From: military-radio-guy Full-Name: Dennis R Starks To: military radio collectors#3 Fcc: Sent Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 06:47:35 Subject: MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Sept.30/99 Message-ID: <19990930.064641.13479.5.military-radio-guy@juno.com> X-Status: Sent X-Mailer: Juno 1.49 MILITARY COLLECTOR GROUP POST, Sept.30/99 Index: ANNOUNCEMENTS; TRUE ORIGINS OF SOS; NEW ALL BAND BACK-PACK SET FROM ROHDE & SCHWARTZ; MEMBERS WRITE; Two Meter Army Motorola MX's, ON THE COMMERCIAL FRONT; 1980 Production BC-191 TU's NEW MEMBER; Brian.Clarke HUMOR; *********************************************** ANNOUNCEMENTS; It's time again to purge the weekend Post. Only those additions/corrections received sense last weekend will be included in this weekend's Group Want's/Trade's, & Paper Trail. So get your material in to me no later than Friday night. Write the material as you wish for it to appear, include your full name & email address. I've asked repeatedly that this be done, and have been almost completely ignored. In future, I'll not write your add for you, and I'll summarily delete any message that does not include an email address. I still cannot understand the refusal of some to include an email address in their correspondences. It can't be laziness, as every email program in existence will automatically add the signature of your liking. It must then be that there are a lot of inconsiderate people out there. Include in your add: #1, Use abbreviations whenever possible. #2, If item is for sale, list a reasonable price, and trade option. If item is for trade only, list something of interest to you. #3, Full name & email address at the end. #4, Do not send me "Paper Trail", & "Group Want's Trade's" material in the same message. #5, NO hardware should be in a "Paper Trail" listing. #6, NO printed matter should be in a "Group Want's/Trade's" listing. *********************************************** TRUE ORIGINS OF SOS; Below was sent to me from Mindy Rosewitz at the Signal corps Museum Fort Monmouth. I have heard many myths about the origins of the signal SOS. This is the most viable one yet! SOS …---… The lack of international radio regulations created problems, among them the Marconi company’s attempt to establish a radio monopoly. Marconi initially leased rather than sold his equipment to his clients and supplied the operators as well. He further stipulated that there must be no intercommunication between Marconi sets and those of other manufacturers, except in emergencies. By this means he hoped to force all those wanting wireless service to use Marconi equipment. At the invitation of the German government, representatives of eight nations, including Chief Signal Officer Greely, gathered at the first international conference on wireless telegraphy, held in Berlin during August 1903. The meeting produced a protocol that remains the cornerstone of international radio agreements. It provisions contained a statement upholding the policy of intercommunication, thus striking a blow to the Marconi interests. A second conference convened in Berlin in October 1906, with Chief Signal Officer Allen in attendance. The resulting treaty embodied the intercommunication principle of the 1903 protocol and received the endorsement of President Roosevelt. The conference also adopted the signal" "SOS" as the international distress call because these letters could be easily sent and deciphered. General Allen and other government officials concerned about radio policy jointly submitted arguments in favor of the treaty before congressional hearings. Due to strenuous opposition by various radio companies, especially the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, as well as of amateur operators, the Senate did not ratify this treaty until 1912. Majors Squier, Russel, and Saltzman attended the third international conference, held in London in 1912 to revise the 1906 treaty. Convening shortly after the Titanic disaster, the conference devoted much of its attention to safety at sea. Citation: Getting the Message Through by Becky Raines pp. 137 -138. Center of Military History *********************************************** NEW ALL BAND BACK-PACK SET FROM ROHDE & SCHWARTZ; Dennis, Look what I found in the news in Journal of Electronic Defense (1998 issue) and the newest Jane's Intelligence Review: ---------------- German company Rohde and Schwartz recently introduced a new manpack transceiver family. The M3TR portable set is capable of 1.5-108 MHz (or 25-512 MHz operation with MRU3000U converter) with 20 W RF power (H model) or 10 W RF power (U model) with 