From: military-radio-guy Full-Name: Dennis R Starks To: military radio collectors#1 Fcc: Sent Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999 05:35:11 Subject: MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, June 18/99 Message-ID: <19990618.053413.11407.2.military-radio-guy@juno.com> X-Status: Sent X-Mailer: Juno 1.49 MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, June 18/99 Index: ANNOUNCEMENTS; PRC-71 Schematic Pack Found. PRC-25, FORGOTTEN LEGEND; Part II, By Dennis Starks NEW MEMBER; Jerry Dehoney NON-MEMBER STUFF; UK/RT-320 Info Needed, Needed For Museum Display, HUMOR; *********************************************** ANNOUNCEMENTS; PRC-71 Schematic Pack Found. Alan Tasker has found the schematic pack that is the companian set to the service manuals he provided us with copies of last month. If you need copies of these too, send him a message at . *********************************************** PRC-25, FORGOTTEN LEGEND; Part II By Dennis Starks The PRC-25 is Born, As noted in the first part of this story. Development contracts for the PRC-25 family of equipment were first let with RCA in or about 1952. We are unsure just when the first prototypes might have been produced, but the first hand-built operational versions appeared in approx 1957. These first radios shared only a passing resemblance to those we now know so well. They had the same basic size and shape, but the control panel lay out was completely different, and these controls had not yet been simplified to the point that the radio was operable by the run of the mil average grunt(one feature that would aids it's future great success). The internal design too was completely different from that of the final version. These first prototypes had not yet incorporated an internal power supply to produce the 135v plate voltage needed for the RF output tube(the radio's only tube). Instead, this voltage was derived from the battery just as with earlier tube type radios. A practice that just would not do, and in fact would have left these radio with a problem that had become notorious with it's predecessors. Only three experimental versions of the PRC-25 are known to have been built, the PRC-25(XC-1), (XC-2, and (XC-3). Both the XC-1(approx 1957), and XC-2(approx 1958) appear to have been cosmetically identical, and the XC-2 version even used the same case & chassis of the XC-1. But there is a major difference in the apparent direction that the designers would then take. The XC-1, had an over complicated control panel. This in part was due to the fact that it incorporated what might have seemed a very attractive feature to us, but in practicality, was of little use for a radio of it's intended purpose. This was a built in auxiliary receiver that could be operated completely independent of the radios basic transceiver. This receiver was continuously tunable over the same range as the transceiver, and included a mechanical digital, veeder root type, counter for the front panel frequency display. The auxiliary receiver was eliminated in the XC-2 version. It's modules were simply removed, and all associated front panel control markings were just blacked out with paint. Other than the auxiliary receiver feature, these two early versions do not appear to have any other differences. It would seem that at mid-development, the designers of the PRC-25 made a radical change in direction towards their goal. Their philosophy on just what the ultimate front line combat radio would be changed dramatically from one of "ultimate versatility", to one of "ultimate simplicity". Was this a simple cost reduction ploy? Possibly, the projected cost of the PRC-25 was VERY high. Or was the plan intentional to make the operation of the PRC-25 as simple as possible regardless of cost? History will show that the choices made, for whatever reason, were the correct ones! Besides those things already detailed, the XC-2 still had a couple problems. The high voltage battery had not yet been eliminated, and the control count/complexity was still too high even with the auxiliary receiver removed. The total control count had only been reduced by one, and the positions had only been reduced from 13 of the XC-1, to 10 of the XC-2. By 1960 all these problems would be reduced to a minimum, or eleminated as the PRC-25(XC-3) would be completed for testing. The early high voltage, multi section battery was eliminated by incorperating an internal inverter type power supply to provide the needed plate voltage for the radio's only tube. This from a common low voltage source of 12vdc. The front panel control count had been reduced from 6(& 10 positions) of the XC-2, to 5 controls with 8 positions. Now the radio was simple enough that anybody, regardless of their familiarity with radio, could operate it. The radio's only tube(used in the RF output) had not yet been replaced because technology hadn't provided a solid state device capable of yielding the needed power level. This tube(3DF4), though still a draw back, had been specially designed to be extremely efficient, and rugged. It was instant heating so It, and it's associated power supply, only came on when the transmitter was keyed thus reducing excess power consumption to an insignificant level. Though only rated for an output power of 2 watts, 3-4 watts are the norm. In all my years of tinkering with PRC-25's, I have never seen a bad 3DF4! And believe me, I have abused them, possibly more so in civilian life than I did in the military. The PRC-25, "Milestone