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Russian spy radio set (Swift)
The R-394KM was the last Russian spy radio set for HF,
before the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989.
It was developed in the USSR around 1988 and was used during
the final stages of the Cold War by the countries of the Warsaw Pact.
The device is the successor to the short-lived R-394K
and features a digital messaging system as well as a
digital frequency readout.
It was used by agents abroad as well as by Special Forces and was available
with Russian or English text on its front panel.
This radio station is also known by its Russian code name Strizh
which means Swift.
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The complete radio, except for the batteries, is housed in a small
water-tight case that can be carried on the back. For that, the rear
of the radio is padded with some soft material. A canvas pocket at
the right side contains the antennas.
The interior of the case is painted in the usual grey hammerite,
whilst the exterior of the case is in the common
Russian army sand colour.
The lid contains a screwdriver and a small work light that can be inserted
into a socket at the top edge of the radio, to the right of the fuse.
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In older versions of this radio, some additional accessories, such as the
headphones, are also stored inside the top lid. In the version shown here
(released in July 1988), these accessories are supplied separately.
The radio is completely mounted inside the carrying case, and consists
of 4 major blocks. From left to right: the spare parts storage compartment,
the receiver (RX), the digital storage unit (DSU) and the transmitter (TX).
It is shown here with English inscriptions:
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The spares compartment contains some lamps, fuses, etc. (see below for a
full description). The receiver (RX) and transmitter (TX) are pretty straight
forward in operation, but the Digital Storage Unit (DSU) is slightly more
complex. TX and RX frequencies can be set individually from the DSU.
Any pre-coded messages are stored in the DSU's memory and can be transmitted
at will.
Three displays are present at the center of the DSU: one for displaying the
coded message (in groups of 5 digits), one for the RX frequency and one for
the TX frequency. The currently set frequencies can be checked by pressing
the corresponding CHECK key
(K).
The CLEAR button
(C) is used to clear the
display prior to entering a new setting.
Please note that RX and TX each have their own CLEAR and CHECK buttons.
Just above the displays is a table with frequency ranges and the corresponding
settings for the RX preselector and the TX antenna matcher. Fine tuning is
done separately by following the procedure described in the user manual.
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The radio operated on the HF band, covering all frequencies between
1.5 and 13.5 MHz. The transmitter (TX) is mounted to the right of the
Digital Storage Unit (DSU). It is synthesizer controlled and produces
an HF output of 10W (CW only). The TX frequency is set in the rightmost
display of the DSU.
In order to obtain maximum TX output, the antenna matcher on the TX-unit
should be set appropriately for the selected frequency. A fine
control is used, in combination with a meter at the top right, to adjust
for maximum antenna current.
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At the bottom right is a built-in morse key that can be used to send messages
manually. To the right of the morse key is a small oval lid that is held
in place by two bolts. It gives access to a 9V battery that is
used to retain the messages in the memory of the
Digital Storage Unit (DSU).
The image on the right shows the battery compartment after removing the
lid.
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The receiver (RX) is mounted to the left of the DSU. It is also synthesizer
operated and covers the same range as the transmitter.
It is a double-superheterodyne receiver with intermediate frequencies
of 40.5 MHz and 500 kHz.
The RX frequency is set in the middle display on the DSU and can be adjusted
in steps of 1 kHz.
A 4-position pre-selector is used to select the appropriate frequency range.
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The middle section of the radio set is also the largest. It contains the
so-called Digital Storage Unit (DSU) that consists of a synthesized
transceiver and a digital burst encoder. Control of these two functions is
more or less integrated, in that they share the same numerical keypad.
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The antenna should be connected to the transmitter. Usually a long-wire
antenna is used with sufficient counterpoise. The counterpoise is connected
to the topmost connector. Like most Russian spy radio sets of this era,
the receiver only performs satisfactory when a decent counterpoise is used.
The manual describes how to setup the supplied antenna for use with this
radio. One end could be tied to, say, a tree, whilst the other end is held
high with a light-weight telescopic fibre mast.
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Power is supplied by a battery belt
that was usually supplied with the set.
It is also possible to connect any other 12V source to the radio, via the
4-way connector on its front panel. A short cable
is supplied to connect the R-394KM to an ordinary car battery.
According to [1] the R-394KM was powered
by an internal battery. Although this was quite likely, as the earlier
R-394K also had an internal 12V battery, no evidence for this
has been found to date.
Theoretically, a battery might be fitted in the leftmost
compartment (normally used for spares), but in none of the R-394KMs we have
seen so far, there was a power connection present in that compartment.
Nevertheless it might have been present on earlier models, or it might
have been used with an external cable.
There are also reports of an R-394KM that was found completely intact
in a field in Germany in the late 2000s. According to eye witness accounts,
the radio had a built-in battery that was still fully charged when it was
found [3].
