More goodies from behind the Iron Curtain

Cold War Crap

New Stock Update

Yes, stock..I'm actually selling gas masks for a small profit now - it's surprising how many people want one. 

My latest Cold War acquisitions are the fantastic MUA masks.
I did a review on this mask a couple of weeks ago  Polish MUA gas mask review

This time I've just bought a few more Polish MUA's - the older version with the black plastic voice diaphragm.

I heard that these masks were getting a little thin in the ground  so buying a couple more now would save some hassle later when I realise I wanted some more and can't get them. (possibly)

The two MUA masks and the haversack cost a grand total of £10.00 with free courier shipping! Once again I'm astonished at how the seller can make any money on this deal when you factor in the cost of a courier. ....I'm not complaining!

Both masks arrived in almost perfect unissued condition with only the usual storage talc present inside the face piece. 

The first thing I generally check with my new masks with the quality of the glass eye pieces. 

I'm glad to say that all four eye pieces on both masks were in immaculate condition without a single scratch of any kind.

These have come straight from the crate no question.

The Haversack is once again a really nice free gift. As before on a previous order it was only the mask that was ordered and nothing else. 

For the seller to add this is a nice extra considering most surplus stores will charge separately for the bags.

Both masks seem to be from the same 1980 batch

Both of these MUA masks are dated 1980 and look to be from the same batch - perhaps more evidence that these were pulled straight from the crate by the seller.
The zinc coated metal work on the eye piece frames and inhale/exhale assembly is in excellent condition with only a minor tarnish on one of the masks.
The latex style rubber hoods are in great shape with only superficial discoloured marks.

The free bag is nice

I'm expecting these to sell quite quickly due to the near perfect condition.
Once again another fantastic deal from  bea27storee .
This guy takes some beating!


More new acquisitions next week!....

Poundland Power Bank + Modification

Poundland USB Power Bank + Upgrade 

Price: £1
Manufacturer: Signalex (Poundland)
Model: IP023
Power: 1 X 18650 lithium battery
Capacity: 1200mAh
Output: 5V 1A
Input: 5V 0.8A
Accessories: USB to micro USB cable and lanyard

A USB power bank for a quid? No!

I'm not going to do any kind of 'indepth' review on this device purely because others have already covered it.
The general consensus is that the idea is good but the execution is terrible.

Big Clive has done a great tear down and test video of this device.

Clive manages to cover everything aspect of this power bank in a much more scientific way than I ever could.

5V in and 5V out

So basically it pretty poor. The supplied lithium battery capacity is nearer to 1000mAh than its stated 1200mAh imposing limits on how long the battery will last before fading.
As the battery is the most crucial part of the device it kind of defeats the object.


The Simple Modification

I made the decision to buy more than one power bank whilst I was in Poundland. 

Afterall, at only a £1 a piece they cost virtually nothing.

So I bought this black unit for the express purpose of tearing it to bits to see what was going on in there.

Using only a Spudger with the minimum amount of force I managed to pry open the plastic cover. It was a little too easy to open if I'm being honest but nevermind.

Flimsy setup

What lay beneath was this simple circuit with a crappy 18650 lithium cell attached! The battery does indeed say '1200 mAh' on the side sleeve but as others has pointed out it's more likely below 1000mAh .

I wondered if I could swap with battery out with something else?
It so happened that I had an abundance of decent Sanyo 2400mAh cells lifted for a good laptop battery. This pink coloured Sanyo cell does hold a charge and is reliable. It has powered a 5W LED torch in the past for hours on end with no issues.
If I could be bothered to get my soldering iron out then a little bit of soldering here and there could improve this bank considerably.

 A new battery with double the power!

The soldering iron was fired up and a very quick battery switch over was carried out. The contact wires were plenty long enough to trim up and hold in place for tacking.
Both battery terminals had to keyed or roughed up with the edge of a screwdriver before soldering to avoid the wires coming over off as soon as it's soldered.

