From: military-radio-guy Full-Name: Dennis R Starks To: military radio collectors#4 Fcc: Sent Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 04:35:40 Subject: MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Sept.10/99 Message-ID: <19990910.043434.11287.3.military-radio-guy@juno.com> X-Status: Sent X-Mailer: Juno 1.49 MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Sept.10/99 Index: PRC'S FROM TURKY; by Jan Bury MEMBERS WRITE; SEM-35 Feedback, Sept.12 WW-II Aircraft Exhibit, GRC-14? 40mtrs, 22:00, USB, ON THE COMMERCIAL FRONT; SEM-35's HUMOR; *********************************************** PRC'S FROM TURKY; by Jan Bury In this article, please find some information on the currently manufactured PRCs in Turkey. These sets are made by Aselsan, a company established in 1975, which produces defense electronics for Turkey and for over 20 countries of the World. Their advertising article reads that they have about 2.500 employees, including 630 engineers. The company maintains two facilities in Ankara with total 370.000-sq. meter area. The company also participates in various NATO research programs, including Stinger AA missile project. The company is supposed to have maintained the co-operation with the Hollandese Signaalapparaten BV and Philips, among all. At present, it seems that Tadiran of Israel is also their partner. Radios that are currently produced by Aselsan: PRC-4300 Multiband manpack. Works on 30-88 and 100-174 and 225-400 MHz bands with 25 kHz spacing. AM/FM, data, 10/18 W RF power, Have Quick I & II compatible, optional SATURN ECCM; KY-57, KG-84 and ANDVT COMSEC. Works off 24 V dc from BA-5590 battery, 81x269x305 mm, 4.6 kg w/o batteries. Accessories include the H-250 handset. It seems this is an equivalent of the newest Motorola PRC-140. PRC-4512 Short Range Soldiers Radio (a.k.a. Squad Radio) Works on 138-158 MHz band on 2 channels. Small portable (or pocket) FM set, has tone squelch, 50-100 meters range, LPI. Powered by 6 V dc from two 3 V Lithium batteries, 104x63x23 mm, 160 gr. Has an earpiece and Motorola alike microphone. PRC-4620 Manpack radio, works 30-76 MHz FM with 25 or 50 kHz steps. Power output 2.5 W, powered from 12 V dc, RT-4600 main unit with H-189 handset, 7.5 kg weight. The radio supports AT-271 and AT-892 antennas. It seems this radio is a license Philips 4600 manpack, it is more or less a PRC-77 equivalent. PRC-5600 Manpack radio, upgraded version of above. Works 30-76 MHz, FM, with 25 kHz spacing. RF power ranges from 2.5 W to 0.25 W. The radio has 10 presets. RT-5600 main unit, H-189/GR handset, AT-271 or AT-892 antennas. PRC-9612 Frequency hopping manpack. Works in 30-108 MHz band, 25 kHz spacing, 3120 channels, FM, data, single frequency or frequency hopping (>200 hops/sec.), COMSEC. Power range: 5/0.8/0.01 W, sensitivity 0.4 microV, RT-9600 main unit, MIL STD-810D. These radios have Clansman-UK alike handsets and AT-892 antenna. It seems these units entered the service in 1990s and were used during the Turkish Army operations against the Kurdish guerilla inside Turkey and in Northern Iraq. PRC-434 Survival radio made by Tadiran and supposedly sold to the Turkish Air Force. Aselsan is supposed to produce few thousands of these sets in the PRC-434C version under a license agreement. The PRC-434C can work on 121.5 and 243 MHz AM and data/secure voice. There are extra channels that can be programmed into this unit inside the UHF air band. The radio supports DME and secure transponder to find the position of a downed airman. The radio can also send digitally programmed messages to acknowledge others about the airman's status, like "wounded," etc. I guess, it is an equivalent of the Motorola PRC-112 radio. Note the designation may not apply to the official AN/PRC system. I guess these are the names given by the company for commercial purposes. Sources: 1. Aselsan's information and advertising material. 