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PRC-6 JHY-3B4 Electron Tube Package

Before Fair Radio went out of business, I had the opportunity to pick through it a bit. Much of the WWII stuff was gone, but they did have a few PRC-6s.

I was able to find enough parts to complete the unit, including the mic and antenna.

The one thing it was missing was this JHY 3B4 tube. I found one on ebay for 9 dollars in Jan 2024. Below is what the box looked like. It was 4.5in long (from one end of the box wings to the other) and 2in high. You can download a pdf of the box if needed.

It was also missing the primary crystal, CR-23/U Quartz Radio Crystal HC-6/U, and the spare. I bought two for 32 dollars in Jan 2024. It did not come with box.

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WAAC Documents

Below are some documents related to the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.

Morning Report HQ % 3341 Signal Service Battalion Dec 11th 1944 – An example of a morning report. This report comes from the % 3341st Signal Service Battalion, which was made up of Women Army Corps soldiers (WACs).

The % isn’t a typo but a way to designate on paper that the unit is WACs. The battalion operated what was likely the largest message center outside of Washington DC.

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WW2 Reenacting Food and Drink and Ration Printables

This page will outline food box and label printables associated primarily with the US Army or the homefront. Other countries are listed if I have a box or label for them.

For a listing of wartime recipes, the 1940s Experiment has a list of 100+ British recipes. You can also see my Red Cross recipes post.

Drink

Vat 69 Blended Scotch Whisky – A whiskey label to print off on standard 8.5 x 11 printer paper. Then, glue the label to the Whiskey bottle. I’m not sure what kind of glue is needed, but you’ll likely need an original VAT69 bottle. Attributed to ChrisNZ.

For the stopper and the wax seal stamp, you can 3D print it using this guide. Use black for the stopper and red wax.

The bottles are green in color, and you can pick them up at various places online like ebay.com or etsy.com, etc. Google Images is a good place to start to see what’s available, as well as the old advertisements to see where the label parts get placed. For a short history of Vat 69, see A History of VAT 69.

While not Vat 69 for an overseas cocktail recipe that could pass censors, see the Ration Recipe Section Cherry Jar Cocktail.

Food

WW2 Wrigley’s Army Ration Cinnamon Chewing Gum Wrappers – A Pdf that shows two styles of the gum wrapper. The top is model ODC-1, and the bottom is ODC-2. I have not printed these off or tested the size.

Note that with this pdf you may need to play with the .doc file (that I’ve included) to find the right size.

There are also better options, such as buying the wrapper from an online source that didn’t exist when I first attempted to make these.

Wrigley’s developed Cinnamon gum because the mint gum that was included in K-rations made everything taste like mint.

Poor Man’s D-Ration: When I first started WW2 Reenacting back in the late 1990s, there wasn’t much way in the authentic rations. This was a broke kid’s attempt to make a D-ration.

Essentially, print off the wrapper on brown cardstock. You may need to adjust tones (half-tone seemed to work in the past).

Trim, cut, and fold it. Use a few dabs of Elmer’s school glue to glue the sides together.

In the past, I used Hershey bars as the D-Ration, which is just ridiculous. These days, I might either make the D-ration myself or buy some protein bars, wrap them in wax paper, and stick them inside.

Once you have your ration inside, use a few glue dots to close the lid. That way, you can re-open it without damaging it and continue to re-use the box.

If you want to make edits to the image size, you can download the document file here.

You can also refer to the Ration Recipes D-bar section for another.

Poor Mans C-Rations: When I first started WW2 reenacting back in the late 1990s, there wasn’t much way in the authentic rations.

The unit I was with, 88th Infantry Division, 350th RCT, came up with a poor man’s way to make rations. We were all poor high school and college kids trying to make it work.

Essentially, buy two 12oz cans. One can, the “M” unit, would be an off-the-shelf Pork n’ Beans. The other one, the “B” unit, would be a cheap 12oz can. You then take a can-opener that doesn’t leave rough edges and cut the top till you have about a fingertip left. The idea is that you could open and close the can and reuse it.

