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Backmail #56

(11 pages) Index: EYES FOR YOUR RECEIVER - THE PANADAPTER PART 1 - Introduction, by John Mackesy MORE AUSSIE QUESTIONS,COAST WATCHERS RADIOS? A DEFFERANT COAST WATCHER RADIO STORY. COASTWATCHERS RADIOS; by David Prince COAST WATCHERS STORY/BOOK; From Steve Hill SCR-522 QUESTIONS FOR HMCS HAIDA; from Jerry Proc *********************************************** EYES FOR YOUR RECEIVER - THE PANADAPTER PART 1 - Introduction, by John Mackesy Most of us will be acquainted with the "Panadapter", an oscilloscope-type device which displays signals within a receiver's passband. Although the word Panadapter tends to be used as a term to describe all devices of this type, it was in fact a trade name used by Panoramic Radio Products (later Panoramic Electronics, then Singer Metrics) for their PANoramic ADAPTER. Panoramic called it the Panadaptor, but popular usage is panadapter. Both spellings will appear in this article. Panoramic was one of those companies who derived a large part of their income from government agencies, both military and otherwise. All their equipment was built to MIL specs, only the nameplate changing between the military and the "other" versions. Panadaptors were used in aircraft, ground and shipboard applications. The panadapter is basically a scanning receiver in which the tuned frequency is swept around a CENTER FREQUENCY by the CRT horizontal deflection. The horizontal (X) position of any received signal is therefor a function of its frequency. The demodulated signal is applied to the (vertical) Y amplifier, Y deflection being a function of signal strength. This results in a "pip" appearing on the CRT, its X position being relative to center frequency, height proportional to signal strength. Sweep width for a panadapter used for signal monitoring is typically 50 Khz, 100 Khz, 0 Khz, 1Mhz or more, depending on the receiver frequency or application. One of the earlier application of panadapters was in aircraft, where it was important to be able to find slightly off-frequency signals. Input to the Panadapter is derived from the receiver converter stage. In practice, this means that the receivers IF frequency must fall within the Panadapters input center frequency. Although a 500 Khz (+/- 100 Khz) center frequency caters for a goodly proportion of receivers, there are many other IF's out there. And what if you want to test a transmitter (or oscillator), which could be on any frequency? Enter the Panalyzor (Panoramic trade name, as in PANoramic anaLYZER). This is essentially the same as the Panadapter, but input is to a broadband input converter. 2 signals are required: an input signal and a beat signal equal to n input + n center frequency. The resulting difference signal (typically 500 Khz)is then processed exactly as in the panadapter. For very little extra complication, our basic panadapter has suddenly become a very much more versatile instrument - the RF Spectrum Analyzer. It also provided Panoramic with a business opportunity for producing VFO's, Range Extending Converters, Band-Pass Amplifiers and two-tone generators. Input center frequency is commonly 500 Khz, tunable through one or two hundred Khz, although there are 10.7 Mhz models and other frequencies up to 30 Mhz. Microwave models go up to 44 Ghz! At this point I must confess to having a long-standing weakness for this type of equipment (due to a misspent youth in the military business). Currently, I own a couple of Singer/Panoramic "Panalyzor" RF Spectrum Analyzers, a (relatively) late Model SB12b-T100 (also known as SSB-4 and URM-134A) and an SSB-50. Prior to this I owned a Panoramic SB8b T-0 and an earlier-model SB12b. The SB8b was a general-purpose device, the SB12b more oriented towards SSB analysis. Both were of very rugged construction, beautifully built and excellent examples of vacuum-tube technology. The newer SSB-50 is all solid state, except for a 12AU7 X amplifier and a 12AX7 Y amplifier, and of course the 5ADP7 CRT. I guess this is probably a good time to explain the Panoramic (later Singer) model identification. This is quite straight-forward, although I'll cover only the more common variations. SA prefix =3D Panadaptor - a device with a (relatively) fixed input frequency SB prefix =3D Panalyzor - a device with a broadband input converter T-*** =3D max sweep range in Khz, commonly 100, 200 or 1000 Khz Z suffix =3D 5ADP7 CRT, illuminated graticule, camera mount bezel This last item deserves some explanation. On most models, the standard CRT is the 5UP7, which is used with a couple of different types of bezel, both unattractive. This is a curved-face tube, used with a somewhat flexible plastic