You have'nt deconstructed anything. You've demonstrated again and again that you have a REMF mindset where everything always works, and we all have unlimited resources and time to sort it out.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again THE KIT WORKS FINE IN A WORKSHOP, JUST NOT IN THE FIELD
Explain to me what doesn't work in the field? the only argument you made in this whole thread was something vague about an operator being hit in the back of the head with his radio after jumping and the crypto dumping... and for some reason think that doing a load ez on a Falcon II would be eaiser even though the DTD is the tool being used to load a radio 117 or 522.
does the digital display somehow not work in the field, or the buttons or knobs? what exactly is the problem?
You will note that no-one here is disputing your qualifications, only your opinions, and your "real world" experience. TCCCs is a deeply flawed system, your cheerleading notwithstanding. TCCCs works great in a heated, stable, well powered CP. It fails in inclement weather, when manpacked, and when used with the peripherals that are a fact of life in this army.
This is reality, from the people who use it on the ground for real operations
I felt that the previous poster was calling my quals into question. I have also been in three operations and one of them was a testing ground for our equipment linking with 40 other Nato nations.
You don't use TCCCS you use a very small part of it. Radio that works with TCCCS does not = TCCCS
I agree TCCCS has problems, but the radios are not TCCCS, the 117 is not part of TCCCS but you can use it with TCCCS just like the 138.
I've used the 522 many times in downpour, winter, and extreme heat, just last year I did four recce patrols in two days in a hard downpour that didn't stop, the only problem we had was that one of the batteries broke and shorted out, it was one of the old black plastic screw ons, which is why we use the metal box with the duals. when the black batteries are out of the system that shouldn't be a problem.
The Falcon II is the 117. It is not a "cute" radio or the flavour of the month, it is the necessary tool for the job we do. You might be able to get away with LOS comms, but I can't, nor can I stand on a mountain top waving an antennae until I get reception - or shot.
The 117 is a very nice radio, indeed we should indeed have lots of them, but we will never get enough to replace all the 522s so getting rid of the 522s, which will not get rid of TCCCS, is not a solution to TCCCS having problems.
The 117 Works in Afghanistan because it works with Satillight, if you program your radio to work on any frequency that the 522 operates on, you will have the same problems with the 117... because VHF is line of sight, you need satilight or a butt load of RRB to get reliable comms, if whoever had planned comms in afghanistan had done their homework they would have realized that the 522 would not work, you can't use VHF in that type of terrain, again operator error... or in this case error on the planner's side, however it shows that they are thinking in getting the 117 because it gives us more comms.
How many people in Canada are using 117s right now? not many I'd wager. And while Afghanistan is our only real big operation right now, will it be that way in the future? might we end up in a jungle or forest somewhere where sat comms don't work and you need VHF? sure the 117s can do that, but if we don't have many of them, wouldn't it be great to have a butt load of other radios to help out with that?
I would submit that your "view" is somewhat skewed, given that your experience is based in a Signals regiment, not an operational unit; and not in our most recent theatre of operations, where TCCCs has been soundly denounced for what it is, and replaced with a system that works, all the time, off the shelf - the 117.
I think that it may be a bit, however I never said don't get the 117, I"m all for getting more 117s however I doubt we will ever get enough 117s to replace our suite of radios, that work well when used for what they were designed for, and going to FRS until then is a bad move.
I'm not familiar with the 117, does it's satillight time cost money like the sat phones? or is the satillight simply a repeater? Believe me I do want 117s in the system, I really do and I'd be tickled pink if we got enough to replace the 522s, but if there are not enough 522s their won't be enough 117s, and the two are compatible on the VHF spectrum, so why get rid of them, if combat arms want to use all 117s go for it, just so I don't have to listen about how they are crap cause you can't be bothered to learn how to use them within their capabilities and how to properly deploy assets to accomplish the goal within the given spectrum.
I just heard that the CF is now building RRB boxes... basicly everything you need to make an RRB in a box with directions on the lid, I hope every single unit gets 10 of them. that would be awsome, and would solve a lot of problems.
either way, using FRS is Verboten for legal and practical reasons.