You then fill the “B” unit with biscuits (wrapped in wax paper), 3-5 caramels, a few sugar packets, and travel-size instant coffee.

You then print the label using gold-colored/foil paper, wrap it around the can, and glue it.

There are better places to find more authentic c-rations. Etsy appears to have a few that make them. But in a pinch, if you’re just starting, this could work.

Another way to make the units can be found in this document: Making WW2 C-Rations for Reenacting.

You can also refer to the Ration Recipes C-Ration Biscuit section for more information.

German

This will show a listing of German boxes and labels. For an example of a recipe, see Ration Recipes, German Goulash for Field Kitchen.

Butter-Keks are a brand of crackers. Wikipedia goes into more detail on the brand’s history. Looks like you can print it on cardstock. I’m unsure how many crackers go into the box. I would also guess the crackers would’ve been wrapped in some kind of craft or wax paper.

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World War Two Civilian Magazines and Newspapers

This will be a collection of WWII-era Civilian magazines and newspapers. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, War Time Press has a selection as well. However, it appears you only get a digital file.

If you would like information on Army Talks and Combat Lesson publications, see World War II Combat Lessons and Army Talks.

For Army magazines and newspapers, see: WW2 Reenacting Army Newspapers, Guides, Pamplets, and Bulletins.

For information on Men’s Adult Magazines, see my post: WW2 Men’s Magazines.

Popular Mechanics – The 1940s versions are available for viewing in Google Library, but you do not seem able to download them. You can download the 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945 years via the Internet Archive. My guess is that you could print this on an 8.5×11 standard piece of printing paper (though back then, it appears to have been closer to newsprint?)

Collier’s Magazine

Collier’s is another popular American Magazine. This one was weekly, so there are a lot of issues to look through. Like other magazines, this one also captures the products available during the War years. You can find the full collection at Unz Review, though they don’t appear to be downloadable.

Below are the editions with Wartime Covers

April 21th, 1945
March 24th, 1945
February 3rd, 1945

November 25th, 1944
September 30th, 1944
June 24th, 1944
May 6th, 1944
March 4th, 1944
February 19th, 1944
February 5th, 1944
January 3rd, 1944

July 31st, 1943
February 20st, 1943

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WW2 SCR-300 Original Radio Images

Below is a group of original SCR-300 radio images (though some images are also of field phones and switchboards as they are commonly seen together with a radio, especially in a command post type setting). These were collected by Chad Phillips on Facebook and reposted here to get it out of their walled garden and searchable on the broader internet. You can download the complete photo collection here.

For a holistic review of the SCR-300 see: The SCR-300 for WW2 Reenactments.

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CryptoKitties and Cryptocurrency

This post will highlight some tools, resources, information, and thoughts on CryptoKitties and CryptoCurrency in general.

Need to avoid Know Your Customer laws? This site looks like it could help https://kycnot.me/.

CryptoKitties

This is a blockchain-based game that came out around 2017 where you breed kitties. I have 4 cats in this game and unfortunately, they’re all kinda locked up as the price of Ethereum means it costs more to sell them than to keep them. The game also has taken a nose-dive in terms of usage.

However, one tool to use is Kittyhelper which helps you identify trends in buying and selling.

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Memes I Like

This will just be a page that will showcase some of the memes I like.

Lou Holtz discussing the importance of the NFL preseason

This is a meme I made. It’s funny for a few different reasons. One, the NFL preseason isn’t important for anyone other than the Coaches and Management. Two, Lou Holtz isn’t the winningest college Football Coach. Three, college football is radically different than professional football in that it’s absurd an NCAA Coach can have any kind of opinion. Fourth, the phrase is hilariously superficial in that it doesn’t provide any kind of insight but at first passing it might make sense.

The image was taken from the 2025 Superbowl commercial with the musical artist Seal as a Seal. The CGI on it is awful (which may have been the point) and just looks odd.