The new Sanyo cell and Circuitry were carefully placed back in the holder and the cover put back on.
The power bank appeared to operate as normally.
The operation was a success

I now have double (if not more) the capacity in this power bank and to celebrate the fact I adjusted the wording on the box.!
Perhaps this device is worth £2 now? ha ha

Don't need that blue piece of crap!

It's early days in the testing of this upgraded unit. I haven't had the time to run some decent experiments yet but what I can say so far is that this bank will happily charge my WLN/Zeadio slim UHF rig no problem. - and not just the once either...
(more in a later post...)

Was it worth the extra effort?
Ordinarily upgrading the battery in these devices is probably not worth the effort unless you have some better 18650's knocking about in the house. It wouldn't be worth paying £5+ for a half decent cell to chuck in this device. The electronics leave a lot to be desired and its quite possible a better power bank could be bought from somewhere else for less cost and hassle?

As the Sanyo batteries cost my nothing to start with it was only my time that was being used. Worth it for me to utilise the Poundland innards anyway.



Next time.....  1200mAh bank V the upgraded 2400mAh bank

DIY Fast Scan on Baofeng Radios

Aphoristic's World Of Radio

MY LATEST DISCOVERY

Baofeng radios are widely critised for being slow at scanning. 

This is indeed true but then these cheap little pocket radios are not purpose built for scanning.
They are dual band Transceivers first and foremost, however 

Scanning frequencies is a tedious affair and scanning the programmed channels is just as bad.
I just got used to it.....

Until now...maybe I found myself a way to at least speed up my preset channel scanning..??
(This doesn't work for fast scanning the frequency)

DIY Fast Channel Scan

By simple holding down either the up or down arrow buttons for more than a second causes the channels to scan through at a much faster rate!

Any confirmed hits flash the RX light - the only trouble is it doesn't stop, it just carries on. 

The trick is to be quick on the release of the button, if you are lucky you might just land a couple of channels either way of the hit.

It's not an exact science obviously but it can be really handy if you have loads of channels to monitor.

Practice makes perfect!

Which Baofengs?

This feature works on the GT-3 and the UV-82.
Sadly, it doesn't work on my UV-5RE - even though it has quite recent firmware inside (Bf297?)

It may very well work on other models - try it.

LAIX Tactical Survival Pen Review

Tactical Survival Pen

This pen could save your life!

Price: £1.20 free postage
Manufacturer: LAIX
Model: B2-H
Serial Number: 102786
Description: Heavy duty tactical pen / window punch
Length: 15.5cm
Width: 2cm
Weight:  can't be bothered to weigh it ...Heavy!
Materials: Anodised Aluminium Alloy / Carbide tip

Obscure alphanumerics on the side

First impressions
A survival/tactical pen?!
I got some tactical flashlights in the cupboard here but never heard of a tactical pen?
On first glance I thought these guys were taking the piss but it turns out they do exist and are considered 'Tactical'

Infact these pens have been on the market for some time now (2-3 years?) and they are not a new innovative product - Im just a little late to the party.

Looking around ebay the prices vary wildly. £2 - £30.
I consider this example then to be at the very lowest price mark in the grand scheme of things.

Research would suggest that there are roughly 10 different designs of Tactical Survival pen although that could be wildly under estimated.
The B-2H seems to be one of the more popular styles on eBay but the prices once again are all over the place.

The day I stumbled across this specimen when when I was buying up emergency blankets and keyring saws to sell to mates.
Amongst the Paracord and whistles in the survival listings came a barrage of these pens with low auction starting prices.
Starting at 99p and numerous in listings there seemed enough to go around for everyone. - I got mine for £.1.20 in the end.
Now I'm wondering if the seller has shot himself in the foot letting them all go at under two quid! Especially when I have seen the same pens for a tenner each!?


The pen is constructed from good quality aluminium alloy it would seem.
It's quite heavy, feels solid and looks well made.

The Business end

This pen is so well made that it actually feels indestructible!
It's the most substantial pen I have ever used. Its massive in comparison to normal ball points,  It's hard to write stuff because it's so heavy. Drop it on a table by mistake and it's sounds like you've dropped a brick.

