Today reminded me of my first manpack, the Clansman PRC-320. When I first bought this radio from eBay, I didn't have a charger, and I bought the hand-crank generator thinking that it would be good enough to start making contacts. I was wrong!
Then I decided to use a solar panel to charge it, which at least worked, but it was not until I bought a Tenergy NiCd/NiMh Smart charger that I was able to start working seriously.
I used to carry the manpack on the boot of my Suzuki Jimny, and operate from Monte de San Pedro, the university campus where I worked, and even some mall parking lots.
Today reminded me of my initial troubles with the Clansman because I am facing exactly the same issues. A couple of days ago I got my radio back from Craig (EA1JCA), who did a full overhaul of it, but I haven't been able to test it yet because of the lack of a charger.
My old charger completely disappeared, so I have been forced to find a workaround, with the difference that NiCd batteries are so obsolete now that it is really difficult to find a suitable charger. Today I tried to adapt a Black&Decker power tool battery charger, without any luck so far.
Anyone else would give up on an old, heavy radio that is so difficult to operate, but it is precisely this kind of challenges what makes the Clansman so attractive. It's simply irresistible, so I'll keep you posted!
