[Chuck Anderson]

Hi Chris,

We've been using period radios at reenactments for a while now. The radios are either originals or replicas that have been VERY SLIGHTLY altered to work using a modern 12-mile FRS radio (the little walkie-talkies they sell in the sporting good stores). The vintage radios aren't gutted or severely altered because somewhere down the line there may be someone that wants to try to restore the unit to WWII function-ability.

Even though they supposedly have a 12 mile range, the reality is that the FRS'es tend to behave more like a real WWII radio. Distance and line-of-sight affect performance. The radio outputs are wired in to the vintage radio's microphone & headset jacks, so the controls on the vintage radio don't do anything. We're just using the vintage radio as a "front" for the FRS. It's fun because you're using period mics & headsets, but talking through the FRS. Here are a couple pictures of the German radios. I've wired up the No. 19 set in my Dingo to function this way also.

Chuck