MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Sept.25/98 Index: ANNOUNCEMENTS; THE QRC-222, AND THE GRA-71??; A Letter From John Pitts to Pete McCollum MEMBERS WRITE; British CPRC-26? AM & FM!? NEW MEMBER; John Pitts (N5AGQ) HUMOR; *********************************************** ANNOUNCEMENTS; Get your entries/updates in for this weekends "Paper Trail", and "Group Want's/Trade's". I didn't post it last weekend because there weren't any additions. *********************************************** THE QRC-222, AND THE GRA-71??; A Letter From John Pitts to Pete McCollum Mr. McCollum, My name is John Pitts (N5AGQ) and I am located in San Antonio,TX. I found your article on the GRA-71 and it has answered many questions for me and raised many more! Back in the late 70's, when I was around 15 years old,I was given a "spy suitcase" radio and the nomenclature was QRC-222 and it has several parts of the GRA-71(did not know the nomenclature until about 3 days ago) burst encoder in it. the radio however is not like any of the radios I've seen mentioned so far. I am fairly certain that the system was built circa 1963 (by chance my birth year) by the Quick Reactions Capability Program of the Air Force (1952-1964)I am also fairly certain that no more than 100 of these "suitcases" were produced,( mine is serial # 8 )under a classified project name of "code-clarion",Rome ADC and quite possible the receiver I have was built by hallicrafter - I have documentation that supports this hypothosis - The radio/everything in my system is flat black except the dark yellow silk screened round moving vfo frequency indicator and the coil/crystal banks which are black metal with green plastic covers - all function labels appear to be silk screened in dark yellow also it has no nominclature panels (in fact no identifying marks at all except for BLACK AND WHITE dymo label tape that reads "QRC-222 NO 8" on each of the major components)the burst encoder reader and tape cartridge have printed paper stickers with thier nomenclature on them. It is a solid state transceiver(not positive on the finals) dimensions 6"W x 8"L X 2.5"H (the power supply has approx. the same dimensions) AM/CW 2-20 MHz(MC)vfo or xtal rec. and for transmitting (I've never measured the power out) it uses plug-in tunable coil/xtal band modules (4 supplied in a metal case with xtals) for cw only transmit. It has a solid state power supply/inverter that has a 4 position rotory switch covering 10-17vdc ,5-7vdc,140-240vac,85-140vac The suitecase is a custom black aluminum case with seals and air release valve (screw type),heavy clamps and heavy duty molded handle, it is divided into 3 major compartments by aluminum walls in each of them dense grey plastic foam compartments hold the individual pieces, the center has an aluminum threaded extension to support screwing in a bottom-loaded coil into which screws a 14 element 18' telescopic rod antenna with guying loops the antenna collapses to l.5'L x 1" diameter. extending data is printed on the ant. loading coil cover., The loading coil/rod will also screw into a supplied 4 sided ground spike(an extremly leathal looking device). that has removable metal guying pegs, under the xtal box is stored the pre-made guying cables. (clips and adjusting blocks already attached) As if that isn't enough it also has a transmatch and a slider for longwire use (even has (2) # 6 lead weights in their own compartments for heaving the wire into trees, etc.) It has a full complement of cables to support everything from automobile batteries to outlets. the GRA-71 burst encoder system is not fully provided in the case - it isn't needed - just the CO-3B SERIAL# 2061(CO-3B IS MY GUESS-UNIT IS NOT MARKED - WHICHEVER ONE IS THE AUTOMATIC VERSION (MINE IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT -NO HANDLE ATTACHMENTS AND HAS LETTERS AROUND THE ENCODING DIAL - ALSO - JUST ONE DISK (DOUBLE SIDED),CA-3 (NO SERIAL# , NO REV.), AND KE-8B SERIAL #2175 (WHICH PLUGS DIRECTLY INTO THE XCEIVER)THIS ITEM HAS A STICKER SHOWING THAT IT WAS LAST INSPECTED 8 NOV 1965. it also had a speed-x hand key in it which got away from me over the years - (not sure that it actually went with it anyway but it does have a cable for doing manual keying it also had a fairly cheesy earphone in it not sure it was original either) all this is contained in an area of 1'6"H x1'9"W x 6"D and weighs in at 52 pounds (most of which is the case). This thing is the qrp/emergency operators ultimate go anywhere dream system. (unless he's backpacking!) anyway thats my unit - thought you might be interested since it looks like your collecting data on the subject. I would love to hear from you. Ive spent the last 15 years (on and off) trying to find data on this unit - including is it still classified, what was its purpose/history, etc. - dont know if you know him but Warren Leach got me started researching it again by virtue of his pics at bluesky.com and some info he provided me. then I went out and bought H. Keith Meltons book -the ultimate spy book - for page 118 to be specific. Good overall book, would like to see one more specific to radio though. Any information you could provide me would be appreciated. by the way the story behind my having the radio and figuring out what it was is fairly interesting also. If your interested I'll tell it to you. I'm hoping to get some pics digitized of it and maybe put up a web page of my own along with some of my other equipment. If you'd like the pics I'll send them to you when I get them made. It's nice to know that other people out there have simuliar interest - I was starting to feel alone. Feel free to pass my email address on to anyone who might also be interested in discussing "spy