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Body wearable surveillance radio
The PR-35 was a small body wearable radio (transceiver),
produced by Tesla in Czechoslovakia. In was introduced in 1977 and
was intended for covert operations and observation tasks.
As it was used by the secret service of the former DDR, the Stasi,
it is also known as the Stasi Radio.
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The image on the right shows a typical PR-35 outfit. At the left is the radio.
As it measures only 183 x 78 x 18 mm, it can easily be concealed under a
person's clothing.
Microphone and speaker are separate or combined, and can be hidden under
the collar of a coat.
The cable to the separate push-to-talk switch (PTT) is led
through the sleeve, so that the PTT can be held in the palm of the hand.
An external vibrator, with selective call, is present to warn the user for any incoming calls.
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The radio operates in the 2-meter band (160 MHz) and has three fixed crystal
controlled channels.
All controls and connections are at one end of the radio, making it very easy
to operate. There are two rotary switches, an antenna connector and an
accessory socket. The first rotary switch is used to turn the unit on. It has
4 settings: O (off), K (traffic), N (selective call)
and T (silent call).
The second rotary switch has 3 positions and is used for channel selection.
A standard (helical) antenna is available with the PR-35 but, as it might
attract too much attention, a short piece of wire is generally used instead.
A wire antenna can easily be hidden under the user's clothing and is
therefore part of the standard outfit.
For special operations, especially prepared coats were sometimes
used, in which the antenna wire was sewed in.
Between the channel selector and the antenna socket is a small recessed
potentiometer that allows the squelch level to be set with a screwdriver.
Volume control is not possible from the radio itself. Instead, the volume
setting has been moved to the PTT unit held in the user's hand. It allows
the user to control the volume with his thumb, whilst operating the
transmitter with the index finger.
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The PR-35 is based on a standard Tesla hand-held radio that is known by the
same name (PR-35). As this can be confusing at times, we normally use the extensions Standard and Stasi to identify the model.
The Standard PR-35 is shown in the rightmost images below. It has a rather
large speaker at the front and is usually fitted with a common helical antenna.
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© Copyright 2009-2013, Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons. Last changed: Sunday, 04 May 2014 - 22:50 CET
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