. Tying this into Mr. Coffee’s posting, I also use the SpecOps OP-177 power and battery charger kit which consists of four solar cells, a hand crank generator, and an AC charger which works on all common AC voltages [50 and 60 Hertz] and has matching plugs for all countries. I’ve used the solar cells to charge my truck batteries and sundry other things. The point about the radios and solar cells, in addition to being relatively inexpensive and extremely reliable, they are surplus. The military of all countries have more than just WW2 and Korean War guns, magazines and worn out canvas. There is a veritable wealth of modern stuff available. EMP proof computers. local and long reach radios, power producing items and simply lots of neat stuff. – The Army Aviator