From: military-radio-guy Full-Name: Dennis R Starks To: military radio collectors#1 Fcc: Sent Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 07:17:58 Subject: MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Dec.9/98 Message-ID: <19981209.071651.2087.9.military-radio-guy@juno.com> X-Status: Sent X-Mailer: Juno 1.49 MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Dec.9/98 Index: ANNOUNCEMENTS; PRC-6 Group Project Status, PRR-9 Group Project Status, PARA-MILITARY RADIOS; Part IV, by Dennis Starks MEMBERS WRITE; January Scout Troop 6mtr QSO, SBT-100 Data Needed, HUMOR; *********************************************** ANNOUNCEMENTS; PRC-6 Group Project Status, Most of the radios have been shipped out, if you've not received yours yet, or word from me about it's pending arrival please let me know. There will be a residue of salvageable radios left over. When I'm finished shipping to all those who have ordered them, I'll post the availability of the left overs. PRR-9 Group Project Status, About half of the PRR-9's have been mailed off with more going out every day. I may have forgotten to mention it when I sent you notice that your's was on the way, the vendor gave us enough of the original earphones with these radios that everybody gets one at no extra charge. These little buggers have run me completely out of packing materials! Dennis *********************************************** PARA-MILITARY RADIOS; Part IV, by Dennis Starks Some More Entries From Hallicrafters, All the below radio sets were built during the war years. As we know that virtually all manufacturing done of electronic equipment during this time was for the military/government, it would follow that these too would have found some war time official application. But as will be seen, in many cases, we don't really know what these applications might have been. S-20R(Sky Champion), Built between 1939 and 1945, this was a medium to low quality HF nine tube communications receiver that would operate between .54 and 44mc in four bands, AM/CW. It had controls for volume, RF gain, AVC, BFO, ANL, off/tone, send/receive, band switch, main tuning, and band spread. It featured a built in loud speaker and an optional external S meter. It's physical construction was of the simple sheet metal stamping type introduce by Hallicrafters some years earlier. It had plastic frequency and band spread dials, and a front panel that was an integral part of the radio's cabinet which was painted a dark gray. In all, this did not spell a very attractive package for military use. But use it they did! In the years immediately before WW-II, the S-20R found service as a part of the SCR-197 as a companion receiver to the BC-325 transmitter. It is believed that the BC-325 was actually a commercial Hallicrafters HT-4, and that refinements to the trailer- house mounted SCR-197 became the highly successful SCR-299 prior to 1943. While the BC-325 gave way quickly to the BC-610, and only existing radios continued on to serve during the war years, the S-20 on the other hand, remained in production. You might now argue that the BC-342 family of receivers were those used in the SCR-197, and -299, and you wouldn't be wrong, But it must be remembered that in the pre and early war years, the BC-342 type receivers had extreme growing pains in the area of production as did many other radio sets. Until such time as sufficient quantities were on hand, many expedients were used including the pre-war predecessor of the BC-342, the BC-189 which was a grossly outdated design that required the insertion of 1 of 12 plug in tuning units to effect band change. Even after sufficient quantities of the BC-342 became available, the S-20 remained in service. While no longer officially included as a part of the BC-610 derived systems, the S-20 was still included as a stand-by/auxiliary/monitor receiver. The only evidence of this is in the surviving photos which can be dated into at least the late 1950's. It is confusing, given the extensive use that the S-20R received, that we can find no reference to it's being officially adopted, or receiving any military type designation, or perhaps it did and we just don't know it. In post-war years, this same basic receiver was repackaged as the S-40, S-85, and S-108. However there is no evidence to show that these models ever saw service in a military application. This would tend to indicate that the S-20's military fate was a simple expedient brought on by the emergency of war, combined with it's simple design which provided for fast and cheep production. A fate we will see repeated, many times! S-22R(Skyrider Marine), Almost identical in appearance, design, and construction to the S-20R, was the S-22R. Interring production in 1940, it's basic difference was it's band coverage of 110kc to 18mc in four bands, a cabinet color/paint of black/crinkle, and it's lack of band spread tuning. It's size was 18"w x 8.5"t x 9.25"d. The S-22R was an eight tube superhet that would operate from either 110vac/dc(one source list 220vac/dc as an option dependant on the ballast tube installed). While it was most likely intended for the reception of marine signals, and at least one reference does indicate this, it would have also been useful in the pre and early-war monitoring of aircraft traffic which operated in the LF/MF bands. Unlike the S-20R, the S-22R did receive official adoption and was assigned the designation of R-210/U though so marked equipment have never been encountered. As of 1958 this receiver was listed as a Limited Standard for the U.S. Army, and simply as "Use By" the Navy. SX-24(Skyrider Defiant), A slight step up from the S-20R in performance was the SX-24 introduced in 