Radio installations

Trip · Post by **Trip** » Sat Sep 21, 2019 9:38 am

What is/was the most common radio combination of parts/equipment installed in M38 Jeeps? Did the M38 with radio equipment require a higher output Generator?

I have researched all the manuals and diagrams on this website but it is somewhat overwhelming as I can't boil it down to what equipment was the most common in most M38(s).

Also, is there any one supplying these parts in good to very good condition?

Thanks in advance!

mdainsd · Post by **mdainsd** » Sat Sep 21, 2019 10:47 am

Some of the bigger sets do require the 100A alternator kit.

Go up and look in the downloads. The top topic is the installation drawings for M38s and M38A1s. Pick the radio set you like from the list.

Mine has a AN-GRC/7 set.

This is as it was going in:

4x4M38 · Post by **4x4M38** » Sat Sep 21, 2019 12:56 pm

How much do you want to pay?

Trip · Post by **Trip** » Sat Sep 21, 2019 2:03 pm

Brian,
That is a hard question to answer as I am not yet sure what all I am looking for!
I am prepared to pay what ever is quoted for the correct parts hopefully in very good condition.

Trip

mdainsd · Post by **mdainsd** » Sat Sep 21, 2019 2:33 pm

For one of the smaller radios I would think 500 bucks gets you a nice cosmetic set of the radio, the fender mount, antenna base, antenna mount and whip sections.

They go up from there by weight

Post by **wesk** » Sat Sep 21, 2019 9:33 pm

I doubt there is anyone here that answer your question:

Which radio set was the most commonly used in the M38?

Different needs of individual units, different needs of different military branches, different needs of Active vs Guard/Reserve units. coupled with the odds of someone being very familiar with all of those installations, in all those services, active /reserve/guard makes that one person impossible to find.

Also the M38's active military life was largely a very short span of time. The Army was very quick to standardize the comm jeep on the M38A1 chassis as soon as the A1 came on line because of it's greater Hp and weight carrying ability.

Your best yardstick for what would have been most common is what is still readily available from the surplus market's down the stream parts availability.

Use a simple checklist for your decision process. For example:

1 - Which service do you want your jeep to represent?

2 - Which unit or branch of that service do you want your jeep represent?

3 - What is the primary mission of your selected unit?

4 - For the Army, you will have to determine which of the Big 3 Frequency ranges your unit will be using. The spectrum was divided between Armor, Artillery and Infantry.

is there any one supplying these parts in good to very good condition?

There are several suppliers. Try to stay with suppliers who are primarily comm equipment suppliers.

http://armyradio.com/arsc/customer/prod ... age=7&js=n

There are many informative military radio web sites:

http://www.nf6x.net/1999/01/1950s-vehicular-radio-sets/
Mark's Green Radios Page is a good one.

http://www.nf6x.net/wp/wp-content/uploa ... nstall.pdf
This is Mark's PDF set of M38/M38A1 radio installations published by the Army Signal Corp.

https://www.qsl.net/pe1ngz/army/army-us/us-comm.html

http://www.grc9.nl/grc9uk.html
Even Dutch and other countries sites.

For static display radios, and light radio sets your stock 25 amp is fine.

I would avoid the 100 amp system the Army used back then. It was expensive, difficult to maintain and still hard to find parts for.

The Army's 60 amp alternator is the best all around beef up for your original 25 amp jeep. It is a one wire Alternator with built in voltage regulator. A wee bit expensive going in but very reliable and more than adequate for the radios.

G740 · Post by **G740** » Sun Sep 22, 2019 7:35 pm

Midwest Military also has radio sets, mounts, antennas, accessories, brackets etc. Quite familiar with what was used in the M38. Just another option.
John