graticule. As the (flat-faced) 5ADP7 requires both + and - HV, there are also power supply differences between models. PART 2 will cover circuit concepts - stay tuned! John Mackesy mack@melbpc.org.au ************************************************* MORE AUSSIE QUESTIONS,COAST WATCHERS RADIOS? A friend & myself are very interested in obtaining a TELERADIO. We wonder if they can still be found in Australia,& whether they are still yet very common? It is my understanding that these radios were in use prior the WW-II as part of the outback school system,I/E children in extremely remote areas attended school via radio. & that with the outbreak of WW-II these radios were pressed into service as coast watches radios. It is also my understanding that most of the radios used by coast watchers were of Australian manufacture,& with the exception of the TELERADIO,a small army of indigenous personnel were required to transport the radios & their ancillary equipment to their locations of Operation.(In other words,they were big!) We'd also like some detailed info on the TELERADIO. Thanks, Dennis Starks; MILITARY RADIO COLLECTOR/HISTORIAN STARKS ELECTRONICS,wholesale supplier of used communications equipment. -------------------------------------------------------------------- >From John Mackesy You're generally right about Teleradio. They were manufactured by Amalgamated Wireless Australasia, better known as AWA. AWA was affiliated with RCA. Teleradios are not uncommon, but have lately become quite collectible. The authority on them is Tony Bell. I'll pass yr msg on to him - don't know if he's on the net, but I'll phone him tonight. Regards, John Mackesy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A DEFFERANT COAST WATCHER RADIO STORY. At 06:42 02/07/97 EDT, you wrote: >A friend & myself are very interested in obtaining a TELERADIO. We wonder >if they can still be found in Australia,& whether they are still yet very >common? I am not familier with them. >It is my understanding that these radios were in use prior the WW-II as >part of the outback school system,I/E children in extremely remote areas >attended school via radio. & that with the outbreak of WW-II these radios >were pressed into service as coast watches radios. Not to my knowledge. The outback radios were mainly made by Traeger, a company set up in South Australia by a gentleman named Traeger. He invented "pedal radio", in that he mounted a generator on a diecast housing containing gears and was driven by a bicycle crank and pedals. These are not too common and the only one I've seen was in a museum. There are a few of the Traeger radios around. The Traeger company continued making HF transceivers, portable & mobile up to the 60's or 70's. >It is also my understanding that most of the radios used by coast >watchers were of Australian manufacture,& with the exception of the >TELERADIO,a small army of indigenous personnel were required to transport >the radios & their ancillary equipment to their locations of >Operation. The sets mainly used by the coast watch were Aussie built 3BZ's made by AWA (Amalgamated Wireless Australia). The comprised a seperate receiver & transmitter, a speaker box, wet cell batteries & a gasolene generator for charging the batteries. These were all man handled. The gen sets were similar to the single sloping cylinder Johnson motor US sets, mounted on a combined sump (oil pan) base. Although the Aussie sets, I'm sure were made by Cooper, who were mainly into sheep sheering equipment. >We'd also like some detailed info on the TELERADIO. Can't help. Maybe someone else can help. ______________________________________________________ John A. Kidd Collector: military radio. Tullamarine, 3043. Interests: military aircraft Victoria. AUSTRALIA & vehicles, Chrysler cars. *********************************************** COASTWATCHERS RADIOS; by David Prince Forward; In the past I've asked from our Aussie collectors several questions about the coast watchers radios. The response was a little fragmented and conflicting. The following from Dave will clear up this conflict, and provide us with some of the reasoning behind it. I could never understand way, when a radio set needed be relatively portable so that it could be regularly moved to avoid DF'ing and capture by the enemy, the Coast Watchers had such large and cumbersome sets, Now we know why. To further understand this confusion, see Backmail #27. As I read it myself, each paragraph rased another question with me, but all were answered as I read on, Thanks Dave. The origins of the Coast Watcher network, and the equipment they used, is very similar to those clandestine stations operating in the early part of WW-II for the OSS in