[Milsurplus] request for assistance
William Donzelli
[email protected]
Fri, 6 Dec 2002 11:17:23 -0500 (EST)
> I suspect that you'll have _real_ trouble getting any doc on
> any US crypto gear, and especially on "late-model" (less than
> 20 years old) stuff. Stuff starting with "KY" usually is voice
> crypto; I've never seen an exception.
The KY-95/APX-25 is a SIF encoder for the AN/APX-6. Basically, it clings
to an AN/APX-6, and spits out an octal numeric code (set by the
thumbwheels on the unit) when the IFF set is interrogated. This code can
then be read by the ships and ground radars doing the interrogation. The
manuals pop up from time to time - mine is buried, so don't count on me
getting to it any time soon (sorry).
"KY" has nothing to do with crypto gear - it just means "keyer" - in the
AN/ system. Most "KY"s are used in either radar or FSK (and Teleprinter)
applications. A few were probably crypto-like, but they were the
small minortity.
Some things that start with "K" are indeed crypto, but these fall under
the TSEC/ category (for example, his box might be TSEC/KY-95) - a different
nomenclature system that, for obvious reasons, is not well documented
publicly.
William Donzelli
[email protected]