From: military-radio-guy Full-Name: Dennis R Starks To: military radio collectors#2 Fcc: Sent Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 07:46:47 Subject: Military Collector Group Post, Dec.1/97 Message-ID: <19971201.074551.12135.2.military-radio-guy@juno.com> X-Status: Forwarded X-Mailer: Juno 1.38 Military Collector Group Post, Dec.1/97 Index: GRC-109/RS-1; What, Why, When, Where Part III, History ? by Pete McCollum Dispelling The Myths, Part I, by Dennis Starks JOE'S WANT/TRADE LIST. MEMBER PROFILE; Ken Sakamoto HUMOR; Dot too bad this time ************************************************************** GRC-109/RS-1; What, Why, When, Where Foreward, The below account, though very interesting, is full of inaccuracies that are commonly believed by most persons with an interest in the GRC-109/RS-1. Though they are for the most part minor ones, they do tend to minimize the greater, true story, I/E Truth is greater than Fiction. Pete's material is presented because it is the most widely believed. At the end of his account, I will attempt to show the true origins of the set, & more accurately date it's service in our history. Please keep in mind that much of the information Pete presents here is accurate, & that only those topics address in the closing segments "Dispelling Some Myths" need clarification. I have included at the end of this story, all the reference material that this data has been compiled from so that the reader might determine for himself what is true & what isn't. While I had intended to conclude this series with this segment. It became evident about half way through that if all the references were listed, & all the evidence was presented, the material was too long for a single post. Future chapters will attempt to exactly date the entrance of the RS-1 into military use, then the GRC-109. And maybe a closing with some of the heart wrenching stories that can be attributed to the GRC-109 & it's life saving contributions to history. Or at least re-writing it's history the way it should be, you deside. Save this issue, and keep it handy as there will be constant reflections back to it. Dennis Starks ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Part III, History ? The RS-1 was developed for CIA use around 1950 or so, and was used extensively in S.E. Asia. The U.S. Army's Special Military Intelligence Activity issued the RS-1 to agent handlers in Vietnam, starting in about 1961. Agents used letter drops to communicate with their handlers, and the handlers used the RS-1 to communicate with bases in Saigon, Hue, and Ban Me Thuot. Some agents used small commercial receivers to monitor broadcasts from their handlers. In late 1961, the CIA organized a number of 12-man Special Forces teams to work with Montagnard tribesmen, and used the RS-1 for communications. The Army's chief signal officer arranged for the RS-1 to be adopted for military use and renamed the GRC-109. The GRC-109 was never adopted for Regular Army use, probably because the transmitter was CW only. By late 1962, this Special Forces net had 24 stations. The '109 set in each "A detachment" SF camp was kept in a sandbagged bunker, with several antennas installed. The antennas were a target of Viet Cong raids, but for emergencies, they found that a longwire buried 18" underground in bamboo pipes could be used. Even though Special Forces had access to the latest high-tech radios, by the mid-1970's many units had adopted the GRC-109 as their primary long-range radio. It was rugged, reliable, and maintainable in the field. Estimated dates are as follows: RS-1 1950-1962 GRC-109 1962-1969 GRC-109A 1969-1973 Compiled by: Pete McCollum 3810 Whisper Hollow Dr. Colo. Springs, CO 80920 719-548-3525 MCCOLLUM@SSDEVO.ENET.DEC.COM Some of the above info was gleaned from "Military Communications: A Test For Technology". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISPELLING THE MYTHS; Part I In the above account, Pete's material has been obtained from two basic sources, references #3, & #8(see below). Both these references contain inaccuracies, or in the case of ref.#3 quotes taken out of context becoming inaccurate. To get a compete, accurate picture of the lineage, & history of the GRC-109/RS-1 MANY sources must be combined. And in the case of ref.#8, unfounded material can be presented without do research that will cloud history for ever. After such inaccuracies are published it takes a near act of God to let the real truth be known. Ref.#3 can be described as our bible of communication equipment, procedures, & general history for the time period it covers, and I most highly recommended it. But as with the Bible, you cannot confine yourself to this passage or that, rather the entire thing must be absorbed before a thorough understanding can be had. Also it must be remembered that ref.#3 is an official U.S. Government document, & as such many things were omitted or slightly modified at the time of it's compiling do to the classified nature of some of the subject matter. Ref.#8, if you like pictures, this & other publications by that author are OK. But the author of this material has related to me several times,"I know nothing about radios or technology" and this is obvious in his descriptions, comments, & dates. In ref.#7, I expressed the great difficulty sometimes encountered in trying to date equipment, I named the GRC-109 specifically. Also I have made the past statement " I don't get all my information from one book, but hundreds of books. I don't get my historical references from one person or his war story, but hundreds of people & their stories. These are all combined to get a greater more accurate account." You will all now see why. IN THE BEGINNING: The Myth, The RS-1 was not developed around 1950 for CIA use. It's development began before the end of WW-II, originally for the OSS, and with a specific application in mind. Pete's material in this case is taken directly from ref.