[Milsurplus] A Tip for the VRC-12 R-442 Receiver

[David Stinson]

You VRC folks probably know all about this,
but I thought I'd post this tip
for those less familiar with them.
I recently acquired a lot of four VRC-12 R-442 receivers.
I have no manual or information, but a friend told me
what power pin on the single mount I got was what,
so I put them on the bench to test them.
At first, there was no audio out of any of them.
I didn't believe that, so I started poking around.
The IF deck is under the bottom cover.  Two screws
secure it and after releasing them, the deck pivots up.
There is a switch under the deck with a large, flat
white knob marked "X-Mode" and "Normal."  All the
receivers were set for "X-Mode."  I switched them to
"Normal" and now three out of the four are working.
I listened to TV audio on 71.85 MC on them.
The fourth puts out a burst of noise when turned on,
then goes silent.  Three out of four ain't bad.
One good one and the "fixer" go to Ebay,
two are "traders."
I found out later that "X-Mode"
is an old voice encryption system.

73 DE Dave S.