MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, May 27/98 Index: RBS RUMINATIONS; By Hue Miller MEMBERS WRITE; Military Radio User Net, MANUALS OFFER; HUMOR; *********************************************** RBS RUMINATIONS; By Hue Miller Around 1980 John Nelson and i tracked down the 10-year old rumor of a "place down by Lake Union that had stacks of TCS". Well, the place was a ship renovator who rebuilt small Navy ships into floating fish processors for the Alaska fishery. The place didn't have stacks of TCS anymore but they did have some RBS, RBM and RAK, RAL. We left with a stack of RBM and RBS, and some PSUs. As i recall this, i am reminded that this moment occurrs but once; so fill your trunk and sort it out later. Yes, i regret not grabbing everything. We found the equipment played right off; no crummy lytic caps to pop in these, they were ready to go 50 years later. IMO these models are mechanically excellent construction and architecture but electrically, sadly short of even the WW2 standard. The smallish but still boxy look, the excellent symmetric styling, good lighted dial, numerous controls, and well worked aluminum show a radio of real construction quality, if "soft skinned" and not bulletproof like most Navy ship gear. The Navy paid $1000 big WW2 bucks for each receiver, and R E Goodheart's ads called it "Navy's Pride". While this radio is EXTREMELY attractive to me, considering its great looks and moderate size/weight, consider: 1. the awful tuning speed. when you get a chance to try out a receiver new to you, do this: using a marker on the knob, like a spinner, a scratch, or setscrew, and another mark on the receiver panel, turn the knob and figger out how many kHz are covered by one spin of the knob. turn it multiple times and then divide, for better accuracy than just one turn. the RBS-RBM on top band, has something like 900 kHz per turn! this is absolutely, home table radio, shitty spec! 2. the IF is 1255 kHz, so the selectivity knob should really say "BROAD - EXTREMELY BROAD. of course, this had its purpose in its role as a non-primary-traffic receiver, as an auxiliary type receiver. however, if you try to listen to a crowded 49 meters broadcast band, or ham SSB, you will be very disappointed. these flaws are all the more disappointing when you look at the schematic and see the obvious intelligence of design and quality: 4-gang tuning capacitor, audio filtering, noise limiter, other features. So WHY did the Navy accept this receiver with a minimal gear reduction on the tuning??? I happen to keep basically only equipment that "pays its rent": i get a kick out of using it still. On this criterion i disposed of all my RBS and RBM-hf. NOW, here's more to the story. the RBM LF, CAY-46076, has the same mechanics BUT BUT BUT it only tunes 200 - 2000 KHz, AND.....the IF is 140 kHz. so, you actually have a good tuning speed, nice resolution on the dial readout, and actual selectivity. these are the ingredients of a real nice AM band dx'ers radio, or for working 160 meter DX, maybe teamed with a TCX xmtr. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Email Address Change, Re the name change: i have for many years thought the Cargo Cults of the So. Pacific were a pretty cool concept. apparently the last outbreak of this fervor was in some island rebellion around 1973; i think now with the information and drugging effect of the plug-in drug ( TV ) the thing is pretty much dead. According to __The Cargo Cult of the South Pacific__, the natives on some islands felt they made out pretty well by the Allied ( mainly US ) forces. A part of the supplies routed thru and expended on the islands ended up in native hands, as discards, trade earnings, or received as pay for labor: clothes, tools, canned foods, you name it. When the Allies withdrew, this rich ambiance faded, and the natives invented rituals hoping to conjure the return of the mythical black US GI "John Frum" ( probably a corruption of "John, from......." ) and the ships and planes again landing with their tons of good things. "....the natives drilled daily, using sticks for rifles.....they built 'wireless stations' with poles and wire as mock aerials....all these rituals to bring the return of the allies with their plenitude of cargo...." Hue Miller *********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; Military Radio User Net, Re the subject of military radio net frequencies. There are some well used boatanchor frequencies that we use for AM and CW. Mebbe some of those could be used for a military radio version. I have a list somewhere if it would be useful to anyone. I have one list that specifies a military radio net, but I've never checked it as its claimed time is very early in the morning. Seems I remember 4:30 or so and it was based out on the West Coast. At least there are some folks who get this stuff on the air. That's my goal. Everything workable, but not hacked on to get it workable. Don Reaves --------------------- Dennis (and Group): I read Jim's post regarding a mil radio user/collector HF net with interest. Though I can cover any MF-HF band from a commercial (ham) radio, I don't have any suggestions for HF net freqs/times. Here's another thought to kick around: In North America, Amateurs have use of the 50-54 MHz band. Though I'm not certain, UK and other hams may have a slice near 72 MHz. Most military FM radios made will cover 30-75 or 30-88 MHz in 50 or 25 KHz increments. Why not also set up a VHF-FM calling or "meeting" frequency for those of us Amateurs who want to put our RT-524's, PRC-77s, PRC-126s (etc) on the air l e g a l l y and talk to our fellow green radio nuts? An agreed-on frequency could be monitored for local and "DX" traffic when 50-54 MHz opens up, and might be very enjoyable. Technical issues: Military FM transmitters have a s l i g h t l y wider modulation than their Amateur and commercial counterparts. Most military FM sets deviate at 7-8 KHz, with tone at 2-3 KHz. Commmercial, ham, public safety FM radios deviate around 4-5 KHz with their tone at 1/2 to 1 KHz. A few ham "know-it-alls" have said that military FM radios are incompatible with amateur (50-54 MHz FM) gear. Wrong! The radios ARE compatible, so hams with mil FM radios can talk to hams with Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu, (etc) as well as converted Motorolas and GEs. I've fooled more than one ham by turning off my tone and not blaring into the H-250. Retentive picky types may turn down the deviation in their mil radios with no ill effects, while remaining compatible with mil and ham FM gear. The 150 Hz tone and tone squelch might be used to good advantage, in systems like the RT524 radio- only other signals with that tone will open the squelch- thus the set may be left on the calling channel without noise or static bothering the household. (Well, there is the matter of the loud blower...) The 50-54 MHz band: This "six meter" Amateur band has good local coverage all of the time. It lives up to "planning range" statements in military radio system specs. Lately, the band has had "openings" where conditions allow contacts states, provinces or even countries away. Most of the DX (Over the horizon) in 50-54 MHz has been via SSB or CW, but FM'ers have had their share of DX too. A frequency to monitor: FM'ers in 50-54 MHz often monitor 52.525 MHz which is a North American (and beyond?) agreed-on calling channel. Our older radios such as RT524s won't do 25 KHz channels, and besides, another channel should be chosen since we are a special interest and don't want to bother anyone. Perhaps we should consult the national and regional frequency plans for 50-54 MHz FM. Legal Issues: You must have a ham license to operate in 50-54 MHz, but it is easier to get a beginners license (Technician class) which covers 50 MHz and above, than it is to obtain a license (General class) for HF-SSB Amateur operation. Hams "should" monitor the channel prior to transmitting (meaning put the RT-524 in old squelch). Hams are not allowed to use ECCM, freq-hopping or encryption- however, privacy freaks could experiment with packet radio and FCC-approved experimental or digital modes. Hams are allowed "retran" - linking two VHF radios or a VHF radio to an HF-SSB radio, however an HF-to-VHF retran (remote base) must be controlled by a ham with suitable license for HF. Hams are also allowed RWI (wireline) control of radios, meaning you could site an RT-524 or other FM radio in a high location and use AN/GRA-39s and plenty of commo-wire to the remote in the radio room. Fun: One of my more enjoyable ham contacts was when I packed my PRC-126 (1-watt) while going to service one of my hilltop police systems. I called a few CQs on 52.525 and KD6TQE about 25 miles away near LAX responded. He immediately recognized my 150 Hz tone and a long mil radio bull session ensued. Let's consider a simplex frequency in 50-54 MHz for FM users. 73, Jay Coote W6CJ (Extra Class) PI-TSCM-COMSEC jcoote@aol.com W6CJ@K6VE.#SOCA.CA.USA.NOAM ed) Don't forget RT-68's, RT-70's, PRC-10's etc. They'll work too. The difference between wide, and narrow band FM in most of these cases, as Jay said, is how far you hold the mic from your mouth. 