China, Vietnam, and various other Indo-Chinese countries. I/E foreign businessmen, plantation owners, miners, and oil companies, that once hostilities started, went underground using their company equipment to transmit vital information out of the country. As the war progressed, and their equipment began to age, also proving sourly suited to these type activities, the OSS, and Naval Intelligence provided these operators with more suitable equipment, and some measure of logistic support. You might also note that until late in the war, U.S. Naval Intelligence operated a network of clandestine operatives in these countries that was far greater than that of the OSS. I hope when next we hear from Dave, he tell's us more of the W/S No.108's, 208's and ATR-4a's and b's. Dennis Starks; MILITARY RADIO COLLECTOR/HISTORIAN military-radio-guy@juno.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- G'day Dennis, I don't know if you ever did get any detailed info apart from what was in #27 as I have not yet requested all the Backmail up till I joined the group. Anyway, Here's the story as I have been able to glean from various publications. In 1913, the company of Amalgamated Wireless Australasia, more commonly known as AWA, was established to combine the interests of the Marconi and Telefunken companies. In the early 1920's the Australian Government became a part owner of the company. In the 1930's, AWA was given the task to set up a wireless communications network around Australia and the South West Pacific islands such as New Guinea, Fiji, Solomons to name just a few. The idea was to provide communications to widely separated airfields, mines, plantations and settlements, etc. This network was to become known as the Teleradio network because AWA, in order to set up the circuit, developed a range of equipments called the Teleradio. Naturally enough, the first of these was called the Teleradio 1. Initially, some 200 Teleradios were installed and base stations in major towns and islands were set up as links back to Australia. By about 1940, the series had developed to the Teleradio 3A and then in 1941, AWA made big changes and produced the 3B model. The Tx (Type 1J6798) was two channel crystal controlled AM/CW with a separate vibrator type power supply (Type D6799) which incorporated a speaker for the Rx. The Rx (Type *C6770) was 5-band 200kHz to 30MHz general coverage with one crystal channel. All three of the above units were built into identical sized and shaped metal boxes. There was also a small Aerial Coupling Unit (Type J6847) that went with the Tx. Prior to WW2, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) had organised many civilian Teleradio operators into Spotters nets to report on any unusual activities in and around the various islands. These 'spotters' were able to give suggestions as to what was required in these radios and AWA developed the 3BZ during 1942. The 3BZ Tx (Type J50062) had 6 crystal channels and the Aerial Coupling Unit was built in as was a heavy duty vibrator unit. The Rx (Type *C6770) had 4 bands. There were several versions depending on frequency range required and battery voltage available i.e. 6 or 12 volt. The version was identified by a number placed in front of the 'C' in the type number. When the war came to the South west Pacific area and the Japanese started moving into the islands, many of these operators from plantations and mines and townships took the teleradios and moved back into the mountains and jungle to form a very brave band of spotters, The Coastwatchers. A Coastwatchers typical station would often consist of a mix of 3A, 3B or 3BZ components depending on what was available at the time. The station obviously consisted of the Tx, the Rx and Speaker Box, as well as the various cables, aerials, key, microphone, headphones, tools, lead-acid storage batteries, petrol-motor driven battery charging generator. It was also necessary to carry oil and fuel for this generator of course as well as any other pack that the operators carried. The weight of the entire station came in at around the 200 pounds mark. It can be seen from this that the Coastwatchers had to rely heavily on local natives to assist with manhandling of the station and this assistance was invaluable to the effectiveness of the Coastwatching network as a whole. As the war progressed the civilians operators were eventually given some military status by being incorporated into the Navy (this was mainly to enable some sort of assistance to the spotter's families should anything happen to him). These 'navy' civilians were eventually joined in the task by Army and Airforce spotting groups, one such being the formation of the New Guinea Air Warning