MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, May  26/98
INDEX:
IRIDIUM CONSTELLATION COMPLETE;
GALAXY IV FAILURE;
MEMBERS WRITE;
	Holes in the back of a BC-348,
	PRC-66?
HUMOR;
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IRIDIUM CONSTELLATION COMPLETE;
Sunday afternoon, May 17, at 4:16 PM marked what I believe is a watershed
point in the history of electronic communication.

The launch of a Boeing Delta II rocket, from Vandenberg AFB, CA carried 5
Iridim satellites into orbit.  There are currently 67 working satellites in
the Iridium system.  (66 active and 1 orbiting spare). All have been
launched in the last 12 months.  Before Iridium, each satellite was custom
built.  These satellites were mass assembled in a factory.

The Iridium name comes from the element Iridium which has 66 electrons
circling the nucleus, much as this system has 66 satellites circling the
earth.

Starting in September 1998, this system of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites
will allow users of a handheld phone to make and receive calls from
anywhere on the earth's surface where they can see a good patch of sky.

Prior to September, there are places where you need a suitcase full of
equipment and a bulky antenna to communicate.  After September 1998 you can
communicate anywhere with a handheld device. The older Inmarsart system
uses geo-stationary satellites and provides no coverage in the polar regions.

Amateur radio operators worldwide blazed the trail for LEO satellites and
proved their worth.  Thanks to their pioneering efforts there will soon be
no place in the world where you need to be cut off from communication.

Here are some URL's concerning satellite phones:

http://www.iridium.com/

http://www.teledesic.com/

http://www.ico.com/

http://www.inmarsat.org/inmarsat/index.html

http://www.mot.com/GSS/SSTG/projects/celestri/

Randy Hoops - Springfield, MO
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  Au contraire, s'il vous plait. :-)  The actual element Iridium has _77_
electrons. The original Iridium project was to have involved 77 satellites.
However, the technology evolved sufficiently that seven orbits of
satellites was "overkill", and that six would be sufficient to work the
entire planet.
  I haven't looked at Iridium's web page yet, but I wonder if they mention
the 77 to 66 change in their history files. :-)

                        _Ray_   KB0STN
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GALAXY IV FAILURE;
STATEMENT BY ROBERT BEDNAREK

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

20 MAY 1998, 12:15 A.M. EASTERN TIME

Regarding the Galaxy IV domestic U.S. communications satellite.

"At approximately 6:00 p.m. Eastern time on May 19, the Galaxy IV
satellite experienced an anomaly within its on-board spacecraft control
processor (SCP), the primary system responsible for pointing the
spacecraft relative to earth. The automatic switch to a backup unit
failed as well. As a result of the SCP anomalies, the satellite began to
rotate, thereby losing its fixed orientation. While PanAmSat is able to
receive telemetry from and send commands to the satellite, full
operation of the satellite's attitude control system has not been
achieved at this time. PanAmSat has deactivated the communications
payload at this time to conserve power. The satellite is in a stable,
safe mode, and engineers at Hughes Space and Communications Co., which
built the spacecraft, are examining all pertinent data to determine the
causes of and potential solutions to the anomalies.

"PanAmSat has advised its Galaxy IV customers that the satellite will
remain out of service until Wednesday morning at the earliest. We are
helping customers with short-term restoration plans for their satellite
transmission requirements. In addition, given the size and flexibility
of PanAmSat's global satellite network, we are examining long-term
options in the event that we cannot reactivate the satellite, including
the use of available capacity on other PanAmSat spacecraft with domestic
U.S. coverage.

"PanAmSat is deploying all possible resources within our company and the
satellite communications industry to ensure continuous, high-quality
transmissions for their video and telecommunications services."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
©1998 PanAmSat, All rights reserved.
Headquarters - Greenwich, CT USA
Tel: 203-622-6664
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MEMBERS WRITE;
Holes in the back of a BC-348,
Dennis , Dave sundheimer asked why the tapped holes ontop and back of 
BC-348 case. I have photo of the '348 installed in a  Liberator bomber and
it looks as though there was a angle bracket with a shock mount attached
to the case. The shock mount in turn , was part of a rather substantial
mount fixed to the fuselage of the aircraft. Didn't know my self until I
saw the question and looked in the a/c manual.
Cheers
Pete Williams VK 3 IZ
jupeter@net-tech.com.au
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PRC-66?
Dennis,

Have a question: Does anyone know if the PRC-66 was ever formally adopted 
by the US Army or USMC? Or did it remain as a USAF radio?

73

Joseph W Pinner
Lafayette, LA
KC5IJD
EMail: kc5ijd@sprintmail.com

ed) Currently, the only known user for the PRC-66 was the Airforce as reported by Jane's, & what's been found on surplus examples. Fed Log also list the Airforce as the only purchaser.

PRC-66;Backpack VHF/UHF,AM transceiver.Intended for use by FAC's,
	paratroopers,& other combat communications teams in landing,parachute
	drop,& fighter strike control operations.Developed by Collins of
	Canada as a replacement for the PRC-41,these radios are known to be in
	use by the US Air Force.Installation kits & accessories are available
	for vehicular installation.
	  Ops 225-399.9 on any of 3500 synthesized channels,spaced 50kc apart.
	RF power output is 3 watts.Requires 24vdc supplied by either alkaline
	or rechargeable nicad batteries.Set is small enough to be held &
	operated with one hand.Original US Airforce cost $8926.23.
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HUMOR;
 In a tiny village lived an old maid. In spite of her old age, she was
still a virgin. She was very proud of it. She knew her last days were getting
closer, so she told the local undertaker that she wanted the following
inscription on her tombstone:
   "Born as a virgin, lived as a virgin, died as a virgin" 
 Not long after, the old maid died peacefully, and the undertaker told his
men what the lady had said. The men went to carve it in, but as the lazy no-
goods they were, they thought the inscription to be unnecessarily long. They
simply wrote: 
 "Returned unopened"
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 A lady approaches a priest one day and tells him, "Father, I have a
 problem. I have two talking female parrots, but it turns out they only know how to
 say one thing."

 "What do they say?", the priest asked.

 "They only know how to say 'Hi, we are nymphomaniacs. Do you want to
 have some FUN?'"

 "That's terrible!", the priest exclaimed, "But I have a solution to your
 problem. Bring your two talking female parrots over to my house and I
 will put them with my two male talking parrots who I have taught to pray the
 rosary. Then my parrots will teach your parrots to stop saying that terrible
 phrase and your female parrots will learn to pray and worship."

 "Thank you." said the lady. So the next day, the lady brings her female
 parrots to the priest's house. The priest's two male parrots are holding
 rosary beads and praying in their cage.

 The lady puts her female talking parrots in with the male talking
 parrots and the  female parrots say, "Hi, we are nymphomaniacs! Do you want to have
 some FUN?"

 One male parrot looks over to the other male parrot and says, "PUT THE
 BEADS AWAY, MAX; OUR PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!!!!!!!!!!!"
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 Ending it all...
 
 An 83-year old woman decided that she'd seen and
 done everything, and the time had come to depart
 from this world. After considering various methods of
 doing away with herself, she came to the conclusion
 that the quickest and surest method would be to shoot
 herself through the heart. The trouble was, she wasn't
 certain about exactly where her heart was, so she
 phoned her doctor and asked him. He told her that
 her heart was located two inches below her left
 nipple.
 
 So she shot herself in the left kneecap.
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(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 are included. For more information conserning this group contact Dennis Starks at, military-radio-guy@juno.com)
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