Radio", Like it's grandfather the SCR-300, the number of innovations the PRC-25 included are many, and extremely significant. So much so that communications doctrine, and designs, would be changed forever. This earning it the title of "Milestone" radio just as it's grandfather did 23 years before It's RF power output was more than twice that of any previous radio of it's type. Greatly increasing communications range, and reliability. It was the first "solid-state" radio of it's type, even pre-dateing the relativily simple PRT-4 and PRR-9. Providing for the utmost in field reliability, minimal maintinance, and power consumption. It's battery was a simple, small, and inexpensive 12v/3v type which would provide at least the same operational time of it's predecessor at one fourth the size. This not only eliminated the extremely expensive, and dangerously unreliable multi cell/high voltage types but also allowed it's operator to carry along several extra batteries without burden. It was the first synthesized radio ever built. This eliminated the complications and difficulty in frequency change that normally required a trained and competent operator. The frequency drift inherent in all it's predecessors had been eliminated, and this new stability allowed for a narrower band width that in turn provided a greater channel capacity for a given frequency range(channel spacing was more than cut in half, from 100kc or 200kc of older radios to 50kc of the new generation). The later was so significant that almost two sections of the previously used VHF spectrum would be abandoned in favor of the more reliable, and less noisy upper portion alone. Thus, this new radio, though at first seemingly expensive, could alone replace more than three systems currently in place, reducing overall communications cost, and field logistical support problems.(Previously, Infantry, Armor, and Artillery all used separate sections of the spectrum between 20-54mc which included their separate associated radios. Now, all these contingents could use the same frequency range of 30-76mc, and the same radio.) It was the first radio ever to use the 150cps tone squelch system which would become the world military standard. This completely eliminated operator error in squelch adjustment. No longer would constant re-adjustments in squelch be needed to compensate for a changing ambient noise level. Accidental squelch changes by bumping exposed controls were greatly reduced, or eliminated. Any of these older traits might have resulted in not receiving vital traffic. The least of the advantages this new system offered was a reduction in front panel control count, and a significant step in the direction of operability by any untrained soldier. It was the first radio to use as standard, a "low" impedance dynamic(magnetic) type mic element in leu of the old carbon types. The later was extremely temperature and water sensitive, if it got wet, or damp, it was destroyed, not a good idea in a tropical environment. Or if it got extremely cold, the carbon activity would slow, so no good in the snow either! The old carbon types were also notoriously insensitive especially if they had a physically small element(cartridge), it was often required for an operator to yell, point-blank into one for it to pick up his voice, again, not a good idea in combat. Not only did this new mic type have superior survivability, and sensitivity, but's it's low impedance allowed for long lengths of audio cable without fear of hum or interference pick-up. The low impedance dynamic mic would go on to be the type of choice for nearly every kind of microphone application, military & civilian. The new generation of radios would abandon all old audio connector types for a much smaller, and simpler one(U-77/old, U-229/new). It's small size would allow for reduced front panel congestion. So much so that two audio connections could be provided instead of just one. These connectors are still the world standard today, surviving in service longer than any other standard type in history. It's physical design was unlike any before it. It's extremely rugged construction could(as I have witnessed) survive being run over by the proverbial "tank"! It could be submerged in water at a depth of 6 feet for an hour with no ill effects. In all, the PRC-25 was built to survive, and it's construction/design has yet to be surpassed. The host of accessories developed for this radio are astounding. They would allow it to serve in numerous and diverse capacities for which it had never been intended. So great is the number that it is impossible to list even a fraction of them. And while some might think the PRC-25 to be militarily extinct, it's accessories form the foundations for all such radios produced today. They all use audio accessories, antennas(both portable and vehicular), power supply/amplifiers, mounts, batteries, carry equipment, etc that were either originally designed for, or derived directly from, those built first for the PRC-25. If they don't actually use PRC-25 equipment, they all will at least use the same connectors, have the same threads, have the same dimensions, or fit the same foot-print, and will be functionally interchangeable with those of the PRC-25. This after 38 years, and our transition from Germanium transitors and high power miniature VHF RF tubes(2 watts), to the use of LSI IC's each containing thousands of transistors, and RF transistors capable of 50 watts or more smaller than a postage stamp. I think this is quite