[Milsurplus] RCA SSB-1

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

I have no desire to spend time researching the technology of the Mau Mau.  Do 
you mean that they had no radios anyway so it didn't matter?  Or that they 
had modern (for the times) radios so it didn't help?

I'm reminded of a Heinlein novel where one of the tricks was that the 
colonists (in rebellion) used AM radios because the Feds were using FM.  Wouldn't 
have worked then (a HARM missle doesn't care what modulation scheme you're using 
if you're radiating).  Wouldn't have worked for more than a few days in South 
Africa.  The Mau Mau had support from the Russians at the time just as present 
day terrorists have support from several major powers, including the Chinese 
and the Russians and the Iranians (Persians).

In a message dated 6/16/2007 10:20:31 PM Central Daylight Time, 
kargo_cult at msn.com writes: 
> >>>>A bit of SSB-1 History ..
> >>>>
> >>>>The RCA SSB-1 was an equipment developed for use in Africa so that the
> >>>>various landowners could communicate with each user at the time
> >>>>of the Mau-Mau (sp?) uprisings.
> >>
> >>Perhaps it wasn't ssb "punch" so much as the implicit encoding.
> >>
> >>IE, the inability short-wave portables of the times to demodulate
> >>the exchanged info w/o bfos.
> 
> If you consider the technology level of the Mau Mau insurgents, which
> you can get from reading any account, you can rule out the importance
> of this feature. -Hue Miller

Robert Downs - Houston
<http://www.wa5cab.com> (Web Store)
MVPA 9480
<wa5cab at cs.com> (Primary email)
<wa5cab at houston.rr.com> (Backup email)
   
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