[Milsurplus] A USCG secure teletype room: 60's style

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 13 Oct 2016 at 14:02, Mike Morrow wrote:

> I don't think of the R-389/URR as primarily a VLF (3 to 30 kHz)
> receiver.  It seems more purposely an LF and MF receiver.

Well, it does cover VLF down to 15 kHz...

As I said, I have one, and have sold at least two others.

I still don't understand why the ARMY needed them: as far as I know, the Army has no VLF 
transmitters at all. We they simply copying Navy transmissions? Or were they needed to 
monitor the MF/LF/VLF transmissions of foreign countries? I dunno.

The manual also mentions the CV-115* TTY converter as being used with the R-389. And 
any of those good military TTY converters have also always interested me. I don't know 
much about them though. I do remember one very large one with motor-driven tuning, 
though.

According to the manual, the R-389 is part of the family of receivers which includes the 
R-390/URR and the R-391/URR, so on that basis, I would think the R-389 was conceived 
about the same time.

>  But regardless, the USN had their own cold war era receivers that
> covered the same range and whose construction was more suitable for
> shipboard use:  AN/SRR-11, 

Yes. I have a bunch (too many) of these.

> AN/FRR-21, and especially the AN/WRR-3*.

That receiver has always interested me...

>  The submarine-service AN/BRR-3 is VLF only, with top coverage ending
> at 30 kHz. (The AN/BRR-3 units were the most important receivers
> onboard pre-mid-1970s ballistic missile submarines...possibly the most
> important receivers in the entire strategic force triad.) 

Hmmm....I wonder why that was?
 
> So, I don't think the USN had any real need for the R-389/URR.

Yet the USCG cutter in the photos has at least three of those installed in the radio room.

>  But the R-390*/URR was used almost everywhere before the mid-1960s,
> when the R-1051*/URR replaced it. 

OK. Thanks...

Although I don't know a lot about the R-1051*, I have always suspected that it was a step 
backwards from the R-390*...but what do **I** know? (Not much, usually...)

> Cold war days are coming back...

...or hot... :-(

Ken W7EKB

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