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Miniature direction finder
The PE-484 was a body-wearable miniature direction finder (Kleinstpeilempfänger)
with a wide range of accessories, introduced around 1958 by
Telefunken in Germany.
It could be carried inconspicuously under the operator's clothing
and was intended for tracking down clandestine radio stations.
In some countries the PE-484 was used until the early 1980s.
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The PE484 is a beautifully crafted receiver with a body made of Bakelite.
It has a very ergonimic design with metal support pins at either side,
allowing it to be strapped to the body with the supplied canvas belt.
It is fully self-contained and is powered by three internal rechargeable
batteries.
Special body-wearable antennas were supplied, allowing the entire setup
to be hidden under the operator's clothing. A thin wire, hidden in the sleeve
of the coat, connected to a field strength meter that was carried on the left
wrist.
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The PE-484 came with a lot of dedicated accessories, such as the much sought
after wrist-watch field strength indicator, packed together in a leather
briefcase. An extended version came with even more accessories, and was packed
in a large leather suitcase (see below).
The receiver covered all frequencies between 0.057 and 20.6 MHz, with the
exception of the 0.443 to 0.498 MHz section, divided over 10 frequency ranges.
Each frequency range had its own tuning could that also acted as the
frequency scale. It was inserted from the side of the receiver.
When strapped to the body, the tuning scale could be observed by the user.
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In the table below, all plug-in coils that were available for the PE-484
are listed. In many cases, only a selection of these coils would be ordered
with the receiver. Especially the lower four ranges I to IV (0.057 to 1.08 MHz)
were often omitted.
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One coil would usually be placed inside the receiver. Five alternative coils
were stored in a sturdy leather box that could be attached to the waist belt.
The remaining 4 coils were stored inside the flap of the leather briefcase.
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| Coil
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From
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To
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From
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To
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| I
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0.057 MHz
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0.114 MHz
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2630 m
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5250 m
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| II
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0.112 MHz
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0.224 MHz
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1338 m
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2680 m
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| III
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0.220 MHz
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0.443 MHz
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676 m
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1363 m
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| Gap
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0.443 MHz
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0.498 MHz
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| IV
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0.498 MHz
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1.08 MHz
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278.0 m
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602.0 m
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| V
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1.06 MHz
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2.225 MHz
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135.0 m
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283.0 m
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| VI
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2.18 MHz
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4.51 MHz
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66.5 m
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137.5 m
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| VII
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4.45 MHz
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8.8 MHz
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34.1 m
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67.3 m
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| VIII
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8.6 MHz
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12.9 MHz
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23.25 m
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34.8 m
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| IX
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12.7 MHz
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17.0 MHz
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17.65 m
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23.62 m
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| X
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16.8 MHz
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20.6 MHz
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14.55 m
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17.85 m
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The PE-484 can use several antennas. First of all, it can use the internal
ferrite antenna. For good direction finding however, it needs a (directional)
loop antenna and a vertical (omni-directional) help-antenna.
For the latter, two variants are available: an antenna pair made of
cloth-encapsulated wires, and a set of fixed antennas.
The fixed antennas are intended for field use in combination with the
tripod and antenna head.
The image on the right shows the body-wearable loop antenna.
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A standard inconspicuous brown leather briefcase was used for storing the
receiver and the basic accessories, such as the additional tuning coils,
the user manual, the antennas and the wrist-watch field strength indicator.
In most cases, this is how the PE-484 set was delivered. In the extended
version, the briefcase was packed inside a larger leather case, together
with a tripod and some other accessories. It made the PE-484 suitable for
open field use and static measurements.
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The PE-484 receiver and all of its accessories can be stored inside a rather
large black leather suitcase.
This includes the standard brown leather briefcase that is intended for
daily use, and a tripod for the fixed directional antennas.
The images below show how the various parts are stored inside the high
quality suitcase. The rightmost image shows the antenna head that can be
mounted on the tripod for outside field use.
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The PE-484 can also be used for static field measurements when mounted on the
supplied tripod. A special antenna head with two fixed antennas is then
connected to the receiver.
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A complete PE-484 set comes with many other accessories, including a
screwdriver, rain coat, waist belt, battery charger, etc. Some of these
accessories are listed below. Others may be described elsewhere on this page.
For connectivity between the various components of the set, some thin short
cables are supplied. These cables all have a rather rare 2-pin plug at the
end. Be very careful with these cables and plugs are they are extremely
difficult to replace.
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The PE484 receiver is easily opened by loosening two screws at one end
of the back panel. The other side of the back panel has a hinge, so that you
can swing it open like a door. Opening the back door, reveals the electronics
inside the receiver. It consists of two miniature Telefunken valves and 5
first-generation transistors.
To the right of the electronic circuit are two mechanical filters.
The batteries are in the front compartment. They are mounted in three
battery holders that surround a 5-pin 270° DIN socket.
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Over the years, different version of the PE-484 direction finder have been
made by Telefunken. The device was improved and redesigned a couple of times
and finally a completely different model was issued. Although the interior
of the various models can be quite different, they have the model number
PE-484 in common.
The exact model is identified by the suffix to the model number.
In the initial version was called PE-484/1. It was completely valve-based.
It was follwed by the PE-484/2 and the PE-484/3, which
was a hybrid (i.e. valves and transistors). Eventually they were followed
by the PE-484/4 and finallt the PE-484/5,
which was a fully transistorized device.
Eventually, in the 1970s or 1980s,
the final model was released as the PE-484/9.
It was a fully digital device and its design was completely different from
the earlier PE-484 models [3].
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PE-484 in block buster movie
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The PE-484 direction finder can be spotted in the Dutch 1977
block buster movie
Soldaat van Oranje
(Soldier of Orange).
In the film, Dutch actress Bruni Heinke plays a Dutch woman who
collaborates with the Germans.
As an employee of the German SD (Sicherheits Dienst),
she wears the receiver on her waist
and the field-strength meter on her left arm.
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When the Germans try to locate a clandestine transmitter operated
by the Dutch resistance, they first use a rather large vehicle in order to
determine the area in which the transmitter operates.
Then, the Telefunken PE-484 is used in the last few blocks,
in close proximity of the transmitter.
Although the PE-484 is a post-war receiver (1958), the film makers thought it
was similar enough to the German
Gürtelpeiler
(waist belt direction finder) that was used during WWII.
Real war-time Gürtelpeilers
are extremely rare.
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The PE-484 that was featured in the film, was part of the personal collection
of Cor Moerman. It is now part of the collection of the Dutch Ham Radio
Museum - Museum Jan Corver - in Budel.
Screenshots courtesy and copyright 1977, Rob Houwer Film Company,
The Netherlands.
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- Telefunken, Kleinstpeilgerät PE-484/2 Teil 1
Vorläufige Kurzbeschreibung und Bedienungsanweisung (German).
User Manual for the portable direction finder PE-484/2.
Germany, April 1959.
- Telefunken, Kleinstpeilgerät PE-484/2 Teil 2
Vorläufige Beschreibung Wirkweise mit Schaltbildern (German).
Service Manual for the portable direction finder PE-484/2.
Germany, April 1959.
- Telefunken, Radiogoniomètre miniature PE-484/9
Brochure for the Telefunken PE-484/9 (French).
- Louis Meulstee, RDF Receiver PE 484/2
Wireless for the Warrier. Volume 4. September 2004. ISBN 0952063-36-0.
- Rob Houwer Film Company, Soldaat van Oranje
Movie (Eng.: Soldier of Orange), 1977.
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© Copyright 2009-2013, Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons. Last changed: Thursday, 10 January 2013 - 09:03 CET
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