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A 10-pin expansion connector is present at the center of the DSU,
between the MEMORY and MODE selectors. This socket is sometimes protected
by a black plastic cap and is intended for the connection of
additional equipment such as an external morse keyer. It allows the transceiver
to be partly remote-controlled by the external device.
The connector has the following pin-out:
An external key can be connected between KEY and GND. Please note that the
radio has two KEY inputs: one used for AM (amplitude modulation)
and one for PM (phase modulation).
Also note that the pin-out of this socket is different from the same socket
on the earlier R-394K radio. Connecting a device that was designed
for one radio will get damaged when connected to the other one.
So, be careful when connecting an external device to this socket!
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A new R-394KM radio station was supplied in a wooden box,
complete with a set of accessories and manuals. Apart from the radio, the
box contained batteries, a battery charger, a hand-operated power generator,
antenna, telescopic mast, etc. The wooden box was of rather poor quality
and was only used for storing the equipment in military depots until needed.
Some of the supplied items are described in more detail below.
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By default, the radio is powered from a set of batteries, mounted together
in a canvas belt with suitable webbing. The belt consists of two sets of
five cells each (one set on either side). As each cell produces 1.2V, the
total voltage delivered by the belt is 12V.
The battery belt can be charged with any 13.5V power source, such as the
mains battery charger below.
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The above battery belt can be recharged with the mains power supply unit
shown here. The PSU is suitable for connection to either 220V (as depicted
here) or 110V mains networks. The mains plug is stored inside the top lid.
The charger can be connected to the battery belt by using the supplied
4-pin Power cable (see further down).
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If no mains power is available, the battery can also be charged using a small
crank-operated power generator. Charging the batteries is not an easy task and
takes several hours, for just a few minutes of operation.
The generator is normally stored inside a carrying case with a canvas strap.
The connection cables are stored inside the top lid of the case.
New generators were generally supplied in grease paper, stored inside in a green
wooden box, together with a checklist and instructions.
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This cable should be used to connect the R-394KM to a suitable power
source such as the 12V battery belt (see above).
The cable is about 1 meter long and has a standard 4-female plug at
one end and a matching male connector at the other end.
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This cable is used to connect the R-394KM directly to an external power
source, such as a car battery.
One end of the cable contains the standard
4-pin female power plug that goes straight into the power socket of the
radio. The other end of the cable contains two clamps. The red wire is the
positive (+) terminal and the blue wire is the negative (-) one.
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Almost any type of headset can be used with the R-394KM.
In most cases, a common USSR military headset was supplied, with rubber ear
pads and elastic head bands. Such headsets are commonly used with military
radio sets in tanks etc. Headsets are connected to the two-pin socket on
the left of the front panel of the radio.
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The antenna is usually stored inside a cavas packet to the right of the radio.
Depending on the way the radio is used, a second antenna might be needed as a
counterpoise. The second antenna (see the images below) can be stored in the same
pocket.
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In order to setup the antenna as required, a light-weight telescopic glass
fibre mast is supplied. It allows the antenna wire to be mounted free from
obstacles and the earth. A ground pin is supplied to prevent the mast from
sliding away.
The mast and the ground pin are stored inside a canvas bag that can be strapped
to the radio or the canvas raincoat (see below).
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The radio is already painted in the usual Russian 'sand colour'
camouflage tint and has suitable padding at the bottom to allow the radio
to be carried on the back of the radio operator.
The lid of the unit is firmly closed with clamps and a gasket, to protect
the radio against dirt and water. Further camouflage is possible by fitting the
canvas raincoat shown on the right.
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A set of spare parts is supplied with each R-394KM radio station.
Usually, these spares are stored in the special spares compartment
of the radio itself, hidden behind the leftmost panel.
The spares compartments contains a variety of fuses, lamps, bolts, etc.
as detailed in the checklist.
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A complete R-394KM radio station comes with an an extensive set of
documents that are usually stored inside the large wooden storage box.
The documents include the operator's manual and full circuit diagrams
of the analog and digital parts. Some of the books are marked 'Secret'.
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The following documents were supplied:
- Checklist
- R-394KM Operating Manual
- R-394KM Technical Description (analog)
- R-394KM Technical Description (digital)
- R-394KM Maintenance Book
- Battery Technical Instructions (2x)
- Battery Maintenance Book (2x)
Below are some close-ups of the various books and the checklist.
Two of the black books are marked 'Secret' in the top right corner.
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- Louis Meulstee, R-394KM
Wireless for the Warrier. Volume 4. September 2004. ISBN 0952063-36-0.
- R-394KM Operating Instructions and Technical Description
Original documentation supplied with the R-394KM (Russian).
July 1988.
- Anonymous source, Eye witness account of R-394KM found in Germany
Interview with Crypto Museum, 2009.
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© Copyright 2009-2013, Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons. Last changed: Saturday, 21 June 2014 - 22:31 CET
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