I can't see a way that this pen can be destroyed? (now there's a challenge!)
Aside from the ink cartridge running out this pen will probably be still here and functional in a hundred years time.

 The standard Parker pen arrangement inside

Why is it 'Tactical'? 
I'm not sure. However this pen does feature a toughened window punch at one end. Presumably for when you need to break a window.
Another use for the hammer end could be for fending off assailants? Though I wouldn't condone the use of this pen on anyone's head.
Other than a window punch it's hard to find anything else 'Tactical' or 'functional' on the pen other than the actual ball point bit that writes.



A Carbide tipped window punch?
Whether this pen has a tough carbide tip or not remains to be seen.  It's probably an eBay myth.

I have seen something on the very end which is a different colour metal to the rest of the window punch but as I'm not a metallurgist I wouldn't like to say.

 The aluminium is quite thick in places

Warning! Not to be worn in the pocket of your best keks
I found out the hard way that this pen is a dangerous thing even when it's doing nothing!
During the past few weeks I thought I might put the pen to the test and use it as it was advertised - for every day carry use.
I used this pen extensively on a daily basis keeping it in my trouser pocket when I didn't need it.
Nowhere in the advertising did it say 'might shred your pockets'
After a short time I noticed that the edge of my pocket became frayed and the stitching had come loose in places.
To make matters worse I found that this pen had bore itself a hole through the bottom lining of the pocket causing the lose of loose change.  My best work trousers were wrecked. - thanks to the tactical pen!.

Why is it doing that?
Continually using this pen day in and day out can really make a mess of your clothing
The reason for this hard wearing is down to primarily to a few key elements:

• Knurled side bits - really rough on the inside of pockets
• Pen Clip - very stiff, very tough. this clip alone has caused a hole in a T-Shirt 
• Knurled side bits and pen clip combined - when these two get together you can kiss goodbye to your best Armani's.

The machining on this thing is excellent to be fair

For everyday carrying in your civilian clothes.. forget it!

Unless that is, you have a good Taylor to stitch your clothes back up

What is it like as a Pen?

Bloody awful would best describe the writing experience with this pen.

The sheer extra weight and lack of grip at the front can cause this pen to slip out of your hands quite literally.

If you can get it under control then the width of the pen becomes the problem. No, I don't like it. it may use it to write stuff in an emergency.situation perhaps. 

As a cheap gimmicky gadget then I would say it's worth getting one if only for the looks you get from people.

I don't think I would have paid anymore than the two quid for it when I look back. It's not worth it - to me anyway.

Rating: ✅✅✅ 3 out of 5
Does anyone really need one of these things tearing a hole in their pocket?  For EDC it's awkward, cumbersome and totally unnecessary - However for an indestructible pen its pretty cool and the cost was virtually nothing.
Preppers love this kind of stuff and for that purpose it's ideal.
Not worth paying more than £2 for though.

Aphoristic's World of Radio #1

Aphoristic's World of Radio

Update #1

Not much has happened in my radio-sphere since Christmas.
I have made a few new friends on the amateur radio bands and tested a few radios here and there.

Buying some new radios over the past month or so has not been as smooth a transition as I would have liked with more than one of my recent eBay purchases turning out to be bogus.
No matter, as eBay will happily refund the items but that doesn't stop me getting annoyed with the dodgy sellers who try and pull a fast one on you.
I'm already five radios down to unscrupulous far eastern sellers so I hoping to be a little more fortuitous in February.

The WLN KD-C1 leak

I don't know who let the cat out of the bag about the superb WLN slim radio? These little power houses were the best kept secret of last year. Someone ultimately stabbed us all in the back and caused the sellers to put their prices up.
It's outrageous. These little radios were available for as little as £8-10 before Christmas 2016 and now have sky rocketed to anywhere in the region of £15-£20 for a single handset and £30 for a pair. - not only that, these are from Hong Kong or mainland China and not from a domestic seller who would normally put a few quid on the price?!
Scandalous.
I was hoping to buy another WLN radio but they can forget it now!


