|
|
|
|
|
|
|
← R-353
Spare parts and tools
Each R-353 (Proton) spy radio set,
was supplied with a selection of spare
parts and tools, packed in a
metal box,
commonly known as a ZIP box.
ZIP (Russian: ЗИП)
is the abbreviation of the Russian expression
Запасные части И Принадлежности, meaning: Spare parts and accessories.
|
Finding a complete ZIP box with all items intact will be difficult
today, as most of them have been used in the field or may have
served as a parts donor for other ZIP boxes. In most cases the toolkit
and the solding iron will be missing as they were commonly stored outside
the box.
Most of the spare parts,
such as the fuses, the light bulbs and the
spare sub-miniature valves,
are held in the top lid of the case.
The heavier items, such as the PA valve,
the toolkit
and the soldering iron
are stored in the bottom half of the case, as shown in the image
on the right.
|
|
|
As far as we know, there are two variants of this box with small differences
between them. Variant 1 is the oldest one that was issued with the first
R-353 sets in 1969.
It can be recognised by a
circular push-in lock.
With variant 1, a reel with spare magnetic tape (for the tape cassette) is
stored aside the large PA valve,
sometimes in a metal container.
Variant 2 can be recognised by its
spring-clip lock.
In this version, the
reel with spare magnetic tape is stored inside the top lid.
In the same way as with the
burst encoder
and with the R-353 itself,
the ZIP box was available in two different colours: grey hamerite and
green/blue hamerite. The purpose of these colours is currently unknown
but could be releated to the actual user or agency. In many cases, the
colours of the various items in a complete set have been mixed, possibly as
a result of an earlier repair.
|
|
Some of the early ZIP boxes were supplied with a checklist with 23 items [2].
The table below is a translation of such a table that was issued with an
early type ZIP box on 26 August 1971.
Please note that some items may have been
omitted from later ZIP boxes, and that other items might have been added later.
The items that are listed in blue can be clicked for further information.
|
|
The items listed above, were supplied with the initial
version of the ZIP box. Some of these items were omitted later, for example
the
small container with rosin
(item 2) was left out after new types of
solder (item 18) had become available. So far, we have recorded the following
changes:
|
|
Inside the ZIP box was a
green cloth toolkit (item 13) with several
items inside, such as tools and maintenance materials. The toolkit has two
flaps that should be folded inwards, before the kit is rolled-up. The toolkit is then stored inside the ZIP box and held in place by a wide metal bracket.
|
The first section of the toolkit holds a metal pair of pliers
and two different screwdrivers. Each of the screwdrivers has a different
tip width of 1.6 mm and 4 mm respectively
and are intended for the removal of the knobs on the front panel.
These screwdrivers should not be used for removing the receiver and
transmitter from the case. A suitable coin should be used instead.
Also in the toolkit (in the 5th section) is a pair of tweezers that can be
useful when repairing a tape cassette
or when replacing one of
the light bulbs of the two frequency projection scales.
|
|
|
Stored behind the toolkit is a small 12V soldering iron,
wrapped in a piece of green cloth.
It is held in place by the toolkit, which itself
is held in place by locking the metal bracket. The remaining items of
the toolkit, plus all other items of the ZIP box are further described below.
|
|
Tools and supplies were present to allow certain soldered parts, such
as the subminature valves, to be replaced in the field. A simple 12V
soldering iron was supplied, along with solder and rosin.
Furthermore, short pieces of wire of various thicknesses were supplied
for other kinds of repair.
|
The image on the right shows the soldering iron that was supplied
within the ZIP box. It can be connected to any 12V power source, such as the
battery of a car, by means of two crocodile clips.
The iron and heats up in a few minutes and was used to repair any broken
contacts, such as the wiring of the antennas and the wiring inside a broken connector, but also to replace a broken sub-miniature valve.
In order to save space, such valves were not socketed like in most (larger)
equipment of the era, but their wires
were directly soldered to the rest of the circuit.
|
|
|
|
One of the key components of the R-353 radio is the
high-speed keyer, or burst transmitter.
It is located in between the receiver and the
transmitter and accepts a purpose-made magnetic tape cassette on which
pre-coded messages have been stored by means of a separate
burst encoder.
|
The tape cassette contains two reels with very thin (0.018 mm) magnetic
tape that can easily break when mistreated. In order to repair a broken
tape (cassette) in the field, each ZIP box contained at least 100 metres
of spare tape.
Broken tapes were never repaired or glued back together;
they were simply replaced by a fresh new contiguous piece of tape.
Two types of magnetic tape have been found. The most common one is a shiny
chromium tape (shown here),
but over time some cassettes were loaded with the more common
brown ferro-based tape.
|
|
|
The R-353 is a hybrid of valve-based (tube) and transistor-based circuits,
with valves being the dominant component for the more critical tasks,
such as the receiver and the transmitter stages.
The image on the right shows the PA valve of which one spare
is supplied. As it is socketed, it can be replaced within minutes.
The other parts of the transmitter and the entire receiver, are built with
sub-miniature valves, of which the legs are soldered directly to the circuits.
A total of 9 spare sub-miniature valves are supplied.
They are stored inside the top lid of the ZIP box.
|
|
|
In order to connect the antenna wire and a suitable counterpoise
to the banana-type sockets on the front panel of the R-353, short
pieces of rubber-shielded wire (approx. 10 cm) with a banana plug
at the end were used.
As these cables were easily lost, one or more spares were present in the
ZIP box. In the older variant of the ZIP box one spare cable was stored
under a metal clip aside the PA valve in the bottom half of the case.
In the later variant they were usually supplied in a small envelope.
|
|
|
For insulating soldered joints, such as the antenna wires and certain
improvised repairs, 15 grams of self-adhesive plastic tape (approx. 80 cm)
was supplied on a brown Pertinax card.
The image on the right shows the blue plastic tape, which has become
rather stiff after all these years, and can no longer be used.
|
|
|
For lubricating gear boxes, ball-bearings and other open types of frictions,
a small plastic tube with 15 grams of graphite [1]
was provided as a non-liquid lubricant
(also known as dry lubricant or solid lubricant).
The image on the right shows the plastic tube with graphite, which is
normally stored in the second section of the toolkit.
|
|
|
At some point, probably in the mid-1970s, a small box with a plastic
tube filled with oil was added to the ZIP box. The oil was used as
lubricant for certain movable parts and was applied with a small pipette.
The image on the right shows the oil tube (right) and the glass-and-rubber
pipette. They were stored in a small carton
that was padded with wadding
in order to protect the glass.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Any links shown in red are currently unavailable.
If you like the information on this website, why not make a donation?
© Crypto Museum. Last changed: Thursday, 09 September 2021 - 15:01 CET.
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
