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Antennas Stasi
Indoor 'umbrella' antenna
- this page is a stub
32210-64, nicknamed Umbrella Antenna (German: Regenschirm Antenne),
was a vertical HF antenna for covert indoor use,
introduced in 1983 by the
Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS)
— the repressive state security service (Stasi) of the former DDR
(East-Germany) — as successor to the 32210-62.
It was developed in 1982/83 by the Operativ-Technischer-Sektor
(OTS) for the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung (HV A), and was used
with the WSA-1 and WSA-6 spy radio sets [1].
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The device can be regarded as a vertical rod antenna, consisting of several
segments, some of which have a variable length. At the top and bottom ends
are umbrella-shaped constructions that act as top and ground capacities,
and allow the rod to be clamped between the floor and the ceiling of, say,
a hotel room. The antenna is suitable for the 4-18 MHz frequency range and
has an integrated variometer for matching it to 50Ω.
The antenna is modular and can be disassembled in minutes, after which it
can be stowed in the supplied green canvas cover. The complete package is no
longer than 50 cm. Supplied with the kit is a low-pass filter to block any
unwanted VHF signals from the transmitter,
plus a 1.5 m coaxial cable for connection of the
spy radio set.
The umbrella antenna was initially developed use with the
WSA-1 spy radio set,
after the original 32210-62 antenna was found to be inadequate. The first
experiments with an improved indoor antenna were carried out in 1978, which
eventually led to the development of the 'umbrella' antenna [2]. The first
prototypes were supplied mid-1982, with full production starting in 1983.
It is known that 300 antennas were manufactured for use with the
WSA-1 spy radio set and an unknown number for use with the later
WSA-6.
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The image above shows the assembled umbrella antenna clamped between the
floor and ceiling of a bedroom. It allowed an Eastern Bloc agent to operate a
transmitter from within a hotel room in the West, without being visible from
the outside. As the connected radio was usually a
burst transmitter
— a transmission typically took 5 seconds — the chance of
discovery was minimised.
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The diagram below shows the complete construction of the 32210-64 antenna.
It consists of a number of rods, that are mounted together. At the top and
bottom ends are umbrella-like constructions to which the antenna owes its
nickname. Roughly at the centre is the adjustable variometer that is used
to optimise the antenna for a given frequency. Towards the bottom is an
impedance transformer to which a regular 50Ω coaxial cable can be
connected. The low-pass filter (LPF) is an extra measure to avoid interference
with regular VHF television broadcasts.
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Device Antenna Purpose Indoor (covert) HF agent transmissions Project 32210-64 Developer OTS User HV A (MfS, Stasi) Year 1983 Country East-Germany (DDR) Predecessor 32210-62 Used with WSA-1, WSA-6 Frequency 4-18 MHz Impedance 50Ω HF Power 60 W max. Height 2200 - 3150 mm Quantity 300+
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Document kindly provided by Detlev Vreisleben [1].
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- Detlev Vreisleben, Documentation and photographs
Personal communication, May 2025.
- Louis Meulstee, 'Umbrella' aerial
Wireless for the Warrier, Volume 4, Supplement Chapter 100.
Version 1.01, October 2017.
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Wednesday 28 May 2025. Last changed: Sunday, 06 July 2025 - 12:52 CET.
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![32210-64 Umbrella antenna. Photograph kindly provided by Detlev Vreisleben [1].](img/umbrella_2_large.jpg)
