WOW!!! What a wealth of information! I found myself exploring these links and more. Thanks for the time & effort put into this.
Al - A friend of mine who drove jeep for B Company, 327th Engineers emailed me privately and said, as you did, that their radio was at Company level. He said it was medium sized, about 6x8x12 inches and could be carried as a back pack - not a walky talky.
Thanks, Everyone.
Laurie
could be carried as a back pack - not a walky talky.
A "walkie-talkie" was carried on the back, usually on a back board. The handie-talkie is the small hand-held radio with short range.
I wanted to reply to this but I'm not at home and don't have access to my resources.
Steve
Things you learn on this forum: For 65 years I thought the hand held radio was THE walkie-Talkie? NOW you tell me the Company Commanders radio was the walkie-talkie!
Every radio operator should know their hardware, Thus I stand corrected.
I am still a little confused by http://www.olive-drab.com/od_electronics_scr536.php can some one explain.
Ah yes, the good old walkie talkie radio (the SCR-300) The Infantries favorite as it
had a range of about 5 miles. A back pack radio, being powered by a battery pack wieghing about half the wieght of the complete unit. Also the famed handie talkie radio
(the SCR- 536) . Good only, "maybe up to 1000 yards". Hand held and nowhere near
as heavy as the SCR-300. (not like as portraid in the movies where it really reached out. ) .
Hey Joe, I am back for a little bit tonight. First night that I've actually spent some time on my forum. Man do I feel out of the loop.
I just watched a couple of shows within the last few weeks that spoke about the handie-talkies, the ones that guys like you would have used. Don't feel bad about being confused. According to the last show I watched, many folks call that little darlin' by it's wrong name.
What is your exact question about the SCR-536?
Quoting pdhinkle,
Are you confused by that photo being labeled as a "walkie-talkie"??
If you note the caption below it says "Radio Set SCR-536, the original Walkie Talkie (or Handy Talkie). "
He corrected his error. A common mistake.
Steve
No. no I am not confused a bit. The back pack SCT-300 was self padded with its own carrying harness as a unit. (called a walkie talkie).. the hand held SCR-536 was much smaller by far and had one strap for carrying over the shoulder. (Called the handi talkie).. Check out the web site http://users.skynet.be/jeeper/page100.html
Only thing I found incorrect on this site is to me they slightly underestimated the range
of the 300 and overesimated the range of the 536 radios.
Ah, more to add to this discussion.
A while back I received an email from a gentleman named Brian. He is working on a book about improvised radios built by servicemen during WWII and later.
Attached you can read the intro letter, accompanying questions to vets, and a story from the New York Times on June 25, 1944.
Brian, I hope I provided you with some info for your book, by introducing you to several veterans I know. Good luck! 
If anyone can contribute to his book, please get in touch with me. Thanks!
Improvised_Radios001.pdf
Received this from Brian today...
Marion,
Thank you very much for doing that! Mr. Cassic received one of the 300 or so letters I sent out to the Anzio Beachhead Veterans mailing list. The response was incredible - several interviews, some wonderful letters, and a photograph of one of the veterans using one of the radios!
I appreciate all of your help with this, and I will let you know what sort of responses I get.
Best wishes,
Brian
