Military Collector Group Post, Nov.6/97 Index: Whatsit; AN/DPQ-4 ? Desert Storm Trophies,& JCMEC: By Bill Howard,& Dennis Starks Part V, Some Specific Examples; More From England Part VI,Some Specific Examples; From Italy & Germany HUMOR; ******************************************************* Hi Dennis, Can you help me identify what an AN/DPQ-4 is? It was made by Goodyear Aircraft Corp., and my guess is it was made in the mid '50s. I have three pieces that are a part of the system, but its use is not obvious to me. Thanks, Mike mblom@mail04.mitre.org --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry Mike, Got no damn idea what it is. Maybe somebody else does. I thought I had the market cornered on oddball crap. Dennis ******************************************************** Desert Storm Trophies,& JCMEC: By Bill Howard,& Dennis Starks ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Part V, Some Specific Examples; More From England ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Continuing on with our list of captured Iraqi commo gear brought home by troops as trophies, we find more equipment of British origin. Here follows a few of these examples. TRA-967 VHF-FM pack set. Of the several models of Racal radios we've discussed in this series, the TRA-967 is one of the more attractive ones. A pack set smaller in size than a backpack radio, & to big to be described as a handheld, maybe it would be best known as a hand-carried portable. It could be carried over the shoulder with a canvas strap, or worn on a pistol belt, and would be deployed in much the same capacities as our PRC-77. Two versions are known to have been built, & it is not known which was in use by the Iraqi's. The first, TRA-967/1 has a rated RF output power of one watt, while the second, the TRA-967/3 is rated at 3 watts out. Features include a frequency range of 36-76mc, with 25kc channel spacing. Four place rotary knob frequency selection, illuminated by tritium beta markings. RF power output of 1 or 3 watts(dependant on model), from a 12v dc power source. A circuit design that utilizes digital synthesis techniques & linear ICe's. Known accessories include a 3ft sectional whip antenna, canvas carry bag, & various ancillary equipment to allow it's use as a vehicular, or simi fixed installation. While this set is not as ruggedly built as it's U.S. counterparts, it does boast some more advanced features, that though they are more attractive, do add to the complicated nature of the radio set, both in electronic design, & operation. The TRA-967, like others of it's family, was geared towards sales to the "military on a budget". Ref,#2,#7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------- MA-4224 Encryption unit; Another Racal piece of equipment that has been found here, mounted in the top rack of a Racal Syncal 30 HF instalation, is the MA-4224 voice encryption unit. Not much is known about this item other than what info is available from Ref,#2. The current owner has not had opertunity to play with it. Ref,#2 reports it to have been introduced in the late 1970's. Also a Racal product, the MA-4224 appears to be of better mechanical contruction than other equipment of this ilk. The unit uses delta sigma analogue to digital conversion, is connected in the audio line between the handset & radio in use, & will maintain an audio bandwidth of 2kc, so as to be compatable with all HF/SSB, wire line, or VHF/FM systems. Unanimous reports from the field indicate a severe lack of radio discipline on the part of the Iraqi's, "they talked about everything, in the clear, constantly!" in light of this combined with those comments given by Ed Zeranski in a related previous group post, the MA-4224 might be a relatively rare find. Dennis Starks Bill Howard miliary-radio-guy@juno.com wlhoward@gte.net Referanses; #1) the Authors personal collection #2) Janes Military Communications #3) Associated equipments manuals #4) Military Radio Data;Vol.1,PRC Designated Equipment, By Dennis Starks #5) From the Collection of Pat Lumbarti #6) From the Collection of Mark Gluch #7) a source that prefers to remain anonymous ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Part VI,Some Specific Examples; From Italy & Germany ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - >From Italy PRC-638; The most common set of it's type to be brought home by U.S. troops is the PRC-638 Built in Italy by Iret. Basically their equivalent of our PRC-77, it would be deployed to perform the same roles. Though it is of high quality design, manufacture, & boast several advanced features over it's U.S. counterpart (then 25 years old). It is not as robustly built as the U.S. PRC-77, but far less complicated to operate & service than our PRC-119(which is by all accounts,"a nightmare"). References do not list the PRC-638 as ever being used by the military in it's country of origin(Italy) in any quantity, from this we can deduce two things, #1 it was not the best design available, #2 it was most likely intended for the export market. Most if not all examples of this radio coming here from the Gulf War, have all their panel markings in Arabic, one of on;y two radios known to be customized as such. This tends to further support deduction #2 above. Virtually every account from the original owners of these sets said the same thing,"I picked it up out of a ditch, they just threw them there when they were running away". The below description is taken from Ref;#4. PRC-638;Non-US,Back-pack VHF,FM transceiver.The PRC-638 is built in Italy by IRET,& is intended to perform a similar role as the US PRC-77.It