AN PRC 515 Radio Sets

[Jon Skagfeld]

Originally posted by JD Baillie
Jon,

Find myself remembering two radio masts used on the M152: one a sectional thing with lots of guy ropes where the pipes stored between two plates holding the pole sections in a rectangle and the other a telescoping afair that either stood free or was placed on a hinged pipe mounted on the side of a 3/4... a mast that would happily pinch the skin off your fingers.

Which one of these was the "Clarke" mast?

JD

Hello, JD:

AFAIK the only mast used with M152 IKEEs was the old trusty 20 or 34 foot mast of 19 set fame.(The one that would happily pinch your fingers.)

AFAICR the AT 292 ground plane had to be part of the mast installation, for static ops, otherwise the 16' whip was used for mobile ops.

So, are we talking VHF or HF here? Many variables apply.

If, in an M152, you were on a C42/C45, then we're looking at VHF antenna arrays. HF arrays are totally different.

M152s could, for example, have a C42 (VHF), and a WS No 52 (HF).

That means you have to have two different antenna arrays in order to Rx/Tx.

We're into a situation where, with antennas, there is raging conflict, both civilian and military.

The military seems to go with such as Jamaica, Shirley, log periodic, centre or end fed dipole, or even discone, sloping Vee, and Yagi.

Civilian amateurs seem to have have advanced past that point with neat stuff that, of course, is not field expedient, but functionally superior.

WRT the Clarke mast...got me! Dunno the reference. More details so that I can do more research?

Apologize for length of post, but, hey, this is sorta my territory.

Thanks, and regards