PRC-77 Freq Q...

[Yohan]

Please, no flames...

This is probably a dumb question, but can a PRC-77 be tuned to any of these five frequencies, or are they to "narrow"? Thanks in advance for any help with this info!

John

•151.820 MHz
•151.880 MHz
•151.940 MHz
•154.570 MHz
•154.600 MHz

*EDIT* The next dumb Q is, if the PRC-77 will not operate on these freqs, can they be modified to operate on them fairly easily or is this just a really dumb idea? Thanks for going easy on me! These are MURS radio frequencies listed above, by the way. I really like Mil. Radios and thought it would be neat to be able to use the PRC-77 without getting a HAM Lic. And no, I have no interest at this time in getting a HAM Lic. and no, I don't chat on my PRC-77 (because I don't have a HAM lic.).

 

[Pawnshop]

NO, the 77 only goes up to 70 something MHZ, you will need a different unit to go that high. If you want to fab one up you COULD get an empty 77 case and hide another radio in it, so it will do the job AND look the part.

 

[Pawnshop]

BTW: 49.75 is a commercial freq used by common store bought baby monitors, you can use the 77 on that freq and likely not interfere with other radio operators, you MAY freak out a Mom though...

And you should get your HAM license, it's not that big a deal.

 

[maddawg308]

PRC-77 is 30 to 75.95 MHz. The freqs you need are WAY higher, in the 2-meter band. There is no way to convert the PRC-77 easily to use these freqs.

Best bet is to get a standard 2-meter radio and play with that. But you'll HAVE to get a ham license to play with either of these.

 

[Yohan]

Thank you for the replies, gents. Is there any specific place that sells empty PRC-77 shells and what would a reasonable price be for one? Maybe putting a MURS in a PRC-77 shell is like re-inventing the wheel, but the appeal of military radios (for me) is that they look like mil radios and not something from a factory in Taiwan.

pawnshop, have you gotten your HAM yet? Your sig says you're still working on it. Is it something that takes months and months to get? I did a little research on it last year and recall that the morse code requirement had been dropped. I'm not against getting a HAM lic., I just have other priorities right now is all. My post is just me thinking out-loud!

Thanks for the baby monitor freq. The only kids in my neighborhood of 7 houses are mine and they're past the baby monitor stage! I have heard a neighbor's cordless phone on our monitor once, and I suspect the range would be less than a hundred feet in as open area.

Thanks again for all of the info and refraining from flaming me.

 

[bulldog_mack13]

I have a dumb question also , is the RT-1113 / PRC -68 good for anything? I found one , will it talk with a PRC 77 or much else? The one here I found was made in 1993. -Jay

Edit- I did find info but im looking for opinions , Jay

 

[maddawg308]

The PRC-68 series of radios, including the PRC-68, -68A, -68B, PRC-126, PRC-128 and PRC-136, are all decent platforms for a handheld 6-meter band radio. However, one drawback is that these radios use crappy batteries that require a special charger to service. One solution is to get the following 9-volt battery adapter from Brooke Clarke which will enable you to power your -68 series radio with common over-the-counter batteries.

68BA battery adapter

 

[Pawnshop]

There are empty cases that show up on eBay from time to time, should not be too hard to make it look good enough for a 10' inspection.

When I say I am working on it, what that means is I am studying! The exam is a 35 question multiple guess, but the questions are drawn from a pool of over 300 questions, I am reading through the questions and researching any answers I don't understand. There is a lot about safety and regs, I want to learn the subject, not just the test. If I had more time I would have been done months ago. One of our members is out on sick leave from work and did all the studying and passed the General (2nd level license) test in a couple of weeks.

In a convoy to a parade back in June we heard a crying baby loud and clear!

 

[bulldog_mack13]

Mike, Thanks for the info. I will put up some pictures in a little bit. I might have all the stuff with it ,without having to buy the adapter. I dont know older radios that well. Now if its some new stuff im all trained on it.


Thanks again guys, Jay

 

[oilcan]

To help answer the question about the test difficulty, I studied kinda light for about 2 weeks to get the tech. When I decided to get the general, I just went to the class that was held right before the test and passed with almost no prep. I'm still "studying" the material because there's a lot to learn beyond what's on the tests.

 

[rlwm211]

The frequencies that were originally listed by the person who started this post are MURS and are non license user frequencies. Limit is 2 watts.

The TECHNICIAN license is very easy to obtain and you can use a couple of different sources of study guides to prepare for the test.

ARRL has a study guide
ARRL :: Licensing, Education & Training :: ARRL's Tech Q&A 5th Edition
And there is the Gordon West book
W5YI : Product : 2010-2014 Technician Class by Gordon West
and order the study guide.

My preference is the Gordon West series, but that is just my opinion. You can get the book titles and go on Ebay and search for them and buy them there as well, probably cheaper.


I am sure there are many of us who are hams that are more than willing to help steer you in the right direction and help as wel can,

73's (Ham lingo for good luck)
RL

 

[Yohan]

Everyone, many thanks for all the info! Brooke has a lot of good stuff that makes these older radios very adaptable to use without the hard to find batteries and such. When I get another Mule, I'm gonna hang one off the back of the driver's seat and wire it into the 12v battery.

I just noticed my rep power went from 3 to 4 power. I don't know how I grew, but I think it's a good thing!

Later guys...

John

 

[stumps]

I just noticed my rep power went from 3 to 4 power. I don't know how I grew, but I think it's a good thing!

Later guys...

John

If you look at the screen just below the avatar on any post, you will see a Chinese yin/yan symbol. That symbol is where you can add, or subtract from the poster's reputation.

You have only a certain amount of power that you can use for or against someone's reputation, so use it wisely.

-Chuck

 

[123mack]

You can go here for practice tests. www.qrz.com/ham Be careful when using study guides. The question pool is changed I believe, every two years, so check that the guide you buy is for the current question pool.

 

[rlwm211]

Although the question pool has changed, the chances of getting more than two questions on a given test that are not in the pool you studied are slim. The basic theory and RF exposure concerns as well as the limitations of the power and frequencies has not changed and that makes up a good 60% of the tests.

Good point on putting the QRZ link up.....I did not think of that myself....Must be getting old.

NNNNNNNNAAAAAWWWWW

RL