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A bit more drift in this thread, for those inclined towards some more history.
Hi @Old_Joe We had similar paths in early electronics. Mine was via the USAF and later with the DOD. I still have some early books about transistors and microchips. Damn, I'm thinking we are getting older, eh?
KW-26 decent write up and photos. The card readers that set the crypto codes every 24 hours used a type of IBM paper punch hole card. As I recall, the secondary power supply transformers had outputs of several hundred volts to operate all functions. Not a good place to make a mistake with a hand in the wrong place.
USS Pueblo capture and crypto equipment, 1968; if you're inclined to read a bit of military history.
Lastly, on site equipment destruction; if necessary. Thermite Equipment Destruction. The Thermite Incendiary Grenade is used primarily to provide a source of intense heat to disable equipment or for general demolition or disruption. The flare burns from the base producing intensive heat sufficient to burn through up to 2mm steel plate.
@catch22 - Hey there catch- I'll tell you true: Having almost fried myself a few times with the typical 400 to 800 volt DC vacuum tube power supplies I had absolutely no reservations about adapting to the 5 and 12 vdc solid state supplies. None at all.
My high school graduation gift in ‘64 was a Zenith 7-Transistor radio. State of the art. Fit in a shirt pocket. My family coughed up around $40 to buy it for me. That was the going price in 1964.
Yeah. Them vacuum tubes were nasty. Hot. Easy to break.
You guys are reviving a lot of memories. I didn't have the same military-related background as some, but my fields of study were in chemistry and physics during the late 60s; so I grew up during the computer revolution. My first computer was the very underrated TI-99/4a. I think it cost me something like $100, and my son's first written word was 'run'! Eventually, that led him to a career as a network administrator for a school district. Best $100 I ever spent!
I was reminiscing about STU-3s, CIGs, and PRC-77s with a friend a few weeks ago and stopped midsentence, going "damn, I'm getting old...."
I trained/schooled for intelligence/national security/foreign policy, but was a good geek, and found a career that merged all 3 interests in some interesting and fun ways and thusly turned my hobby into my vocation. Heck, I still chuckle at my old 1989 ASVAB scoresheet from high school which indicated I would never be suited for a 'scientific or technical' career field. Yep, that was an accurate assessment, lol.
I cherish my degrees in the humanities for so, so, so many reasons .. and continue to promote the humanities despite working in a research-heavy R-1 computing/engineering department.
I still shake my head a little when I consider that from 1960 to 1980 every paper, article, editing job, report, proposal, legislation rewrite and all other rewrites, manuals and guides, marcom, specifications and requirements, and all other communication were done or redone on a typewriter and revisions usually meant complete retyping.
My last "career" was in e-recycling. The SF Bay Area was a great place for that; Stanford, Cal, Lawrence Livermore, etc., lots of engineers, and money. Saw some really cool stuff, and sold it.
I prefer an iPhone to Android. Android always seems like the worst Linux I ever installed. And it's difficult to break the google connection.
The smart phone comes in handy for tracking my Polar heart rate monitor during exercise, controlling my Yamaha receiver, and getting a discount on the auto insurance.
I like texting. I can't imagine trying to do that on a flip phone. But I remember the Zitz cartoons when Jeremy was making it work.
"I prefer an iPhone to Android. Android always seems like the worst Linux I ever installed. And it's difficult to break the google connection."
Another option is to install Graphene OS on a Google Pixel phone. Google apps and services are not bundled with Graphene OS. Security and privacy will be greatly improved. https://grapheneos.org/features
"I prefer an iPhone to Android. Android always seems like the worst Linux I ever installed. And it's difficult to break the google connection."
Another option is to install Graphene OS on a Google Pixel phone. Google apps and services are not bundled with Graphene OS. Security and privacy will be greatly improved. https://grapheneos.org/features
That sounds like a great thing to do with a recycled phone that allows users to change the battery without an advanced degree and a suite of specialized tools. Do such things exist these days?
In the meantime, I have Unihertz Atom I could play with.
Thanks for the tip.
Add>> Only supported on Pixels. I don't have any of those lying around. Found other "ROMs," but would they support my three main apps? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
These days my computer hobby time goes into qGis projects. But maybe I'll try something on the Atom. It's practically a brick anyway.
Comments
Hi @Old_Joe We had similar paths in early electronics. Mine was via the USAF and later with the DOD. I still have some early books about transistors and microchips. Damn, I'm thinking we are getting older, eh?
KW-26 crypto unit
KY-9 encrypted phone
KY-9 encrypted phone, 2
KG-13 solid state crypto
KW-26 decent write up and photos. The card readers that set the crypto codes every 24 hours used a type of IBM paper punch hole card. As I recall, the secondary power supply transformers had outputs of several hundred volts to operate all functions. Not a good place to make a mistake with a hand in the wrong place.
USS Pueblo capture and crypto equipment, 1968; if you're inclined to read a bit of military history.
Lastly, on site equipment destruction; if necessary. Thermite Equipment Destruction. The Thermite Incendiary Grenade is used primarily to provide a source of intense heat to disable equipment or for general demolition or disruption. The flare burns from the base producing intensive heat sufficient to burn through up to 2mm steel plate.
Take care- OJ
Yeah. Them vacuum tubes were nasty. Hot. Easy to break.
Old, old joke:
How was Thomas J Watson buried?
9 edge down.
Etymology of "nine-edge" and "twelve-edge"
I trained/schooled for intelligence/national security/foreign policy, but was a good geek, and found a career that merged all 3 interests in some interesting and fun ways and thusly turned my hobby into my vocation. Heck, I still chuckle at my old 1989 ASVAB scoresheet from high school which indicated I would never be suited for a 'scientific or technical' career field. Yep, that was an accurate assessment, lol.
I cherish my degrees in the humanities for so, so, so many reasons .. and continue to promote the humanities despite working in a research-heavy R-1 computing/engineering department.
I prefer an iPhone to Android. Android always seems like the worst Linux I ever installed. And it's difficult to break the google connection.
The smart phone comes in handy for tracking my Polar heart rate monitor during exercise, controlling my Yamaha receiver, and getting a discount on the auto insurance.
I like texting. I can't imagine trying to do that on a flip phone. But I remember the Zitz cartoons when Jeremy was making it work.
And it's difficult to break the google connection."
Another option is to install Graphene OS on a Google Pixel phone.
Google apps and services are not bundled with Graphene OS.
Security and privacy will be greatly improved.
https://grapheneos.org/features
In the meantime, I have Unihertz Atom I could play with.
Thanks for the tip.
Add>> Only supported on Pixels. I don't have any of those lying around. Found other "ROMs," but would they support my three main apps? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
These days my computer hobby time goes into qGis projects. But maybe I'll try something on the Atom. It's practically a brick anyway.