Well actually, the typical Army MARS post station, even the one for a
whole Army, such as Fourth Army at Ft. Sam Houston, was heavily
dependent on how good the Director was at getting funding from the
Signal Corps or whomever controlled the purse strings.
In my first year in Army Mars as a civilian ham, the Post station had a
Collins KWM set up, but their other main transmitter was a BC 610, and
some surplus receiver (SP 610 or BC 348).
They also had a wonderful transmitter site on a hill full of rhombics
which had been the Post HF station linking them to Washington, the Canal
Zone, Europe and Asia. Later, they were forced to move to much more
confined quarters without rhombics; and use a beam and dipoles on the
Old Post, near the Ft. Sam Houston historic Quadrangle fort area.
To make up somewhat, for the comedown in space, the Director wrangled a
Technical Material Corp. TMC 90 receiver, which appeared even higher
tech than KWM II equipment. They may have gotten a TMC transmitter
also, but I don't recall the BC 610 going away either. The 610 was of
course Hallicrafters WW2 vintage, AM and CW.
Later at the time of Viet Nam, I understand a lot of MARS stations were
equipped over there with KWM II's and 30L1's to enable phone patch
welfare traffic, in the days before email and computer phones.
The KWM II, even barefoot into the old Rhombics from the 30's station,
was like shooting fish in a barrel on the ham bands.
Stuart Rohre
K5KVH
(AA5KVH)
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