2. Web site: http://www.aselsan.com.tr. 3. Journal of Electronics Defense, years 1997/1998. Jan Bury, SP5XZG Warsaw, Poland e-mail: yahya@orient.uw.edu.pl ed) Here is some additional data from my files: PRC-610;Non-US.Back-pack or vehicular HF,LSB/USB/AM/CW transceiver. Built in Belgium by S A MBLE,development began in 1974 as a replacement for the BDR-500 series of equipment. The RT-600 is the heart of a multi-use communications system. When combined with various accessory equipment it can be used as a back-pack set(PRC-610),vehicular installation at 20 or 100 watts(VRC-610,& VRC-620 respective), & a 100 watt ground station(GRC-620).The VRC-620 & GRC-620 use the AM-620(combination 100 watt amplifier/antenna coupler/mount),it is mounted external to the vehicle or installation. The RT-600 features a detachable front panel that can be used as a remote control,LED digital frequency readout,keyboard entry of mode, channel, frequency & memory.Ten preset channel memory,& a built in automatic or manual antenna tuner with memory, allows the use of 2.3mtr whip or any standard wire type.Later model sets will have squelch & remote operation facilities. Ops 1.6-30mc in 100cps steps for a possible 284,000 channels.RF power output is a selectable 5 or 20 watts. Requires 15vdc(2.5w rec,45w trans). Size 252mmH x 365mmW x 82.5mmD, 150mmH x 34mmW x 82.5mmD(control box), 4.5kg(less battery & acc.), 8kg(fully operational). Known accessories include the AM-620,TS-600 field test set, RF-601 vehicular antenna coupler/mount(20 watt installations), CS-634 low power vehicular control/power supply, TC-600 3km remote control,RA-630 100 watt PA/coupler(combination of the AM-630 amplifier), RA-631 100 watt PA/coupler(can be separated into two sections, up to 20mtrs, for ease of installation). Nato designations for the above equipment include BE/PRC-611(PRC-610),BE/VRC-621(VRC-620),BE/VRC-671(VRC-610), BE/VRC-673/06(GRC-620), & BE/PRC-600/06(combination manpack/20watt vehicular). The PRC/VRC-600 series of equipment are currently in use by the Belgian,French,Netherlands,& Turkish Armies, as well as several African, Asian & South American countries. Ref.#10,#11,#12 PRC-4620/RT-4600;Non-US,back-pack VHF,FM/Data transceiver.Built in Turkey by ASELSAN,& the Netherlands by Hollandse Signaalapparaten,& Phillips. The PRC-4620 is the VHF complement to the Belgian PRC-610,& is part of the PRC/VRC-4600 series of modular combat radio systems. Apparently a replacement for the KL/PRC/VRC-3600 series,the basic RT-4600 serves as the heart of numerous PRC,VRC,GRC type configurations with power levels of 2-30 watts. Features include fully electronic tuning with no moving parts.Modes for digital, secure voice, & digital speech(encryption)transmission. Four place rotary knob frequency selection. And built in remote,intercom/ telephone capability. Ops 30-76mc,in 25 or 50kc steps.RF power output is rated at 2 watts.Requires 11-18vdc(12v nominal),as supplied by multiple BA-30 type batteries,rechargeable nicads,or various vehicular sources. Known accessories include BX-4600 battery case for BB-4600 rechargeable nicad block, or BH-4600 BA-30 battery holder.AM-4600 30 watt vehicular RF amplifier,PP-4602 24vdc power supply(replaces BX- 4600 in vehicular installations).MT-4620 vehicular mount,AF-4620 vehicular loudspeaker/audio amplifier/control unit.JB-4600 vehicular connection box,PP-4621 vehicular power supply when using IC-4600 intercom unit or AF-4620.IC-4620 central control unit, C-4621 vehicular remote control unit, LS-4621 loudspeaker, RF-4620 automatic antenna match unit. Some vehicular configurations include; VRC-4621,2w tank set VRC-4630,dual 30w tank set VRC-4622,30w veh. set VRC-4631,triple 2w veh. set VRC-4623,30w tank set VRC-4632,triple 2w tank set VRC-4624,dual radio 2 & 30w tank set VRC-4633,dual 2w,& 30w veh.set VRC-4625,2 watt veh. set VRC-4634,dual 2w,& 30w tank set VRC-4626,dual radio 2w veh. set VRC-4636," " VRC-4628,dual radio 2 & 30w veh. set VRC-4637,triple 30w veh.set VRC-4629,dual 30w veh. radio set VRC-4638,triple 30w tank set Volume production of these systems began in approx 1974.It is unknown how many countries are now,or have used them. Ref.#10,#11,#12 PRC-5620/RT-5600; Turkish VHF/FM Pack-pack transceiver. Built in Turkey by ASELSAN Military Electronics Industries, the PRC-5620 is a front line tactical transceiver part of the multi role PRC/VRC-5600 systems. The basic RT-5600 can be combined with ancillary equipment to form the PRC-5620 backpack, or VRC-5621, -5624, and -5630 tank radios, and the VRC-5622, -5623, -5628, and -5629 vehicular units. Ops 30-75.975mc in 25kc steps, with up to 10 channels being presetable. RF power outputs dependant on the configuration are rated at 25mw, 250mw, 2, 2.5, 10, and 30 watts. Ref.