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Subject: The Infantry Remain Skeptical
SYSOP    3/5/2015 4:48:00 AM
 
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joe6pack    Understatement..   3/5/2015 9:46:35 AM
"(infantry who have to carry and use the PRC-155). For starters the PRC-155 weighs 50-100 percent more than the older models. It has less than half the range (three kilometers versus seven) and the batteries last only six hours (versus over 30), The PRC is subject to overheating and the user interface is considered inferior."
 
Skeptical would seem to be a major understatement... I'd (politely) say, a complete failure in regards to infantry requirements for a radio..   A base starting point would be (1)less weight (2) longer battery life (3) better range.....  a 50-100% increase in weight, frankly should be a non-starter.. and the guy that proposed that should *#%^*-canned from an sort of procurement process...  a 6 hour battery life for an infantry radio?  FFS... and cutting the range in half or more....
 
I frankly don't see any new capability that would make up for those fundamental... massive.. failures..
 
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HeavyD       3/5/2015 2:32:35 PM
I am typing this comment on a frikkin supercomputer. My smartphone. Clearly my Android isn't combat-ready but it wouldn't take $40,000 and 15 pounds to turn it into a durable secure, multi-mode comms unit with days of battery life. C'mon guys.
 
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Nate Dog    Heavy D   3/5/2015 6:53:30 PM
your android is also horrendously unreliable, wouldn't last 6 minutes in the hands of an infantryman and would be turfed out of any competition the moment anyone sneezed next to it :)
 
Joe,
Yep, no idea which f###-tard thought doubling weight, halving range, but you can now have something new would go down well with anybody?
Troops issued these radios will do what we've always done when good stuff was replaced with shite. These radios will magically develop bullet holes, will be crushed under ammo boxes, will be immersed and beaten against rocks.
Sarge, this fucking thing is shit. Need my old one back till they can send me another replacement.
 
It simply won't wash.
 
 
 
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joe6pack    PRC 117   3/5/2015 10:35:32 PM
I have a fair amount of experience with this model.  And the article is even a bit generous for it.  For example the battery life, in my experience, was closer to 20-24 hours rather than 30.  But it did work and was serviceable. A solid.."not bad".
 
When you consider: " About a third of its weight is the battery." An RTO usually carried 2-4 spares (or more).. it adds up.. quickly.
 
 So the new system with a 6 hour battery (unless the batteries a tiny and weigh next to nothing.. sounds horrendous.
 
I doubt the troops would have to resort to the "it's broke sarge" method of replacement.. they could just go with: "The batteries dead.. outa spares.. no I can't contact the battalion, or 1st platoon, or mortars, or trains.. batteries are DEAD.. no they didn't give us more... they were out..."     Which is how it would be...  and there would be only so much of that company and battalion commanders would take..
 
(oh.. and for Nate.. bad things could happen if you submerged the 117 batteries )
 
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keffler25       3/6/2015 7:51:04 AM
 
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Nate Dog    117   3/7/2015 2:53:40 AM
Yeah,
we used them too, later service they had that bulky attachment to encrypt signals. They weighed but the battery did hold good charge, but at least we knew it would last a day. Meaning, going into combat, a fresh battery would last the length of the engagement. 6 hours quoted by the manufacturers means 2-4 hours hard use. Running out of battery mid transmission when shits going down… would scare me far more than actually being on the receiving end of an artillery barrage.
As to batteries, always had a bucket load of spares, never threw one in water though :) Shame, sounds like an opportunity missed.
 
Keffler, links broken. 
 
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