can be combined with various ancillary equipment to provide backpack, vehicular,or simi-fixed station operation. Features digital synthesis,with four rotary knob selection of frequency.Modular construction for easy field service by replacement of sub-assemblies.And an automatic antenna tuner operates in the receive mode with either 1 or 3mtr whips. Ops 30-76mc in 25kc steps for a possible 1840 channels.RF power output is a selectable 4 watts high(optional 2 watts),or 100mw low. Requires 11vdc(100ma max rec),1.5amps(trans high),400ma(trans low) as supplied by nicad batteries or vehicular accessories.Size 202mmH x 140mmW x 80mD(with 4ahr battery),3.5kg(with battery pack). Known accessories include PAL-30 30 watt vehicular RF power amplifier(VRQ-109),CU-14 vehicular antenna tuner,CV-3TA optional vehicular antenna tuner,2.75 mtr vehicular antenna,PU-66 24vdc fixed station power supply,PU-64 12vdc fixed station power supply. Note the VRQ-109(vehicular variant)was announced in 1980 aimed at the export market.The PRC-638 though produced for the Italian Armed forces,it is known to have been exported to a number of countries. Quantities of these radios were brought to the US as war trophies from recent "Desert Storm" activities. Ref;#2,#4,#5,#7 PRC-439, Marketed to appeal to military & police organizations, the PRC-439 appears to be a smaller & cheeper alternative to the PRC-639. As with it's big brother,the PRC-439 is built by IRET in Italy, is of early 1970's technology & is similar to the Racal TRA-967 in size, & concept. Normally carried in a canvas bag from the operators shoulder, it does not seem to have had the ancillary equipment available to allow it's use in various other roles, like other equipment of it's type. Below is an extract from Ref,#4, it should be noted that examples returning here from Desert Storm have panel markings in Arabic, a frequency spread of 40-49.975mc, & resemble a smaller PRC-639. Errors exist in Ref,#2 that confuse some descriptions PRC-439;Non-US,back-pack portable VHF,FM transceiver.Built in Italy by IRET,the PRC-439 appears to be a low cost alternative,tactical set for combat troops.It features small size,light weight,extreme simplicity of design & use,and is completely self contained to include a 220vac battery charger built into it's battery box.The radio and all accessories are combined in a single canvas bag,provided with a strap for shoulder carry. Additionally it is provided with both carrier & 150cps tone squelch, built in battery test function(indicates battery condition with audible tones),& an antenna connection that accepts either a short steel tape antenna or any 50 ohm type. Ops 40-50mc in 25kc steps for a possible 400 channels(optionally any 10mc segment from 30-80mc).RF power output is a selectable 300mw or 3 watts.Requires 12.5vdc normally supplied by 10ea "C"cell rechargeable nicads contained in it's battery box.Size 244mmH x 154mmW x 62mmD, 4kg(complete). Ref,#2,#4,#7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- >From Germany; SEM-52A, Some debate has arisen over whether or not this radio is a Desert Storm Trophy. As it stands, the set has a mysterious past that deserves further investigation. Questions have been presented in the past via this forum that have yet to be answered, & I hope to present them again in the future. It is included here because some evidence exist that place it in the Gulf. Built by Standard Elektrik in Stuttgart Germany,the SEM-52A is a design of early 70's technology, & it is a very tough & simple radio of high quality construction. Configured much the same way as the BCC-349 for carry, operation & physical layout, but is much smaller & lighter. As with most equipment of German origin, the quality of this radio is excellant, the only failing that can be observed is also common with ALL equipment of European origin. This is the substandard synthetic materials used in the sets accessories,I/E fragile plastics used in the construction of audio accessories, the elastic used in straps for harnessing & audio acc is very poor, canvas used for harnesses & bags is very thin & of poor quality, & the vynal used in the construction of the carry case is very stiff & brittle usualy haveing badly frayed edges. Though this radio was used by it's parent counties defense forces, it too was obsoleted in the early 80's & replaced by an almost identical, but much more advanced synthesized design. Janes 1979/80 does not list the SEM-52(A), it does list the SEM-52, & other letter designations including N,& E. We can surmise that this letter designation is used to identify the frequency range this radio will cover, in much the same way as the Canadian & Dutch CPRC-26. It is known that the "E" suffix is associated with a cheaper variant, the "N" is high frequency split, & the "S" is the later model synthesized version. The SEM-52A is a crystal control, six channel radio that can be set up for operation on any six frequencies between 47 & 57mc. Though other frequency splits of 39-80 were also built, only the 47-57mc version has been incountered. The RF power output is rated at 300mw from a 6-9.9vdc power supply. Several different battery types are known to have been available for this radio, but the most common is that which utilized descrete "AA" cells. It uses a vinyl covered tape antenna that is similar in length & contruction to US variations, but a BNC compatable antenna connection suggests that other antenna types could have been used. One last accessory worthy of comment is that the headset supplied with the radio is most unpopular with both it's original & current