#12C PRC-9610; Turkish VHF/FM/Data back-pack transceiver. Built in Turkey by ASELSEN, the PRC-9610 is the basic configuration of the PRC/VRC-9600 series systems. The basic RT unit was designed to be combined with various ancillary components to form a variety of multi role systems including the vehicular VRC-9611(5watt), VRC-9612(50watt), VRC-9614(dual transceiver 5 and 50watt). For use in armored vehicles, systems include VRC-9621(5watt), VRC-9622(50watt), VRC-9624(dual transceiver 5 and 50watt), and the VRC-9625(dual transceiver 50watts each). Features include digital data display with keyboard data entry, data transmission modes, optional encryption, frequency hopping at 200hops/s, and variable RF output power. Ops 30-88mc in 25kc steps, with optional expansion to 108mc. RF power output is an adjustable 100um,10mw,800mw, and 5 watts. Accessories include PA-9601 50 watt amplifier, LI-9601 wire line interface unit, VR-9601 and RC-9601 wire line remote control units, KD-9601 code key distribution unit, FG-9601 code loading unit.Ref.#12C Dennis Starks; Collector/Historian Midwest Military Communications Museum email: military-radio-guy@juno.com *********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; SEM-35 Feedback, Mine uses 12 D batteries, for a nominal 18V. Is yours different? I can take some pictures of mine if you want to compare notes. I believe that the battery box circuitry is a regulated power supply which runs on 21-28V (external) or 13.2-18V (internal battery), and supplies +6V, +16V, -17V and -30V. I have an article on my web page covering the larger SEM-25 vehicular set, including module identification, connector and control identification, English translations of some of the words printed on various parts, and complete schematics, with lots of pictures. Of course, the IF and synthesizer module schematics also apply to the SEM-35, since those modules are interchangeable. I don't think I have any alignment instructions. Unfortunately, my SEM-35 schematics are millionth-generation photocopies, and are almost unreadable, so I cannot scan and post them. I operate my SEM-35 with a US PRC-25 antenna and gooseneck, using a brass thread adapter supplied by Mike Murphy. I do not have any of the correct German accessories, and I am interested in finding domestic sources for them (especially the mating connectors for either the SEM-25 or SEM-35). -- Mark J. Blair, KE6MYK PGP 2.6.2 public key available from http://pgp.ai.mit.edu/ Web page: http://www.qsl.net/ke6myk/ ed) I did mess up on the battery count, the number is 12 vice 9. That's further testament to how fine this radio is, it still worked fine at 6 volts under nominal operating voltage. It's a good thing Ralph put the batteries in before bringing the radio here, and that their still operational, I'm too tight to stick that many batteries in a radio that I can't charge up again. Good to know the SEM-25 & -35 use the same plug in modules, wish I had a way to visit your web site, and download the schematic, it would them be much easier to figure out where to wire in the tone encoder board. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Sept.12 WW-II Aircraft Exhibit, This is for those of you who live near Northern New Jersey. There will be a gathering on Sunday, 12 September at Linden Airport to commemorate those employees who built the Eastern Aircraft FM Wildcat at the General Motors plant across the street. Supposedly, two Wildcats will be present plus some at least two other WWII fighter aircraft. (That's what my local newspapers says.) For those of you who aren't familiar with Eastern Aircraft, it was a division of the General Motors Corporation that was formed in January 1942 to build versions of Grumman's F4F Wildcat and TBF Avenger. With the Navy's designation system, the Eastern Aircraft Wildcats were designated FM and the Avengers were designated TBM. Moving the production of these aircraft to Eastern Aircraft allowed Grumman to concentrate on building the F6F Hellcat which was badly needed as a replacement for the Wildcat. Five GM plants were used in the production of these aircraft. Three plants, at Baltimore, Maryland; Bloomfield, New Jersey; and Tarrytown, New York built assemblies that were shipped to two plants in New Jersey for final assembly. The Wildcats were assembled at the GM plant in Linden; the Avengers were assembled at the GM plant in West Trenton. Eastern Aircraft built a total of 13,383 aircraft during the war as follows: FM-1: 1,060 FM-2: 4,777 TBM-1: 550 TBM-1C: 