Wireless Company. U.S. Forces also provided 'spotters'. Also, as the war progressed, newer and smaller wireless sets such as the W/S No.108's, 208's and ATR-4a's and b's made spotting life a little 'easier' if one can use that word to describe a dangerous operation. Much of this description has been gleaned from a story in HRSA Radio Waves, January 1996, written by Colin MacKinnon, a book called "The Private War of the Spotters: A History of the New Guinea Air Warning Wireless Company",the original manuals for the 3B and 3BZ Stations and from a report by Sub-Lieutenant Reid on his activities on Bouganville Island 1942/43. Teleradios 3A and 3B are very hard to find these days. There does appear to be quite a few 3BZ's still around but these are mostly now in the hands of collectors. Hope this is of some use, Dennis. -- Dave Prince VK4KDP Brisbane, Queensland, Australia davprin@gil.com.au http://www.gil.com.au/~davprin Collector and restorer of Military Radio, Signalling Equipment and WW2 Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) Vehicles. --------------------------------------------------------------- Dennis, Enjoyed the article on the coastwatchers. Nothing really new but at east it is consolidated in a short space and we have some nomenclature and back ground on AWA. Bill Howard THE WILLIAM L. HOWARD ORDNANCE TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE MUSEUM e-mail wlhoward@gte.net Telephone AC 813 585-7756 ed) Personally, I thought Dave's article on the Coast Watcher's provided considerable info that we didn't earlier have. It also cleared up the confusion we were in via previous (seemingly conflicting) input on the subject. We now know that the early material we received from John Mackesy and John Kid were not conflicting, they just covered different time periods, or angles of the same story. Next we need to find out what our U.S. counterparts used? The TBX has been named, but by persons on the selling end, in the same light as BC-611 "Spy Radios". Other possible radios come to mind like the TCH, or MBM, but there just isn't enough data to speculate. I recon I screwed up the date again on yesterday's post, at least you don't hafta wait 11 months ta read that one, so ges I'm gettin bedder. Er ya cud luk at it tha other way, ya got yesterday's news the day before, er taday's news yesterday. Whatever! *********************************************** COAST WATCHERS STORY/BOOK; From Steve Hill Gday Dennis, I finished reading the book about about coastwatchers. The book is entitled "Missionary Turns Spy" It is written by Pastor A Freund and is his story of his adventures in evading the Japs in northern PNG. Pastor Freund was a Lutheran minister, working as a missionary in New Guinea prior to the war. The Lutheran Church of Australia has been and still is actively involved in mission work in PNG. Most Lutherans in Australia (including my family) originated from Germany, which led to suspicion of many of the mission workers, however most of them actively opposed the Japanese and many were enlisted by the Australian armed forces and worked as coastwatchers. When the Japs first invaded the Northern part of PNG, Pastor Freund and his co-workers had no choice but to evacuate all the white workers from his mission. The mission boats were used to skirt the coastline at night, and were hidden in trees near shore during the day. Several daytime dashes were made but no Japanese planes sighted the boats. After reaching a safer area, the boats were left. Pastor Freund and many of his co-workers were met by a representative of the New Guinea Volunteer Regiment (NGVR) and drafted into the military. Pastor Freund objected but was given the choice of enlisting in the Navy and becoming a coastwatcher, which is what he did. He and his co-workers were now coastwatchers. Note that they were not issued enlistment numbers, and did not receive even a uniform for some time. Each coastwatcher was issued with a Teleradio 3BZ, built by AWA. This consisted of Reciever, Transmitter, Accessories, Batteries, and Petrol driven battery charger. It required at least six native carriers just to carry the radio. Thus every time the party wanted to move, large amounts of native carriers were needed. Trading material (such as salt) was carried for this purpose. Note that none of the coastwatchers in this story had any training in radio, knew nothing about electronics, and did not know morse code. The coastwatchers were issued general working frequencies, and a special X frequency for making reports. The X frequency supposedly top secret but the coastwatchers found it by tuning the reciever while running the oscillator with the X crystal in the transmitter. Thus