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Soviet frequencies and UK Law


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Hi, if this is R123 Mk2 , it's a tank radio. It's spec is 20-51.5 mhz 25 khz channels, 20 watts out FM.

It should have an external tuner for the antenna. In a tank, it's fitted below the base with the spring base.

Post a photo, or what's on the data plate. I will see what else I can dig out of my old notes.

 

The frequency range appears to tie in quite well with the stated rod length of just under 4m for 1/4 wavelength.

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Hi, if this is R123 Mk2 , it's a tank radio. It's spec is 20-51.5 mhz 25 khz channels, 20 watts out FM.

It should have an external tuner for the antenna. In a tank, it's fitted below the base with the spring base.

Post a photo, or what's on the data plate. I will see what else I can dig out of my old notes.

 

Thanks Andrew - much obliged. Next time I'm over with the vehicle (be end of Aug now) I'll take the camera with me and get photo's of the aerial mount and radio installations.

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Reverting to the Soviet stuff a mo'. The aerial is in 4 sections, each about 0.9 metres long. Each section is located onto the one beneath it, and the whole aerial onto the antenna base on the vehicle, by means of a sprung bayonet fitting so the aerial maintains an exact length in the order of 4m. Those who were at Beltring would have seen it whipping about in the arena. :)

Base section of the aerial is maybe 12mm dia dropping to about 3mm at the tip.

 

If Larkspur at 60Mhz uses an 8 ft (2.49 metres) aerial what would the frequency be at about 3.6m???

 

Its more or less 41.6Mhz at 1/2 wave

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hi, without getting to much into the black arts of radio. The size of antenna is no real guide. Any size antenna can be made to radiate a signal, IF it's you can make it tune to frequency required. To do this you the ATU, which is at the bottom of the antenna.

One radio from the past which I worked on in the HF band, had a built it antenna tuner. You could make an antenna work from under a foot to over 100 foot long.

As someone has said before, if the radio is able to transmit and you don't have a suitable licence OFCOM can take it, plus your vehicle, and you can get a nice big fine. With MOD etc moving to Bowman, the sort of signals older kit will produce are very simple to see. OFCOM alone have over 120 unmanned monitoring stations in the UK. GCHQ, I hate to think what is available to monitor the frequencies used by MOD etc. And MOD has a lot of kit to do this.

If you transmit, you are risking detection.

 

Frankly OFCOM is probably the least of your concerns, given the Russian activity in Georgia!!!:-D

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  • 2 weeks later...

If interested, I do have a made up mp3 file of some Russian military radio traffic, I could burn onto to CD & you could leave on repeat in your vehicle, or you could put it on to a little mp3 player & play through one of your radios speakers.

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If interested, I do have a made up mp3 file of some Russian military radio traffic, I could burn onto to CD & you could leave on repeat in your vehicle, or you could put it on to a little mp3 player & play through one of your radios speakers.

 

That could be very interesting indeed!! Many thanks kind sir. :)

Will PM you in regards to this.

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  • 4 years later...

My last post didn't come out right (Tapatalk crashed) - I meant to say we should manage to chat to Mike M1CCF (who had the station beside the main road next to the animal area at hop farm) or Andy G8JAC (who camped with a couple of champs beyond the field with mostly continental vehicles) assuming they come to the new venue.

 

Both stations are usually active on HF and Mike's group are usually on 50MHz FM too

 

 

 

What radios do you have so I can read up before hand.

 

Regards

 

Iain

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ok, but i would rather chat to a fellow ot-90 driver.. hint hint .. Neil.. ive talked to my mates via hf/vhf etc but want to test my ot-90 R123 radio direct to another R123 etc.. So if one of you guys is willing to try out Neils R123 and be able to use it legally etc that would be cool.. If thats ok Neil??

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Now I picked up on " has anyone else out there got a UK ham radio license" - Happy to help with the remote end if need be - from a quick web search the R123 looks like it will cover 50Mhz or 28MHz amateur bands. Do you know if there is any detailed documentation I English to be found ? I do have access to a Russian speaking local amateur if I need translations failing that.

 

Regards

 

Iain

73 de G0OZS

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Yes - I have just acquired the operating instruction - in English - so W&PR 2013 will be the first time anyone can sit beside the set and have any idea what they are doing when it comes to pushing buttons and twisting knobs!! :D:D

 

It would be useful for the mock battles if we could hook in to the man packs the other RA guys have.....

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I'm not a radio HAM, but before you get to W&P is there anything that needs calibrating or investigating to make sure you are really transmitting on the frequency it says on the dial (and hence not about to get into trouble).

 

Also, you may need to replace capacitors in kit that's getting old, both to make it work properly and avoid any nasty bangs.

 

It's often said that the magic pixies that make elecronics work breath smoke, and they simply can't survive in open air. That is why these things stop working when the component pops and the magic smoke is let out.

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