paul connor Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Ok, this is all new for me! no idea! how they work or indeed what im looking for... Infantry in Northern Ireland. what would they have used as COMM's, i know its back mounted. circa 1970-80 is my ideal, can you get these? and do they work? :banana: :yay!: :banana: :yay!: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I think they would have been Clansman units - they turn up on eBay or have a nose on MilWeb. Vehicles would have had the VRC321 or the VRC322 or the VRC353. Units would have had PRC320 or PRC329 or PRC350/351's As ever though - I'm open to correction here as it's been over 30 years since I was last around these systems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Paul, I have a Storno Shoreacre UHF radio, which was used in Northern Ireland on patrols. The complete system would comprise 3 radios, 2 manpacks and a base station. My manpack was sold to me as working, and is complete with the backpack and antenna. I do not have a battery or any other sets so can't test it. If you're interested in it drop me an email and I can send you some photos. My address is chris@sirhc.co.uk Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardyferret Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Early on the larkspur A41 manpack was used, not successfelly though in the built up areas.... Hardyferret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Early on the larkspur A41 manpack was used, not successfelly though in the built up areas....Hardyferret Yes you are quite right, you can see pictures of Mk 1 Pigs 1969-72 with the ground spike & coax feed fitted on the antenna base of the nearside just above the passengers door. I have this on the other pig & sometimes am told it is wrong. But there it is in the picture. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/fv1620/Antbase.jpg[/img] PMR stuff (Private Mobile Radio) was indeed used Storno, Mitre, but particularly Pye stuff ie Bantams, Westminsters & Pocketphones etc. For Pigs it was Pye Westminster W15. The modification was issued as EMER WHEELED VEHICLES N257 Mod Instr No.82 Sept 1973 for Mk 1 Pigs. It was also issued as N257/2 Mod Instr No.11 for Mk 2 Pigs. PS. I have at least 3 working dashmount Westminsters & a non working boot mount one, & possibly a Pocketphone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewroberts.1953 Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 There was hugh amounts of PYE stuff about. Included in the list was a covert version of the "pocket phone PF70". Whitehalls were used, as were Olympics. The kit was in all sorts of bands, and in both AM and FM versions. A version of the W15 Westminster, in a manpack frame with a battery etc was also used. I also think some Nolton Nova's found employment in the province. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 Early on the larkspur A41 manpack was used, not successfelly though in the built up areas.... Hardyferret Hardyferret is spot on. the SR (Station Radio) A41 manpack is the military radio in use through the 1970s, though other sets like Storno and Pye, as mentioned might be used on inter-branch nets where the A41 was incompatible. We didn't get Clansman in BAOR (and I believe we were among the first to get it) until about 1980. If you want a Clansman manpack, you are looking at a UK/PRC (Portable Radio Comunication) 351. This could be enhanced by the addition of a booster to become a UK/PRC352. However, these were full manpacks. Infantry kept demanding smaller, less obtrusive comms, which led to the introduction of the 350 and 349 (the numbers were meant to be ascending in order of power output but having gone backwards to 350 already, they had to use 349 where it didn't fit into the structure. These were pocket sets. These miltary sets all worked in the military VHF frequency range between about 30 - 76MHz depending on the radio. The non-military sets didn't. In built-up areas, radio nets would be rebroadcast on duplex frequencies: everybody transmits on one frequency and receives on another. High on a hill overlooking the built-up would be a rebroadcast station transmitting and receiving on the reverse frequencies, improving everybody's reception. If you can remember Z-Cars, whenever people spoke on the radio, everything they heard came from base: this was because of the reduced rebroadcast they used. Typically you might hear a muted warbling when other outstations were talking to base, so that you knew not to interrupt (you can only have one, the strongest, signal coming in at a time). In the late 80s, early 90s, my father-in-law used to work as a chemical specialist for his local fire service. He had a radio receiver permanently monitoring the Operations net so that he had a heads-up before he got called out. When other people were talking, unheard to everyone bar the controller, everybody else was still getting the warble. All the nonsense you see in films about operators talking at once is just that, nonsense. What you get is known in the trade as jamming. I undertsnad that Bob Marley was a specialist in this field. I imagine that the civvy nets were used in NI to implement existing police infrastructure without having to commit Army resources to run a separate rebroadcast net, hence the more-appropriate non-military sets discussed. "Hello all stations, this is 98A. This is an automatic rebroadcast net. Out" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 We didn't get Clansman in BAOR (and I believe we were among the first to get it) until about 1980. Strange - we (21) had Clansman in service from about 1977/78 and used it in BAOR, amongst other locations, without problems!! PRC 319 and 320 IIRC were the primary sets we had. Our sister regiments - for obvious reasons - were also using the Clansman system at the same time............