[TenTec] How much for an Orion III?

Jim Vohland n9vo at hotmail.com
Mon Apr 14 17:32:38 EDT 2014


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 at verizon.net
> To: tentec at 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 at 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 at 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 at DJ0IP.de
> >> To: tentec at 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 at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Dave 
> >> Edwards
> >> Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 6:16 PM
> >> To: tentec at 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 at 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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> >>> 
> >> 
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