PRC 320 guys listen up!

N4RMT is Good to Go!

A couple of weeks ago I got my PRC 320 back from him after he added the LSB modification. It works like a charm.

It's damned difficult to find anyone Stateside that will work on these rigs. After all, they were made in the UK and the following of these surplus rigs is nowhere large enough for the big shops to work on them. They are difficult as they are build like tanks.

I suppose that if you live in the UK there are a number of retired Royal Signals people that can work on them but shipping them both ways is terribly expensive. There is also the question regarding the legality of re-importing them back to the States. The Brits consider them to be munitions of a sort even though there is nothing classified about them.

Anyway, N4RMT took mine in and added the modification at a reasonable price, resealed the rig properly and I am good to go. It now is capable of lower side band operation.

These rigs are made to operate in CW, AM and USB (upper side band) modes. This is OK on bands 20 meters and up. However, traditionally on the 40 and 80 meter bands hams use LSB.

Incidentally there is an offset for both USB and LSB use. For USB use you set the rig band and decade switches 2 kHz above the frequency you want to work. For example if you want to work 14.332 you set the decade switches to 14.334.

To use the rig on LSB you turn the power switch to 'Battery check'. This puts the rig onto LSB. The offset is 1.2 kHz down. For example, if you want to work 7.125 you set the decade switches to 7.123.8.

Anyway N4RMT did a wonderful job and the rig works like a charm. It doesn't get any better than this.

I have a PRC 320/L which is LSB only and made by the Brits for export. I wonder if he can do an USB mod on it.

I'll have to ask him.




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