MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Sept.10/98 Index: RUSSIAN MILITARY RADIOS PART III; By LTC William L. Howard BC-348 TIPS; By Dave Stinson MEMBERS WRITE; Retrans Without the Proper Cable? Pilot Radio V-100? UPCOMING EVENTS; PUEBLO AIR FESTIVAL HOPE ARKANSAS SPECIAL EVENT RUSSIAN SUBMARINE U 484 HUMOR; *********************************************** RUSSIAN MILITARY RADIOS PART III; By: LTC William L. Howard e-mail: wlhoward@gte.net SPECIAL PURPOSE OR MISSION RADIOS Belka , Sever (North) Sever and Belka are like twins,and are too fragile to be considered special mission radios by todays (1990s) standards. They are considered as Agent Radios by Serge but I list them as special purpose as that was what they were designed for in the 1940s. Belka M 2 Radio RX 35-115 m(8.56-2.6 MHz) in two ranges: 35-65 m and 62-115 m XFO TX 47-110 m 2 tubes SB244, 1 tube 2K2M Power output 3-.3.5 w Weight 2.4 Kg Dimensions 264x 196x115 mm. Estimated range was I think about 400 to 2000 km depending on frequency and time, max. Belka 4 TUD Radio no details available. RPO-4 - 1942 This set came in two wooden boxes and was designed by W.A. Terltski and M.A. Levitin The Sever Radio The set was originally called the OMEGA and mass production of the OMEGA radio was started under the supervision of A.A. Zdanov (1st secretary of Leningrad Communist Party Organization and member of Military Command of Leningrad Front) and I.M. Mironov (Chief of Communications of Leningrad Committee of Partisan Movement). The name of the radio was changed to SEVER,(the Russian Word for North) which reflects that it was initially developed for the North Front. (This is why I consider it to be a special purpose radio) The set was made in two versions, the majority for battery power and a lesser quantity for AC operation. Several variations of the set have been observed, some with English Markings on the controls and some with Russian markings. The particular set that I examined was a battery power set with Russian markings. One was used by the army and one used by the Partisans. Accessories that would have come with the set were the antenna and counterpoise/ground, the headset, the crystals and the power cable. The batteries were all in a battery box or pack. In order to minimize receiver/transmitter size B.A. Michalin developed a so called transceiver circuit where most of the elements and tubes are used for receive and transmit. As a result the radios weight is 2.0 kilograms. Spare parts are 2.0 kilograms as well. The batteries weighed 6.0 kilograms. Everything was packed into two small canvas bags. The circuit was very simple. The receiver has one RF stage with no tuning followed by a regenerative detector stage which has frequency tuning and regeneration control and was used in the CW mode only. Frequency range from 2.5 MHz to 10 MHz. Another source states the range was 3.5 to 6.8 MHz in Range 1 and 6.5 to 12 MHz in Range 2) Audio output was through high impedance headphones. The set used two 2K2M tubes and one C-224( also known as the Type 24 or 2-4M tube) The Soviet designation of the 2K2M tube is the SO 241 and the transmitter tube is the SO 257. These tubes were 2 volt filament tubes. The transmitter has two stages, oscillator and final stage. First stage, the oscillator, was tunable from 2.5 MHz to 6 MHz. (Some sources indicate it was 3.4 MHz to 6.8 MHz) It worked with crystals within the same frequency range. The Receiver and Transmitter scales did not have actual frequency markers. The antenna, was a long Wire, 12 meters in length and had to be a minimum of 1 meter above the ground. The filament battery used was the Type 3C (two batteries were used), which had a 29 ampere/hours capacity. Plate battery power was supplied by Type BAS-60 Batteries. (four batteries used), which had a 0.45 ampere/hours capacity. A power cable with a connector was used to connect batteries to the radio. The power cable terminated in a small bakelite screw connectors that had leads running to the different batteries. According to an article in a Russian magazine communication over a range of 700 km distance was possible with higher grade stationary equipment if a directional antenna was used at the other end.