|
|
|
|
|
|
Body wearable covert radio
The S-20, codenamed NEVA 1 (Russian: С-20 НЕВА), was a
body wearable covert transceiver
that was developed between 1956 and 1958 in the former USSR
for use by intelligence services such as the KGB
[1]. The radio was manufactured by the Kozitsky Works 2
(Russian: Завод Козицкого) in Leningrad (Russia)
and was used for agent communication during
surveillance operations. It operated on a single tunable channel
in the 148 MHz band using Amplitude Modululation (AM).
|
NEVA consists of a so-called body pack, a fixed
remote control unit (RCU)
and some accessories. The body pack is slightly curved,
in a similar way to the radio direction finders
of the era, so that it could easily be hidden under the clothing. It was
usually carried in some kind of harness that also had space
for the batteries and the vibrator.
A short piece of wire with a safety pin at the end was used as the antenna.
It was commonly fitted inside the sleeve of a coat or inside the
trousers. The unit is an interesting hybrid of valves (tubes) and
semiconductors (transistors and diodes).
|
|
|
Development of the Neva radio set was started in 1956, with the first prototypes
ready for testing later that year. Mass prodcution did not start until
1962, however. Nevertheless it is amazing that the Russians developed
this radio with the transistor technology that had just become
available, especially when considering that most people were still listening
to tube-radios at the time. The NEVA shown here was manufactured
in or around 1959, judging from
dates on the components.
|
-
Neva is a river in the North-West Russian Federation, flowing from lake
Lagoda through St. Petersburg into the Gulf of Finland.
-
This company was founded in Leningrad in 1853 as
Siemens & Halske
Telegraph Depot.
It was renamed in the late 1930s to Works No. 210 [3].
|
As the NEVA was intended for covert use, e.g. during surveillance operations,
it has a minimum set of controls. In fact, there are no controls on the actual
radio set itself, so that it can be hidden under the operator's clothing in
some kind of body harness, together with a suitable battery pack.
A suitable wire antenna is connected to the socket at the bottom of the
radio, and attached to the clothing with a safety pin. The fixed
remote control unit (RCU)
is guided through the sleeve of the operator's coat,
so that it can be carried in the hand. Microphone and speaker are
hidden under the collar of the coat. An (optional) vibrator can be connected
to draw the operator's attention in case his receiver is set to silent mode.
The rather heavy batteries were also carried on the chest.
|
In every portable (radio) application, power consumption and, hence, the
battery requirements, are a serious challenge. On the one hand, the radio
should be operational as long as possible, but on the other hand the
batteries should be as small (and lightweight) as possible, so that they
can easily be hidden under the clothing. Compared to later all-transistor
designs, this problem was even bigger with NEVA as it features valves.
And despite the fact that subminiature valves are used, they are still
rather power hungry. As a result, big and expensive batteries had to
be used.
NEVA was supplied with a bakelite battery holder that accepted three
Silver-Zink batteries [2]. Like the radio itself, the battery pack was carried
on the chest, in one of the pockets of the body harness. It was connected
to the socket marked Б on top of the radio.
|
The radio is entirely operated from a small handheld remote control unit
(RCU) that holds the ON/OFF switch, a volume adjustment and a joystick-style
Push-To-Talk switch (PTT).
The RCU is connected to the radio by means of a fixed multi-wire cable that
is guided through the sleeve of the operator's coat, so that it can be carried
in the hand from which it is operated.
When transmitting, the operator pushes the large rubber knob towards
the right and speaks into the microphone hidden under his collar.
|
|
|
|
Getting access to the interior of the NEVA is surprisingly simple.
After removing just one screw from the bottom of the case, the entire
radio can be extracted from it. When open, the radio remains fully operational.
Note that the cable with the remote control
unit (RCU) stays connected.
|
Inside the radio is a die-case aluminium frame with four compartments,
two of which are hidden from view by metal covers.
The image on the right shows the interior of a
typical NEVA, of which the metal covers have been removed.
The radio is quite remarkable, as it contains semiconductors (diodes,
transistors) as well as valves (tubes) in a single design. Subminiature
valves are used for the transmitter and receiver stages (RF),
whereas semiconductors are used for the audio section (AF)
and the power circuit that provides the anode voltage for the valves.
|
|
|
Two large power transistors are also used in the driving circuit for the
vibrator. The diagrams below should give a good idea of the location of
the various circuits inside the radio.
|
Frequency 148 - 149 MHz (single channel, free running) Output power 0.5 to 1 Watt Modulation AM Dimensions 120 x 120 x 16 mm (135 x 120 x 16 with sockets)
|
All sockets on the body of the NEVA radio are of the same type.
They are used for the connection of antenna, battery, microphone, speaker
and vibrator. Plugs for these sockets are extremely difficult to find, so
we have specified their dimensions here, in case someone wants to make
duplicates:
|
- Antenna (wire)
- Vibrator
- Battery (block)
- Remote control unit (RCU)
- Earphone
- Microphone
|
We are still looking for addtional information about this radio. In particular
the operating instructions and technical description would be most welcome.
We are also looking for the accessories and/or suitable plugs to fit the
coaxial sockets on this radio. In case you have any of these items available,
please contact us. Your help will be much appreciated.
|
-
Thanks to Steven McDonald for bringing this link to our attention.
|
|
|
|
Any links shown in red are currently unavailable.
If you like the information on this website, why not make a donation?
© Crypto Museum. Created: Tuesday 05 July 2016. Last changed: Sunday, 31 December 2017 - 13:45 CET.
|
 |
|
|
|