Signals of interest

Scanning around the local frequencies can be interesting at times.
One such example was found on the UHF band - 446.500mHz to be exact.
It appeared to be coming from the nearby A.J. Bell Rugby stadium in Barton, Manchester.
After listening for a while it became obvious it was a television production crew.
Salford Red Devil's and Sale Sharks rugby teams share this stadium and it was wasn't obvious to me which team was playing or what event it was? A cup final or something? I'm not a rugby fan 😨

TV Production Crew doing the Rugby

In other news Tommy the pirate has appeared again on the GB3PZ repeater in Manchester following a long absence. 

*Pirate = An unlicensed radio operator. Illegal 

Ringway Manchester actually caught Tommy in the act and made a video on YouTube 

I heard him myself the other day (but didn't record it). It was definitely the same 'Steve' AKA Tommy. He was only on air for a short time with words like "1-2", "1-2", "testing?" etc etc. No call sign, no nothing. Clear piracy! lol

More news in the next update 

Polish SzM41M MK2 Gas Mask Kit

Cold War Crap

Polish MUA SzM41M MK 2 NBC kit - mini review

Nelly the Elephant packed her trunk....

Price: £8.00 with free shipping

Vendor: seller. bea27storee  on eBay
Shipped from: UK

Manufacturer: Phaser S.A.

Model: MUA SzM41M Mark 2

Country: Poland

Year of manufacture: 1984

Production run: early 1980's - 1989

Size: 2 (medium)

Only a few marks and blemishes on this mask 

First impressions

Another day, another gas mask it would seem and this time a newer variant of the the rather impressive MUA SzM41M mask. 

I was so impressed by the quality of the MK1 mask that I thought I might grab a MK2 version for the hell of it!.

The MK2 version of the Polish MUA kit was the direct replacement to the MK1 (obviously) and served the polish military from the early 1980's to 1989  - the MK1 saw service through the 1970's 

Unlike the last time I bought one of these, this gas mask came with the whole NBC kit. 

That is, the face piece, the breather Hose, the filter canister and finally the carrier (haversack). 

The price I paid for this complete kit was only £8.00 with the postage paid. I don't understand how this seller can do it for that price? Especially when postage charges are quite high.

I don't intend on reviewing the face piece on this mask as it is almost identical to my other MUA mask.

Click here to see the MK1 SzM41M review from last week.

Instead this post will highlight the minor changes between the MK1 and MK2 and also the extra parts to the NBC kit.

The minor difference
Both the MK1 and MK1 MUA face piece (mask) feature a voice Diaphragm on the front.  Most of this style of Soviet mask came without the voice piece (the GP-5/OM-14 for instance)
The voice piece was a useful update for any wearer deligated to give orders clearly. (it doesn't make much of a difference actually!) So military officers, tank commanders and group leaders got these in their haversack.

The pic below shows the only difference between these two MUA masks.
The voice piece on the older mask (left) is made from plastic whereas the newer mask (right) features an updated metal voice piece. Not such a massive difference.
In reality, both voice pieces shown here are a waste of bloody time. Nothing intelligible can be heard when barking your words through this.

Different nasal appendages

This minor change between the two masks is probably a big deal to your average gas mask collector. Both of these masks are listed as being 'rare' or 'uncommon' (which means the same thing!) so it's entirely  possible that these could be worth something to a collector one day? - there seems to be shit loads of these on eBay at the moment so it's not like they are hard to find.


The Kit
Inside the haversack apart from the face piece we have..

E014 'Coffee Can' style filter

Original in every sense of the word this filter can was still sealed and wrapped in brown paper. I can't find an actual date of manufacture but it's safe to say it probably expired years ago.

Due to the potential risk that these old E014 filters could contain white and blue asbestos. I won't be using this one unless it's a life or death situation. (Which is highly unlikely) Dying instantly from poison gas is more an immediate problem than perhaps getting asbestosis in 30 years time.

So for the time being it's probably safer to buy a new style tuna can filter for messing about with and dressing up etc etc.

40mm Breather Hose 

Although not an essential part of the kit (a filter can be screwed directly on to the snout of the mask) the hose does seem to add a little more sci-fi to the mask.