6 meters will be opening up very shortly if it isn't already. --------------------- Sounds like a great idea, but how about considering us Southerners. Any time and frequency needs to be chosen so that we are able to participate Either SSB or CW is fine for me. I would use my GRC-106. I don't have a beam, just a dipole, so I'm at the mercy of conditions being pretty good, but I should still be able to get through if the right time is selected Cheers Steve Hill VK4CZT *********************************************** MANUALS OFFER; Special house cleaning, limited time manuals offer. Approx 2000 manuals, documented, and listed, contained in 13 five draw filing cabinets. Many hundreds more that have not been sorted yet, and I don't have time to mess with them. Take the lot, plus anything that gets in the way while we're loading. $1500. Those undocumented manuals also include vintage radio & TV service manuals, hundreds maybe thousands, of vintage ham magazines, Shit if I know what all, but I need the room! Dennis *********************************************** HUMOR; Money Talks!! A crusty old man walks into a bank and says to the teller at the window, "I want to open a FUCKING checking account." To which the astonished woman replies, "I beg your pardon, sir; I must have misunderstood you. What did you say?" "Listen up, damn it. I said I want to open a damn checking account right now!" "I'm very sorry sir, but we do not tolerate that kind of language in this bank." So saying, the teller leaves the window and goes over to the bank manager to tell him about her situation. They both return and the manager asks the old geezer, "What seems to be the problem here?" "There's no damn problem," the man says, "I just won 50 million bucks in the damn lottery and I want to open a damn checking account in this damn bank!" "I see," says the manager, "and this bitch is giving you a hard time?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REDNECK COMPUTER GLOSSARY Log On Makin the stove hotter Log Off Don't add no more wood Monitor Keepin an eye on the wood stove Download Gettin the farwood offen the truck Floppy Disk Whatcher back gets from carryin to much farwood Ram That thang that splits the farwood Hard Drive Gettin the truck home in winter time Windows What to shut when its cold outside Screen What to shut when its black fly season Byte What them black flies do Chip Munchies for the TV Micro chip What's left in the munchies bag Modem What you did to the hay fields Dot Matrix Old man Matrix's wife Lap Top Whar the cat sits Keyboard Whar the kiys to the John Deere is kept Software Them dang plastic knives and forks Mouse What eats the grain Main Frame Holds up the barb ruf Port Fancy Flatlander wine Enter Northerner talk for "Come on in y'all" Mouse Pad Hippie talk for rat hole Bug The reason you give for callain in sick Cache Needed when you run out of food stamps Terminal Time to call the undertaker Crash When you go to Junior's party uninvited Digital The art of counting on your fingers Diskette Female Disco Dancer Fax What you lie about to the IRS Hacker Uncle Leroy after 32 years of smokin Internet Where cafeteria workers put ther hair Mac Favorite fast food. Network Scoopin up the big fish afore it breaks the line On Line Whar to stay whan takin a sorbriety test Rom Whar the Pope lives Serial Port Red wine you drink with breadfast Super conductor Antrak's employee of the year ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These are too fun.... Everyone knows Chevrolet's big headache when it marketed the Nova in the Spanish-speaking world, where no va translates as "doesn't go".But perhaps not everyone knows about these others ... 1. Coors put its slogan, "Turn it loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer from diarrhea". 2. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux". 3. Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick", a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure.Not too many people had use for the "manure stick". 4. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the U.S., with the beautiful Caucasian baby onthe label.Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside, since most people there can't read...<---- ROFL 5. Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called "Cue" -the name of a notorious French porno magazine. 6. An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit.Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I saw the potato" (la papa). 7. In China, Pepsi's "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave". 8. Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "it takes a strong man to make a tender chicken" was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate". 9. The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Ke-kou-ke-la", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect.Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "ko-kou-ko-le", translating into "happiness in the mouth". 10. When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you".Instead, the company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read:"It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant". *********************************************** (The preceding was a product of the"Military Collector Group Post", an international email magazine dedicated to the preservation of history and the equipment that made it. Unlimited circulation of this material is authorized so long as the proper credits to the original authors, and publisher are included. For more information conserning this group contact Dennis Starks at, military-radio-guy@juno.com) ***********************************************