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DDR Communications Receiver
- under construction
The EKD-500 was a high-end short-wave
communications receiver with digital
readout, developed and produced in 1986 by
RFT Funkwerk Köpenick in (East)
Berlin, during the days of the former DDR (East Germany) and the Cold War.
The receiver was the successor to the EKD-300
and covered 14 kHz to 30 MHz.
It was complemented by the EZ-100 pre-selector/FSK decoder.
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The EKD-500 was a double conversion receiver with
IF-frequencies at 70.2 MHz and 200 kHz. It had a digital frequency
readout with an accuracy of 10 Hz and was suitable for the reception
of AM, USB, LSB, CW, FAX and ISB signals. With a sensitivity of less
than 0.5 µV at 5 MHz it was a truely professional communications receiver.
The receiver was available in a grey civil variant and a green/black
military one. The image on the right shows the military version of the
EKD-500. It is shown here with the optional EZ-100
pre-selector / FSK demodulator on top.
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The EKD-500 was the successor to the EKD-300
that had been introduced in 1980.
It was mechanically and electrically more robust than its predecessor.
In the early 1990s, the EKD-500 was supposed to be replaced by the
improved EKD-700.
Due to the reunification of Germany [2] however,
full production was never reached
and only a modest number of them were ever built.
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EKD-500 is the name of this receiver family, but the actual design variant
is determined by the number at the back of the unit. The units differ in
frequency range, IF filter and SSB filter.
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- EKD-511, Range 14 kHz - 30 MHz, IF filter 5 kHz, SSB filter 3 kHz
- EKD-512, Range 14 kHz - 30 MHz, IF filter 8 kHz, SSB filter 6 kHz
- EKD-514, Range 10 kHz - 30 MHz, IF filter 5 kHz, SSB filter 3 kHz
- EKD-515, Range 10 kHz - 30 MHz, IF filter 8 kHz, SSB filter 6 kHz
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The EKD-500 receiver was complemented by the (optional) EZ-100 expansion unit
(German: Zusatsgerät). It acted as a pre-selector,
a diversity unit and an FSK demodulator. In combination with the optional
AVV01S antenna selector, it was even possible to connect multiple antennas.
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The image on the right shows a typical EZ-100 unit with green/black cover.
It was usually placed on top of the EKD-500 receiver and connected via cables
at the front and at the back. The EZ-100 was also suitable for use with the
earlier EKD-100 and EKD-300 receivers.
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When two EKD-500 receivers are available, it is possible to connect them
together in a diversity setup, allowing the strongest of two signals to
be selected. For this, the audio outputs of both receivers
and the F1/F6 demodulator input of one of the receivers have
to be connected to the EZ-100 expansion unit. Furthermore, both receivers
have to be tuned in tandem (via serial port).
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As an extra option, a separate wooden box with spare parts was available
for the EKD-500. It was known as Ersatzteilsatz E1 (spare parts kit E1)
or 1340.042-01812 E1. It consisted of a wooden transport case
with a 3-compartment wooden inlay in which the various parts were stored.
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The image on the right shows the contents of the E1 spares kit.
Each component is packed in greased paper and is sequentially numbered.
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© Copyright 2009-2013, Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons. Last changed: Wednesday, 30 April 2014 - 17:34 CET
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