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ferret radio


haybaggerman

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Hi all

 

My ferret has an empty tray in the rear of the fighting compartment where a radio should be, but, my question is..... what radio should be there? I think there is the possibility of larkspur or clansman but which individual sets are they?

 

Thanks

 

Paul

 

PS I already have a clansman intercom system.

 

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Paul,

 

Usually with a Clansman setup you would carry either a 353 and 351 or a pair of 353s as shown in Lees photos. I'm having a batch of Ferret 351 mounts made, after looking for a few years I finally found one, so thought I'd better get it copied before installing it. I can send you the manual for installing the Clansman radios if required.

 

The Larkspur radios take up more space and are more expensive to buy, if you just want to fill the gap a 353/351 installation looks good and shouldn't be too expensive.

 

Chris

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Paul,

 

Usually with a Clansman setup you would carry either a 353 and 351 or a pair of 353s as shown in Lees photos. I'm having a batch of Ferret 351 mounts made, after looking for a few years I finally found one, so thought I'd better get it copied before installing it. I can send you the manual for installing the Clansman radios if required.

 

The Larkspur radios take up more space and are more expensive to buy, if you just want to fill the gap a 353/351 installation looks good and shouldn't be too expensive.

 

Chris

 

 

Some Larkspur configuration options:

 

1. UNFICYP (Mark 2s plus 1* Mark 1 for the SSM): Either a SR/C42 (new, pseudo-Clansman nomenclature: cannot remember the traditional Larksput nomenclature Tx/Rx C42 rings a bell) or a C13 "A" set and a B47 B set. The A set was necessary to provide crew intercom but because our regiment came over from UKLF where the Armd Recce Regt ran its Squadron Command net on HF, we did not have enough C42s to issue on a scale of 1/vehicle in Cyprus. Section second vehicles therefore took a C13 to provide IC and a B47 to talk to section commander, whose C42 had the range to retain comms with HQ. Crews with C13 used to tune into The Voice of Peace, the Med's answer to Radio Caroline and have piped music while out on patrol. Better than listening to white noise because there was nobody to talk to on the HF. A sets were much bigger than B sets, especially with their separate power supply. The B set mounted on top of the A set.

 

I suspect the UKLF Armd Recce Regt Ferrets used the same configuration. There was a Mark 1 for the SSM and a handful of Mark 5s for the Swingfire ATGM Troop.

 

2. Rebroadcast vehicle in a BAOR Armd Recce Regt. Two times C42, one mounted on top of the other. This was an extremely tightly-packed configuration.

 

In the 1970s - 80s, the Divisional Armd Recce Regt was stretched across the entire Divisional frontage and pushed Larkspur to its limit. Troops had to cover the FLOT (Forward Leading-edge of Own Troops), end of. Squadron FHQs had to locate themselves as far back as feasible where they could retain comms with their entire frontage. RHQ had to deploy where it could retain comms with both FHQs and Div HQ. You couldn't tell Div to come forward and you couldn't tell FHQ to come back, so it there was a comms back, a rebro Ferret was deployed to extend radio range by rebroadcasting either the Divisional Command Net or the Battlegroup Command Net (usually the latter because GOCs didn't like being told to modify their voice procedure to cater for a rebroadcast net).

 

The single Ferret crew would locate itself where they had good comms both ways. The rebro crew would send a code instructing RHQ to change the frequency on its set working the battlegroup, then set a couple of switches so that as one set received a signal on one frequency, the other set automatically retransmitted (rebroadcast) it on. Only once did I ever get to initiate a rebro for real using the immortal broadcast, "Hello all stations this is 98A. This is an automatic rebroadcast net. Out" Come to think of it, I was not even using my normal callsign 98A, because we were on an umpire net and I was using the entirely one-off callsign 4H6. What a great job. Call the rebroadcast then sit and read a book until RHQ called you back.

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Thanks for your help guys.

 

So Sirhc, the mounting fits across the top of what I would call the tray and the clansman bolts to that?

 

Also, thanks for the photos Safariswing, they are exactly what I am aiming for, it looks really "finished". However, I am wondering what the green box is on the near side of your radio, underneath the grenade box??

 

Cheers

 

Paul

 

 

 

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I am wondering what the green box is on the near side of your radio, underneath the grenade box??

 

Cheers

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's the Racal VHF Automatic Antenna Tuning Unit (ATU) & there's two of them, one for each set.. the other is to the front o/s of the driver above the gear change lever..

 

Good source of Clansman stuff here... http://www.armyradio.com/arsc/customer/home.php

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Paul,

 

This photo gives you an idea how the radio tray is built for a 353 setup. The radio mount (green plate with 2 runners on) is replaced for the 351 with a frame type structure, which the manpack clips on to. I'll post a photo once Andy has made them for me :-D

 

For a 351+353 setup the 353 should be on the other side, the ARFAT mounts on the green plate to the left of the drivers seat. When I did this I hadn't seen a manual or another Ferret with a 353, so I put it together how I thought it should work, which was actually pretty close to the book.