Its screwed on by way of a 40mm thread. Russian 40mm that is... slightly wider threads than the European equivalent I have discovered.  

At the opposite end to the mask the hose attaches to the filter can in the same way. It's not the longest of hoses but is long enough to be able to run the whole set up from the haversack. A brilliant idea 

The package complete

This particular kit was unissued and it certainly looks it.
The complete kit is in great condition considering its over 30 years old. Only the usual storage talc residue to get rid of.
Almost brand new you might say.
Everything fits snuggly into the haversack and is comfortable to wear over the shoulder.


Muppet in a mask

It's not pretty, but it works well and looks freakish at the same time.


Rating: ✅✅✅✅ 4 out of 5
There's no point just buying a mask. Getting a complete MUA kit like this works out to be only a few pounds more expensive than the mask alone. Collector or not, it's a great inexpensive costume/SHTF ensemble - replace the filter with a modern type and you're good to go.

Russian GP-5 Gas Mask

Cold War Crap

Russian GP-5 (SHM-62 ) Gas Mask - mini review

More aardvark antics

Price: £2.00 + £2.80 postage

Manufacturer: Soviet state factories

Model: SHM-62 Face piece (part of the GP-5 kit)

Year of production: 1977
Size: 3y

Type: Full cover NBC mask

Years in service: 1962 - 1989

Country: USSR

Weight: 1.9Kg

Condition: used, slightly degraded

Vendor: Private seller on ebay

Standard heavy duty Russian valve system

First impressions

It seems that the Russian GP-5 mask or should I say the SHM-62 mask (the whole kit with filter, bag, hose and fog lenses is called the GP-5) seems to be the starting point for most new gas mask buyers, whether that be the collector or the fancy dress wearer.

The online surplus stores are flooded with them and prices are very cheap. 

I saw this unwanted mask on eBay and decided I would bid for it. The seller had purchased it for a party and never bothered to use it.

Just the face piece is supplied with this auction listing so to make up the complete GP-5 kit I will have to buy a hose, coffee can filter and carrier which I plan on doing later in the future.

This mask arrived in good time and well packaged. 

The first thing I noticed was corrosion to the metal work around the eye pieces. 

The mask looks like it was just brought back from chenobyl.!

Some people might be a little upset by the less than perfect eye pieces but I'm not too bothered as it looks more authentic somehow.

Some discolouration can be seen on the main rubber cap probably due to the way it has been stored.
To be honest a lot of these deep stored surplus masks have blemishes and discoloured bits on the rubber. It is to be expected.

Manky corrosion on the eye pieces

The metal inhale/exhale assembly is in good condition with both valves looking fairly new.
Unlike the Polish MUA mask this example doesn't feature the voice Diaphragm and the longer trunk piece.
Inside the rubber is on near perfect condition. The tissot Anti-fog tubes seem to work to a point.

Hose and filter can fittings are the standard Russian style 40mm thread.
Although 40mm the actual threads are slightly thicker than the NATO type and so can cause a bit of a problem with compatibility.

1977 vintage

Who were these issued to?

Production on the GP-5 NBC protection kit began in 1962 and ran up to 1989 with the fall of communist states.

The GP-5 kits were issued in large numbers to the civilian population and military personnel. 

Originally designed to be used during a nuclear attack these masks were distributed to the vast majority of fallout shelters.

A shorter snout than the polish mask on the right

Testing
Like with my previous MUA mask test, the lack of a hose or a filter makes aerosol testing impossible, instead I will just test the wearing of the mask

Getting the mask on is very much the same as the polish MUA, tight and painful although it has to be said that this mask was a little easier being size 3.
It seems that a Russian size 2 is the perfect size for me so this mask was a fair bit more loose on my head.

As for making an air tight seal, this was almost possible.
The extra size made the mask flap about around the chin area letting in a bit of air.
Getting the right size next time would sort that out.
One thing I did notice during the brief time the mask was air tight was the uselessness of the Anti-fog tubes inside. The mask fogged up pretty easily unlike the almost identical polish mask I reviewed.
Perhaps it's no wonder the GP-5 kit also came with a set of Anti-fog inserts.

