From: military-radio-guy Full-Name: Dennis R Starks To: military radio collectors#2 Fcc: Sent Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1999 05:58:07 Subject: MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Oct.7/99 Message-ID: <19991007.055713.8935.10.military-radio-guy@juno.com> X-Status: Sent X-Mailer: Juno 1.49 MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Oct.7/99 Index: ANNOUNCEMENTS; ANOTHER VISITATION REPORT(No Not Aliens!); From Dave Stinson FS-5000 "SPY" RADIO!? MEMBERS WRITE; German FSE 38-58, NEW MEMBER; Marcel Picavez NON-MEMBER STUFF; HUMOR; *********************************************** ANOTHER VISITATION REPORT(No Not Aliens!); From Dave Stinson Decent into the Maelstrom or A Journey to the Center of the (radio)Earth "Come with me, Kay. The Ozarks in Arkansas & Missouri are beautiful. You'll enjoy the drive. And you'll like Dennis, too. He's a cranky old coot like me." My lovely bride raised one skeptical eyebrow. That's why I married her- she's smarter then me. Thus began a journey fraught with peril and discovery, culminating in my at last meeting the Ham Who Would Be King. "Are you SURE you know where we're going?," Kay asked, as I mumbled suspiciously to myself over the unwieldy map. "Cross Timbers is right here-" I said, holding up the magnifying glass so she could see the tiny speck. "Yeah, but with you driving it's more like Crossed Fingers," she said with a devilish smile. I tried to scowl but it always ends-up looking like I bit a lemon. With the map safely crumpled in a heap behind the seat (and with my fingers secretly crossed), we headed north from Springfield across the rolling prairie. I only got lost once. Honest (crossing my fingers again). After a while and a "are we lost?" telephone call, I began to follow the unmistakable scent of vintage MFP in the air, which lead us directly to the place. "Is that his house up there past the scrap yard?" "No, hon. I think his house *is* the scrap yard." Women- Bless them, they can never understand. What they see as a mere "scrap yard" is really the den of a warrior. Scattered about are the bones of knights and villains who came to challenge him and now lay where they fell, a warning that the faint of heart should not venture here(or at least they should have good medical coverage). And this was certainly the lair of a military-minded man. As I stepped out of the Explorer, I wondered if a hidden mine might remove a foot or some bit of wreckage claim a digit. Kay said nothing. She is familiar with my warren in our garage so she's seen it before- but not on such a grand scale. I've since learned there is a cunning military reason for all this- Camouflage! No thief would ever suspect there was anything of value on the place and therefore goes down the road to rob the home of some liberal democrat. Very clever, Dennis! I looked about for a door to knock or a bell to ring, but there were so many possible crouching places-- Suddenly an old, topless golf cart came trundling and thumping its way through the mine field, driven by an enormous, flying cloud of flaming red hair! Could this be the Harley Davidson chariot of legend, that trusty white steed? Beside the hair rode a hulking black cannon of an automatic rifle. Kay thought as I did- some madman had fallen on Dennis, killed everyone in the place and was now making his escape! I started to step in front of Kay and take the bullets meant for her, when a rasping "HOWDY!" stopped me. I'd know that rasp anywhere. The hair was Dennis! "Been shooting crows," he said. "More like vaporizing them," I thought. Contrary to popular myth, Dennis is not 9 feet tall, does not eat babies, and does apparently bathe regularly. He does not wear a crown marked "Mil Radio King," nor was he wearing a flowing O.D. robe as has been widely reported. He was pleasant, sharp, witty and, all-in-all, pretty good company, at least to me. I think Kay was still a little worried that it might all be a ruse and we'd soon be hostages. After the hand-shakes all around and "howdoyados" were exchanged, he mumbled something about "tribute." But he seemed to understand that a visit from *me*, accompanied by the lovely Kay, was a fine tribute to one of his rank. Dennis gave us the quarter tour and I felt it worth at least a dollar. Inside his home is the most impressive green radio collection I've ever seen. This man has green walls, and I don't mean paint. And there are hidden treasures buried "thither and yon" throughout this grand little barony. Sadly, we couldn't stay as long as I would have liked. Kay's asthma began to kick-up and there's nothing to do when that happens but try and get away from what ever thing that might be triggering it this time (which, I suspect, might have been the thought of me loading just *one more* piece of "stuff" in the truck!). After pilfering and looting a tiny portion of this kingdom's mighty treasury, we waved our good-byes and trekked the long, long road home. Come see us in Texas, Dennis. If we can't get the local band to play "Hail to the Chief" when you arrive, we can certainly put on some steaks. 