radios" !!! Most Sincerely, John Pitts (N5AGQ) jrpitts@swbell.net (primary) jrpitts@lsgnet.com (secondary) ed) SHIT! There's another radio I don't have. *********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; British CPRC-26? A40 green 6ch manpack set: I got this out last nite to have a look at it. It is the English copy of the PRC-26. Small, about 4"x3" front panel, cast alloy, green colour, 6 ch switch, mic/phones socket, whip connector, 1 other control. Fits into a cast alloy box about 6" deep, the box is a different Army green to the front panel, as I got them at different times. The battery connections poke thru the box bottom, and mate with the battery box. It is about 3" deep, don't have one. I do have the bakelite connector from a battery that mates with the radio. The radio has about 15 modules, like small IF cans, each about .75" sqaure and 2" high each a different colour, all plug in. They have small valves in them. Also 1 miniature valve and a test socket. Has crystals, looks complete, dirty. Don't know if it works. I have a copy of the manual. Used by Australian and English Army. 73s Ray VK2ILV ed) it would appear that we may now add a fourth country to the users of the CPRC-26. The count now includes Canada, Holland, England, & Australia. I wonder why the Brits saw fit to change the radio's model number instead of using the one it was born with, as did the rest of the world? Ray goes on to describe a larger brother to this radio as seen below. A43R green 6ch manpack: Similar set to above. Bigger, heavier. Green cast front panel, about 5"x4", same controls. 2 watt RF output, English type coax connector rather than whip socket. In cast alloy case, still sealed, havn't looked inside, about 12" deep. 2 terminal battery connector on box bottom. I have a copy of the manual coming. Used by Australian and English Army. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AM & FM!? I, as a two way dealer, put up with the fact that the public knows nothing about AM and FM, except they think that the higher frequencies are FM and the lower frequencies are AM. I believe this comes from the traditional AM/FM broadcast bands on their radios that they are exposed to every day. When you get right down to it, how many of us really understand the difference? How many of us understand the difference between Military narrow band, commercial narrow band, and music broad band as it relates to FM? The same argument can be presented about AM signals and their bandwidth. Anyway, you are right, the group should have a firm grasp on the general and specific definitions of the signals that we talk about. Dennis, why didn't the Russians take into consideration the extra engine noise that comes with AM when picking a modulation technique? Maybe they had superior shielding in their engine compartments? This is out of my league and I know nothing that I am talking about. I am sure you must have some comments. -- Jim Hopper/W5EBQ Pres., Megahertz Technology, Inc. Dallas, TX. The tank radios are a completely different application. Respectfully to the older and wiser (and non-nerve-gas exposed) Colonel Howard, I disagree with the part of his letter that suggests that an AM signal from a tank would yield a further range than an FM one would, due to ignition noise which would cause greater interference in an AM reciever. (I'm assuming that these radios would have to be guarded while the tank was running as well as not running). Rather, I place greater belief in what he said about the Soviet Unions severe logistical difficulties, and also I'm sure that they had a shortage of engineering talent availibel to design new gear, due to their nutritional difficulties in the years leading up to the war. I'm saying that I believe that the Russian population did not achieve the level of intelligence that they (as individuals) inherited genetically, because of insufficient nutrition during the formative years (and maybe after that, too). If that is correct, than it makes perfect sense me that the Russian leaders should order the copying of every type of equipement which was an improvement on their own. This in order to allow said leaders to stay in power and for their political/economic system not to be replaced by the Fascist enemy which was temporarily operating at a higher level of output during those years before and during WWII (before they ran out of out-group population to exploit finacially and vocationally). Sean T. Kelly, Hi Dennis, I guess I should have mentioned that the R-116 is a VHF AM manpack covering 48.65-51.30 MHz. According the information I have the output is 60mW. I don't think you could talk very far with that. The R-106 is the same vintage but a larger manpack covering 41.6-48.65 MHz also AM, .75W output. These were both made in the late 1950s. I don't have exact information but they seem to have been in use from 1956 to 1962. I have not been able to find out what the corresponding vehicle or ground station was that they would be talking to either. It just seems odd that they would use VHF AM so late after the rest of the world had switched to FM. Tom Bryan tbryan@nov.org ed) before the U.S. undertook the transition from AM to FM in the late 30's, EVERY possible advantage, and dis-advantage of both modes were taken into account. The story is told in a very lengthy chapter in "The Signal Corps" and is beyond my ability, and our space limitations to include here. Suffice to say that the basic dispute had to do with the wider bandwidth of FM signals of the time(more than three times that of AM). This would produced far fewer available channels for a given frequency range. And has been pointed out in this forum before several times, the available channels