(The base station) ARMORED VEHICLE RADIOS During WW II, Russian armor units did not have a radio in each tank as did the Germans and Americans. Tank platoons had a radio in the platoon leaders tank and orders were then sent to the other tanks by visual signals. Many Russian tanks were lend lease Shermans and in many others the Type 19 Wireless set was the standard radio. For the most part, AM was the standard means of comunication among those tanks that had radio sets.. To some degree the reliance on visual signals has carried on into the present day. Date Model Used in Technical Info. 1931 71-TK BT-type Vehicles 1.36-1.96 MHz, 80 kG 1938 RTU-1 armoured vehicles 1940 71-TK-3 BT-types, KW 1941/42 Type 19 Wireless Set-Canadian/British Lease set 1942 10 RT T-34 & others 1943 10 RK T-34 & others 1944 9-RS T-34; T-70; SAU whip 4 m, 4-5.62 MHz 5-8 W 18 kG.Outer view: Tall box. 19?? 9-R data unknown 19?? 12-RT data unknown 19?? 9-RM(10-RK-26) 26 VDC supplies 1954 R-113 T-54, T 55 tanks 1962 R 123 T 62, T 64, T 72. 9-RS, In 1944 the Russians upgunned the T 34 tank with an 85 mm gun. The T34/85s and the T 44 tanks, as well as the light and medium SP guns were equiped with the 9 -RS radio sets. The 9 RS radio transmitter is easily recognized by the ventilation slits in the case and small hinged cover to protect the transmitter controls and a recessed triangular area to protect the radio receiver’s controls, The set is mounted on top of what must be a combination antenna matching unit and interphone intercom amplifier. The I.D. book is not clear and two different sets are shown. 10 RT Tank Transceiver, According to Serge, the 10 RT set was first introduced in 1942 and was used in the T-34 & other combat vehicles. To the best of my knowledge, the first time this set was encountered by US forces was during the Korean War. This set looks to be a better set than the 9 RS, at least as far as construction is concerned. The 9 RS looks like it was built during WW II and the 10 RT set that I saw in the Signal corps Museum in the early 1960’s looked like it was made in the post war period. There may well be an early version and a later version but this is uncertain. The set consists of the transmitter, the receiver, a dual dynamotor unit and associated cabling. Power plug connections have been improved and have in addition to the pins, a screw down connector to keep them from falling out as the tank went over rough terrain. This is similar in concept to the power plug screws found on most 1950 vintage US radios such as the AN/GRR-5, AN/VRC-10s , etc. AGENT RADIOS: Belka, Sever, Sever and Belka are like twins,and are too fragile to be considered special mission radios by todays (1990s) standards. They are considered as Agent Radios by Serge but I list them as special purpose as that was what they were designed for in the 1940s.They were described above.. British No 48 set, Canadian H-15, Nabala, Beta, Prima, Tensor THE WILLIAM L. HOWARD ORDNANCE TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE MUSEUM e-mail wlhoward@gte.net Telephone AC 727- 585-7756 With major contributions from Vlad Dvorkin KB9OLM ex. UA3ACR *********************************************** BC-348 TIPS; By Dave Stinson Question concerned low audio output and freq shift in a BC-348-R. Copied to the list for general information. d.s. -------------------------------------------------------- Hi Jack! The frequency shifting is likely a sticky backlash gear. The gear on the end of the tuning cap is composed of two cogs tensioned by a spring. The two cogs can get stuck or the spring can loose it's tension. Get this system working and the jumps should stop. On the audio-- I have several BC-348s and have worked on many more. The audio on all of them will run you out of a room and the quality is excellent when used unmodified according to the original design. Low audio in these rigs usually results from one or more of these: 1. Improper B-voltage supply. 2. Misalignment. 