2,332 XTBM-3: 4 TBM-3 and TBM-3E: 4,657 XTBM-4: 3 IMHO, that is an impressive record. Anyone needing directions to Linden Airport can give me a shout and I will be glad to offer my assistance. Jack McKillop < jack-mckillop@worldnet.att.net> ----------------------------------------------------------------- GRC-14? Dennis - A local ham that I met recently at a swap has an AN/GRC-14 radio set. This is the first GRC-14 I had seen. It consists of receiver R-608/GRC-14, T-671/GRC-14 and a power supply.The unit is HF, but I did not get the exact coverage. The transmitter looks like an early tube type synthesized unit. The receiver is VFO tuned. The system has a netting mode to synchronize receiver and transmitter frequency. The transmitter, I am told, puts out about 200 watts AM/CW/MCW. It autotunes the antenna with a motorized coupler system. Vintage is early 1950's. He has the manual and claims the system works. This is the first GRC-14 that I remember seeing. Do you know the history and application of the GRC-14 ? Are there many of them around ? Any information you have would be appreciated. Thanks, Jim ed) We know very little about the GRC-14. We do know these things, they were built by RCA for the Marine Corps apparently as their equivalent to the GRC-19(T-195/R-392). They offered several advantages over that system is power supply options, and frequency coverage. Lastly, they are very rare especially sets with the combined rec & trans. The GRC-14 falls in closely with another Odd Duck also built by RCA for the Marine Corps, the GRC-13. This was a man-pack set intended to fill a similar role as the GRC-9 but was xtal control, circa 1950. It too is very rare. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 40mtrs, 22:00, USB, I was on 40m last night with my PRC-74 on 7160 USB at 10PM eastern time. Worked Jim Karlow on his PRC-70, plus a few other folks also using mil radios. There a BC station on that freq that signs of right at 10, so it is a good clear freq as soon as it is off. Pass the word- I'll try to guard that freq at 10 on weeknights. Have had 51.0 on as well most nights- have not heard a thing yet. Going to a MVPS meet on Saturday, will email a report. Mark Gluch ed) Another email military radio group has been trying to set up standard HF freqs for military radios. They recently adopted our 6mtr plan for 51mc(special events, and 51.6(DX), They have so far proposed the following, I tend to agree with them that SSB comms should be conducted on USB. Noted freqs are: 7112.5 CW 7296 KHz USB Saturday Mornings 2100 Hrs local time Sunday evenings: 7296 KHz USB (Primary) 7283 KHz USB (Secondary) (if 7296 is being interfered with) or 3996 KHz USB (Alternate) RATT:7081 KHz (mark tone) at 1000 Hrs Saturday mornings *********************************************** ON THE COMMERCIAL FRONT; SEM-35's SEM-35 TRANSECEIVERS, LESS HANDSET/ANTENNA, TO MEMBERS FOR $225 EA. VERY GOOD COND. (includes shipping to group members in the lower 48 states) Custom made antenna adapters available separately, cost should be on the order of less than $20ea. H-156 handsets also avail, but must be re-wired for use.(as U-77 plugs are not soldered, this only requires unpluging, and re-arranging three wires). MURPHY'S SURPLUS EMAIL: murphy@cts.com http://www.maxpages.com/murphyjunk 401 N. JOHNSON AVE. EL CAJON, CA. 92020 619 444 7717 FAX 444 6750 *********************************************** HUMOR; Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to? If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting? If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2? Why are hemorrhoids called "hemorrhoids" instead of "asteroids"? If the black box flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn't the whole airplane made out of the stuff? Why is there an expiration date on sour cream? If man evolved from monkeys & apes, why do we still have monkeys & apes? Could it be that all those trick-or-treaters wearing sheets aren't going as ghosts but as mattresses? If a mute swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap? ----------------------------------------------------------------- A missionary who had spent years showing a tribe of natives how to farm and build things to be self-sufficient gets word that he is to be returned home. He realizes that the one thing he never taught the natives was how to speak English, so he takes the chief and