25/12.5/8.3/10/5 kHz or 100 Hz on HF only channel spacing. The radio got a commercial designation PRC-525. The radio supports SSB/AM/FM and high speed data. The set has programmable wave forms, like Bowman, PR4G or SINCGARS, has embedded COMSEC and is capable of ECCM frequency hopping with the following rates: 8.5 hops/sec. on HF; 200 hops/sec. with Secos 1 software and 500 hops/sec. with Secos 2 software. The radio was first shown at the recent IDEX show in Abu Dhaby. The then prototype measured 8x9x3 inches and weighted less than 7 lbs. (without battery). The interesting features are: front panel infra-red I/O, local menu driven operation and remote front panel with backlit LCD display and keypad. The accessories like antennas and handsets (H-189/H-250) are interchangeable with the older radios' ones, like PRC-77. -- Jan Bury e-mail: yahya@orient.uw.edu.pl *********************************************** MEMBERS WRITE; Two Meter Army Motorola MX's, Dennis, I recently picked up a pair of MX-300R's. I was told these came out of Hawaii gov surplus (confirming US gov usage..btw). Interesting enough, those MX 24 Chn DES radios have about 4-5 simplex freqs falling in the ham band... 146/147 range... All others were low 140's and upper 149's MHz.... Any ideas where in the world it was used by military/coast guard on 146/147, a US ham freq range? Ralph ed) Without knowing exactly the freqs that where in them, 2mtr MARS frequencies fall right next to the ham band. Base security(above & below), and CAP(above) fall just outside the Ham band. Possibly these were meant as liaison frequencies between the military and local Ham community. Frequencies for this purpose are known to have been allocated on the 6mtr band, and are generally localized. You should note, that the 2mtr ham band is shared with the military, and exist at their discretion. *********************************************** ON THE COMMERCIAL FRONT; 1980 Production BC-191 TU's Tuning Unit TU-54 for BC-610 transmitter. 12 to 18 MC. Unused Gov't surplus, made in 1980. Includes a laminated copy of the tuning chart for this frequency range. I dont have very many, $20 each plus $5 shipping. It might be interesting reasearch to find out why the gov't was still buying these things in 1980? STEVE HANEY HANEY ELECTRONIC CO email: tc0654@mesh.net *********************************************** NEW MEMBER; Brian.Clarke Hi Dennis, Thanks for the invitation. Yes, I agree to your conditions. And now a little about myself: I am an electronics engineer doing contract work for comms equipment suppliers to the military - mostly technical editing of tenders. I am a radio amateur, VK2GCE, and the President of the St George's Amateur Radio Society, NSW, Australia. I collect military comms equipment in order to use it on the amateur bands and to move on to other amateurs. As the stuff often arrives on my doorstep in a rather dog-eared condition, I do quite a bit of renovation and restoration - when I get time, of course. I started off with Command sets (ARC-5 and SCR-274) - who didn't? Now I have a couple of relatively complete setups of what would have been normal installations. From there, I have a couple of PRC-9s, PRC-47s and GRC-106s for HF work. I have a good R-390A with CV-157 (currently deaf - and in need of operator instructions), a R-1051B and some Racal stuff - R-1712, RA-121-A and a MA-197-C. I also have some navigation stuff, namely, ARC-12 and ARC-60. The rest of my collection is mostly for 50MHz use, eg, PRC-10s, PRC-25, RT-524A and PRC-77. Hints on improving the performance of these devices is always welcome, as is documentation - always scarce in Australia. While the GRC-106 is no longer used by the Australian military and the sets are relatively plentiful, OEM spares are very difficult, eg, modules and turret biscuits, especially the highest frequency ones for the RFamplifier; the main problem is neutralisation - the info in my documentation is very sketchy - is there better instruction available? - mine is dated Feb 1971. I look forward to further communication with you. Cheers, Brian.Clarke ed) Below are the GRC-106 Manuals that I know of all are in my Library. There were two printings of the Depo Maint manuals that I know of(though strangely, neither was Actually called a Depo Maint manual). The first was TM11-5820-520-35, Aug.66. It is identified by the end number of 35 which is normally associated with depo maint manuals. It covers only the earlier GRC-106 version. The second version confuses us further in that in addition to not being called a Depo Maint manual, it also negates the usual 35 end