3. Speaker mismatch. Let's look at each one. 1. B+, B- supply. The B-supply negative is NOT returned to ground in a BC-348. In the "R" model it is returned through choke 123-B. Two resistors in series with a bypass cap at their junction leave the ungrounded end of the choke and provide negative grid bias to the 6K6 output. The 6K6 should be pentode-connected, as in the original design. Please do not change the output transformer. The original transformer is very high quality and only needs to be treated correctly. If your output stage was run without grid bias in the past then the tube, transformer, screen-grid resistor etc. are likely candidates for damage. Check operating voltages at the 6K6 tube socket. Disconnect speaker, antenna and ground. Turn the volume to max. Use MVC position. Referenced to chassis ground, voltages should be: Pin 1: 0V Pin 2: Heater (+28 volts in unmodified unit) Pin 3: 200VDC (plate) Pin 4: 210 VDC (screen) Pin 5: -8 b Pin 6: n/a Pin 7: Heater (+20 VDC in unmodified unit) Pin 8: 0V (cathode) If you believe you have fried windings in the output transformer, let me know. I have spares. 2. Misalignment. People would be surprised to know how many receivers sound bad for no other reason then serious misalignment. Many hams simply crank on the IF cans for max speaker noise, then twist the RF/Mixer caps the same way. This can lead to serious problems with bandwidth, sensistivity etc. The alignment procedures aren't tough but they do need to be done correctly. I strongly recommend getting a copy of the AN/ARR-11 (BC-348 in 1949) procedures from Fair Radio or W7FG (1-800-807-6146). This will help any BC-348. 3. Speaker Mismatch. Any receiver is only as good as it's speaker. There are two taps on the 348 output transformer- 300 ohms and 4000 ohms. Match properly using a good quality transformer to a good quality speaker. These three steps will solve most low-audio problems in a BC-348. Best of luck with it! 73 DE Dave Stinson AB5S arc5@ix.netcom.com *********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; Retrans Without the Proper Cable? Is there an easy way to set up RETRAN between R-442 and RT-524 (or RT246) with a simple cable hookup (such as from discarded handset cables)? Do I need the retran box only for authenticity- or to make the project work? If the radios are 2-3 MHz apart, will I need to add "cans" (filters/duplexers)? I thought it might be fun to extend the range on my PRC-126s (which are half- duplex) and listen to the blowers on the VRC-12s. Thanks, Jay Coote W6CJ jcoote@aol.com ed) Some years ago I tried to make a Re-Transe cable for my PRC-25 by just wiring the associated connections to each other. Several problems surfaced. First, and most distressing was RF getting into the cables causing the radios to se-saw. The cables are rather simple, and I have no doubt that they could be home reproduced, but there are a number of rectifiers and capacitors that must be included. Suggest you get a copy of the schematic(can be found in many PRC-25 and PRC-77 manuals) and duplicate it. I'm at a lost to understand why these cables are so rare(I've never seen any, and have been looking for a set for 15 years). You will not need duplexers provided separate antennas are used, and the separation of both freq, and antennas as outlined in the manuals are observed. A "Diplexer" is avail from Fair Radio that was a part of Marine Corps Backpack repeater system. They are very small & will allow the operation or two radios from a single antenna. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pilot Radio V-100? Dennis, The V 100 B radio was a Lend Lease set made by the Pilot Radio company. Externally it resembles the SCR 294. It came in four packs, the radio, the generator, the generator seats and the antenna bags. Unlike the American SCR 284 generator which had a seat for one man, the V 100 generator had seats for two people, one on either side of the generator. Do you have any information on this radio? If not, do you know anyone who is a Pilot Radio company collector. Thanks Bill Howard *********************************************** UPCOMING EVENTS; PUEBLO AIR FESTIVAL The PUEBLO MEMORIAL AIRPORT and the PUEBLO HISTORICAL AIRCRAFT SOCIETY will present the annual PUEBLO AIR FESTIVAL at the Pueblo Memorial Airport Pueblo, Colorado on Saturday 19 September 1998 to benefit the Fred E. Weisbrod/ International B-24 Memorial Museum. Any club, group or organization devoted solely to aviation related interests or activities which may want to present a display of aviation related artifacts or material at the Air Festival should contact the AIR FESTIVAL office at (719) 948-4964 or FAX (719) 948-4965 or the B-24 Museum at (719)948-9219 or email at