a testament! The PRC-25 was as ready as the state of the art in technology would allow. So in 1961, the PRC-25(XC-3) was officially adopted as the AN/PRC-25(RT-505). But for whatever reason, it would not be for another three years that it would begin to make it's contribution to history. But when it did, it did so in a BIG way! It would become the most used, and copied radio in military history. Still today, "after 38 years", it remains the standard by which all new designs are compared, and for which complete compatibility must be maintained. Dennis Starks; Collector/Historian Midwest Military Communications Museum email: military-radio-guy@juno.com *********************************************** NEW MEMBER; Jerry Dehoney Dennis, Thank you for the invitation. I am interested in affiliating. My interest is Viet Nam era radio and other Signal Corps items as well as Viet Nam era MARS articles or other documentation. I am an amateur radio operator and Army MARS member. I also belong to the Signal Corps Regimental Assoc. and ARRL as well as a local "Ham" radio club. My want list includes: Viet Nam era MARS pictures, information, articles etc. " " " radio and field telephone books, info. (possibly PRC-77 type equipment) Field antenna masts and simple HF ANTENNAS USABLE ON MARS FREQ. Test equipment from VN era (oscilloscope,multimeters etc.) in good condition and operable Field telephone switchboard (small/portable) At this time all I have is a pair of TA-312 PT field telephones of which is not working right 73's Jerry Dehoney *********************************************** NON-MEMBER STUFF; UK/RT-320 Info Needed, Hi - I am looking for information on the UK/RT320 HF backpack. Can you help ? Andrew ----------------------------------------------------------------- Needed For Museum Display, For 'museum' display, need good looking radios that need not work - can even be empty inside: - Colllns R-390 - Ham'lund SP-600 - RCA AR-88 (World War II) - H'crafters Skyraider ( " ) I represent RAF and USAF veterans of a communications intelligence radio listening post in England, known as RAF Chicksands. From 1940-45, the RAF intercepted German HF signals, most prominently the Enigma ciphered messages that were decrypted at nearby Bletchley Park. USAF intercepted signals throughout the Cold War and Gulf War (1950-95), closing the station and turning back to UK. In 1997, UK combined intelligence and security training at Chicksands for all armed services. The British Army Intelligence Corps, now colocated with the training centre, brought along their Intelligence Museum and have invited the USAF alumni to set up a museum exhibit explaining USAF intelligence ops. We plan to pose a store mannequin dressed in appropriate uniform items and headsets copying signals from either an SP-600 or R-390. Radios don't need to work but must look good. We will also do the same for an RAF exhibit but are having zero response to search for RCA AR-88 or Hallicrafters 'Skyraider,' the two types used for HF intercept during WWII. We will appreciate any assistance you can give. Thanks, Bill Grayson *********************************************** HUMOR; A Soldier, a Sailor, an Airman and a Marine got into an argument about which service is "The Best." The arguing became so heated, that they eventually ended up killing each other. Soon, they found themselves at the Pearly Gates of Heaven. They meet St Peter and decide that only he would be the ultimate source of truth and honesty, so they ask him: "St. Peter, which branch of the American Armed Forces is the best?" St. Peter instantly replies: "I can't answer that. But, I will ask God what he thinks the next time I see him." Some time later the four warriors see St. Peter again and remind him of the question and ask if he was able to find the answer. Suddenly, a sparkling white dove lands on St. Peter's shoulder. In the dove's beak is a note with glistening gold dust. St. Peter says to the four men, "Your answer from the Boss... Let's see what he says." St Peter opens the note, trumpets blare, gold dust drifts into the air, harps play crescendos and St Peter begins to read it aloud to the four young men: MEMORANDUM FOR SOLDIERS, SAILORS, MARINES, AND AIRMEN SUBJECT: Which Military Service Is The Best? "Gentlemen, all the Branches of the Armed Services are 'Honorable and Noble.' Each of you serves your country well and with distinction. Being a member of the American Armed Forces represents a special calling warranting special respect, tribute, and dedication. Be proud of that." Very Respectfully, GOD, USN (Ret.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- THE WORLD ACCORDING TO STUDENT BLOOPERS by Richard Lederer (St. Paul's School) One of the fringe benefits of being an English or History teacher is receiving the occasional jewel of a student blooper in an essay. I have pasted together the following "history" of the world from certifiably genuine student bloopers collected by teachers throughout the United States, from eighth grade through college level. Read carefully, and you will learn a lot. The inhabitants of ancient Egypt were called mummies. They lived in the Sarah Dessert and traveled by Camelot. The climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere, so certain areas of the dessert are cultivated by irritation. The Egyptians built the Pyramids in the shape of a huge, triangular cube. The Pyramids are a range of mountains between France and Spain. The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. In the