#8. In the following I will attemp to disproove this myth, and I think you will all agree, and have a greater respect for this set after you've seen the evidence, and know the real truth. The Clues, #1) First and most obvious to any person that has ever opened up a RS-1,or GRC-109. The technology used in these sets is of mid/late WW-II vintage. #2) In ref.#3(remember that one! it's our bible!) the statement is made, "The first U.S. Special Forces teams deployed to South Vietnam had to use models of an agent radio used by the Central Intelligence Agency [since World War II]". Pete used this same reference material, but must have neglected to read the entire book, being content instead to just look up RS-1 & GRC-109 in the index. #3) In ref.#2, the author describes the GRC-109, "This radio had originally been designed during the later part of WW-II especially for guerrilla warfare applications". Remember that word "guerrilla". #4) In ref.#6, the author describes a receiver that perfectly matches that of the RS-1, & it being the results of devepoments made by their WW-II OSS R & D team, and is not known to exist elsewhere.. The Evidence, During WW-II, special operations (combat) groups were supplied with equipment designed with goals sourly unsuited to their needs & the environment they would be used in. These included such famous suitcase types as the PRC-1, & SSTR-1(much later, if at all) which had been developed with one major objective in mind, effectiveness with maximum conceal-ability. Though they were most effective for their intended purpose, their short comings for the job at hand were immediately apparent.(ref.#5,#6) The most famous of these groups were OSS Detachment 101, and Merril's Marauders, which later became Galahad. The operational theater of these particular "guerrilla" units was the jungles & mountains of Burma, described by Winston Churchill as "the most formidable fighting country imaginable" . The advantages, of concealment in a suitcase or loaf of bread under these conditions can be readily observed. However other equipment available to them was equally unsuited for use by these relatively small commando units. This would include the TRC-2, TRC-10, & SCR-284, etc, all of which when provided with all the components of a system, where too large, heavy, and still only marginally capable of surviving such a harsh environment. Actually, the PRC-1 could be described as a stripped down, repackaged TRC-10.(ref.#4,#9,#10) There is a lot of dogma, no, bill shit running around about the radios the above units used, as perpetuated by one noted author/expert. But it is not within the purview of this article to dispell those, one myth at a time please! Suffice to say, what they had was either too fragile or too big & heavy. They needed something better, smaller, lighter, & tougher than what they had available. Inter the RS-1, surely not designed to be concealed in a loaf of bread, or suitcase, not much need to be water tight at 7.5psi. It fits none of those design requirements so arduously arrived at by those early pioneers. No, it had a different intended role in life, one born from the hard won experiences of their commando/guerrilla units in combat. The Proof, While alone, the below evidence would not be conclusive of anything, but when combined with the above, what we've learned in the last week, & common sence. I think you'll all agree. "A note on RDR: Some RS-1 sets have a small "RDR" stamped in the middle of the larger knobs. Should I assume it's the same outfit?" The above was received from Pete shortly after posting the SSTR-1 series. Remember RDR? They are the company involved in the development & at least small scale manufacturing of the SSTR-1, among other sets, for the wartime OSS. Remember this from ref.#5? "RDR and Irving Weiss continued to serve as one of our contractors, and [helped develop late equipments]" Or this from ref.#6? "design which kept the tuning capacitor and coils all on one sub-assembly for greater stability. Also, the range was increased, tuning 2 through 24 mhz or thereabouts." Nothing in war time or even postwar inventory, either of the OSS or any military group matches the above description, other than the RS-1! While I do not believe it was used during WW-II, the possibility does exist. I do believe it was born out of lessons learned, & later used after the war exactly as the PRC-6, GRC-9 and many others were. Some of you might think I'm splitting hairs here, what's the difference "developed 1950" or during WW-II? If you can't see the difference already, I can't explain it. Dennis Starks; MILITARY RADIO COLLECTOR/HISTORIAN military-radio-guy@juno.com Referances; #1) Federal Logistics Data on Compact Disk(Fedlog) 1995. #2) Tan Phu, Special Forces Team A-23 In Combat, By Leigh Wade #3) Military Communications: A Test For Technology, The U.S Army in Vietnam, by John D. Bergen, CMH Pub 91-12 #4) Military Radio Data, Vol. I, PRC Designated Radio Equipment, by Dennis Starks #5) Military Collector Group Post, Nov.25/97: The SSTR-1; From the Horses Mouth Part II, Reflections Concerning The SSTR-1, By Dean Cortright #6) Military Collector Group Post, Nov.26/97: The SSTR-1; From the Horses Mouth Part III, Further Reflections Concerning The SSTR-1, By Dean Cortright with editorial comments