they could listen to reports made by other coastwatchers. Supplies were regularly dropped by planes. General coastwatching duties continued for some time. Jap movements were reported whenever sighted. Several failures were experienced with the radios, and repairs were done by trial and error, as the fault was usually very simple. One failure was experienced which prevented the voice section from working but it would transmit in CW. Thus the operator taught himself CW so reports could still be made. The fault was eventualy repaired. This continued until the situation really hotted up. The Japs captured the township only a few miles away. They would be searching the area very soon. The standing order from Port Moresby was "You are more useful to us alive than dead". In other words do not engage the enemy, get out! Thus the gear was collected up and the party ran. Several neighbouring coastwatchers were captured and executed. To be captured as a coastwatcher meant certain death. Pastor Freund and his party retreated through the mountains to Port Moresby. Obviously a lot more than that happened, but that is basically the story in a nutshell. Cheers ----------------------- Steve Hill VK4CZT visit my military radio page 39 Banbury St Carina. 4152. Brisbane. Queensland. Australia. *********************************************** SCR-522 QUESTIONS FOR HMCS HAIDA;from Jerry Proc Dear Miltary Radio Collectors, Another SCR522 has been resurrected and now lives to see another day aboard HMCS HAIDA. Even though it was an aircraft radio, the RCN folks adopted a piece of gear from another service for their own needs. Some questions have arisen: 1) There is mention of sending a tone on Channel D. The training manual refers to it as 'pip-squeak operation'. Obviously, if you were around at the time and maintaining these units, then that phrase would have some meaning. The main manual does a poor job of explaining the function. What is the tone supposed to do? Is the tone supposed to be received or sent? 2) The Channel Release function is not explained in the manual except for constant references to 'hit the channel release switch' during control adjustments. When I do that, it just makes all of the tuning controls go limp and it would be impossible to adjust anything in this condition. As best as I can see, pressing the Channel Release switch disengages the mechanical tuning between the receiver and transmitter so the two units can be disengaged from the common 'control' chassis. Is this correct? 3) The SCR522 is in pristine condition and was reconditioned by CAE Electronics in the 1960's, yet the gain control in the transmitter section is missing. Was there any sort of modification issued that would have eliminated the gain control and replaced it with fixed resistances? I haven't gone for a 'visual' in the transmitter, since the instructions for detaching the transmitter from the control chassis are not clear enough. 4) When the unit is in the case, and the top covers are open, I cannot touch the chassis for more than a few seconds before I have to pull my finger away. Its unbelievable that a collection of electronic components could take that much abuse from heat and still keep working. There are no louvers, cooling fans or holes for heat to escape. I can only suspect that since the primary application of the radio was for fighter aircraft, having the SCR522 fitted in an unpressurized, unheated space within the fuselage meant that the electronics would be cooled by the cold, ambient air. In a land based installation, I suppose the unit had to fry. Now I'm afraid to run the SCR522 for long periods of time for feat of a component failure as a result of the high internal temperature. Does anyone know if these were reliable units while they were in service or am I just being too conservative in my thinking? As a closing comment, I can see that poor clarity in manuals is a syndrome that has been with us for quite a long time. Regards, Jerry Proc VE3FAB jproc@idirect.com Web: www3.sympatico.ca/hrc/haida HMCS HAIDA Naval Museum, Toronto Ontario ed) the SCR-522 was not just used in aircraft, or aboard ships, it was also mounted in Tanks, and Jeeps as the SCR-524 and used for closed ground support coordination. It is unknown whether these ground versions had a different cabinet that would have allowed heat dissipation, but it's doubtful. In your shipboard application, the radio would have most likely used the RA-62 110vac power supply, and it was well ventilated. *********************************************** (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) ***********************************************

 
     
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