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Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?

To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
From: Scott Harwood <scotthsr@earthlink.net>
Reply-to: Scott Harwood <scotthsr@earthlink.net>, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 21:37:27 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
Hey guys, what does this have to do with a future OIII and it's cost.  As a 
former USAF officer in charge of intelligence security for my unit in good old 
south east Asia , who cares?  We're dealing with TenTec issues here.  Just my 
two cents worth.

73

Scott K4VWK


-----Original Message-----
>From: Cecil <chacuff@cableone.net>
>Sent: Apr 14, 2014 9:03 PM
>To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
>Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
>
>Yep....google the St. Julian's Creek massacre for pictures of piles of R-390 
>series receivers sitting out in the weather.  Fortunately the destruction of 
>those were stopped and all were sold surplus...but that was the end.  As I 
>understand it everything since then has been shredded....lots of R-1051 series 
>receivers...not my favorite...but still ashamed.
>
>Cecil
>K5DL
>
>Sent from my iPad
>
>> On Apr 14, 2014, at 4:32 PM, Jim Vohland <n9vo@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I'm not sure that I understand the story of destroying the equipment based 
>> on having received "classified signals".  There is no way a kwm-2/2a or 
>> s-line could have encrypted or decrypted signals. They were 
>> receivers/transmitters, not cryptographic. In the navy, any classified radio 
>> equipment had manuals which stressed exactly which circuit boards were 
>> classified and requirement destruction in a specific manner. Unclassified 
>> portions of the equipment required no special effort. a vacuum tube doesn't 
>> retain signals. Stories of R390's languishing abound also. Probably due more 
>> to a glut of old equipment. SP600's, R390s, R1051 and even some ten-tec 
>> receivers were used for intercept operations. Many made it to 
>> civilian/unclassified use. No security issues. 
>> 
>>> From: wn3vaw@verizon.net
>>> To: tentec@contesting.com
>>> Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 17:19:28 -0400
>>> Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
>>> 
>>> Well, the story of the stupid destruction of those KWM-2/2A's and S-Lines is
>>> an old story.  Sad to say, while there are variations on the theme, it's a
>>> common story from almost any US military installation, regardless of the
>>> branch, that was decommissioning the units at the time.
>>> 
>>> In essence, someone high enough up simply didn't want to "take any chances"
>>> about ANY electronics that MIGHT have been used to encrypt/decrypt secure
>>> communications.  So, he or she ordered that they take the benefit of the
>>> doubt... and destroy EVERYTHING.  Which included all of that Collins gear,
>>> and more.
>>> 
>>> That's one of the reasons, I have been told, that the flood of MilSurplus
>>> equipment that used to flood the Amateur market has dried up.
>>> 
>>> Now, the good news is, a good bit (though not nearly enough!) of that gear
>>> was... intercepted before destruction, and ended up in MARS stations, or
>>> MilRec stations, or even, eventually, in private hands (I don't want to know
>>> how!!)  
>>> 
>>> Still, it's a real shame.
>>> 
>>> Could you imagine, though, what the Amateur used equipment market would have
>>> been like if a flood of MilSurplus KWM-2's had suddenly become available?  
>>> 
>>> Oh well.  So it goes.
>>> 
>>> 73, ron w3wn
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of k6jek
>>> Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 4:11 PM
>>> To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
>>> Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
>>> 
>>> I would have had nightmares for years if I'd witnessed that. I may have them
>>> anyway just hearing about it.
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Apr 14, 2014, at 12:51 PM, Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Sure there was... Government stupidity and its insistence on wasting tax
>>>> payers' money!
>>>> 
>>>> 73 - Rick, DJ0IP
>>>> (Nr. Frankfurt am Main)
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of James
>>>> Duffer
>>>> Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 8:17 PM
>>>> To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
>>>> Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
>>>> 
>>>> Such a sad tale.  Sorry to hear of such destruction of good and harmless
>>>> equipment.  Harmless as there was no "just" reason for the destruction.
>>>> Jim, wd4air
>>>> 
>>>>> From: Rick@DJ0IP.de
>>>>> To: tentec@contesting.com
>>>>> Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:09:03 +0200
>>>>> Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
>>>>> 
>>>>> I can answer some of that, first hand.
>>>>> 
>>>>> In about 1973, the US Army in Europe (USAREUR) decided to close down 
>>>>> hf and go fully to VHF and UHF.
>>>>> Hundreds of S-Lines and KWM-2A's were collected and brought to the 
>>>>> army disposal center in south western Germany.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I was custodian of a MARS station in Berlin and on TDY in the area of 
>>>>> the disposal center, so I dropped in to see if I could scrounge 
>>>>> anything to distribute through the MARS channels to our members.  
>>>>> There I witnessed the beautiful Collins radios stacked by the hundreds,
>>> in
>>>> an area of about 50 ft.
>>>>> by 75 ft - being destroyed!
>>>>> 
>>>>> There were a few guys working hard destroying them.  Every tube was 
>>>>> being broken with a hammer and the chassis of each was cut in half with a
>>>> torch.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Seems they had been used by the Army Security Agency and they were 
>>>>> afraid there might be some residual top secret data still inside some of
>>>> the tube.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> I did everything I could to try and stop the action but to no avail.
>>>>> Everyone on site was just following orders and they were not willing 
>>>>> to pause while I tried to find a solution.  All of the radios were all 
>>>>> completely destroyed.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I was in tears.  I could have made every MARS member in Germany's 
>>>>> dream come true if some moron hadn't have taken the decision to destroy
>>>> them.
>>>>> 
>>>>> So that's what happened to our military S-Lines here in Europe. 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 73 - Rick, DJ0IP
>>>>> (Nr. Frankfurt am Main)
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Dave 
>>>>> Edwards
>>>>> Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 6:16 PM
>>>>> To: tentec@contesting.com
>>>>> Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
>>>>> 
>>>>> Also interesting (to think about)...
>>>>> I wonder what percentage of them still exist today?
>>>>> 
>>>>> How many does the government still own?
>>>>> 
>>>>> How many remain on dusty shelves somewhere....unopened???
>>>>> 
>>>>> ....Dave
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>>> On 4/14/14, 9:56 AM, Rsoifer@aol.com wrote:
>>>>>> I asked Rod, K0DAS (retired from Rockwell Collins), how many  KWM-2s 
>>>>>> were bought by hams rather than Uncle Sam.  He said that nobody 
>>>>>> really knows, but his best guess is that the U.S. armed forces 
>>>>>> bought between  1/4 and 1/3 of them.  Some went to other government 
>>>>>> agencies as well  as foreign governments.  That still leaves quite a 
>>>>>> few that were
>>>>> bought by  hams like me.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 73 Ray W2RS
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>> TenTec@contesting.com
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>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
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