starts walking in the forest. He points to a tree and says to the chief, "This is a tree". The chief looks at the tree and grunts, "Tree". The missionary is pleased with the response. They walk a little farther and the padre points to a rock and says, "This is a rock". Hearing this, the chief looks and grunts, "Rock". The padre is really getting enthusiastic about the results. Then he hears a rustling in the bushes. As he peeks over the top, he sees a couple in the midst of heavy vertical mambo. The padre is really flustered and quickly responds, "Riding a bike." The chief looks at the couple briefly, pulls out his blow gun and kills them. The padre goes ballistic, yelling at the chief , "I have spent years teaching your tribe how to be civilized and kind to each other, so how could you just kill those people in cold blood that way?" The chief replied, "My bike" ----------------------------------------------------------------- I have developed what I believe is the ultimate solution to the Y2K problem. As of this date all personal computers in use will be replaced with an Etch-A-Sketch. There are many sound reasons for doing this: 1. No Y2K problems 2. No technical giltches holding up schedules 3. No more confusing dialogue boxes to read. 4. No more shutting down with or without an explanation. 5. No more wasted time writing and reading e-mails. 6. No more intrusions from talking paper clips. FAQ(Frequently Asked Questions) from the Etch-A-Sketch Help Desk: Q: My Etch-A-Sketch has all these funny little lines all over the screen? A: Pick it up and shake it. Q: How do I turn my Etch-A-Sketch off? A : Pick it up and shake it. Q: What's a shortcut for "undo"? A: Pick it up And shake it. Q: How do I create a new document window? A: Pick it up and shake it. Q: How do I set the background and foreground to the same color? A: Pick it up and shake it. Q: What is the proper procedure for rebooting my Etch-A-Sketch? A: Pick it up and shake it. Q: How do I delete a document from my Etch-A-Sketch? A: Pick it up and shake it. Q: How do I save a document on my Etch-A-Sketch? A: Don't pick it up and shake it. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Little Red Riding Hood was walking through the woods when suddenly the Big Bad Wolf jumped out from behind a tree and, holding a machete to her throat, said, "Red, I'm going to screw your brains out!" To that, Little Red Riding Hood calmly reached into her picnic basket and pulled out a .44 magnum and pointed it at him and said, "No you're not! You're going to eat me, just like it says in the book!" ----------------------------------------------------------------- TRUE POLICE STORIES A woman gets pulled over for speeding by a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer. When he walked up to her window and opened his ticket book she said, "I bet you're going to sell me tickets to the Highway Patrol Ball." He replied, "No, highway patrolmen don't have balls." There followed a moment of silence while she smiled and he realized what he had said. He then closed his book, got back on his motorcycle and left. True story from Orange County: A man goes to a party and has too much to drink. His friends plead with him to let them take him home. He says no, he only lives a mile away. About five blocks from the party the police pull him over for weaving and ask him to get out of the car and walk the line. Just as he starts, the police radio blares out a notice of a robbery taking place in a house just a block away. The police tell the party animal to stay put, they will be right back, and they run down the street to the robbery. The guy waits, and waits, and finally decides to drive home. When he gets there, he tells his wife he is going to bed, and to tell anyone who might come looking for him that he has the flu and has been in bed all day. A few hours later the police knock on his door. They ask if Mr. X lives there and the wife says yes. They ask to see him and she replies that he is in bed with the flu and has been there all day. The police have his driver's license. They ask to see his car and she asks why. They insist on seeing the car, so she takes them to the garage and opens the door where they find: The police car, lights still flashing. *********************************************** 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 ***********************************************