users. Though it is known that an optional handset was available, none have ever been found. The pair of SEM-52A's in my collection were aquired by me early in 1995, & were reported to have been removed from an Iraqi/Russian tank. In mid 1996, the US government sold via sealed bid over 1100 of these sets in a single sale but in separate lots. It is unkown where these examples came from, other than all these example show signs of German use & storage. Currently Fair Radio Sales has quantities of them for sale. An east coast dealer has advertized a couple of these radios for sale, & professes them to be NATO surplus, but as this dealers promotional reteric is normally false, this claim is highly suspect. It is however of the utmost interest to the authors to find out where this large stock of radios came from that the US government auctioned off, & what their intended purpose was. Ref;#1,#2,#7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- The next instalment of this series will cover the radios of French origin, & lastly those comming from Russia & China along with some parting comments. As always, if you have any input at all, we'd like to hear from you. Dennis Starks Bill Howard miliary-radio-guy@juno.com wlhoward@gte.net Referanses; #1) the Authors personal collection #2) Janes Military Communications #3) Associated equipments manuals #4) Military Radio Data;Vol.1,PRC Designated Equipment, By Dennis Starks #5) From the Collection of Pat Lumbarti #6) From the Collection of Mark Gluch #7) a source that prefers to remain anonymous *************************************************** HUMOR; Mark and Sharon decide they don't want to discuss sex in front of their 4 and 6 year old children, so they decide to talk in code. One day Mark is feeling a little bit turned on and says to Katie, 'Tell your mother I would really like to type a letter.' Katie runs off to find her mom. ' Mommy, mommy', shouts Katie, 'Daddy would like to type a letter.' Sharon replies slightly sheepishly, 'Katie, go and tell your daddy that he can't type a letter today as there is a red ribbon in the typewriter.' Katie tears off to her father and says, 'Daddy, daddy, mommy says you can't type a letter today as there is a red ribbon in the typewriter.' A few days later Sharon remembers that Mark was a little bit keen on a bit of nookie and she called Katie, 'Katie, tell your daddy that he can type that letter today.' Katie went off to look for her father and told him, 'Daddy, mommy says you can type the letter today.' 'Thats OK, Katie', Mark says, 'You can tell your mother that I don't need the typewriter any more, I wrote the letter by hand.' ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A SPERM NAMED, STANLEY,WHO LIVED INSIDE A FAMOUS MOVIE ACTOR.... STANLEY WAS A VERY HEALTHY SPERM....HE'D DO PUSH - UPS AND SOMERSAULTS AND LIMBER HIMSELF UP ALL THE TIME, WHILE THE OTHER SPERM JUST LAY AROUND ON THEIR FAT ASSES NOT DOING A THING.... ONE DAY, ONE OF THEM BECAME CURIOUS ENOUGH TO ASK STANLEY WHY HE EXERCISED ALL DAY........ STANLEY SAID, " LOOK, PAL, ONLY ONE SPERM GETS A WOMAN PREGNANT AND WHEN THE RIGHT TIME COMES, I AM GOING TO BE THAT "ONE" A FEW DAYS LATER, THEY ALL FELT THEMSELVES GETTING HOTTER AND HOTTER, AND THEY KNEW THAT IT WAS GETTING TO BE THEIR TIME TO GO....THEY WERE RELEASED ABRUPTLY AND SURE ENOUGH, THERE WAS STANLEY SWIMMING FAR AHEAD OF ALL THE OTHERS..... ALL OF A SUDDEN, STANLEY STOPPED, TURNED AROUND, AND BEGAN TO SWIM BACK WITH ALL HIS MIGHT...." GO BACK! GO BACK!" HE SCREAMED.... "IT'S A BLOW JOB" What's the difference between a girlfriend and a wife? 45 lbs. What's the difference between a boyfriend and a husband? 45 minutes One sperm says to the other, "How far is it to the ovaries?" The other one says, "Relax. We just passed the tonsils." What is it when a man talks nasty to a woman? Sexual harassment. What is it when a woman talks nasty to a man? $3.99 a minute. What is the definition of "making love"? Something a woman does while a guy is fucking her. How are women and rocks alike? You skip the flat ones. Did you hear about the new blonde paint? It's not real bright, but it's cheap, and spreads easy. What's the difference between Pee-wee Herman and O.J.? It only took 12 jerks to get O.J. off. How do we know God is a man? Because if God were a woman, sperm would taste like chocolate. What would you call a lesbian with thick fingers? Well-hung. What's another term for lesbian? "Vagitarian." Charlie marries a virgin, and it's their wedding night. He's on fire. He gets naked, jumps into bed, and then starts groping her as soon as she climbs in. She says, "Charles, I expect you to be as mannerly in bed as you are at the dinner table." He sits up, folds his hands on his lap, and says, "Is that better?" She says, "Much better." He says, "Okay. Now will you please pass the pussy." Why did cavemen pull their women around by the hair? Because if they pulled them around by their feet, they'd fill up with mud. If the dove is the bird of peace, what is the bird of true love? The swallow. What happened to the Polish rocket ship? At 500 feet it ran out of coal. What's the smartest thing that ever came out of a woman's mouth? Einstein's penis. What does a Polish woman do after she sucks cock? Spits out the feathers. What's a blonde's favorite nursery rhyme? Humpme Dumpme. THE WILLIAM L. HOWARD ORDNANCE TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE MUSEUM e-mail wlhoward@gte.net Telephone AC 813 585-7756 --------- End forwarded message ---------- When finished reading use browser back button or go to http://www.prc68.com/MCGP/MCGP.html