[Hammarlund] Hammarlund on "The Americans"

[Robert Nickels]

Sharp-eyed viewers of the award-winning cold war drama "The Americans" 
might have noticed something familiar in the new communications post, 
partially shown in the screen cap here: http://i.imgur.com/J62n2j8.jpg

This is not a "comm center" but mostly serves as a telephone answering 
and forwarding location for the KGB illegals, run from a corner of the 
apartment of the woman shown on the left.    The show is more about the 
human relationships than spycraft, yet having what looks to be an HQ-100 
for monitoring Radio Moscow or other shortwave stations seems 
appropriate for the 1983 timeframe.   I can't quite identify the unit on 
the shelf above it (looks like a Daiwa tuner or power meter), but it 
could make sense, as would the RCA Senior VoltOhmyst, since a technician 
performing this duty would necessarily have to perform her own 
maintenance.     The station has only been shown infrequently so we may 
never know the purpose of the Shure 444 microphone, which may just be 
"set dressing".

Still I give the show credit for greater authenticity than last season's 
"Fargo" where a National NCX-3 and Heathkit HP-23 were presented as a 
"police radio".

73, Bob W9RAN