Clansman Manpack Radio System PRC 320

The Clansman RT-320 / PRC-320 is a lightweight HF/SSB radio station designed as part of the British Army's Clansman range of radio equipments for combat use throughout the world. It was used by long-range patrols and Special Forces because of its sky-wave range performance and hand generator system.

The equipment operates in the 2 to 30 MHz band with 100 Hz channel spacing, which gives a choice of 280 000 frequencies. Selection is by decade knobs which control a micro-miniature synthesizer locked to a temperature compensated reference oscillator, giving a high order of stability under all environmental conditions.

The PRC-320 provides SSB (USB), AM, CW (wide) and CW (narrow) facilities. Speech processing and automatic level control are employed to provide whisper speech facilities and a high mean output power.

A transmitter output power of 30 W PEP working into a 2.4 m whip antenna gives the PRC-320 a ground-wave communications range in excess of 40 km by day under normal conditions.

The PRC-320 is suitable for use as a ground station, working into static ground- or sky-wave antennas. Working into a dipole or end-fed antenna, sky-wave communications at ranges from 50 to 2000 km or greater can be achieved. This range performance is due in part to the high grade receiver and high efficiency manual antenna tuning unit (ATU) which is integral with the transmitter/receiver unit. The radio is carried on the operator's back and allows him full use of his weapons. It is powered by rechargeable 24 V Ni/Cad batteries of 1 or 3.3 Ah capacity. Alternatively, the radio can be powered by a hand generator system with a 1 Ah battery, and can be operated remotely if required at a distances up to 3 km.

With its man pack carrier and battery the PRC-320 can be used as a clip-in vehicle installation. A vehicle-mounted antenna is used and the battery is float-charged by a DC charging unit from the vehicle supply.

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Elenco delle radio e altri apparecchi della Plessey; Ilford