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewroberts.1953 Posted November 15, 2006 Share Posted November 15, 2006 Part of the problem with military VHF radios is the low frequency. very good for large open areas, no good for built up areas like towns and cities. This is why the blue light services (police first) changed to UHF and VHF high band systems. UHF radios also have much smaller antennas, so making covert use much easier. For my sins, I used to (with others I worked with) have a lorry load of radio to fix from NI, about ever couple of months in the 80's. It was just about all civil type of kit. Mould, was also in use at the time. But that's a whole longer and more involved story! Some civil kit was fitted with secure speech equipment, again of civil type. The other thing that civil kit could do then that even Clansman could not do is selective calling. Ie, a sort of telephone numbering system. The technical aspects of radio use in NI would fill a lifetime to document. The regulator at the time RA (Radio Agency), had three men doing nothing but that! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biscuits_brown Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Latterly Motorola Securenet and the ubiquitous Astro Cougar systems were de rigeur. (I could be wrong but I believe that the version of 'Cougar used in NI is/was somwhat obtuse). We were never in MOULD coverage. Certain VHF allocations in use by military and Government agencies were unavailable in N.I due to the potential for interference from/to commercial and official comms. In the Republic which has different spectrum allocations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewroberts.1953 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Hi I seem to have a distant idea that some of the Cougers were "bright" versions. And yes, Motorola and many other manufactuers supplied kit. I know of at least one Mould transportable system being used in NI. But of couse Mould was really only fully available in EWS! The frequency planning (sic) schemes used north and south of the border are still very differant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul connor Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 Ok, you have been Very helpfull.... but alas im very confuzzled! I have bought a Clansman backpack frame from Ebay, rather cheap as well! I just need to know what is suppose to go on it, as I was in the forces in 2000, and radio sets from 1970-80 are indeed a mystery! I assume, battery, radio, handset, and a headset? then the ariel? does any one have a picture of the set, so i can get the idea? Circa 1970-80 Northern Ireland... I model most of my Pig on Londonderry 1972 Parachute Regiment.... what would they have been using? Hope some one can help, as all these numbers and sets just confuse me more! Haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardrosser Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 EMLRA THE CLANSMAN 344 RADIO SET, A MANPACK/VEHICLE MOUNTABLE GROUND TO AIR RADIO CLANSMAN MANPACK TRANSMITTER / RECEIVER [PLESSEY PRC 344]. Comes in it's own backpack with head phones, mics and includes a display disposable battery, £160.00. [We also have some interesting items to go with this set up see below] MANPACK VEHICLE MOUNTING BRACKETS (AS-NEW) bolts to the dexion for mounting a manpack radio £7.50 MANPACK GS RUCKSACK FRAME £8.00 MANPACK RADIO RT 344 HAND GENERATOR UNIT £25.00. CHARGING BOX 14V DC [6130-99-620-2114] FOR MAN PACK RADIO Used £25.00 each RACAL INITIATE BOX [5820-99-630-6488] For vehicle operation of manpack Clansman Radio’s £10.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardrosser Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 pictures http://www.armyradio.com/arsc/customer/home.php?cat=109 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardrosser Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 another good one weapons, body armour and other stuff from the 80's - go down for clansman oh ah misses :-o http://www.forces80.com/forces80%20home.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biscuits_brown Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 It's difficult to be precise with a timescale of 1970-1980. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S_Bluck Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Hi. Interesting thread. I'm a communications engineer, I have so much Storno kit here. including an almost complete SHOREACRE system. The kit is complete with Manin-Unit, the two remote-units (ORU), two aerials and an adaptor for the main-unit and the back-packs. I don't have the original batteries, but they seem to run well from Dry-Fit sealed lead-acid units. The main-unit has two receivers and one transmitter. The remotes have transmitter/receiver. the idea was to have a three-way full-duplex conversation with the ability to monitor / record at the main-unit. If there is any interest I'll get some photos up. Also in the ex-MOD storno collection are the lowband cqf600 base-stations from a couple of RAF bases (Used by MOD-Plod).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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