Wondering what are the appropriate choices for antennae bases for US armor from the 1970s and 80s.

I'm familiar w the spring based MX 6707 w a 10.5 ft two piece fiberglass whip.

But what about the one with the flush base! The screw, guards and usually a red brown color - also how long is that antenna?

What about the one with the raised ribbed ceramic and no spring? How long is that one or is that wwII vintage only?

On my Cold War M 60 there's a mount molded in that is neither tall and cylindrical like the spring MX 6707 nor is it flush! It kind of a stubby! More sloping version of the spring one! Maybe just an artistic license?

Also - would a vehicle ever have only one of the flush based antennas or would that be second to a spring antenna?

Sorry for mutilating all the technical stuff because if you've got the knowledge to answer these questions I'm sure my terminology is laughable! I really do want to learn so please don't be too offended.

The antenna you are thinking of is an AB-15 receiver antenna, the one with the glass or ceramic base, brown in color. It was used with the old AN/VRC 12 series of radios but that antenna was a receiver antenna only, for the R-442. The flush mounted one you speak of is the AB-558, also used during this same time period and also only for the R-442 receiver. That radio system was used for almost every tactical vehicle in the army in the 70's, 80's and early 90's., tanks, jeeps, PC's, you name it. The antenna was literally the top part of the AS-1729 antenna. Not sure of the exact size, 8 feet? , so it would be about half that. When you see an M1A1 from around 1985 and it has one short and one long antenna, you are looking at this set up, the long one is for transmitting and receiving, the short one receives only. Don’t forget to put the antenna ball on top, the vehicle was dead-lined without it, safety first!

I think I answered your question!?

Thanks! I knew someone here would have the knowledge!

To clarify - it looks like all vehicles would have the spring loaded 10.5 ft antennae that sends/receives. AND - many times have a second with the ceramic insulator for receiving (monitoring another channel).

I know the 10.5 ft fiberglass two piece antennae on the spring base gets the plastic tip (that pops off every time you hit a tree branch), but the receiving antennae - that has a short stubby antennae that attaches to the longer half - does this one take a tip too?

I've seen lately that troops wrap their foam sleeping mats around the base... even some tape a water bottle onto them? I know the mats are to keep from touching the hot antennae.. but the water bottles? What's that about?

Bruce,
None of the modern antennas on combat vehicles use the brown ceramic base like their WWII counterparts. Perhaps you are equating the plastic base of the matching unit or the plastic base of the Aux antenna as the “ceramic base”. The send and receive antenna is a 8 foot long, two piece fiberglass antenna mounted on a matching unit that has a spring base to allow the antenna to "bend" when it hits an obstruction - you seem to have that down. The antenna ball is usually taped securely to the antenna, just so it doesn't fly off when it hits something. This antenna is normally mounted on the rear of the M60 or M60A1/3 turret types.

The smaller antenna (normally located just to the rear of the loader's hatch on both types of M60 turrets) is for the auxiliary receiver AKA the Aux. It has a flat base with a flexible stem that an upper half of the 8 foot antenna screws into. There is also an antenna ball taped to the end of it.

Now, for the second part of your reply above, the sleeping mats are placed around the antennas as that is a convenient place to stow the mats, that keeps them out of the way, not as a method to protect from any kind of RF generated burns. The water bottles are used to place chemlights (light sticks) inside to mark the vehicles at night. Previously, .50 caliber links from a M2 machine gun were slid on to the antenna to slip the chemlights into but the links interfered with the RF energy being transmitted from the antenna during a radio transmission, lowering range, causing distortions, etc...

Not a commo dude, just a guy that spent some time standing around tanks with his hands in his pockets...

HTH

John

Here's some photos of the US army cold war antenna.




This photo is the antenna tip that is taped to the tip of the antenna.



This is the antenna that John Charvat mentioned being used with the AUX

Awesome! Never thought I'd know about those odd water bottles, makes sense now.

I was thinking the large ceramic base and the flat plastic base one were similar receive only. I'm wondering why those ceramic base antennas have a red sticker that warns about touching them if they are to receive only, wouldn't it just be passive and not charged?

I've got an M151a2 (real one, not a model!) that had antennas mounted when I first got it 30 years ago. It had the large spring one on the corner bracket and the stuby ceramic one on the passenger side - that's how I remember the warning sticker. I removed the ceramic antenna and mount when I had to do some body work on it and never reinstalled it. Still has the big whip antennae, gone through a few of those plastic tips though !

My armor experience was limited to a few weeks orientation with m60a1s with the Hollywood marines as I had to be familiar with them as a naval officer in the gator navy. I tried to transfer to the Marines but the navy wouldn't let me go - so from then on I was stuck as the liaison between the marines and the navy - mainly fielding complaints about cold food, broken gym equipment and other really important stuff like that!

Well I was going to get on here and jump around and make a fool of myself, but there is a pic of the AB-15 Antenna base with the VRC-12 series of radio system. I assure you they were used throughout the cold war era. I was an active duty commo chief for 13 years in the US Army, I remember them fondly. And yes, the ball goes on the aux antenna too

You didn't make a fool out of yourself. Like the old saying goes and slightly modified. The only fool is the one who assumes that everyone else knows the same as you do.

