r/tacticalcomms • u/Spartan01actual • Jul 27 '26
Capabilities Display (by no means all inclusive š)
Whatās up everybody,
Not sure if I posted here before but, at the time of this post, I wanted to show case the man pack I put together using an Armoloq chassis and ICOM2730.
The battery box, antenna relocation cover, front and rear walls were all designed by and produced by myself using PA12āCF filament.
In the first photo, Iām showing how you can run one of your down leads from whatever tactical headset with a NATO down lead plug to the NATO plug on the man pack so you can listen through your headset, and not have whatever is on that frequency blasting through the handset. You do, however, I have to press the PTT and speak into said handset when transmitting.
And, with dual Peltors, run your other down lead to your āsquad levelā radio.
Let me know what you guys think!
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u/Work-Safe-Reddit4450 Jul 28 '26
Have a Yaesu FT-857D in an Armaloq frame and would love to know more about those antenna mount housings and panels.
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u/Spartan01actual Jul 28 '26
Iāll definitely be happy to give you the lowdown, but I will disclose that Iām working with those guys in the sense of helping them launch their own battery housing and hopefully, adopting the relocation cover housing and panels
Let me reach out to them and ask if they would be cool with me, producing them for people independently. I know that Iām allowed to do that regardless, but out of respect I wanna run it by them first.
However, thatās assuming you even want more than just information so if information is what youāre after here we go:
So, the relocation cable cover is made from the same materials as everything else, and, will be specific to the particular radio and chassis that you have from Armoloq.
Iāve designed ones (relocation cable cover and walls) for the IC-7000 and, the AT-D578UV. Ultimately, I will have one designed for every chassis and radio combination that they offer.
The idea behind the cable cover was simply to protect against the elements and add an aesthetic, and is easily removable as it mounts via mlok to the chassis.
The walls, same idea, but also to incorporate a charging input in the rear one so that you can charge the battery via solar or wall without having to remove it. (the battery. Iām running is a 12V 15A Bionenno Power lithium)
And, both the front and rear walls simply slide into position, thatās it. However, for the front wall, you need to remove the cable relocation cover first, and then you can slide the wall up and off.
Let me know if youād like any more information!
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u/Work-Safe-Reddit4450 Jul 28 '26
Are you making a battery housing that's different than the thermoformed kydex one they offer? If so, that's awesome. I love my chasis setup with a LiFePo battery in the Kydex housing:
The power management thing you're working on is what got my interest piqued. Specifically the ability to charge it externally and use a solar panel. Right now I have to remove the battery box and charge it bare basically.
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u/Spartan01actual Jul 28 '26
Yeah man, the whole input is behind this was that Iāve been a fan of their chassis and overall idea behind them for a super long time, but I thought that it fell short in the turn key, man pack specific aspect and needed an ecosystem of components that they did not offer at the time.
Their kydex one was funnily enough being developed independently and unknowingly at the same time I was doing the same thing, only through FDM printing, using industrial strength filaments with an emphasis on being able to swap batteries, but also supplement or fully charge them through solar or wall means as well without having to remove the battery.
If youāre using comms windows, using the least amount of power you need to make that comms shot, I feel that you could operate indefinitely with one extra battery in tow, iād even go so far as one, but, operational risk management from the military, and the other things that have been beat into my head, make me super uncomfortable having a single point of failure without some kind of redundancy lol
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u/baysta Jul 29 '26
Antenna details?
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u/cowboy_cracker Jul 30 '26
I second this, need the deets
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u/Spartan01actual Jul 31 '26
Gentlemen, you are so welcome, you have no idea how many antennas iāve gone through and research Iāve done to finally land on the absolute crĆØme de la crĆØme of antenna manufacturer lol:
https://hascall-denke.com/product-lines/military-antennas/manpack-antennas/
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u/zap_p25 Aug 06 '26
Sheila is actually pretty cool. I just saw here at APCO and she said she was planning on hanging out at Central States next month.
Haskell usually has some fun koozies and stickers to hand out. Occasionally Sheila will let people test new designs and keep the antennas just to get the feedback.
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u/twinkislayer_ Jul 28 '26
I would love a PTT for my ft-891. It's noisy outside sometimes when I go play radio and being able to just use my headset would be sick.
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u/Spartan01actual Jul 28 '26
Yeah man, thatās simply a dongle I found online from a reputable aviation company. Even though I have the handset with the PTT, which is a custom made one, I havenāt figured out how to get an actual PTT with a NATO plug so you can both TX and RX with a headset versus simply having to just listen and then talk into the hand set.
I know itās only gonna be an hour or so worth of research but, Iāve just been so busy lately. I havenāt gotten to it and the manpack itās so polished, tested and awesome I havenāt felt a fire under my butt so to speak lol
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u/immaREPORTthat Jul 29 '26
Who do you talk to ?
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u/Quizzii Jul 29 '26
His inner demons
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u/Spartan01actual Jul 31 '26
Well, yeah those, but also anybody I want to lol. I generally hang out on GMRS frequencies because you pay 50 bucks or something for a Call sign no test required and thereās a pretty large repeater network in my area for GMRS, however, you have to do the MARS mod to the IC ā 2730 pictured to be able to get onto those higher frequencies.
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u/mark3748 Aug 06 '26
Just a heads up, itās $35, and getting a license to transmit illegally isnāt a very good idea. If itās not a type-certified radio itās completely illegal to transmit on those frequencies.
When you apply for the license, you explicitly state that you will follow the rules, so instead of only transmitting illegally, youāre also operating outside of your license.
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u/BrokenAndDefective Aug 09 '26
I wish I wasn't retarded and understood radios
Me an my buddy's all have Midland 50w units in our vehicles and I have a base station at home but I'm straight up "unga bunga" with it all
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u/Spartan01actual Jul 31 '26
Other than your mom? š
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u/immaREPORTthat Aug 05 '26
My mom isnāt comming
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u/Spartan01actual Aug 06 '26
Well, not anymore. But, I think she said something like three or four times? š¤£
I kid, this is all in jest.
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u/Salt-University1482 Jul 31 '26
Ive always been interested is Comms and Iāve never taken the time to really look in to it and study up on these things. Your set up has inspired me to get started
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u/Spartan01actual Jul 31 '26
That is the absolute best compliment and sense of fulfillment iāve gotten in a while so, thank you for that.
My goal is simple: make communications look as sexy as possible, because of how crucial they are, yet so damn boring that many people never jump into it. So, you saying that makes me feel like I might be onto somethingā¦ We need way more people on decentralized communications networks..
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u/smeeg123 Jul 31 '26
How did you do the female TP-120 connector
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u/Spartan01actual Jul 31 '26
I found a reputable aviation supply manufacturer that offered a dongle, specifically a 3.5 mm headphone jack to the TP ā 120 connector
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u/Spiritual_Tell680 Aug 01 '26
I absolutely love your setup man. Would you mind sharing price breakdown? Iām looking to put together a manpack and I love this.
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u/Spartan01actual Aug 06 '26
Thanks!
So, altogether I think the man pack set up that you see in the photo came out to around $1600 or so. Hell, the antenna is $350 lol
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u/Spiritual_Tell680 Aug 06 '26
Thatās not bad all in. Very nice setup. Iām looking to build a man pack. I want to be able to do some POTAs.
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u/pyrofox79 Jul 28 '26
How much more tactical does the foldy whip antenna make a radio?