first book of the Bible, Guinesses, Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of the children, Cain, once asked, "Am I my brother's son?" God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Montezuma. Jacob was a patriarch who brought up his twelve sons to be patriarchs, but they did not take to it. One of Jacob's sons, Joseph, gave refuse to the Israelites. Pharaoh forced the Hebrew slaves to make bread without straw. Moses led them to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. Afterwards, Moses went up to Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Commandments. Davis was a Hebrew King skilled at playing the liar. He fought with the Philatelists, a race of people who lived in Biblical times. Solomon, one of David's sons, had 500 wives and 500 porcupines. Without the Greeks we wouldn't have history. The Greeks invented three kinds of columns Corinthian, Doric, and Ironic. The also had myths. A myth is a female moth. One myth says that the other of Achilles dipped him in the River Stynx until he became intolerable. Achilles appears in the Illiad, by Homer. Homer also wrote the Oddity, in which Penelope was the last hardship that Ulysses enured on his journey. Actually, Homer was not written by Homer but by another man of that name. Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an overdose of wedlock. In the Olympic Games, Greeks ran races, jumped, hurled the biscuits, and threw the java. The reward to the victor was a coral wreath. The government of Athens was democratic because people took the law into their own hands. There were no wars in Greece, as the mountains were so high that they couldn't climb over to see what their neighbors were doing. When they fought with the Persians, the Greeks were outnumbered because the Persians had more men. Eventually, the Ramons conquered the Greeks. History calls people Romans because they never stayed in one place very long. At Roman banquets, the guests wore garlics in their hair. Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides of March murdered him because they thought he was going to be made king. Nero was a cruel tyrrany who would torture his poor subjects by playing the fiddle to them while their houses were on fire. Then came the Middle Ages. King Alfred conquered the Dames, King Arthur lived in the Age of Shivery, King Harold mustarded his troops before the Battle of Hastings, Joan of Arc was cannonized by Bernard Shaw, and victims of the Black Death grew boobs on their necks. Finally, Magna Carta provided that no free man should be hanged twice for the same offence. In medevil times most of the people were alliterate. The greatest writer of the time was Chaucer, who wrote many poems and verses and also wrote literature. Another tale tells of William Tell, who shot an arrow through an apple while standing on his son's head. The Renaissance was an age in which more individuals felt the value of their human being. Martin Luther was nailed to the church door at Wittenberg for selling papal indulgencies. He died a horrible death, being excommunicated by a bull. It was the painter Donatello's interest in the female nude the made him the Father of the Renaissance. It was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented the Bible. Sir Walter Raleigh is a historical figure because he invented cigarettes. Another important invention was the circulation of blood. Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100-foot clipper. The government of England was a limited mockery. Henry VII found walking difficult because he had an abbess on his knee. Queen Elizabeth was the "Virgin Queen". As a queen she was a success. When Elizabeth exposed herself before her troops, they all shouted, "Hurrah!" Then her navy went out and defeated the Spanish Armadillo. The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespear. Shakespear never made much money and is famous only because of his plays. He lived at Windsor with his merry wives, writing tragedies, comedies, and errors. In one of Shakespear's famous plays, Hamlet rations out his situation by relieving himself ina long soliliguy. In another, Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth to kill the king by attacking his manhood. Romeo and Juliet are an example of a heroic couplet. Writing at the same time as Shakespear was Miguel Cervantes. He wrote Donkey Hote. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Then his wife died and he wrote a sequel called Paradise Regained. During the Renaissance America began. Christopher Columbus was a great navigator who discovered America while cursing about the Atlantic. His ships were called the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Fe. Later, the Pilgrims crossed the ocean, and this was known as Pilgrim's Progress. When they landed at Plymouth Rock, they were greeted by the Indians, who came down the hill rolling their war hoops before them. The Indian squabs carried porpoises on their back. Many of the Indian heroes were killed along with their cabooses, which proved very fatal to them. The winter of 1620 was a hard one for the settlers. Many people died and many babies were born. Captain John Smith was responsible for all this. One of the causes of the Revolutionary Wars was the English put tacks in their tea. Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post without stamps. During the War, the Red Coats and Paul Revere was throwing balls over stone walls. The dogs were barking and the peacocks crowing. Finally, the colonists won the War and no long had to pay for taxis. Delegates from the original thirteen states formed the Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson, a Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin had gone to Boston carrying all his clothes in his pocket and a loaf of bread under each arm. He invented electricity by rubbing cats backwards and declared, "A horse divided against itself cannot stand." Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead. George Washington married Martha Curtis and in due time became the Father of Our Country. Then the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic hostility. Under the Constitution the people enjoyed the right to keep bare arms. Abraham Lincoln became America's greatest Precedent. Lincoln's mother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. Wen Lincoln was President, he wore only a tall silk hat. He once said, "In onion there is strength." Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address while travelling from Washington to Gettysburg on the back of an enveloped. He also freed the slaves by signing the Emasculation Procalamation, and then the Fourteenth Amendment gave these ex-Negroes citizenship. But the Clue Clux Clan would torcher and lynch the ex-Negroes and other innocent victims. It claimed it represented law and odor. On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln went to the theater and got shot in his seat by one of the actors in a moving picture show. The believed assinator was John Wilkes Booth, a supposingly insane actor. This ruined Booth's career. Meanwhile in Europe, the enlightenment was a reasonable time. Voltare invented electricity and also wrote a book called Candy. Gravity was invented by Isaac Walton. It is chiefly noticeable in the Autumn, when the apples are falling off the trees. The sun never sets on the British Empire because the British Empire is in the East and the sun sets in the West. Queen Victoria was the longest queen. She sat on a thorn for 63 years. Her reclining years and finally the end of her life were exemplatory of a great personality. Her death was the final event which ended her reign. Bach was the most famous composer in the world, and so was Handel. Handel was half German, half Italian, and half English. He was very large. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later he died for this. France was in a very serious state. The French Revolution was accomplished before it happened. The Marseillaise was the theme song of the French Revolution, and it catapulted into Napoleon. During the Napoleonic Wars, the crowned heads of Europe were trembling in their shoes. Then the Spanish gorillas came down from the hills and nipped Mapoleon's flanks. Napoleon because ill with bladder problems and was tense and unrestrained.. He wanted an heir to inherit his power, but Josephine was a baroness and she couldn’t bear children. The nineteenth century was a time of many great inventions and thoughts. The invention of the steamboat caused a network of rivers to spring up. Cyrus McCormick invented the McCormick raper, which did the work of a hundred men. Samuel Morse invented a code of telepathy. Louis Pasteur discovered a cure for rabbits. Charles Darwin was a naturalist who wrote the Organ of the Species. Madman Curie discovered radium. And Karl Marx became one of the Marx brothers. The First World War, caused by the assignation of the ArchDuck by a surf, ushered in a new error in the anals of human history. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Did you know.... It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the "honey month" or what we know today as the "honeymoon." In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's." Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle," is the phrase inspired by this practice. It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs. The world's termites outweigh the world's humans 10 to 1. On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year. BE CAREFUL ----------------------------------------------------------------- It is time to elect a world leader, and your vote counts. Here's the scoop on the three leading candidates. Candidate A: associates with ward heelers and consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day. Candidate B: was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of brandy every evening. Candidate C: is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any illicit affairs. Which of these candidates is your choice?? Choose one and then scroll down. Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt Candidate B is Winston Churchill Candidate C is Adolph Hitler ----------------------------------------------------------------- A priest is walking down the street one day when he notices a very small boy trying to press a doorbell on a house across the street. However, the boy is very small and the doorbell is too high for him to reach. After watching the boys efforts for some time, the priest moves closer to the boy's position. He steps smartly across the street, walks up behind the little fellow and, placing his hand kindly on the child's shoulder leans over and gives the doorbell a sold ring. Crouching down to the child's level, the priest smiles benevolently and asks, "And now what, my little man?" To which the boy replies, "Now we run!" *********************************************** 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 ***********************************************