pwrr59f@prodigy.com. Confirmed events: Static Displays: Powered Sailplane from United States Air Force Academy C-130 "City of Pueblo"- US Air Force Reserve Peterson AFB UH-60 - 10th Special Forces Group Ft. Carson, CO MC-130 "Combat Talon"- Kirtland AFB, NM Stearman ZLIN Colorado State Patrol Aircraft and vehicle (watch the skies when visiting Colorado :-) ). Maverick Kit Jet- Cessna 310 Cessna 177 RG AT-6- Fantasy of Flight C-45- Fantasy of Flight L-5- Fantasy of Flight Navy N3N -Air Power West T-6- Air Power West Jet Provost- Cessna 421 P-51 Mustang Glass Air Tri-O Raus S-9 1947 Stinson Stearman (2X) Piper Archer Classic and antique cars on display. Rides on the following aircraft: (Cost varies and persons should purchase tickets early) Mooney (Model unspecified) Cessna 172 Stearman Cessna 182 AT-6 Stinson V77 Cessna 150 Navy N3N T-6 REMAX Hot air Balloon Fly by: F-117 Stealth Fighter Holloman AFB, NM Flight Simulators Pancake Breakfast (additional cost) Lunch (additional cost) Other family oriented activities and displays Cost of admission: $3 Free Parking Tours of the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft and International B-24 Museums. Gates open at 8 AM and the Air Festival will be open until 4 PM Notice that aircraft for static display and rides are subject to change at the last moment. All proceeds benefit the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft and International B-24 Museums. Hope to see you at our Air Festival. Jason B. Unwin Volunteer Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum Home of the International B-24 Museum Pueblo, CO --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOPE ARKANSAS SPECIAL EVENT; I'd like to start posting announcements of the thing we're doing in Hope, Arkansas 23-27 September 1998. Let me give you the whole story and you can decide how much of it to post. Sentimental Journey to Southwestern Proving Ground is a celebration of the World War II proving ground near Hope, Arkansas. This year it will be held 23-27 September. Some of us who collect military radio equipment are planning a get-together and show-and-tell for the public in connection with this event, which is held at the airport, the former Hope Army Airfield. I'd like to invite collectors of military radio equipment, radio and otherwise, to join us. A highlight of the event is a display of warbirds. This year there will be a B-17, a B-24, a B-29, and a HE-110, plus some smaller aircraft. The airplanes arrive on Wednesday the 23rd. Thursday and Friday are mostly devoted to tours for students from schools in the area. Saturday the 26th is the main static display for the general public. On Sunday the 27th there is an air show, and then the planes fly away. So if you can come for only one day then Saturday or Sunday is the best day to come. All the above comes for a $5 general admission. Some extra-charge events are a dinner and dance Friday night (40s music, of course), and a USO show on Saturday night. Fly-ins are welcome. If you can come and bring something to show please contact me jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu about what you'll need in the way of space. Or contact me anyway just to let me know somebody will be there. Jim Haynes Ed) barring any more major mechanical failures, I plan to attend and provide a display of equipment. Any persons that might also be able to participate should contact Jim with some idea of the type equipment they might provide. This to prevent duplication and a bunch of needless work. They also plan to have swap meet which might prove fun. I'll keep you all updated as reports come in. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RUSSIAN SUBMARINE U 484 On 8 September 1998, I had the opportunity to tour the U 484, a Russian Juliett Class Guided Missile Submarine anchored at the Bayboro Harbor in St. Petersberg, Florida. Thus far there have bee 35,000 visitors to the submarine. The Juliett Class submarine was part of the Soviet Navy’s anti-carrier program. The submarines were equipped with missiles that could hit a target 940 miles away. Its duty was to attack hostile carrier forces in the event of a war. If the target was above the horizon the misile would have to be controlled by a specially designed aircraft that would guide the missile to their targets. The Juliette had two pairs of missile launchers, one forward and one aft. In the front section iof the tower is a large retractible radar antenna for tracking and guiding the cruise missle. 