[Milsurplus] Question ( RBS; submarine )

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 24 Aug 2016 at 11:21, Meir WF2U wrote:

> Subs also have multiple receivers connected to the same antenna. How would you like to receive 
> fleet traffic while on the other receiver which you're trying to pick up some enemy traffic, but you 
> can't, because your first receiver is blasting into your COMINT receiver, or vice versa?

Well, from what I have learned, I tend to agree with Meir concering DFing radiation from 
receiver HFOs: after WWII, the Germans maintained that they never even considered such 
a thing to have any use whatever.

I think the mutual interference issue was far more important.

As for listening to two (or more) signals at once, both the RAK/RAL and the RCH/SLR-F 
(and probably other receivers and controls boxes) were setup to mix outputs from at least 
two receivers into one headset. In the case of the RAK/RAL the control box for the two was 
setup so that the operator could listen to either or both at the same time.

Lastly, from the war patrol reports I just finished reading for both USS Cod,and for the USS 
Pamponito, listening for enemy radio traffic was not even considered or bothered with. Such 
activity was pretty much assigned to a special shore-side Naval unit tasked with decoding 
enemy radio traffic and was never bothered with on a submarine.

All submarine radio work that I have so far seen consisted in reports to and from 
COMSUBPAC while attempting to avoid or deal with enemy jamming efforts. Surprisingly (to 
me) there appear to be only a few, very limited in numbers, common frequencies in use, 
harmonically related at 4, 6, 8, and 12 mHz, such that the enemy would have no problem 
listening in on our comms. However, also, apparently, our encoding methods were never 
broken by Japan during WWII.

Ken W7EKB

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