for assignment to all the various contingents in any military force are never enough. When combined with multi national forces in close proximity, composed of thousands of combatant, and support units these problems become totally incomprehensible to us. Believe me, I have been involved in the channel assignment plan of a single Carrier Task Force prior to a standard deployment for just the UHF/AM band 225-399mc. It took weeks to get everyone assigned a non-conflicting frequency. Even then, this plan would need several modifications after deployment before it would satisfy our varied needs. And there is no comparison to this tiny task force and it's troubles to that of a mobile Army or two. It was not until Armstrong and Link demonstrated the Capture Effect of FM radios while being used in close proximity to a high powered transmitter did he show to all that these same FM channels, though wider in bandwidth could be re-used over and over again by contingents in the field without fear of interference. I/E the lesser available FM channels could be used many times. While on the other hand even distant, and week AM signals would cause significant interference to units trying to communicate with each other in relative close proximity to each other. So the issue of lesser available channels per band were laid to rest forever. In regard to Russia's use of AM well after the rest of the world had converted to FM. Observe the fact that the USSR even today uses parts of the frequency spectrum long abandon by the rest of the world for short range tactical communications, 20-30mc for instance. Also note the limited band coverage of any given radio of Russian origin to this day. Could it be, that the advantage of this Capture Effect was not demonstrated to the powers that were to their satisfaction. And that they could have concluded instead, that the greater channel capacity of a radio which had an already limited frequency range was of greater benefit than the ability to re-use these same channels over and over again. Remember again, the advantages of FM were only vary narrowly proven in our own debates of the 30's. *********************************************** NEW MEMBER; John Pitts (N5AGQ) Dear Mr. Stark, I would very much like to subscribe "become a member of" the 3 post mentioned in your Invitation. I have read the rules and I am more than willing to comply with them. I am very much interested in "military radio" and hope that I can be of assistance to the readers abroad. I am currently 35 y.o. happily married with a fantastic 8 y.o. daughter. I hold an Advanced class Amateur ticket (since '77) and have been a Electronics Technician for better than 17 years, having worked in many aspects of the field including Radio - EMI testing, Mobil computing, Integrated Circuits manufacturing, and host of other things from blood analysis to my current occupation as Project Manager - Breathing System, Wyle Life Sciences - which is essentially the design and manufacturing of Robots that emulate human breathing patterns, which are in turn used in the testing and development of the human breathing systems on military high altitude aircraft. As Pete McCollum, requested that you send me the invite, I am therefor sure you are aware of my interest regarding "clandestine Radio equipment" and how I am attempting to gather all the info. I can regarding the QRC-222 unit which is my long-time, low-level obsession. It is my hope, that my affiliation with the group might help me in this endeavor, and by default, I may be of assistance to them. Most Sincerely, John Pitts (N5AGQ) P.S. -- Two thing - If I have not provided you with enough (or the correct) information please advise me. Secondly, I am currently about 60 percent finished with my web page concerning the information I have acquired on the QRC-222 and hopefully it will be on-line soon so your readers can take a look - best regards -. *********************************************** HUMOR; To begin, here's the Dry Quote of the Week: "I believe that people would be alive today if there were a death penalty." -- Nancy Reagan More at http://www.zelepress.com/ Then right into ORACLE The armies of Alexander the Great were greatly feared in their day, but there was one problem that they had that almost defeated them. Alexander could not get his people to staff meetings on time. He always held the meetings at 6:00 P. M. each day after the day's battle was done, but frequently his generals either forgot or let the time slip up on them and missed the 6:00 P. M. staff meeting. This angered Alexander very much, to say the least! So he called in his research team and set up a project to develop a method of determining the time at 6:00 P. M. each day. There were no clocks in those days, at least none that could be carried around. The smallest was a giant water clock. "Find a way for my staff to determine the hour of the day, or at least when it gets to be 6:00 P. M.," he said, "Cost is no object." A study was instituted and, with several brain-storming sessions, his staff came up with the following idea. In a land some distance away, there grew a bush whose berries contained a type of dye that changed color at 6:00 P. M. each evening. They found that by dyeing strips of cloth and issuing them to the generals, they could see when it was 6:00 P. M. by the color change, and could consistently get to the 6:00 P. M. meetings on time. Needless to say this pleased Alexander very much. It was then turned over to his marketing group to come up with a name for this new invention as Alexander saw definite market potential in the strips. "It can be worn on the wrist and can be easily watched for the color change," said one junior executive. "I therefore propose to call it the Wrist Watch." This name was immediately discarded for being too bland and obvious. Another man suggested that since it could be worn in the naval and could be observed by just looking down, it should be called the Naval Observatory. This idea was rejected immediately as being too weird and too technical sounding for the general public. A junior vice-president suggested that since it could be worn around the neck and would insure that you would be informed when it reached 6:00 P.M., it should be called the Six O'Clock Noose, but this was rejected as too threatening. Finally the senior vice president, who up to now had been silent, spoke and rendered his decision. "We shall call it a time band, and in honor of the Great Alexander, it shall be known as ... 