I got into a pretty heated argument with friends of mine who insist that the Blackstone Grill isn’t a Grill. Blackstone is silent on the matter and wants “…you come to your conclusion on what you should call it.”

But Griddle and Grill share the same etymology and Griddle itself comes from the French word for Grill. So it’s a grill and if you think differently, you’re a neo-Marxist.

A good one to use anytime is a moron on the internet.

A selection of anti-Trump memes that do a good job of explaining how terrible he is.

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Metallica Metal Militia Membership Form

I’ve recently discovered a fondness for Metal music (courtesy of Stranger Things and a few friends who like the genre). Now, other than Ghost (which is awesome) I haven’t explored the newer metal music. My metal tastes are stuck more or less in the 80s.

I’m a history guy by default and I can appreciate the early metal music more than the newer stuff because metal (and punk and rap) all come out of the same historical era, the deregulation and free market capitalism of Reagan (and Thatcher) which worked to kill the New Deal era programs/Welfare State and in doing so hurt the working class (both black and white). These policies were expressed as new musical genres.

In particular, I’ve been drawn to Metallica (though maybe one day I’ll explore Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeath) as they were first brought to my attention in the 1990s when they achieved more mainstream success. I like the fast pace and it helps me get out my frustrations and stress. I just feel a bit better after listening to it.

So I’ve gone back and mined their original roots.

I’ve been purchasing a few of their original records. I prefer the original vinyl instead of a reproduction. Partially, it’s a potential asset and partially is just the “vibes and feels” it makes me feel to hold something original from a period.

One item I happened to pick up was the Ride The Lightening on the Megaforce label. Inside this gem was a super cool Metallica Metal Militia Membership and Merchandise 8.5in. by 11in. form.

For 5 dollars you got a 1-year membership and included things like a quarterly newsletter, autographs, buttons, and discounts on merchandise. With inflation, it would be $15.45 in Aug 2024 dollars.

I got it scanned and wanted to post it here (or click on the image) for folks to download and print off as a neat accessory for the album. So enjoy it!

Also, please don’t sue me Metallica. ๐Ÿ˜…

Metal Militia Merchandise order form
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French Repacked BD-71 Switchboard

Advanced Guard Militaria offered a French repacked switchboard for $250 dollars, shipped. When I saw that I pounced on it as it was a good price and I wanted to rebuy the BD-71 switchboard I once had. I bought that one for $80 dollars at an auction in 2011.

The switchboard came in a large box and a smaller box contained the accessories.

Unpacking the switchboard was like peeling back an onion. First I had to peel back some paper coverings and open the box.

Next, I discovered some kind of canvas, metallic-backed waterproof bag. When I opened it up, I probably should have done it outside to be safe as the bag appeared to be vacuum sealed, and yet when I opened it, I heard gasses escaping.

Who knows what kind of gas might have been pumped into the bag prior to sealing? At any rate, I got a lung full of 1968 French air.

When I opened it up, there was another box!

When I opened the box, the switchboard finally came into view. It was packed tightly up against cardboard (which left packing lines on the unit). It also contained this weird brown cloth-like packing material (if anyone knows what that is let me know!) –

The accessories were all in waxy and gummy waterproofed cardboard boxes. I had to use scissors to cut it open.

The results look great! I really like the switchboard, the white/tan cardboard lines not so. If anyone had an idea on how to remove them without damaging the wood let me know!

When I began to open up the switchboard, there were documents and manuals. There was a French inventory list, a French wire and circuit test, a wiring diagram, and a field manual, TM 1-330.

The wiring diagram can be downloaded as a pdf here and is 7in x 9in. The material isn’t quite computer print paper, but not cardstock. I’d say if you could find a lightweight cardstock, that’s probably the best, or just printing it off on white computer paper would also work. The diagram would be glued or taped (unsure which) to the inside access panel in the back of the switchboard.

Now to make the switchboard more historically accurate to WW2, I bought a data plate and swapped it out. I kept the old French one and just added it to my bar as kitsch.