[Milsurplus] HF SigInt, airborne platform

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

It is also worth remembering that 99-44/100% of people who have ever even 
heard of GO-9 or GP-7 (beginning with the incompetents who published the 
early Post-war Surplus Perversion Handbooks) think that those two were all that 
there ever were.  Very few realize that the two lines began with the GO and 
the GP.  It is strange that virtually no examples of any earlier versions of 
either line survive.  I have heard of two or three earlier GP's.  And have 
a manual on GP-6a, GP-6 and GP-7.  But I have never heard of anyone having 
anything earlier than GO-9.

In a message dated 11/7/2010 8:52:17 PM Central Standard Time, 
kk5f at earthlink.net writes: 
> Mike Hanz wrote:
> 
> >So I guess there was never an instance of airborne HF ELINT for the US 
> Navy.
> >They were totally blind.  I suppose that's why Pearl Harbor occurred, 
> come
> >to think of it. <huge grin>
> 
> Hey, Mike...I refuse to get into ANY speculation on the ELINT-use issues, 
> other
> than to say simply that I don't believe that ELINT motivated the "as 
> designed"
> frequency coverage of the RAT, RAV, and RAX!
> 
> But admittedly, I'm drawing lines between widely-spaced dots...it's all
> just my speculation based on the liaison equipment time lines and 
> capabilities
> cited in my earlier posting.  I also believe the "designed for ELINT" 
> claims
> are based on dots even more widely-spaced.  Liaison receiver-use is a 
> simpler
> explanation for the coverage of the RAT, RAV, and RAX than ELINT-use.  
> Occam's
> Razor tells us that the simplest explanation is usually the most probable
> explanation. 
> 
> It could also have been serendipity if this coverage later proved to be 
> useful
> for those "other purposes."
> 
> But...an aside...I would love to come across a manual on the GE GO-4, -5,
> or -6.  It amazes me that there were production transmitters in 1938 for 
> that high a frequency.  I wonder how useful it was.  (Even the 1950's 
> AN/ARC-38 did not go above 25 MHz.)
> 
> 73,
> Mike / KK5F
> 

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