A good alternative for an orginal Radio. And it works quite well.
Vorthmann
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DE
A Good-Looking Replica
(2010-06-16)
I received the BC-611 repo yesterday. Dimensionally it is spot on, and many details are correct. To the uninitiated, it looks really good. Nits I have to pick - paint color is off - too light. And it isn't "wrinkled right" (hard to replicate unless you use a very specifc kind of paint) Nameplate lettering is off (fonts) All screws are Phillips, should be straight slot, and dark rather than bright finish Antenna is quite short compared to the original, the antenna grommet is just wrong, and the theads on the antenna cover are too fine-pitch to allow swap with GI parts.
Functionally, it can talk with any handheld civilian FRS/MGMRS radio. To access the on/off and channel select you have to unscrew and remove the top. Batteries (4xAA) load through the bottom. It actually has a complete but very small handheld mounted in the top of the unit. PTT like the original.
Light in weight, but all metal. I will distance test it tonight an level ground. My only concerns at present: Will it survive a fall? Will the paint hold up? Will I lose the screw that holds on the lid in the field?
If it survives the field test we will be buying several and using them regularly. Considering the price to replace my original, working BC-721, this is a great value and the differences will be all but unnoticeable to anyone but a radio geek like me.
williams - GB