73 DE Dave Stinson AB5S ed) I got only these things to say: #1, Again my hair is dark blond, not red! #2, The Harley ain't old, it shares the distinction of being the newest vehicle I own(along with my little Dodge van, both are 1968 models). #3, The crown says "Military Radio Guy", not King, and it was being cleaned the day of Dave's visit. #4, The flowing OD robe had not yet been presented by Ralph & Alan(two guy's who know the meaning of the word "Tribute"). Even so, it is reserved for visitors to court of distinction, and hardly appropriate wear for crow killing. #5, The tour was $2.00, Dave insisted a quarter was all he had. I suspect he got that by ravaging the parking meter that's mounted in the bathroom. #6, "Camouflage!", You just had to tell the world! I have known Dave for MANY years, but this would be our first meeting. Long before the days of email, I would send him long hand writen list of stuff to trade. The last one sent him(years ago) resulted in a rather nasty letter that read, "if your not gonna sell me any of this stuff, stop sending me the list." A few days after receiving his letter, I got a phone call. I had something he just had to have. He's been under my control ever sense! *********************************************** FS-5000 "SPY" RADIO!? Dennis, Here is some info I obtained in case you want to publish it. I know nothing about the radio. ------------------------------------------- Harald Hermanns Wrote...... You asked about the FS-5000 manufactured by Telefunken. I gathered the following information : This ( spy ) radio was produced at the Telefunken branch at St. Wendel, Germany. ( It is the same source my PRT's are coming from and for whom I made maintenance and service activities at the PRT radios. So I could ask formerly colleagues about this mystery.) The radios were developed and constructed under a contract with the formerly Western German Army . ( Remember that Germany was separated in East and West and until 1990 the Cold War existed ). The background for this contract I could not get to know for different reasons, you will see later. The radios were tested by the Army at the " Erprobungsstelle 81 " and at Lager Lechfeld in Bavaria. The results were all other than encouraging. After only a few weeks the radios were given back to Telefunken and the army was no longer interested in this project. The units shall be very unreliable. Telefunken tried to sell them an other way and, really, a customer was found - the NSA ( by writing this name I will get some problems since all messages from overseas to USA are routed via this agency and they do not like it reading about themselves. But never mind. ) For Telefuinken the world was ok again, but only for them. The NSA soon had to recognize what the German army already knew. This type of radio was not worth the money they had to pay for it. I got the information that some of the units were in service in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during Desert Storm, but I do not know if they really were. After this disastorous results the NSA sold the radios on the surplus market and a lot of them shall be to get at Michael Murphy and also the store of Telefunken found it's way to the surplus market in USA. My information from Telefunken are the following : All units still on stock were sold, spare parts or items of this system are not available. All TM's and documentation were destroyed, but not only for the reason of secretness. Telefunken was so frustrated about this failure that they tried to destroy all remembrance, and this hole in the memory they still have, and it seems to be chronic. This may be the main reason why I could not get much more information from staff members of Telefunken. Now most of the radios are on US surplus market, but they are quite expensive, I asked some one today and he told me that the amount to get one shall be around $5000. But an other, more technical problem will occur when you by one. Before entering the surplus market a small but important module of the radios was deleted - the controller. Its task was it to control the frequency setting and other main functions of the radio by sending a serial code with a specific data frame to the corresponding modules. Without this controller the complete system is worthless. And even you will find a controller you have to know the specific codes for its use. Conclusion : For a collector the FS-5000 perhaps will by of a ( costly ) interest, even the system is incomplete without the controller. For a user with controller and the complete knowledge of the necessary codes the radio will be of less worth. He will get the same impression as long before him the German army and the NSA : very expensive scrap. Today I would not buy such a unit, but the time perhaps will bring the missing and destroyed controllers back together