by Dennis Starks #7) Military Collector Group Post, Backmail #29: AN Type Numbers Versas RT Type Numbers, & Some URC Questions, by Dennis Starks #8) CIA Special Weapons & Equipment, by H. Keith Melton. #9) Time Runs Out in CBI, by Romanus & Sunderland, CMH Pub 9-3 #10) The War Report of the OSS, by Kermit Roosevelt #11) Vietnam, A History, The First Complete Account, by Stanely Karnow ************************************************************ JOE'S WANT/TRADE LIST. WANT: PRC-128, Need the low band RF module. A pair of 2N2876 RF power transistors to repair a receiver multicoupler. Original manuals for; BC-222,BC-721, PRC-75 (TM-06828A), PRC-127, PRC-277 (Tadiran), PRC-40(AX) (Manual Amendment" printed by Dixon Industries marked "AN/PRC-40, Repair, Modification,& Redesign") Equipment: BC-721 - BC-722 Control box, MC-365 Control shaft, FT-295 Mount TBX-2 - Want radio with any accessories TBY - calibrator crystal and canvas case AN/PRC-21 - AT-486 Antenna CPRC-26 - Canvas Case AN/PRC-34 or 36 - Any parts / accessories / radios AN/PRC-66 - AS-2117 Whip antenna AN/PRC-68B - Want bravo model only AN/PRC-74 - CW-836 Accessory bag AN/PRC-75 - CY-6729 Case, ST-162 Harness, LS-549 Speaker PRR-9/PRT-4 - Crystal kit AB-1241/PRC-104A antenna mount (it can be found in TM 11-5820-919-12). Grnd mntd base for the AS-2259 when used with the PRC-104A set. FOR TRADE: EE-8 field phones (pair) - exc cond, canvas, 50's vintage SG-1144 - sig gen - 50 kc - 90 Mc, CW/AM/FM (FM above 30 Mc). 70's vintage. working (will sell for $ 150) CH-219 crystal chest (f/BC-669) good condition (one drawer sticks and someone scrapped drawer to get it out) two drawers with DC-34 and DC-35 crystals - missing 3-5 crystals a drawer. RT-662/GRC-106 HF set rec/exciter part of GRC-106 very good condition. working (will sell for $ 285.00) Joseph W Pinner EMail: kc5ijd@sprintmail.com Joseph W Pinner Lafayette, LA KC5IJD EMail: kc5ijd@sprintmail.com ************************************************************ MEMBER PROFILE; Ken Sakamoto Ok here goes! I recently realized that when I was born in 53, my father had memories of the Army fresh in his mind. He enlisted in the US Army from the japanese/american relocation camp at Tule Lake in Calif. and was a translator of captured documents in Sipan and the Philippines. The lessons of the military were passed on to me at a very early age. I remember getting web gear, an e-tool, and helmet liner for presents since surplus was plentiful and low priced. I think I was about 7 when I learned the manual of arms with my cadet trainer rifle. Since we visited every local base and armory at every chance I learned lots. My most vivid memory is Armed Forces Day at the armory in Sacramento when I was about 8. My older brother and I talked on a real jeep mounted radio, fired the 30 cal. machine gun (blanks) and the 60mm mortar (training rounds). They certainly don't have displays like that anymore! I worked extensively on AF MARS during the late 60's at my neighbors station. He was a retired guy who passed lots of message traffic on HF voice nets. I think the station was running about 5KW for power! For the last several years, I worked with various units in the Calif. State Military Reserve (part of the National Guard). Our commo outfit used PRC 47's and various amateur equip. to do statewide voice nets. We also used amateur gear on freqs just below 2meters. I mounted several different handhelds in ammo cans with gel cells to make a more rugged unit. My current assignment is with the Citizen Soldier Museum in Sacramento. I now work on special projects to promote the work of the Museum (we just did a militaria show last weekend). I also work as a firefighter in the rural areas of El Dorado Co. near the site where the Calif gold rush started. I just became (about 3 weeks ago) the department radio tech so I have become very busy. My collection has been reduced in recent times to a few odds and ends of survival equipment and my PRC 47 since I am limited for space. Ken Sakamoto kenscom@juno.com ************************************************************ HUMOR; Live from the United Nations... Our Iraqi Friends Q: What does Saddam want for Thanksgiving? A: Turkey. Q. What do Miss Muffet and Saddam Hussein have in common? A. They both have Kurds in their Whey. Q. What do Saddam Hussein and General Custer have in common? A. They both want to know where the hell those Tomahawks are coming from! Q: What is the best Iraqi job? A: Foreign Ambassador Q. How many Iraqis does it take to screw in a light bulb? A. None. They can't turn them on anyway. Q. How many Americans does it take to screw in a light bulb? A. Only one, but he does it from 30 miles away using laser targeting, and at a cost of $800,000. Q: "How many members of the coalition does it take to screw in a light bulb?" A: "We are not prepared to comment on specific numbers at this time." Q. Did you hear that it is twice as easy to train Iraqi fighter pilots? A. ...you only have to teach them to take off. Q. How do you play Iraqi bingo? A. B-52...F-16...B-52 Q: What is Iraq's national bird? A: Duck Q: What's the difference between Aeroflot and the Scud Missile? A: Aeroflot has killed more people. Q: How is Saddam like Fred Flintstone? A: Both may look out their windows and see Rubble. Q: Why do all Iraqi soldiers carry a piece of sandpaper? A: They need a map.... Q: Why does the Iraqi Navy have glass bottom boats? A: So they can see their Air Force. Q. Did you hear that Saddam Hussein won the toss? A. He elected to receive. When finished reading use browser back button or go to http://www.prc68.com/MCGP/MCGP.html