Original Items. Only One Available. This is a tremendous belt rig group for the carrier of the RT-174/PRC-10 Backpack radio, which saw extensive use by the United States in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The set comes with several pieces of period field gear, and would look tremendous on a mannequin with a Vietnam Era uniform.
The group is in great shape and includes:
-RT-174/PRC-10 Backpack Radio Rig with a heavily worn data plate giving the serial number as TAD138 with the carrying harness connected.
-Phone attachment for radio, with cord in fair shape, plug intact, in its original belt-attached pouch.
-Antenna pole pieces for radio, in same carrying pouch as phone.
-M8A1 Fighting knife scabbard attached to belt, no knife.
-Vietnam Era BrightStar brand Flashlight, attached to back of radio.
-Two Ammunition carrying pouches, one attached to belt and the other attached to back of radio next to flashlight.
-Vietnam era M1910 Canteen set with plastic cap and WWII canteen dated 1944 by S.M. Co.
-Vietnam era First Aid pouch with sealed first aid kit DRESSING, FIRST-AID, FIELD, CAMOUFLAGED, 4 BY 7 INCHES STERILIZED and a small Burn Case packet to add to water.
This is a phenomenal set of Vietnam War field gear that will look fantastic put-together on a mannequin. Don’t miss it!
The AN/PRC-10 came into the Army inventory in March, 1951. It is a 16 tube FM radio which was used as a squad radio. It is part of a family of radios AN/PRC-8, AN/PRC-9, and AN/PRC-10 which differ only in the frequency of operation and the components that determine that frequency.
Each AN/PRC-10 radio set consists of a superheterodyne FM receiver and FM transmitter that share a common antenna. The Receiver-Transmitter consists of a single panel chassis assembly mounted in a magnesium case with a watertight seal. A short eight wire cable connects the chassis to the BA-279/U battery while two springs clamps hold the R-T case to the battery case. The PRC-8,9,10 radios can be adapted
for vehicluar use by means of the AM-598/U Amplifier Power Supply that converts 24 volts to the operating voltages of the radio (the battery cable plugs into the power supply), plus can drive an audio aux speaker.
The AT-271/PRC antenna (the long antenna) is used with the radio for maximum range. It is provided in seven sections connected by an internal stainless steel cable, a total of 10 feet long. When folded, the cable keeps the sections together as a group. This antenna screws into the LONG ANT jack on the top control panel. The AT-272/PRC antenna (the short antenna) consists of several lengths of flexible steel tape riveted together, making a tapered antenna 3 feet long that screws into the SHORT ANT jack. The short antenna is for general service and can be folded into the carrying bag that is part of the PRC-10 equipment list.
In the field, soldiers quickly found that the backpack antenna was a sniper target. The antenna was therefore removed, or sometimes the radio was carried upside down with the short antenna pointed to the ground, which did not seem to affect the range of 3 to 12 miles, depending on antenna used and siting conditions.
The handset H-33B/PT connects through a cable and ten contact plug that connects to the AUDIO jack on the control panel. The weight of the AN/PRC-10 is 26 pounds including battery and other components. The technical manual for these radios was TM 11-612, covering the AN/PRC-8, AN/PRC-9, and AN/PRC-10.
In July 1965, responding to General Westmoreland's complaints about the AN/PRC-10, the new, transistorized FM radios of the AN/VRC-12 and AN/PRC-25 families were shipped to Vietnam. Those radios, intended for deployment in Europe, soon became the mainstay of tactical communications in Southeast Asia. In three and a half years, 20,000 VRC-12 and 33,000 PRC-25 radios were delivered to Southeast Asia. The PRC-25, which fully replaced the PRC-10, was, according to General Creighton Abrams, "the single most important tactical item in Vietnam."