'Alexander's Rag time band!' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Drunk Poem Starkle, starkle, little twink, Who the hell are you I think. I'm not under what you call The alcofluence of incohol. I'm just a little slort of sheep, I'm not drunk like thinkle peep. I don't know who is me yet, But the drunker I stand here the longer I get. So just give me one more fink to drill my cup, 'Cause I got all day sober to Sunday up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Confucius say..... "Man who run in front of car get tired" "Man who run behind car get exhausted" "Man with one hand in pocket not necessarily jingling change" "To prevent hangover stay drunk!" "Passionate kiss like spider's web - soon lead to undoing of fly." "Virginity like bubble. One prick - all gone!" "Foolish man give wife grand piano. Wise man give wife upright organ." "Man who walk through airport turnstile sideways going to BANGkok." "Man with one chopstick go hungry." "Man trapped in whore house get jerked around." "Man who scratches ass should not bite fingernails." "Man who eat many prunes get good run for money." "Man with hand in pocket is having a ball." "Baseball is wrong. Man with four balls cannot walk!" "Panties not best thing on earth, but next to it." "Woman who wear G-string, high on crack!" "War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who's left." "Wife who put husband in doghouse soon find him in cat house." "Man who sleep in cat house by day, sleep in doghouse by night." "Man who fight with wife all day, get no piece at night!" "If you park, don't drink, accidents cause people." "Man who tell one too many light bulb jokes soon burn out!" "It takes many nails to build crib, but one screw to fill it." "Man who eat many prunes, sit on toilet many moons." "Man who drive like hell, bound to get there!" "Man who sit on tack get point!" "Man who stand on toilet is high on pot!" "Man who lives in glass house should change in basement" "Boy who go to bed with sexual problem wake up with problem in hand" "He who fishes in other man's well often catches crabs." "People who make Confucius joke speak bad English." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Latest terms to add to your vocabulary Assmosis - The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss Blamestorming - Sitting around in a group discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed and who was responsible. Seagull Manager - A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps over everything and then leaves. Blowing your buffer - Losing your train of thought. Salmon day - The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to >get screwed and die in the end. Chainsaw consultant - An outside expert brought in to reduce the employee headcount, leaving the brass with clean hands. CLM - Career-limiting move - Used among microserfs to describe ill-advised activity. Trashing your boss while he or she is within earshot is a serious CLM. Depotphobia - Fear associated with entering a HomemDepot because of how much money one might spend. Electronics geeks experience Shackophobia. Adminisphere - The rarefied organizational layers profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve. Dilberted - To be exploited and oppressed by your boss. Derived from the experiences of Dilbert, the geek-in-hell comic strip character. "I've been dilberted again.The old man revised the specs for the fourth time this week." Flight Risk - Used to describe employees who are suspected of planning to leave the company or department soon. 404 - Someone who's clueless. From the World Wide Web error message"404 Not Found", meaning that the requested document could not be located. "Don't bother asking him...he's 404, man." Generica - Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, sub-divisions. Used as in "We were so lost in generica that I forgot what city we were in." Keyboard Plaque - The disgusting buildup of dirt and crud found on computer keyboards. Ohnosecond - That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake. Ohnoseconds happens all the time if you can't recall a sent email. Percussive Maintenance - The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again. Prairie Dogging - When someone yells or drops something loudly in a "cube farm" (an office full of cubicles) and everyone's heads pop up over the walls to see what's going on. Telephone Number Salary - A salary (or project budget) that has seven digits. Umfriend - A sexual relation of dubious standing or a concealed intimate relationship, as in "This is Dale, my ... um ... friend." Yuppie Food Stamps - the ubiquitous $20 bills spewed out of ATMs everywhere. Often used when trying to split the bill after a meal: "We all owe $8 each, but all anybody's got is yuppie food stamps." *********************************************** (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) ***********************************************