with the knowledge how to use them. I will try to find more information and I am sorry that I am not able to bring you better news If there are new information I will automatically send you. ed) Last year, It was made known to me of the existance, and availability, of the FS-5000's along with the "Spy" radio claim. Alway's sceptical of equipment so branded, I made some inquireries. The below was received from Keith Melton who in other messages confirmed the NSA use. Yes, I have examined, briefly, the FS5000 and know where they came from. I have a photocopy of the set photograph and can send it to you if you have interest. The set appears incomplete and is apparently missing the small commercial controlling computer that was used in conjunction with the set. It may have been the old APPLE 2 unit, or another of that vintage. The set is extremely well made, but in an incomplete state was of little interest to me. I hope this helps. Regards, KEITH *********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; German FSE 38-58, Sounds interesting. I'd like one. Buzz ed) Thanks Buzz, of the 6 people(so far known) who responded to Alan's gracious offer, you where the only one who had the curtesy to let me know per my request included in the notice posted. Makes me wonder why I bother with all this crap! The German FSE 38-58 is a most interesting little radio. I haven't yet had time to do much more than open mine up for a look inside, and the promised schematic/manual has not yet arrived(hint), neither has the one for the SEM-35(hint, HINT!), but I'll tell you what I know. As Alan said, this radio was intended as a replacement for the PRC-6, but it also had a second, more mission specific purpose. This was as a means of communications between the crews of armored vehicles and their supporting infantry. Such a need was recognized by U.S. Military before the end of WW-II, and again during the Korean War where some action was finally taken to address the need. This action took three forms. The first was to mount modified field telephones to the outer hull of a tank that was connected to the vehicle's interphone system. The second resulted in our beloved RT-70. The last, was a modification in the requirements for the new Squad Radios which further delayed the appearance of the PRT-4 & PRR-9 pair. The German's, always with a better idea, combined the RT-70, and PRT-4/PRR-9 methods which resulted in the FSE 38-58. This most interestly little radio is very small being about the sized of a Webster's dictionary. It's all solid state, and operates from an internal 6vdc battery, or external 24vdc. It has no provision to use a local antenna. Insteed it has a BNC connector that allows use of either a helmit-worn short-tape antenna(while portable), or the vehicles antenna system when so mounted. The radio while in it's armored vehicle mode, appears to have been mounted in some sort of a grab-and-run fashion, it's power derived from the vehicle's 24v system, and the radios audio connected directly to the interphone system(possibly via it's standard U-77 audio connector). Though it is a single channel, xtal control radio, frequency changing in the field must have been accomplished fairly easily as there is an internal mounting for spare xtals(I think 6). For portable use, the radio set was provided with a very heavy duty canvas bag which carries not only the radio, but spare batteries, and antenna. Be warned, this is no power house radio. The RF power output is on the order of 50-100mw. But the fun that can be had with this power level can't be believed until tried! Years ago, when the license free 49mc craze started, I did a lot of experimenting with Maxon HT's that put out less than 100mw. I replaced the telescoping antennas with 4" rubber-duckie types intended for use on cordless telephones. They worked very well, and had an average range of 1/2 mile. These things though now replaced by more sophisticated equipment, are still around and see some occasional use. I don't yet know if those that Alan has found include the canvas bag, and tape antenna, if they do, $50 & postage is a bargain. If anybody has any more questions I'll try to answer them. If you'd like to throw your name into the hat for one, contact Alan at Special note: Helmit Singer has had these radios cataloged for several years. Members might seek out his web site for more info, and our European members can purchase them directly. *********************************************** NEW MEMBER; Bonjour, Yes, I should like to participate and I agree the points #1 to #7 of the conditions. Some informations about me : My Ham call is F5PI (since 1966) ; I am 54 and teach mathematics in a college. I live in a very small village (in deep France) between Nantes and Les Sables D'Olonne (on the coast). My interest is "in construction" because I am a small collector. Many years ago (1965-1970), I bought a BC 454 and a SCR 522 (BC624 + 625) ; it was very cheap. I bouht also a