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Integrated surveillance receiver
- wanted item
The A3C-S was a fully self-contained surveillance receiver,
developed and produced in the early 1970s by
Mason Engineering Inc. in Fairfield (Connecticut, US).
It was the successor to the A2C-S
and was effectively a combination of the standard Mason A2
and the Mason A3, enclosed in an aluminium
container, with all plug-in units and accessories integrated and permanently
wired.
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The A3C-S was similar to its predecessor, the A2C-S,
but contained some improvements. First of all the scales on the
individual tuning units had returned from the original design of the
A2.
To the right of the antenna socket at the top left,
an extra socket was mounted, allowing multiple external (active)
antennas to be connected simultaneously. Furthermore, a portable
MPR-1 unit could be connected to some A3C-S units.
By using the MPR-1 as the primary receiver, it was possible to process
subcarrier signals. The A3C-S was then used as the second demodulator.
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The A3C-S consists of a aluminium container with a removable hinged lid.
Inside the lid is a black metal plate that can be used as a base mount
for several indoor antennas. All controls and connections of the A3C-S
are at the front panel.
The unit is fully self-contained and can be powered
by the AC mains as well as by an internal battery or an external 12V DC
power supply. All power connections are at the far left of the
front panel, behind the metal grip.
The bottom half of the front panel is taken by the 11 tuners.
A rotary switch at the bottom row,
between tuner 3 and 4, is used to select the appropriate range.
The top half of the front panel holds the various indicators.
At the top left is a digital frequency counter with a 5-digit
red display. To its right are two S-meters: one for the HF signal
and one for the LF (audio) signal.
Below the S-meters are two green fosfor CRT screens: one for the
RF spectrum and one for analysis of the LF signal.
The antenna input is just below the frequency counter at the top left.
To its right is an expansion connector. It allows multiple (active)
antennas to be connected simultaneously. On some A3C-S models,
a selector switch is present between the antenna input and the expansion
connector. It allows a portable MPR-1 receiver
or the later MPR-5
to be used as the input.
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We are currently awaiting additional background information about the
Mason A3C-S. It will be posted on this page as and when it becomes
available. In the meantime, if you have any information about this receiver
and/or its use, please do not hesitage to contact us.
Also, if you have worked with this receiver, we would like to
hear from you.
Any information you supply to us, will be fully referenced to yourself,
unless you wish to remain anonymous.
At present, we do not have a Mason A3C-S in our collection. If you have
a spare one, or if you know where to find one, please let us know.
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- Anonymouse owner, A3C-S receiver shown above
Received April 2013. Crypto Museum #500418.
- Anonymous source, Mason A3C-S with German front panel
Received March 2009.
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© Copyright 2009-2013, Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons. Last changed: Tuesday, 20 May 2014 - 16:37 CET
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