From: military-radio-guy Full-Name: Dennis R Starks To: military radio collectors#2 Fcc: Sent Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 06:29:11 Subject: MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, June 11/99 Message-ID: <19990611.062817.11295.5.military-radio-guy@juno.com> X-Status: Sent X-Mailer: Juno 1.49 MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, June 11/99 Index: ANNOUNCEMENTS; Inverter Power Supply Prices, and Count MYSTERIOUS RUSSIAN RADIO; By Bill Howard THIS YEARS WEST COAST MRCG MEET; MEMBERS WRITE; Whatsit, RT-122B/APW-11?, Now We Know, Happy Camper! Squelch Circuit For the PRC-6, PRC-68 Family Antenna Adapters Available, NEW MEMBER; Gene Pantano HUMOR; *********************************************** ANNOUNCEMENTS; Inverter Power Supply Prices, and Count This is the initial cost per unit/quantity, and member interest: 2-10 11-99 100> approx member interest PRC-6 : $30.25 $29.20 $27.50 30 BC-611 : $35.25 $34.00 $32.10 33 CPRC-26: as above 5 PRC-10: as above 26 BC-1000: as above 11 We cannot mix separate power supply types to get the quantity prices. If you interested in any of these, you must let me know. I've not yet heard from a volunteer in the U.S will to take on the job. Dennis *********************************************** MYSTERIOUS RUSSIAN RADIO; By Bill Howard H T Radio Russian Special Mission Radio Very little is known about this radio other than it exists. Not even the name or designation of the set. The set comes in a leather bag, similar to a womans purse. Very sturdy and high quality.and seems to hold all the necessary accessories. The bag has a side flap to allow changing of the side module. The radio is the standard Russian light green in color and uses a special version of the Kulikov antenna but that is where the Russian ends. The controls are marked in English. The set has a special antenna mount which slides into slots on the side. A 10 pin mini connector mates with a socket on the front panel. The antenna consists of two brown wires 7 foot 9 inches long and a socket on top for a special Kulikov antenna. The headset and mike are also connected by a cable to a 10 pin mini connector which mates with a socket on the front panel. The headset was two ear phones with a cloth headband, The mike was housed in a reddish brown bakelite type material box with a flip open cover over the mike. As received, the power cord was in two sections. The one section mates with a four pin mini socket on the front panel. This has a reddish brown bakelite type box which appears to be an in-line fuze box and also has an on off switch. This cable terminated in a connector which appeared to be designed for mounting on the panel of something. It also had a connector which mated with its socket and went to a much larger connector and socket which also looked like it was to be mounted on a panel. The actual radio measures 4 inches wide by 2 inches high and 9 inches long. It has two removable modules. One mounts on the bottom. Removal of the cover reveals about 6 PC boards with approximatly 17 IC chips and related resistors. The second module mounted on the side. It had the marking 2.8 on the side. There was some speculation that this could be some form of codeing device but with a 2.8 on the side it is more likely a tuning unit. There are two thumb wheels across the top and three across the bottom. On top, they are labeled FREQUENCY SETTING and one is x 10 and the other is x 1 The controls across the bottom are marked ANTENNA TUNING, TONE and VOLUME. Between the ANTENNA TUNING and TONE controls is what appears to be some sort of light or perhaps a LED. The only other control was a small toggle switch marked CODE OFF and ON.. We have referred to this set as the HT set from Handheld Transceiver but with the antenna made up a rod and long wires, it does not appear to have been designed for use while on the move. It looks more like it was designed to be taken someplace such as an observation post and then set up for use in a reasonably stable enviornment. The leather case, as mentioned before, however has a flap which opens to allow removal of the side module, indicating that it was designed to be used while still in the bag. Why the English language markings on the controls? Most likely this set was made for export to one of their allied nations, perhaps for use by their recon forces. The set does not appear to be a very powerful set although there was also some speculation that it may have been for comunication by satellite. The set was here for a very short time so I did not have the time (or the desire) to take it completly apart. That is a project I left for the new owner. If anyone wants pictures of this set, send me an e-mail and I will send them some JPEGs of the set. Bill Howard THE WILLIAM L. HOWARD ORDNANCE TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE MUSEUM e-mail wlhoward@gte.net *********************************************** THIS YEARS WEST COAST MRCG MEET; At the MRCG gathering in San Louis Obispo,CA this year we had a field 'exercise' with PRC-6's.A 1 milliwatt signal was transmitted from a service monitor and a coded message sent.We had to copy the message at a pre determined distance correctly and then move out further.The idea being to see who had the most sensitve radio. Dick Dillman won useing one of my '-6's. Hopefully next year we will expand the activities and do a fox hunt useing the df loop. Mark Blair has photos of