WWII german receiver UKWe. I regret also to have distroyed the nice TUs from BC 375 for the coils and the condensators. Last year, I got a BC 342 X-Tal from a friend (rebuild for french army by a french factory - LGT St Cloud - in 1957) ; fine but ... heavy. Last june, I went for the first time in Friedrichshafen (Ham Radio) ; there I bought some radios from ex-USSR : R-326 R-107T R-105M R-126 I am looking for informations about these radios ; I heard it was possible to buy a book in Germany about these radios but I forgot the address. Where coul I find a directory of these radios ? sincerely Marcel Picavez FRANCE *********************************************** NON-MEMBER STUFF; Any interest in a few R482-AN URR-35C. I have a few I can part with. Also a variant of the 35 it was an experimental radio that could be tuned remotely. I case you are not familiar , these are late 50s early 60s tube type 225-400mhz recievers. They all work and one or two are in almost brand new. I have one urr-27 (100-200mhz am) that is brand new. (never used by military) (I played with it a little!) works good. oh yeah I have the set of signal generaters to align them with , all military versions of hp-606 hp-608 Reply if interested *********************************************** HUMOR; << The Top 14 Signs You're Not Watching the Real "Phantom Menace" 14 As if the girl-girl porno action weren't tacky enough, you can actually see the strings holding up the planets. 13 Somehow, R2-D2 manages to give Darth Maul the finger. 12 Right when Obi-Wan is about to whip out his "lightsaber," the screen goes blank and you have to put in another 50 cents. 11 Queen Amidala looks suspiciously like one of the Olsen twins. 10 As Leia Orgasma takes off her clothes, you realize you've stumbled into "The Phantom Moan-fest." 9 The "lightsaber duel" consists of nothing but two guys with Nerf baseball bats making lightsaber noises with their mouths. 8 None of the previews mentioned the evil Darth Diggler or queen Ches-Ti Ho. 7 The scene of the young Anakin Skywalker straddling his Pod Racer -- arms outstretched -- shouting, "I'm Lord of the Universe!" is just a tad derivative. 6 "Help me, Monica... You're my only hope!" 5 Leslie Neilsen as "Dark Mall"?! I don't friggin' think so! 4 Yoda looks awfully pale, and he keeps saying "Taco Bell, yo quiero." 3 "Starring Jerry Mathers as The Menace," just doesn't sound right. 2 Anakin Skywalker is played by a small black child whose only line is "Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" and Topfive.com's Number 1 Sign You're Not Watching the Real "Phantom Menace"... 1 You're having trouble reading the subtitled translations for Obi "Juan" Kenobi. ------------------------------------------------------------------ << A man comes home from work and finds his wife admiring her breasts in the mirror. He asks, "What are you doing?" She replies, "I went to the doctor today, and he told me I have the breasts of a 25 year old." The husband retorts, "Well, what did he say about your 50 year old ass?" She replied, "Frankly dear, your name never came up. ------------------------------------------------------------------ A first grade teacher had a small number of children gathered around a table for a reading group. After the story was read she gave the children a work sheet to do. She thought they may have some problems so wanted them to work on it there. She heard a little girl say very softly "damn!". The teacher leaned over and said quietly, "We don't say that in school." The little girl looked at the teacher, her eyes got very big and she said, "Not even when things are all fucked up?!" ~~~~ The first grade teacher was starting a new lesson on multi-syllable words. She thought it would be a good idea to ask a few of the children examples of words with more than one syllable. "Jane, do you know any multi-syllable words?" After some thought Jane proudly replied with "Monday." "Great Jane. That has two syllables, Mon......day. Does anyone know another word." "I do! I do!" replied Johnny. Knowing Johnny's more mature sense of humor she picks Mike instead. "OK Mike, what is your word." "Saturday." says Mike. "Great, that has three syllables." Not wanting to be outdone, Johnny says "I know a four syllable word. Pick me! Pick me!" Not thinking he can do any harm with a word that large the teacher reluctantly says, "O.K. Johnny what is your four syllable word?" Johnny proudly says, "Mas...tur...ba...tion." Shocked, the teacher, trying to retain her composure says, "Wow, Johnny. Four syllables! That's certainly is a mouthful." "No Ma'am, your thinking of 'blowjob', and that's only two syllables." *********************************************** 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 concerning this group or membership contact Dennis Starks at, . A list of selected articles of interest to members can be seen at: http://www.softcom.net/users/buzz/backmail.html ***********************************************