G. I. Joe Mobile Field Unit

The G. I. Joe (GI Joe) Mobile Field Unit was a walkie-talkie set manufactured in China in 1984 by the New York based NASTA Industries Inc. G. I. Joe "A Real American Hero®" is a registered trademark of Hasbro Corporation. This field unit consisted of a pair of portable radios providing two-way communication in half-duplex mode. It had a push-to-talk (PTT) switch, which configured the internal circuit for transmit mode. When one set is transmitting, the other has to be in receiving mode. One unit consists of a phone-style handset with a microphone and speaker, whilst the other was the larger field unit with a CB-style handset that had a loudspeaker in it. This loudspeaker produced audio when receiving, or behaved as a microphone when transmitting.

Cost / eBay

At one time, this was a mass-produced product in China, so there should be plenty of these around in mint condition. However, these were extremely popular and useful and not very many survived. A typical fault is the aerial mounting breaking from inside the unit. Usually the wire connecting the aerial to the printed circuit board (PCB) remains attached for a while and the walkie-talkie continues to operate.

Many people remember this toy from their youth and decide to buy it for sentimental reasons. If it is in good working condition together with the manual and box, then it could fetch around fifty pounds, depending upon the day. The best place to sell this is on eBay as it reaches a huge worldwide audience of G. I. Joe accessory collectors.

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