the swap meet on his web site.I'm the goofy guy in the red sweatshirt standing in front of the funky white vw bus. 73 Jay Coward *********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; Whatsit, RT-122B/APW-11?, Now We Know, Dennis: The APW 11 is a Transponder that operated between 2700 and 2900 Mhz. The Receiver is a Crystal Video type. The unit could decode separate pulse spacings to allow addressing specific units in a limited fashion, only 6 different codes. The Transmitter could be encoded in it's response also. But the most unique thing about this rig is that there is a connector that is marked DECODER. There is a separate unit the same size as the RT that has a number of tone decoders in it. The RAdAR that interrogated this unit could be double pulsed. The first pulse was the reference and the second pulse could be time position modulated. The net result was that the Ground Radar could transmit a group of tones to the Aircraft, they could be decoded and displayed on a display that was the same size as the panel mounted barometric Altimeter. There were back lighted transparencies with words that could be selected by the ground and displayed to the Pilot. Thus, commands could be sent to the Aircraft without voice communications. I don't recall the words anymore, hell that was forty years ago! In addition the unit could function as a IFF unit. The Receiver is two pre-selector cavities to a 1N32 diode and three stages of 12AT7 Video amps. The pulse info went to the decoder and encoders, another maze of 12AT7's, on a sub-chassis. This chassis also included two 2D21 thyratron modulators for the Transmitter. The Transmitter is a 2C40A and puts out a minimum of 300 watts Pulse peak in the same 2700 to 2900 Mhz range. Rich Wurtzinger ed) Now that I know what it is, what the hell do I do with it? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Happy Camper! Dennis, You often ask for reports on transactions within the group... here's one for you. Alan Tasker recently offered to reproduce several PRC manuals for the group and I took him up on a large subset of those offered. He did a great job and the information he provided has already helped me with some of my own gear, and provided a wealth of info I had no access to, otherwise. I hope others take the time to echo these thoughts. Alan's effort in every way here reflect what many if not all of us wanted this group to be. Best Regards and keep up the good job Dennis, Geoff Bunza ed) Very HAPPY to hear it, Alan has been of major benifit to us in more ways than just manuals, and tech info. My thanks too. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Squelch Circuit For the PRC-6, Anybody got a decent squelch circuit for the PRC-6? My solution was to = use a an older tone board in series with the audio, the older boards had = the variable pot to chance the tone so you can put it on=20 150 cycles. This of course makes the prc-6 work with the new stuff but = not with the old. breck k4che dover delaware ----------------------------------------------------------------- PRC-68 Family Antenna Adapters Available, Dennis, The machinist has finally come thru with a useable part, so I can finally offer the following. PRC-68 antenna-to-BNC adapters, new construction, $28.20 ea postage included. Group members are entitled to a $5 discount on the first one they order. Alan ed) these will work with all PRC-68 family radios including the PRC-126. *********************************************** NEW MEMBER; Gene Pantano >Dennis..I'd like to share some time with you guys..swap some info..maybe answer some questions if I can. I have been involved with m/v since the 50's...Militaria before that. I used to hang out with Italian POW's in the 40's. Had my first war souvenir about 1944.. I have had body shops..have restored about 22 different m/v's over the years..tanks included. Also shot some up and destroyed them.. I have a very large assortment of radio installation stuff out back and would dearly love to get the stuff sold or traded off to make room.. Thanks for the invitation. Gene Pantano *********************************************** HUMOR; St. Peter greeted two newcomers at the Pearly Gates. One was a pope, the other was a Marine. He ushered The Pope to a small shack and settled him in to his austere quarters; then led the Marine to a huge, luxuriously appointed mansion. "I don't understand," the Marine puzzled. "That man was a Pope, and you gave him a shack. And yet, you've said I am to live in this luxurious, huge mansion. Why?" "Sir," said St. Peter. "We've had lots and lots of popes, here. But, you, sir, are our very FIRST Marine." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Army Recruits (2 June 1999) The chief of staff of the US Army decided that he would personally intervene in the recruiting crisis affecting all of our armed services. He directed a nearby Army base that would be opened and that all eligible young men and women be invited. As he and his staff were standing near a brand new M-1 Battle Tank, a pair of twin well built, neatly kept brothers who looked like they had just stepped off an Army Corps recruiting poster walked up to them. The chief of staff walked up to them, stuck out his hand and introduced himself. He looked at the first young man and asked, "Son, what skills can you bring to the best Army in the world?" The young man looks at him and says, "I'm a pilot!" The general gets all excited, turns to his aide and says, "Get him in today, all the paper work done, everything, do it!" The aide hustles the young man off. The general looks at the second young man and asked, "What skills can you bring to this man's Army?" The young man says, "I chop wood!" "Son," the general replies, "we don't need wood choppers in the Army, what else do you know how to do?" "I chop wood!" "Young man," huffs the general, "you are not listening to me, we don't need wood choppers, this is the 20th century and our battles are fought with our minds as much as with our bodies!" "Well," the young man says, "you hired my brother!" "Of course we did," says the general, "he's a pilot!" The young man rolls his eyes and says, "Duh! I have to *chop* it before he can pile it!" ----------------------------------------------------------------- After the May 3rd tornado, many Oklahoma City residentshave tried to deal with their loss through humor. Many home owners have spray-painted their homes or put up signs claiming: "For Sale:Fixer Upper" or "OPEN HOUSE." However, the best one comes from a man in Moore who, before President Clinton's visit, put a sign in his yard saying: "HEY BILL, HOW'S THIS FOR A BLOW JOB?" Unfortunately, the Secret Service asked him to remove it since there was so much media coverage. ----------------------------------------------------------------- A frustrated wife decided her sex life needed spicing up. After work, she went shopping and picked up a pair of crotchless panties. She went home and donned the new garment and selected a short skirt to go with it. She greeted her husband when he came home from work and sat across from him as they had a drink. She slowly spread her legs ...."Honey would you like some of this?" "Hell no, look what it's done to your underwear!" ----------------------------------------------------------------- This was an article in the CALIFORNIA EXAMINER, March 20, 1998: Fire Authorities in California found a corpse in a burnt-out section of forest while assessing the damage done by a forest fire. The deceased male was dressed in a full wetsuit, complete with a tank and regulator, fins, and mask. A post-mortem examination revealed that the person died not from burns but from massive internal injuries. Dental records provided a positive identification. Investigators then set about determining how a fully equipped diver ended up in the middle of a forest fire. It was revealed that, on the day of the fire, the person went for a diving trip off the coast---some 20 miles away from the forest. The firefighters, seeking to control the fire as quickly as possible, called in a fleet of helicopters with very large buckets. The buckets were dropped into the ocean for rapid filling, then flown to the forest fire and emptied. You guessed it. One minute our diver was making like Flipper in the Pacific, the next he was doing a breaststroke in a fire bucket 300 feet in the air. Apparently, he extinguished exactly 5'10" of the fire. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed. STILL THINK YOU'RE HAVING A BAD DAY? THINK AGAIN. (The following is taken from a Florida newspaper) A man was working on his motorcycle on his patio and his wife was in the house in the kitchen. The man was racing the engine on the motorcycle and somehow, the motorcycle slipped into gear. The man, still holding the handlebars, was dragged through a glass patio door and along with the motorcycle dumped onto the floor inside the house. The wife, hearing the crash, ran into the dining room, and found her husband lying on the floor, cut and bleeding, the motorcycle lying next to him and the patio door shattered. The wife ran to the phone and summoned an ambulance. Because they lived on a fairly large hill, the wife went down the several flights of long steps to the street to direct the paramedics to her husband. After the ambulance arrived and transported the husband to the hospital, the wife uprighted the motorcycle and pushed it outside. Seeing that gas had spilled on the floor, the wife got some paper towels, blotted the gasoline, and threw the towels into the toilet. The husband was treated at the hospital and was released to come home. After arriving home, he looked at the shattered patio door and the damage done to his motorcycle. He became despondent, went into the bathroom, sat on the toilet and smoked a cigarette. After finishing the cigarette, he flipped it between his legs into the toilet bowl while still seated. The wife, who was in the kitchen, heard a loud explosion and her husband screaming. She ran into the bathroom and found her husband lying on the floor. His trousers had been blown away and he was suffering burns on the buttocks, the back of his legs and his groin. The wife again ran to the phone and called for an ambulance. The same ambulance crew was dispatched and the wife met them at the street. The paramedics loaded the husband on the stretcher and began carrying him to the street. While they were going down the stairs to the street accompanied by the wife, one of the paramedics asked the wife how the husband had burned himself. She told them and the paramedics started laughing so hard, one of them tipped the stretcher and dumped the husband out. He fell down the remaining steps and broke his arm. Now THAT is a bad day... Hope yours is better - *********************************************** 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 ***********************************************