I'm hoping to test this mask properly once a hose and filter can arrive.

It's not a bad mask when all said and done.

Keep your comments to yourselves thank you very much!

Rating: ✅✅✅✅ 4 out of 5
Not the best example but it will do for now.
Although I paid more for the postage than I did the mask, for the overall cost it's hard to complain.

Sainsonic INF-661 Dual Band Antenna

Sainsonic INF-661 Dual band antenna

Price: 2 for £9 free postage
Manufacturer: Sainsonic
Model: INF-661
Band: UHF 2M / VHF 70cm
Gain: +2.15dBi
Max power: 10W
Connection: SMA female
Impedance: 50 ohms
S.W.R.: < 1.5
Type: 1/4 wave (144Mhz)  1/2 wave (430Mhz) whip antenna
Length: 36cm
Weight: 15g
Construction: Flexible alloy element

First impressions 
It's no secret that I have owned this antenna for some time now, It has featured in a few antenna tests and comparisons but has never had a review of its own. There is a good reason for this which will be apparent in due course.

I originally bought this twin pack of INF-661 antennas back in July of 2016 from a seller over on Amazon. I can't remember the name of the seller now, it seems like ages ago.
Nevertheless I paid a little over £9 for the pair including the postage cost which at that time didn't seem too bad a deal.
They arrived in good time and packaged well, everything seemed OK.

Both the Baofeng GT-3MK2 and the GT-3TP MK3 radios ship with the rather fantastic Sainsonic INF-641 which for a stock antenna takes a lot of beating. The 641 does have its limitations though.
I was hoping the INF-661 with its extra length would boost RX/TX on the VHF 2M band where a shorter antenna would normally struggle a bit.

At the time I has the owner of a GT-3MK2 and as other owners will know, the GT-3 series of radios doesn't like antennas with a wide base. They just don't screw down properly.
This INF-661 was just an extended INF-641 really so should fit perfectly to the radio.

The INF-661 measures 39cms long and weighs virtually nothing.
The base coil housing is slim and identicle to the shorter 641.

INF-641 V INF-661

Differences:

INF-641 = 22cm
INF-661 = 39cm

Apart from the obvious length there is a few interesting differences between these two antennas.

First of all the construction.
Unlike the shorter 641, the 661 uses a stiffer piece of wire acting as the antenna. It's really flexible. Maybe too flexible. In fact it takes a fair few seconds for the 661 antenna to settle down and stay still after being moved. It sometimes pulls the radio over as a result of the excessive wackering about. It's bloody annoying to be honest.
The shorter stock 641 is so supple that it can be bent out of shape easily and return to its original position quickly and smoothly.
The longer 661 is likely to have someone's eye out if that were to twang back!
I'm really not sure why Sainsonic chose to use a different metal alloy?

Slight differences in the quality of the printed logo

The second difference between these two (and it's only a minor difference) is the colour of the Sainsonic logo on the antenna base.
The GT-3 stock 641 has a bright and vibrant orange logo whilst the longer 661 has a dull orange logo. What does that mean?
Well I think Sainsonic commissioned another company to make the after market INF-661 - Afterall Sainsonic are the designers behind the radios and not necessarily the manufacturer.
Were they made by the same company?

Testing
Having owned this antenna for 6 months now you'd think I would have thoroughly tested it. Well, you'd be wrong, in fact it has spent a good three months in the closet under the stairs.
To be fair it has been on a few trips to the hills and done some home testing so I think I can form a good enough opinion of it now.

Receiving 
When it comes to recieving signals this antenna is no better than a stock antenna.
Listening to stations on the 2M band (VHF) was just as scratchy and fuzzy as when a shorter antenna is used.
Good reception on the VHF 2M band is what I bought this antenna for! It's woefully inadequate.
Whatever you do don't move the radio!, The signal comes in and out with every swish of the antenna moving back and forth - this eventually stops when the antenna comes to rest.