 

Chris

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The manual I have shows a 352 fitted instead of the 351.

 

Based on that here's how i did it to position the 352 as the B set

 

352invehicleBposition.jpg

 

This is the mounting which Chris refers to and which the radio attaches via the carrier plate on which the 351/352 is itself mounted. (Pictured from behind)

 

351traySmall.jpg

 

The 352 configuration:

 

352offvehicle.jpg

 

If you fit a 351 or 352 then you also need to fit a Direct Current Charging Unit (DCCU) since the vehicle's power supply is not connected directly to the radio (unlike for the 353) as it is supplied via a charging port on the 351 battery

 

There are a nuumber of mounting positions for a DCCU - this is the one shown in my installation manual

 

DCCUview.jpg

Edited by john fox
photo lonks repaired
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Hi Paul,

Can I be a bit Picky here!! :whistle:

If you have renovated your ferret to a early 70's mob? It would have a C13 Or C42 & B47 set up with Larkspur B Harness if attached to a RAC or Cavalry mob ie. recce for the tanks etc. but clansman was just coming in when I was leaving the army in 1977, so..... Up to you chuck! :cofee:

PS. If you find someone selling one for a decent price and not silly money.... Do Tell Me!! :wave:

I am looking for such a setup too! :flower:

 

All the Beast,

 

Fred :banana:

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Hi All,

 

I've renovated it to a newly painted fairly good nick era, thats all so far. The only things that date it are possibly the aerial mounts and also the bren. I like the different configurations of clansman stuff picture in this topic, and prefer the price of clansman to larkspur.

 

I particularly like the finishing touch of the sten gun in 00ec25's photos, so should I have larkspur to match these accessories?

 

Paul

 

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I particularly like the finishing touch of the sten gun

 

 

 

It's not a Sten... it's a Sterling, this & the Brens were used by the British troops during the 1st Gulf War, and previous conflicts such as the NI & the Falklands War... so you're ok with Clansman

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Im Being Picky AGAIN!!!! :whistle:

 

Bren? :schocked: I Think it should be a GPMG!! or a Browning .30!! :deal:

They may have had a Bren or7.62 LMG, on the very early MK 1 's but...Sorry, Gotta get it right Chaps....I did use to be on em!! :modpwr:

All the Beast

 

Fred :banana:

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7.62mm LMG would be OK up until Gulf 1 - thats how the Gulf Ferret Mk1/2 at Duxford was set up on its return

 

I agree that 303 Brens are wrong with anything Clansman but then again Brens are cheap and easy to get and IMHO its looks better to have something up rather than nothing - picky or not

 

John

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Same here! :wave:

 

Sorry John, not being funny.... but I can not remember ever seeing a LMG on the ferret ....Except the Mk 1!!

 

Goog Luck though, I had to make a mock GPMG when I first got my old girl, but I fell on my feet and was 'Given' a Browning .30 which I have now converted to Gas!!

We used to call them the' Demented Daleks' in Ireland because of the 30 bobbing along on top. :rofl:

 

I dont know what sort of mount you have in your turret, but should you ever need to 'adapt' a Gimpy mount to take the 30, let me know and I can send you some pickies to show how I managed it? :tup:

 

All the Beast,

 

Happy Ferreting,

 

Fred :banana:

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Oh no. this is getting worse!

 

I'm going backwards here, not only do I have to get radios but my Bren is wrong as well........... and the gun mount therefore............

 

I don't think a gp-remortgage time-mg is going to be an option though, although I think they sell brownings fairly cheap at Helston Gunsmiths. Ah well, the bren stays for a while, a 353 clansman goes on the shopping list along with a stirling or sten plus mags for the drivers left stowage.

 

Paul

 

 

 

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Same here! :wave:

 

Sorry John, not being funny....

 

Goog Luck though, I had to make a mock GPMG when I first got my old girl,

 

 

 

No offence taken - I was merely recording how the specific Mk1/2 vehicle now at Duxford came back from Gulf 1. I also vaguely remember reading an article soon afterwards about a Mk1/2 having to run away from Iraqi T55(?) and the only thing the commander could do was bang away with his LMG and hope

 

Don't need no conversions mate, actually I have 2 :-D deac GPMG as all 3 of my Ferrets are fitted for GPMG. One is the L7 version which I use on my MK1 and Mk1/2 and the other is the L37 version I use in the Mk2 turret.

 

John

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I agree with Alien FTM, I can only remember having 1919A4 on our ferrets in the 15/19 H, However in 1986 when I joined the TA (QOY) I had a L4A1 on my MK 1/2, this remained until the Ferret was withdrawn and replaced with a Spartan. this vehicle was used by the SSM, which was brilliant as there was 2 of us in a veh designed for 8.

If you want either a LMG or GPMG there are a couple of good scources for replicas on the internet, you can get all of the different models.

 

Barry.

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