PP-770 Range Booster manual or info

[ascanio]

I am considering the PP-770 range booster 50W option for a PRC-77/RT-841.

Strange enough I cannot find documentation nor information about this component. Maybe is a added on a later stage or only produced in some country?

You can see some graphics and as well two scanned manual pictures at the following link
https://www.reforger.de/en/us-military- ... pp770.html

Maybe anyone has some link or information or experience to share on this box, I would appreciate it.

Thanks
Ascanio

[95xrcn7]

I bought one out of Poland last year.

This image is all I was able to find online for documentation.

[wa5cab]

My guess, given that the nomenclature is not JAN (PP- means a power supply), it was not used by US forces and therefore there wouldn't be any documentation. The US would have had no need for it.

[FKAM]

From what I've been able to figure out, these were used by the German Army. Mine have Bundeswehr markings on them. I haven't been able to find any published info on it either but I have figured out that they were meant to be used with the AM-1777 mount verses the AM-2060 the US Army used with the same PRC 77. From what I have found the US Army equivalent of the PP-770 is the AM-4477 and also the AM-1077. The cabling is not quite the same between the US versions and the German used versions. I've been trying to use the PP-770 with a AM-2060 and haven't quite figured out how to adapt them to each other. If you get a AM-1777 mount and a PP-770 there shouldn't be any issues with running them with a PRC-77. I copied what 95xrcn7 posted. It might help me figure things out. Thanx 95xrcn7.

[ascanio]

Thank you for the responses. All considered then I decided not to seek this booster nor any other one.

I was hoping being able to use this device more and have use for a wider range, but unfortunately activity in these frequencies are just "by appointment" and regulations are not helping keeping these green radios alive at lest is so where I live (Italy).

For completeness, there are other not so popular range boosters/amplifiers for these radios:

AM-4306 http://radionerds.com/index.php/AM-4306~GRC
AM-4477 http://radionerds.com/index.php/AM-4477

that should have been used in Vietnam era by US Forces.

Thanks!
Ascanio IU5HGG

[wa5cab]

I know nothing about the PP-770. But the other Amplifier-Power Supplies mentioned in this thread (such as AM-2060/VRC) consist basically of a DC power supply that operates off of the nominal 24 VDC system of a US military vehicle to supply the DC voltages normally supplied by the battery in the pack set radios. And an audio amplifier or amplifiers capable of driving a loud speaker and an interphone or intercom system. If there is any range increase over that achieved as a pack set, it will only come from using a better antenna than the ones normally used as a pack set. None of the units mentioned here that I know anything about (US service up through a few years after the pull-out from Vietnam) do anything by way of amplifying the RF output of the radio transmitters. In this regard, they are equivalent to AM-598/U used with AN/PRC-8, 9 10 and 28.

Robert D.

[FKAM]

The AM-2060 and AM-1777 were mentioned in reference to how the PP-770 gets it's power. The PP-770 is what amplifies the RF-output. You have to cable things differently if you run the AM-2060 and PRC-77 alone vs running with the RF amps (PP-770) as per the schematic posted by 95xrcn7. The PP-770 pulls it's power from the AM-2060 using the output for the antenna solenoid control and the antenna solenoid control is then routed through the PP-770. I have since figured out that the PP-770 power pin out is different than what the AM-2060 is set up for and that the AM-1777 has the correct pinout for the power connection on the PP-770.

[GPW43]

I realize this is an old thread but wanted to share my perspective as I have a chance to get one.
First , has anyone made further progress on connecting it to their PRC-77/35 setup with AM/1777/AM-2060 combo?

To me the Amp has two connectors on the back,

CONNECTOR 1: FOUR pin one which I suspect provide power to the Amp - at 50W with say 33% power output radio you need about 10A power. Figuring out the pinout would be next by opening the over to see which pins are wired and which is ground/ (-) and other(s) the (+);

CONNECTOR 2: Then there is the 12 pins connector which to me matches the 12 pins connector on the back of the AM/2060/AM-1777 for antenna turning and perhaps the frequency selection inside the amp itself (cx-4722); What I am not clear is once you connect the AM2060 to the PP-770 you have got nothing to connect it to the MX-6707.

The front RF IN , RF out is pretty straight forward.
GP