[CW] How was message routing done?

[n7dc at comcast.net]

Interesting to see the list of cryptographic material seized.  The real thing that people do not understand is that NONE of this is as bad as it might seem.  The real secret of code/decode of messages with these units is the KEY MATERIAL.  At the time, those units were reset with new key material at least daily, and sometimes, every time they made contact with a new land station.  And, they could only have the same crypto settings, one time, and those taken from books issued to just two stations (the boat, and another ship or land station).  Early on, most equipment was hand loaded, meaning you might have to unplug, then replug each of some 50 or more cables, carefully following the crypto books.  I cant remember the exact numbers, but it was a situation of getting it right one time in millions.  Some crypto gear could not be re-keyed in the same set, twice.  If it was, it failed to operate, just like if you set it wrong to start with.    Later on, there were one time cards, issued . You open a door, insert the key card, close the door, and test to see if you both did it right.  NO?  Then you opened the door, threw away the cards (in a classified trash box), and started over with a new card, on both ends. The card, by the way, would often be automatically cut into two pieces, as part of the insertions, so never usable again, after the first failure. Even before I left the service, and again, as a civilian.  They were all replaced, several times with new units.  No telling what they use now, but I would bet it is more than just a one chip situation. 


N7DC at ARRL.NET
Ex WN5QMX,WA5UKR,ET2US,ET3USA,SV0WPP,VS6DD,N7DC/YV5/G5CTB
QSL Bureau, DIRECT, LOTW Preferred, eQSL used but upload at a courtesy only, as do not use the system for awards.

> On April 23, 2019 at 8:58 PM "D.J.J. Ring, Jr." <n1ea at arrl.net> wrote:
> 
>     The home page is here:
> 
>     http://jproc.ca/
> 
>     He has some nice photos of PUEBLO in her new dock in North Korea.
>     http://jproc.ca/pueblo/index.html
> 
>     73
> 
>     DR
>     ______________________________________________________________
>     CW mailing list
>     Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/cw
>     Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>     Post: mailto:CW at mailman.qth.net
>     CW List ARCHIVES: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/cw/
>     Unsubcribe send email to
>     cw-unsubscribe at mailman.qth.net
>     Subscribe send email to cw-subscribe at mailman.qth.net
>     Support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> 
>     =30=
> 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/cw/attachments/20190423/a8c2e1c0/attachment.html>