16 vessels were comissioned in 1961-1969. They were built at the Krasnaya Sormova Worksin Gorky. They were construted simultaneously when the Soviet Navy started its nuclear Submarine program. The Juliette class was also a back up force in case the nuclear driven submarines would not be available. As far as is known, this is the only submarine class that was designed by a woman ship-construction engineer. Most units were transferred to the Baltic fleet in 1980 - 1983.where they could also give ground assistance if needed. This submarine was retired from the Russian Navy in February 1994. The submarine is 300 feet long, 32.8 ‘ beam. It is direct drive or Diesel Electric with two main diesel engines(3500 hp)ea., 2 Electric Motors (3000 hp) ea. , 2 shafts and 2 propellors, 2 Electric “Silent run” motors. and 1 diesel generator(3000 hp). Batteries weight 300 tons and have $2 million dollars of silver in them. Surface Spped is 19 knots, 14 submerged. Range is 9,000 miles @ 8 knots surfaced. Crew compliment is 12 Officers, 16 NCOs and 51 crew. 4 Stern torpedoes and 6 bow torpedoes. Has 4 SS-N -3A Shaddoxk Anti-ship missiles with a range of 950 miles. Has ESM :Stoplight ; Radar warning; quad loop D/F. It has Surface search radar; snoop tray/snoop Slab; 1 Band. It has Hull mounter sonar, both active and passive Search Attack; Medium and HF. Has 2 Periscopes The tour costs $8.56 and is a guided tour. You enter through the forward torpedo room via stairs that have been installed (U.S. Regulations, fire insurance, etc) There are 8 compartments that are open to visitors. These are: I. Forward torpedo room, crews quarters II. Officers quarters on main deck. (Not open to visitors is the NCO quarters (Goat Locker) on the central deck and the battery room on the lower deck III. Captains stateroom, , missile guidance station IV. Conmtrol center, periscope, radar, chart room,, compass center V. Instrument Room with Chief Engineer’s cabin, galley and below battery rooms. VI. Diesel Engin Room (Temp is 120 degrees) VII Electromechanical Room (Motor room) VII. Stern torpedo room, silent run motor room. There are 8 small round hatches that you must go through. If you are not agile, it is a real chore. Helps if you were on the gymnastics team. Much smaller than on U.S. submarines and smaller than the WW II German U 505. There are a lot of things to bang you head on if you are tal. I know, I found most of them. I took a camera, took about 30 pictures and got most everything. Take a 48 exposure film and that will cover the whole ship unless you want every dial and guage. If you take a camcorder, I recommend the small palm held versions. Adequate lighting for getting around but for a camcorder ??? My biggest dissapointment was that the radio room was below the main deck and is nt on the tour. I understand that special tours can be arranged. I would suggest canvas sneaker or non slip shoes and old clothes. Women should wear slacks and not a skirt. Shorts are OK but I recommend slacks. For those with internet access, the web site is: http://russiansubmarine THE WILLIAM L. HOWARD ORDNANCE TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE MUSEUM e-mail wlhoward@gte.net Telephone AC 727- 585-7756 *********************************************** HUMOR; At the height of a political corruption trial, the prosecuting attorney attacked a witness. "Isn't it true that you accepted five thousand dollars to compromise this case?" the lawyer shouted. The witness did not respond. "Isn't it true that you accepted five thousand dollars to compromise this case?" the lawyer repeated. The witness still did not respond. Finally, the judge leaned over and said, "Sir, please answer the question." "Oh," the startled witness said, "I thought he was talking to you." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One morning the lion is feeling especially ferocious. He saunters over to a monkey swinging in a tree and roars, "Who's the king of this jungle?" The monkey scampers down from the tree, bows to the lion and stammered, "Wh..wh...why you are Mr. Lion." a few minutes later, the lion comes across a warthog. He stops in front of the animal and asks, "Who's the baddest dude in this jungle?" The warthog hid his face in the dirt and whispered, "You're the baddest, King Lion." This continues all morning long with animal after animal bowing and scraping to the lion. Finally the lion comes across an 80 year old bull elephant. He bellows at the elephant, "Who's the king of this jungle? Who owns this place?" With that the elephant wrapped his trunk around the lion's belly. He raised the lion 12 feet in the air and slammed his head against the ground. After that he slammed the lion into a tree on the right and then into another tree on the left. Finally, the elephant swung his trunk and threw the lion 35 feet away where the pachyderm landed him in a thorn bush. As the elephant lumbered down the trail the lion shook his paw and shouted, "Just because you don't know the answer, you don't have to get an attitude!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two Nickels and Five Pennies In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies - her tip. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The head salesman of a huge department store in the city was interviewing a young lad for a sales job. "Have ever worked as salesman before?" yes said the new recruit I was a salesman in my small village. Ok said the Boss you can start tomorrow and I will come and see you at 5. It was a long day for the young man and sharp at 5 the Boss was there. "How many sales did you make today?" said the Boss. "One" said the young lad. Only one said the boss, most of my sales employees make 20 to 30 sales a day. "How much was this one sale worth?" the boss asked "Five Hundred Thousand, Six hundred and forty Two dollars" said the young lad. "Wow, How did you manage that" said the flabbergasted Boss. Well this man came in and I sold him a small fish hook, a medium fish hook then a really large fish hook. Then a small fishing line, a medium fishing line then a really huge fishing line. I asked where he was going fishing and he said down the coast. I said he would probably need a boat, so I took to the boats department and sold him the 32 foot schooner with the twin engine. The guy then realized that his car won't be able to pull it, so I took to the car department and sold him the Range Rover with the 6 litre engine. The Boss was astonished "You sold all that to a guy who came in for a fish hook?" "Hell No" said the salesman, "he came in for a box of tampons for his wife and I said to him.... "Well your weekend is certainly screwed, why don't you go fishing" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Airbone! A young man joined the Army and signed up with the paratroopers. He went through the standard Airborne training, completed the practice jumps from higher and higher structures, and finally went to take his first jump from an airplane. The next day he called home to his father to tell him the news. "So, did you jump?" his father asked excitedly. "Well, let me tell you what happened. We got up in the plane, and the sergeant opened up the door and asked for volunteers. About a dozen men got up and just walked out of the plane!" "Is that when you jumped?" asked the father. "Um, not yet. Then the sergeant started to grab the other men one at a time and throw them out the door." "Did you jump then?" asked the father. "I'm getting to that Everyone else had jumped, and I was the last man left on the plane. I told the sergeant that I was too scared to jump. He told me to get off the plane or he'd kick my ass." "So, did you jump?" "Not then. He tried to push me out of the plane, but I grabbed onto the door and refused to let go. Finally he called over to the Jump Master. The Jump Master is this great big guy, about six-foot five, and 250 pounds. He said to me, 'Boy, are you gonna jump or not?' "I said, 'No, sir. I'm too scared.'" "So the Jump Master pulled down his zipper and took his penis out. I swear, it was about twelve inches long and as big around as a baseball bat! "He said, 'Boy, either you jump out that door, or I'm sticking this baby up your ass.'" "So, did you jump?" asked the father. "Well, a little, at first..." *********************************************** (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) ***********************************************