Com-Central.net

Hello everyone,
Here are some pictures I took a while back, I can for the moment actually post.







Enjoy,


Joe D

Nice, thanks. What is that crane attached to in the second pic? A HEMMT?

That odd thing on picture 2 - I saw something like this on another site but attached to a Humvee. Could this possibly be an IR beam 'target' for pre-detonating those increasingly dangerous platter charge off-route mines? Just today a news report said 170 soldiers have died from those things, I forget how many the report says have been wounded.

The report said 720 had been wounded. I notice my old ride lined up behind the Strykers, M577's. Mine was an FDC track, part of the Mortar platoon. Only mine had a generator mounted to the center of the top of the hull, beside the drivers head.

- mike_Duplessis

That odd thing on picture 2 - I saw something like this on another site but attached to a Humvee.

I've seen the same things on Humvees too. People are not talking too much about it right now. OPSEC sort of stuff I guess.

What about the grey antenna on the vehicle next to this one in the same photo?

Hi Burik!! Hi Folks!

- Burik

What about the grey antenna on the vehicle next to this one in the same photo?

Remindes me of a UHF type of antenna. Used by ground units to talked with fixed wing close air support aircraft.

A M577 without it's portable generator. Very odd.

Interesting photos, thanks Joe D.
Sgt, Scouts Out!

- Roy_A_Lingle

Hi Burik!! Hi Folks!

- Burik

What about the grey antenna on the vehicle next to this one in the same photo?

Remindes me of a UHF type of antenna. Used by ground units to talked with fixed wing close air support aircraft.

A M577 without it's portable generator. Every odd.

Interesting photos, thanks Joe D.
Sgt, Scouts Out!

I wonder if the generator has been 'borrowed' to work in a fixed location (got to power the TVs and internet somehow )

Hi Bob! Hi Folks!

- bsmart

I wonder if the generator has been 'borrowed' to work in a fixed location (got to power the TVs and internet somehow )

That's one thing that is very possible. What is very odd is the rack to carry the generator in is also missing. There should be a box like rack that the generator sets down inside of when it is on the vehicle.
Look at the M577 on the right edge of the photo, you can see a shadow made by the box the generator sets inside of.

Spot report!
Sgt, Scouts Out!

- Roy_A_Lingle

Hi Bob! Hi Folks!

- bsmart

I wonder if the generator has been 'borrowed' to work in a fixed location (got to power the TVs and internet somehow )

That's one thing that is very possible. What is very odd is the rack to carry the generator in is also missing. There should be a box like rack that the generator sets down inside of when it is on the vehicle.
Look at the M577 on the right edge of the photo, you can see a shadow made by the box the generator sets inside of.

Spot report!
Sgt, Scouts Out!

Roy

Those a M1068's ('modern' M577's) That generator has been removed for whatever reason. Most likely an 'excess / unused' vehicle and the APU has been mounted on another vehicle. Notice that the entire bracket / encasement has been removed. Tends to indicate alternate mounting.

Just my 2 cents.....
but then again, I could be 'talking out my a**....
Don

If the whole thing is bolted on you might as well take the box too. It probably makes a much better mounting for the generator than one you could put together

- bsmart

If the whole thing is bolted on you might as well take the box too. It probably makes a much better mounting for the generator than one you could put together

The big difference is the generator feeds off the vehicles fuel system. That way you don't have to worry about refueling the generator. Its a hell of a lot quieter than the old generator, also.

I 'ran' an XM1068 back in 98-99. Telescoping mast antenna is awesome for quick set-up / bug outs....

Don

Hi Bob! Hi Folks!

- bsmart

If the whole thing is bolted on you might as well take the box too. It probably makes a much better mounting for the generator than one you could put together

The one year I spent working with a M577, most of the time we left the generator setting in the box and just ran the power cable from it to the vehicle's jumper cable plug. Was much faster to pack up and move out because all you had to do was pull the cable and pack it.

As long as you were inside, the noise wasn't that bad. The big problem with doing that was the noise level going out of the CP area. With three M577s running generators it could carry for some distance.

For long term CP set up, the main antennas were displaced from the vehicles with some very long co-axe cables. The generator was dismounted, something not done quickly, and displaced as far as the heavy power cable would go. I think it was 50 feet long, if I remember right. A hole was dug and the generator was placed down in the hole so the sound would be directed upward and reduce the noise level which give away the CP's location. One of things we carried up on top of the vehicle was four or five, five gallon cans of gas for the generator.

It was not something that worked well during a fast moving armored operation. Something I learned during my year in the Battalion S2 shop was I didn't want to be anywhere near a battalion CP during a Warsaw Pack attack. Something about a SOP they had and a battalion of BM-21 rocket launchers.

Some of my very old history.
Sgt, Scouts Out!