Ahhh Dayton, I love the event, don't get to go too often but last year I made it. Last year I had a different mission and that was to check into the now famous "3885 net" with my BC-611 "Walkie Talkie".

   NOTE: Now I know that the BC-611 was a Handi-Talkie but if it is OK, I just call it a Walkie-Talkie as that is what most of us call it.

   NOTE: There were two military nets held at Dayton one on 3885 Kcs, and the "Cold War Net was held on 51.0 Mcs.

   I admit it wasn't easy getting the BC-611F fully operational . But armed with the ole grid dip meter and one of WA5CAB's, Robert Down's manuals I did quite a bit quite a bit of trouble shooting of the radio and some pruning of the coils. I had tried many years ago to get a "talkie" going on 75 meters but just didn't have the test equipment, knowledge, nor the motivation.

  If you had BC-611 operational at a ham fest in those "Walter Ashe" days you were top dog.

   Saturday morning net day , the dawn broke clear and crisp, no rain , the sun was shining, the dawn was spectacular. I walked the rows carefully searching for the BC-611's and their operators, I saw Joe, WA4VAG. with his GRC-9 set up and the hand cranked generator and a couple of rows down there was Jim ,KA8TUR, with his BC-1306, but where were the BC-611's, not a single one could be seen on display or carried by any of the "troops".

   I thought to myself, "Have I gone to all this trouble for nothing",

   I want to see some radio's. I wanna see something that is at least a hint of history, I see PRC-25's and 77's and those little weeny PRC-68's but where are the real radio's?

   I listened and gathered Intel on 51.0 FM, carefully monitoring the traffic between the different military radio enthusiasts and collectors,

but no mention was made of the "3885 net". I again did some recon and walked past Joe's GRC-9 site again and carefully looked for a sign or notice that might be posted, nothing. Oh well just wait and see.

   It's hard to describe the mood of the net but it was all most eerie waiting for the net to start, the minutes slowly passing, more silence, the minute hand was approaching twelve o'clock.

   I sat there waiting but hearing nothing on my BC-611. Then I heard WA4VAG, Joe's voice via the T-17, I could hear the GN-58 generator cranked by Eric, KD4PCH, with its gears whining in the back ground and the crisp audio of the carbon mike blasting through the ear piece of my BC-611,

   Net control was assumed by Jim Karlow, KA8TUR on his BC 1306 powered by a DY-88. Slowly the troops checked in, was it my imagination or could I sometimes hear the leaf switch on the BC-611s clanking as they were was activated, slowly, all most methodically each check in took place.

   Some of the signals were very weak, I moved around to find just the right place for reception and was surprised, location does make a difference on 3885 using a BC-611 with its base loaded antenna.

Did the squad radio man move around on the beach in order to communicate to the ship?

   Net control advised that we would all get to describe what we were using and our home locations etc. I carefully listened to hear the equipment list, the BC-611's finally emerging that were out there, where had they been hiding? A MAB and a DAV were heard. The only way to describe the moment was fantastic. It was a lot of effort by a lot of folks to restore those fifty year old walkie talkies and the other pack sets.

Then all of a sudden the net was over,

eerie-again as 3885 went silent,

eerie-because the "Walkie Talkie" had again surfaced in mass,

eerie-thinking of the history and the beach heads and fox holes that the radios had been used in,

eerie-when thinking of that combat radio man that didn't have a BA-37 battery and thought to use a 50-CAL casing and a regular flashlight battery(BA-30) in his BC-611

eerie-thinking of the WW II design teams working day and night to make all this happen,

eerie, because I am playing with a radio that is now history.

eerie- because now there is only a slight hiss in the ear piece, because 3885 was now totally silent,

I switched on my PRC-77 and monitored 51.0 Mcs and the activity was starting to pick up, Joe,WA4VAG, was again announcing his space number and invited everyone to come over. But I don't know, I just hesitated,enjoying the moment.                  

I just stood there, slowly collapsing the antenna back into my "walkie talkie", hearing the switch click inside the radio and carefully screwing the antenna cap back on, the net was over. I just stood there savoring the moment, an event that I will remember for years to come.

I slung the BC-611 on my shoulder and started the trek over to Joe's space, the BC-611 slung on my shoulder like a badge of honor, many heads turned as they recognized the "Walkie Talkie".

I approached Joe's space and could all ready see the antennas sticking up in the air, Eric, KD4PCH was seated and cranking on the generator. The "green radio crowd" gathering, all of em, all at one spot, Jim Karlow comes trudging in carrying the complete BC-1306 for the group picture next to Joe's GRC-9. BC-611's everywhere, I counted a total of 11 talkies, more operating BC-611's were gathered in this spot than any other place on earth.

Now my mood changed, meeting the faces that go with the calls that I heard on 3885 and 51.0, exchanging information about our collections and projects .

Some one blocked off the entire row so that we could get some group pictures taken, the bystanders ogling trying to figure out what is going on, looking at all the antennas, its simple folks, history was in the making.

The pictures now taken, now slowly the group dissolving, blending back into the hamfest, the group disbanding until next year, individuals disappearing again, each on their individual mission or quest,

again they would search for that command set or BC-611 or the endless search would continue for those elusive accessories and mounts that go with the radios.

  Next year . . . next year,2003, sounds so strange to say the numbers, all ready nagging at me, I am all ready starting to put a plan together while navigating back to my space at the hamfest,- perhaps the TCS and the 12 volt dynamotor power supply to check into the net but I definitely will have to bring the "Walkie Talkie". See you at Dayton 2003 on 3885 kcs.

73 breck k4che

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NOTE: There was an excellent article in Elecric Radio (Number 157, June 2002) written by Jim Karlow, KA8TUR that contains a list of all the participants in the nets, the article also contained some fine group pictures by Mark Francis KIØPF.