number. TM11-5820-520-34, Feb.72. This issue covers both the early GRC-106, and later "A" models. I'm sure that there were updates to this manual, but I'm not aware of them. It should be noted that almost all of the internal modules of the early GRC-106's and the later "A" versions are interchangeable. I wonder if maybe a clue to your neutralizing problem, if not found in any GRC-106 manual variant, might be found in one for a URC-35 which shares many commonalities(RT-618, URT-13, T-827 also apply). GRC-106,Radio Set,org,ds,gs,& depo maint rep prts & spec tools list, TM11-5820-520-25P,Sep.66 Radio Set GRC-106,di sup & gen sup maint manual, TM11-5820-520-34, Feb.72 Radio Set GRC-106,di sup,gen sup & depo maint, TM11-5820-520-35,Aug.66 GRC-106A,Radio Sets GRC-106,A,operators manual, TM11-5820-520-10.May 84 Radio Sets GRC-106, A, oper & org maint manual, (w/C-1,2) TM121-5820-520-12, Feb.71 C-6 June 1976 C-9 Nov.1978 Radio Sets GRC-106,A,di sup & gen sup maint manual, TM11-5820-520-34, Feb.72 C-2 April 1974 Radio Sets GRC-106,A,di sup,gen sup maint rep prts & spec tools list, TM11-5820-520-34P-1,Apr.78 TM11-5820-520-34P-2 *********************************************** HUMOR; Hey guys! You are NOT gonna believe this. No scam, just a really and truley crazy recording. Call (800) 578-7453 at your earliest convenience. It's the customer service line for Brown & Williamson, the tobacco company. The initial recording is unbelievable. Trust me. ----------------------------------------------------------------- A Woman's Random Thoughts... Skinny people piss me off! Especially when they say things like, "You know sometimes I just forget to eat." ...Now, I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name, and my keys. But I've never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat. They say you shouldn't say anything about the dead unless it's good. He's dead. Good. A friend of mine confused her valium with her birth control pills. She had 14 kids, but she doesn't give a shit. They keep telling us to get in touch with our bodies. Mine isn't all that communicative but I heard from it the other day after I said, "Body, how'd you like to go to the nine o'clock class in vigorous toning?" Clear as a bell my body said, "Listen bitch... do it and you die." The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing...(and then they marry him!) I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, smoking too much, impulse buying and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That is my idea of a perfect day. I know what Victoria's Secret is. The secret is that nobody older than 30 can fit into their stuff. "If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties? How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a noose around your neck?" ----------------------------------------------------------------- You May Be a Vietnam Veteran If... Your first aerobics class was a mandatory P.T. formation. You spent "rest breaks" in the front-leaning-rest position. Your first portable boom-box radio was the AN/PRC-25. You know that intestinal fortitude isn't a health-food supplement. Your first government-approved diet plan was cold C-rations. You know that butter bar and shake-and-bake have nothing to do with food. Your first gastronomic adventure was nuoc-mam sauce. You know that the kitchen police do not investigate food crimes. Your first occasion to wear formal attire was a parade. Your first custom-made personalized jewelry was dog-tags. You know that the military invented "one size fits all." You know that dust-off is not a miraculous cleaning solvent. You know that an air-burst has nothing to do with comical farts. You never saved any money with the FREE mail franking privilege. You know that the REMF made resupply and mail-call happen. You know the dirty work of EOD and combat Engineers matches the grunts. You know that "white mice" were the host constabulary. You know that steel-pot is not a type of bullet-proof psychotropic. You know that a sky pilot is a soldier in the God squad. You know that MPC is legitimate "funny money." You know that a military tattoo is more than just skin art. You know the starlight scope has nothing to do with astronomy. You know the difference between rifles and guns. You know that military intelligence is a contradiction in terms. You know that a free fire zone was not the designated smoking area. Your job was much more hazardous than smoking...and tobacco was free. Your job never got a warning label from the Surgeon General. You thought urban renewal was an operational objective. You know that Agent Orange wasn't a clandestine talent scout. You