Using the INF-661 on UHF 70cm is again no better than the stock antenna. Unlike the slightly longer Nagoya NA-771, the Sainsonic 661 didn't boost the signals as I had hoped.
Where the 661 fails a bit on 70cm is when you move position - it seems very directal. You have to point it in one place. That doesn't happen with the likes of the INF-641 - the GT-3 stock antenna.

Transmitting
Signal reports from other stations have been few and far between.  Through the local repeaters the feedback from other operators were mediocre. Certainly no better than my normal stock antenna.
This antenna has been tested radio to radio over a few miles and once again the results were nothing to write home about.
One good thing about the 661 is that it doesn't radiate heat to the base of the antenna. The spec sheet suggests that this antenna is rated up to 10W but you can't always trust the sales hype.
Running the antenna on the GT-3TP at 8W high power was fine. No heat was detected.

The packaging is not bad. 

Over the past few weeks I have gone back to the INF-661 time and time again. Trying it on the radio and thinking that I'm being a little harsh on it? Giving it one last go before inevitably getting chucked back in the cupboard.
I just don't like it one bit. pity.

What did i do with the other one?
The INF-661 came as a twin pack. The other antenna was chopped down to a more reasonable length (17cm or so) to work on UHF 70cm. This resulted in a total disaster. The new trimmed up 661 was worse than ever. Hissing away like a cage full of vipers. Utter crap.
Suffice to say it found its way to the bin rather quickly.

The rather sexy Sainsonic GT-3TP radio

Sainsonic may have dropped the ball with this one.
Designed by sainsburys more like

Rating: ✅✅ 2 out of 5
Those who buy this in the hope it will improve VHF 2M operation will be sorely disappointed.
In a word the INF-661 is shite and offers no improvement over the much shorter and flexible Sainsonic INF-641 or Nagoya NA-701 which are much better antennas. I wouldn't bother.

Polish Gas Mask Anti-fog Lens

Cold War Crap

Polish Gas Mask Anti-fog Lens - Micro review

What the hell is this thing?

Price: £1 free postage

Manufacturer: ?

Model: ?

Country: Poland

Year of manufacture: 1986

Years in service: 1970s -1980s

Size: 59mm diameter
Vendor: eBay seller bea27storee

Description: Anti-fog Lens (stickers) for Soviet style masks

That's what it is! Anti-fog stickers..

First impressions 

I must admit I wasn't sure what I was buying when I saw these accessories for my new Polish MUA mask. 

They were listed as lens which to me sounded like glass and most likely glass outserts?

Ha, these Russian style masks don't come with outserts like the MP4 (silly me) it turns out and what these actually are is Anti-fog stickers.

These are meant to be attached on the inside of the mask of course by way of some sticky gluey shit. Anyway, I opted to buy a tin of these clear plastic stickers as they were only a quid including the postage cost.  This sounded a fair deal to me and a nice thing to keep with my mask.

 All the original paperwork is here......In Polish...

The item itself is a steel tin in two halfs bound together by a length of manky rotten sticking plaster!

A manky strip of sticking plaster holds the metal cases

Inside the tin are roughly 10 spare clear plastic lens stickers that are individually separated by disc of paper. Presumably to prevent the stickers straching one another in the

 metal tin.  

I don't think I'm going to be using these anytime soon. It would appear that they may have warped somewhat whilst in deep storage and now they resemble curly taco's. No good.

Nevermind, they can be resealed and kept in the bag as part of the kit.

 They're just too warped to stick on the inside of this mask

The best place to stick these lens is back in the tin.

59mm bang on as the paper card suggested

It's pretty hard to work out what is on the paper information cards inside the tin. 

59mm as the eye piece diameter and the date of 11/1986 is just about readable. Other stuff relating to the factory number are on there too. 

Rating ✅✅✅✅ 4 out of 5

These are a great collectable accessory to keep with your MUA/GP-5 style masks. These would get a full five in the review score but fail badly on the warped condition of the stickers. Pity. I think I got unlucky with this particular tin. They all might not be that bad?