Nope, just procedure. "damn the torpedos, full speed ahead".
73
Bob, K4TAX
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP" <Rick@DJ0IP.de>
To: "'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment'" <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 2:51 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
Sure there was... Government stupidity and its insistence on wasting tax
payers' money!
73 - Rick, DJ0IP
(Nr. Frankfurt am Main)
-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of James
Duffer
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 8:17 PM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
Such a sad tale. Sorry to hear of such destruction of good and harmless
equipment. Harmless as there was no "just" reason for the destruction.
Jim, wd4air
From: Rick@DJ0IP.de
To: tentec@contesting.com
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:09:03 +0200
Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
I can answer some of that, first hand.
In about 1973, the US Army in Europe (USAREUR) decided to close down
hf and go fully to VHF and UHF.
Hundreds of S-Lines and KWM-2A's were collected and brought to the
army disposal center in south western Germany.
I was custodian of a MARS station in Berlin and on TDY in the area of
the disposal center, so I dropped in to see if I could scrounge
anything to distribute through the MARS channels to our members.
There I witnessed the beautiful Collins radios stacked by the hundreds,
in
an area of about 50 ft.
by 75 ft - being destroyed!
There were a few guys working hard destroying them. Every tube was
being broken with a hammer and the chassis of each was cut in half with a
torch.
Seems they had been used by the Army Security Agency and they were
afraid there might be some residual top secret data still inside some of
the tube.
I did everything I could to try and stop the action but to no avail.
Everyone on site was just following orders and they were not willing
to pause while I tried to find a solution. All of the radios were all
completely destroyed.
I was in tears. I could have made every MARS member in Germany's
dream come true if some moron hadn't have taken the decision to destroy
them.
So that's what happened to our military S-Lines here in Europe.
73 - Rick, DJ0IP
(Nr. Frankfurt am Main)
-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Dave
Edwards
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 6:16 PM
To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] How much for an Orion III?
Also interesting (to think about)...
I wonder what percentage of them still exist today?
How many does the government still own?
How many remain on dusty shelves somewhere....unopened???
....Dave
On 4/14/14, 9:56 AM, Rsoifer@aol.com wrote:
> I asked Rod, K0DAS (retired from Rockwell Collins), how many KWM-2s
> were bought by hams rather than Uncle Sam. He said that nobody
> really knows, but his best guess is that the U.S. armed forces
> bought between 1/4 and 1/3 of them. Some went to other government
> agencies as well as foreign governments. That still leaves quite a
> few that were
bought by hams like me.
>
> 73 Ray W2RS
> _______________________________________________
> TenTec mailing list
> TenTec@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
>
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