1939(at $69.50). Again, a nine tube Superhet that would tune from .540kc to 43mc in four bands(with calibrated band spread for the 10, 20, 40, & 80mtr Ham bands). while not in the same class as the SX-28 which would be introduced a year later, it did boast some worth while and innovative features. The built in loud speaker of the S-20R was eliminated in favor of a front panel S meter, and possibly for the first time in mass production, crystal phasing and selectable IF band widths were included. Other improvements were operability from a 6vdc source via a No.301 Electronic Converter. At 19"w x 9.5"t x 10.2"d and 56lbs, the SX-24 enjoyed the same one piece steel cabinet/front panel construction of other sets in this class, which again spelled for cheep, fast, and easy mass production. Adopted as the R-205/U by the Army, again we find no so marked examples. SX-25(Super Defiant), Very similar in appearance to the SX-24, the SX-25 was a 12 tube superhet receiver that boasted many improvements mainly in the area of power supply design, construction, and versatility. While we can find no history as to it's military use, it must have been, as it was only produced between 1940 and 1945. SX-32(Skyrider 32) Looking almost identical to the SX-28, logic might tell us that the higher model number of the SX-32 might indicate that it was an improvement over the 28. But the reverse is true, this was in fact a stripped down SX-28 having fewer tubes and features. As it interred production in late 1941and was not produced after the war, could it have been a streamlined/cheapened version for the war effort? Export? Domestic? S-33(Sky Trainer), A most interesting(and rare) little radio, this was a three tube, hand carried, fully self contained, portable transceiver that operated over the 112-118mc band, with a total weight(including batteries) of 16lbs. Interring production in 1941, and still cataloged as of 1942, it's military applications would have been readily apparent. It had a built in loud speaker, headphone jack, side mounted 1/4 wave whip antenna, and front panel controls for volume, tuning, and tx/rec switch. It is possible that the mic was also housed in the radio's cabinet directly below the loud speaker, or it's loud speaker served double duty also as the mic. We don't know for sure as only poor promotional pictures have survived Having only three tubes we can bet it was an AM set with a regenerative receiver and a modulated oscillator transmitter just as did the BC-322, -222, CRC-7, S Phone, and the SSTR-502, of these the last three operated in ruffly the same frequency range. Could it have been used? If so, we have no clue as to who, where, when, or how, as nothing has survived to tell it's story. Is it possible that this little radio was intended for use in the Ham oriented War Emergency Radio Service (WERS)? Possibly, they were the same frequency range(112-116mc). But this service was not created until June 1942, yet the S-33 is reported to have been in production in late 1941. Compounding our dilemma is the fact that civilian use of this band for aircraft communications was completely unheard of until post-war years, and even military acceptance at this time was in it's enfantcy. If the war emergency interrupted production of the S-33, why then would it have not been again picked up after the war? As it was, the first 2mtr commercially produced portable was the Sperti Mod XR-2BS circa 1947, it would seem that Hallicrafters would have had a major jump on the market(assuming that the S-33 was ever intended for this market). While it is true that many areas of the civilian communications market where flooded by surplus military equipment after the war, and that this made commercial sales difficult, portable equipment for the VHF bands were relatively unaffected. References: TM11-487, Electrical Communications Systems Equipment,October 1944. TM11-487A, Directory of Signal Corps Equipments, Radio Communications Equipment, Aug.1950 MIL-HDBK-161, Military Handbook, Electronic Communications Equipment, 1958. Radios by Hallicrafters, by Chuck Dachis. WAR EMERGENCY RADIO SERVICE; By Jeffrey Herman, MCGP Backmail #57 Dennis Starks; Collector/Historian Midwest Military Communications Museum email: military-radio-guy@juno.com *********************************************** January Scout Troop 6mtr QSO, I will be at Battery Alexandar, just north of San Francisco on January 16 and 17, 1999 with my son's scout troop. Will anyone be available that weekend so I can demo my RT-68? If you are close to SF and would like to get on the air, e-mail me direct. Thanks & 73's Mikhael Brown email: mikhael_brown@hp.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SBT-100 Data Needed, Dennis, A request for help from the group. I have just acquired a Hallicrafters SBT-100 transceiver and need documentation for it - especially troubleshooting but also operation. There is a note in it that indicates the 1650 Kc IF has no output - so I probably have some trouble there. 73 Joseph W Pinner EMail: kc5ijd@sprintmail.com ed) the Hallicrafters SBT-100 is one of the OPS series of "Para-Military" radios that will eventualy be covered in the above series(if I ever make it up to the early 70's). Copies of the manuals can be had from Chuck Dachis, or from Ardco, get me one too while your at it. Ardco Electronics,P.O.Box 95,Berwyn Ill.60402. For high quality repo's ofHallicrafters built Military & Commercial equipment (including OPS series). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For those of you that might know him-- George at Fair Radio Sales is very seriously ill. Cards sent to: Fair Radio Sales 1016 E. Eureka St. Lima, Ohio 45802 will reach him. *********************************************** HUMOR; The Original Version: The ant busts his butt in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold. The New Liberal Version: It starts out the same, but when winter comes, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC and ABC show up and provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to film of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can it be that, in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Then a representative of the NAAGB (The National Association for the Advancement of Green Bugs) shows up on Night Line and charges the ant with "Green Bias" and makes the case that the grasshopper is the victim of 30 million years of greenism. Kermit the frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when he sings "It's Not Easy Being Green." Bill and Hillary Clinton make a special guest appearance on the CBS Evening News and tell a concerned Dan Rather that they will do everything they can for the grasshopper who has been denied the prosperity he deserves by those who benefited unfairly during the Reagan summers, or as Bill refers to it, the "Temperatures of the 80's". Finally the EEOC drafts the "Economic Equity and Anti-Greenism Act", RETROACTIVE to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel o federal judges that Bill appointed from a list of single-parent welfare moms who can only hear cases on Thursday afternoon between 1:30 and 3:00 PM when there are no talk shows scheduled. The ant loses the case. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he's in which just happens to be the ant's old house crumbles around him since he doesn't know how to maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. And on theTV, which the grasshopper bought by selling most of the ant's food, they are showing Bill Clinton standing before a wildly applauding group of Democrats announcing that a new era of "Fairness" has dawned in America. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Close-to-complete Ideology and Religion Shit List * Taoism: Shit happens. * Confucianism: Confucius say, "Shit happens." * Buddhism: If shit happens, it isn't really shit. * Zen Buddhism: Shit is, and is not. * Zen Buddhism #2: What is the sound of shit happening? * Hinduism: This shit has happened before. * Islam: If shit happens, it is the will of Allah. * Islam #2: If shit happens, kill the person responsible. * Islam #3: If shit happens, blame Israel. * Catholicism: If shit happens, you deserve it. * protestProtestantism: Let shit happen to someone else. * Presbyterian: This shit was bound to happen. * Episcopalian: It's not so bad if shit happens, as long as you serve the right wine with it. * Methodist: It's not so bad if shit happens, as long as you serve grape juice with it. * Congregationalist: Shit that happens to one person is just as good as shit that happens to another. * Unitarian: Shit that happens to one person is just as bad as shit that happens to another. * Lutheran: If shit happens, don't talk about it. * fundFundamentalism: If shit happens, you will go to hell, unless you are born again. (Amen!) * Fundamentalism #2: If shit happens to a televangelist, it's okay. * Fundamentalism #3: Shit must be born again. * Judaism: Why does this shit always happen to us? * Calvinism: Shit happens because you don't work. * Seventh Day Adventism: No shit shall happen on Saturday. * Creationism: God made all shit. * Secular Humanism: Shit evolves. * Christian Science: When shit happens, don't call a doctor - pray! * Christian Science #2: Shit happening is all in your mind. * Unitarianism: Come let us reason together about this shit. * Quakers: Let us not fight over this shit. * Utopianism: This shit does not stink. * Darwinism: This shit was once food. * Capitalism: That's MY shit. * Communism: It's everybody's shit. * Feminism: Men are shit. * Chauvinism: We may be shit, but you can't live without us... * Commercialism: Let's package this shit. * Impressionism: From a distance, shit looks like a garden. * Idolism: Let's bronze this shit. * Existentialism: Shit doesn't happen; shit IS. * Existentialism #2: What is shit, anyway? * Stoicism: This shit is good for me. * Hedonism: There is nothing like a good shit happening! * Mormonism: God sent us this shit. * Mormonism #2: This shit is going to happen again. * Wiccan: An it harm none, let shit happen. * Scientology: If shit happens, see "Dianetics", p.157. * Jehovah's Witnesses: >Knock< >Knock< Shit happens. * Jehovah's Witnesses #2: May we have a moment of your time to show you some of our shit? * Jehovah's Witnesses #3: Shit has been prophesied and is imminent; only the righteous shall survive its happening. * Moonies: Only really happy shit happens. * Hare Krishna: Shit happens, rama rama. * Rastafarianism: Let's smoke this shit! * Zoroastrianism: Shit happens half on the time. * Church of SubGenius: BoB shits. * Practical: Deal with shit one day at a time. * Agnostic: Shit might have happened; then again, maybe not. * Agnostic #2: Did someone shit? * Agnostic #3: What is this shit? * Satanism: SNEPPAH TIHS. * Atheism: What shit? * Atheism #2: I can't believe this shit! * Nihilism: No shit. *********************************************** (The preceding was a product of the"Military Collector Group Post", an international email magazine dedicated to the preservation of history and the equipment that made it. Unlimited circulation of this material is authorized so long as the proper credits to the original authors, and publisher or this group are included. For more information conserning this group contact Dennis Starks at, military-radio-guy@juno.com) ***********************************************