Hello fellow hobbyists,
So I am planning to 3D print some radios and trying to figure out what should be printed and gather many reference photos and exact dimensions, etc.
Can you help me with the reference photos and measurements, etc. for the US modern radios and the following?
Mainly, I want to be able to replace what RFM is offering:
Btw, I also plan to sell some of the following non-modern radio sets in 3D prints soon.
If someone has good reference info (dimensions) on these, please send it my way:
Off-topic, but I don’t know why the US Army and USMC can’t just use secure Multi-Function Terminal (MFT) laptops like the police do nowadays with screens and GPS. I mean they do, but the radio rack seems to be a lot of clutter just for voice communications.
Multiple radios just seem so “old fashioned” now when so many things are controlled from a laptop or a smartphone.
You might take s look at the websites for both Harris & Thales military radios like the Falcon III to get some more details including the appropriate antenna systems for the various man-packs and vehicular mounts.
To save you some time and hassle of the research, I’ve actually already designed and currently sell some of the equipment you have up here. I sell the AN/GRR-5, the AN/VRC-12, the AN/VRC-110 and -111, a set including the AN/PRC-152 Falcon III and handheld phone, along with a good majority of the SINCGARS system. My SINCGARS set includes the RT-1523.
Sorry, Michael, my intension wasn’t buying something already made and spend the money but design them myself and print them in 3D with my printer.
Unless you want to help me with the dimensions, which doesn’t appear that way, thanks but no thanks.
The US Army does use such a system. The “Blu Force Tracker”, aka FBCB system, which I used overseas with the Army back in 2005, works like the Mobile Digital Computer terminal that I used as a cop a few years later. The radios used by street cops and soldiers enhance voice communications for both users. Sometimes things are better said in voice, than sent in a text message over those laptops.
@MikeyBugs, I have couple off your items from shapeway and they are great to have but the shapeway printing is bit crude compare to what these home grown 3D printers are doing.
I wish I had the skills like yours and James. I would purchase a 3D printer in a heartbeat and go crazy printing I can’t
@Stryker45 Thanks. Unfortunately Shapeways has been getting worse, in my opinion, since they installed their current CEO. They now cater to corporate customers and the individual customers and sellers are more of a backwater to them. They have new SLA technology I believe and I’ll try to transition my products over to there. It should result in better quality.
I did try starting my own website and selling on my own prints after they instituted sweeping changes a couple of years ago but I couldn’t keep up with the needs and had to shut that adventure down. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get consistent prints at the time. I should probably revisit with some of my radio models.
I should should actually be coming out with a new model in a few weeks depending on how much time I have available. It’ll be no Bayraktar but it’ll be pretty neat.