think the ecology movement began on search-and-destroy field trips. You sat on, washed in, cooked in, dug with, and wore your helmet. You learned that the locals could make "be nice" mean many different things. You know that pacification didn't persuade any "hearts and minds." You discovered that rock 'n roll could be belt-fed. You know an Arc Light isn't a special bulb or lamp. You know a slick isn't a grease spot or oily residue. You know the difference between "repeat" and "say again." You believe that troops infected with incurable clap are still held as MIA. You know that an observation post was not voyeuristic surveillance You were too poor to pay attention, and too tense to stand at ease. You know that a draft is much more than an annoying breeze. Your boss's first name was his rank. You know that Rolling Thunder is more than an electrical storm. You know that preventive maintenance is really just a form of "make-work." You know that rust is not the "spirit of the bayonet." You know that friendly fire, isn't. You know that "Mission Impossible" was much more than a TV show. You thought "We Gotta Get Outta This Place" was the new national anthem. You thought the Freedom Bird was mythical...until you boarded. You were left unarmed on the home-front after leaving the combat zone. Your distinctive team jacket shows a combat patch and badges. NOTE: For a complete explanation of any item, contact your nearest Vietnam vet. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Liz Taylor goes in to see her cosmetic surgeon. "I have met the man of my dreams, finally, the love of my life !" she announces to the surgeon "but I need you to help me with a small problem. This man is only 18 years old, I am truly head over heels in love with him, and don't want to disappoint him in any way, so I want you To make my vagina look like an 18 year olds." The surgeon tells Liz of the delicate situations involved with this operation, but does finally agree to performing the said operation. "But one thing" Liz says "you have to swear to me that no one knows about this operation, that no magazines or tabloids hear about it!" "I swear Liz" the surgeon replies. The big day arrives, Liz goes under the knife, the operation goes text book perfect and she is moved to a recovery room. Upon regaining consciousness, Liz's eyes focus on three huge floral arrangement sat the foot of her bed. As the surgeon enters the room to check on her, Liz breaks into tears. "How could you do this to me !!! You swore that not a soul would hear of this operation!!! " "Now, now Liz, I didn't tell a soul. The first arrangement is from me. I've been your friend, as much as your surgeon for the past 10 years, I just wanted to make you feel good. The second arrangement is from the anesthesiologist, he's gay, he's one of your biggest fans, and I thought it was okay, since he's worked side by side with me on your operation." Liz's eyes gazed over to the third arrangement, pointing her finger "And who sent those?" "Oh yeah" the surgeon replied "Those are from a guy in the burns unit, he wanted to thank you for his new ears". ----------------------------------------------------------------- well, in a demented sort of way.... Dilbert's Words of Wisdom 1. I can please only one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. 2. I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by. 3. Am I getting smart with you? How would you know? 4. I'd explain it to you, but your brain would explode. 5. Someday we'll look back on all this and plow into a parked car. 6. There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved through a suitable application of high explosives. 7. Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to get along without it. 8. Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue. 9. Needing someone is like needing a parachute. If he isn't there the first time you need him, chances are you won't be needing him again. 10. I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem. 11. Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, "Where the heck is the ceiling?!" 12. My Reality Check bounced. 13. On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key. 14. I don't suffer from stress. I'm a carrier. 15. You're slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter. 16. Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, 'cuz, like, you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. 17. Everybody is somebody else's weirdo. *********************************************** 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 ***********************************************