I first got introduced to the VRC-12 series as well as the GRC-160's on Jan 11, 75 and the last time I touch one was in July 96 when I retired.

James,
I guess that I kinda misspoke when I used the "combat vehicles" above. I was meaning tanks and when I read you and Bruce's posts and a hazy memory came back abpout seeing the AB -15s on wheeled vehicles, mainly M151s and HWMMVs... Far be it for me to correct a former commo chief and current State Trooper so I will fall back to the time honored phrases "yes Officer, no Officer, I was wrong Officer"...

BL:No disrespect was intended, a somewhat defective memory is responsible.

JC

So do I understand that the ceramic based short stubby ones like on my M151 weren't used on armor, just the smooth base one... Like James, I remember those used on wheeled vehicles at least.
I was just about to drill and mount one of the ceramic based one on my old M60... maybe I need to ad the smooth base one instead.

This is great info for all my future endeavors as well.. you guys are a wealth of info!

Well, I'm not going to argue with anyone on here but I will say that you would not be wrong by putting any of the above mentioned antenna bases on any of the above mentioned vehicles. M1's came from the factory with the 6707's and 558's, don't know about the M48's or M60's, but when you were doing repair work you put on what you had in stock, AB-15 or 558, they were in the system and both worked just the same

Again - you guys are awesome... I just keep learning!

One last question (famous last words of course) and then I'll leave you alone, but why does a receive only antenna have the Warning sticker about shock/burns/death on it...



My M151 even had this sticker on the body of the vehicle by the mount.

Thought i'd resurrect this thread since i was doing my own antenna research. This is my dad's M151A2 in Korea, circa 1983 or 84. He was Company Commander, so i'm guessing that's why there are two MX-6707s and an aux AB-15 mount.

Does anyone produce these antennas and bases in 1/35? I need a good handful for several AAVP7A1 builds I have planned.
We had these antennas on the AAVs until 1995 when we finally switched over to the SINCGARS. While at the Test Branch in ’96-‘99 we still had these mounts/antennas on several AAVs but not for the radios. It was one mount/antenna per AAV. The antenna was painted in alternating colors of white and orange of either 6” or 1’ intervals. This was make it easy to measure wave height when reviewing video of the vehicle when videoing a test.

Folks,
Here's my 2 cents-- Aux antennas would not be found on all vehicles. The VRC 12 series multichannel radio, and it's accompanying "spring base" antenna, would have been the radio authorized for the Plt Sgt and Plt Leader vehicles--these were "programmable" (analog)"push button" radios used for command purposes. As mentioned above, the aux receive only radio would have supplemented the VRC 12 radio (or other send/receive radio, i.e. the VRC 46), so the leader could monitor the radio net of the next echelon commander. When needed, the VRC 12 push-button could change to a frequency that was previously programmed and be able to send and receive on that radio net. Not every vehicle in a platoon or company would have an aux. radio and antenna, just the leaders-- the photo of the Company Commanders jeep above is an example- the Captain Company Commander has 2 send and receive radios and one receive only aux-- likely one is tuned to the Company net, One is tuned to his commander's battalion net, and the aux is likely tuned to either the brigade net or the unit support net. As a Platoon leader in the 11th ACR, I used to monitor my platoon on the send/receive ANVRC 12, tune my VRC 46 radio to the troop net, and then listen in on the squadron net on the Aux. Now, as to the round base antenna question or the ceramic base antenna, both could be found on any vehicle that had an aux. the hard plastic round base antenna was a newer version, but we had both mounted on our M60s. When I switched over to a cavalry platoon though, we only had the round base antennas on the M551 Sheridan, but still had the ceramic bases on a few M113s. After transitioning the whole squadron to the M60A3 in 1980, I only saw the hard plastic bases on armored vehicles, but the ceramic bases were common on lighter vehicles like the M151, or Gamma Goat. As a Company Commander in the 1980s, my M151 looked a lot like the photo above. So I think it's dependent on the time period you model that determines whether to use a ceramic or hard plastic base on your aux radio antenna. The red tag would only be found on brand new stuff really-- after hard use they tended to fall off. In my time as an Armor Officer, I never saw anyone shocked while a radio was transmitting (I did see an electrocution when a radio antenna hit some RR track high tension wires though). VR, Russ

Arms Corps Models makes the MX-6707/VRC...
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/review/8340

Orange Hobby also makes modern antenna bases.

As far as antennas...the Leopard Club just released two sets of antennas that will be pretty close to modern U.S. antennas.

http://leopardclub.ca/workshop/LW014/

Adlers Nest also makes some very good looking modern antennas...

https://www.hlj.com/product/adnanm-35038/Mil

And the boxy mount on the front right fender is for the NBC detection equipment. Just my additional 2 cents

Jason,
Thanks for the links. The antennas and bases at HLJ are on backorder but I placed an order anyway. Fingers crossed that they restock those items.