Inhaltsverzeichnis
SE-200: LUX
Wireless Set SE-200 (LUX); developed and produced by Zellweger AG, Uster.
Zellweger AG, Uster, developed a portable transceiver with four crystal controlled channels and frequency modulation in the fifties, the set was introduced in 1953 with the infantry, around 1300 sets have been built.
Technical Data
- Frequency range: 22 - 32 MHz, four crystal controlled channels in this range (101 channels with a channel spacing of 100 kHz, channel numbers 220 - 320)
- Output power: 0,8 (battery operated) / 4 W (generator)
Power supply
- Accumulator / Batteries: Heaters battery 4,5 V (LSA 49122) and plate battery 90 V (LSA 49121); from 6 V vehicle battery using the hand cranked generator as rotary converter.
Dimensions
- 330 x 220 x 430 mm, 17.5 kg for the transceiver; in addition the hand cranked generator 17.5 kg, the long distance antenna equipment 8.4 kg, vehicle mounting frame 3.5 kg, remote control unit 5.0 kg and a fielf telephone set model 50 2.4 kg.
Accessories
- A Crystal box with the frequency channel crystals
- The standard antenna is a Whip antenna (eight segments) with a length of 2,45 m
- Long distance antenna FA-SE200 5,3 m (whip antenna and six additional segments)
- vehicle mounting frame MR-SE200 with a 3,5 m battery cable for vehicle use.
- Remote control unit FBG-SE200, which is connected to the wireless set; at the remote site, an additional connection box with the receive - transmitting switch and a field telephone set are used.
- for servicing, a test set T-101 was provided.
Operation
The wireless station SE-200 consists of the transceiver itself in a robust metal cabinet on a backback carrying frame with a weight of 18,0 kg and a hand cranked generator, which has a weight of another 17,6 kg.
The set can be operated from batteries, it will need a 4,5 V LT / heaters battery (LSA 49122) and a 90 V HT / anode battery (LSA 49121) - or is can be powered from a hand cranked generator, the output power will be increaed from 0,8 to four Watts when using the generator. The generator can be used as a rotary converter operated from 6 V DC from a vehicle battery.
The SE-200 is designed for very uncomplicated operation: next to the telescopic antenna socket and the external antenna jack, You find the main switch combined with the volume control. The frequency is selected by pressing one out of four frequency channel buttons.
A „Lärmgarnitur“, a combination of a set of headphones and a throat microphone to be used by the signals operator or a remote control set are plugged in the corresponding jacks - there has also been the possibility to plug in a „Microtel“, a telephone like handset with a push-to-talk button intended to be used by officers to communicate with their superior.
The four frequencies are controlled by plug in crystals. For each crystal controlled frequency, the set has to be pre-tuned: the chassis has to be taken out of the cabinet and a simple pre-tuning / alignment procedure has to be made by the radio operator. The channel numbers have to in ascending frequency order and had to be written on a paperboard strip after pre-tuning has been made. The operation frequency (MHz) is calculated from the channel number divided by 10.
The set is equipped with a telescopic antenna, by use of a 15 m coaxial cable an a separate base, this can also be used as „long distance antenna“ erected on a well suited hilltop, a tree or something similar.
A „remote control set“ allows the set to be operated from a field telephone line.
Technical Principle
The receiver is of a single conversion design, the antenna signal will pass two R.F. amplifier stages and will then be mixed (1R5) with the fourth harmonic of the frequency channel quartz (in the range 4,745 - 7,245 MHz). The resulting intermediate frequency of 3,02 MHz will be amplified in three stages (1T4, 1T4, 1T4) and will be demodulated after having passed the limiter (1U4) and the diskriminator stage (1N34). The audio signal has to pass another two amplifier stages (1U4, 3S4) and will feed the headphones, another 1U4 valve is used for the squelch.
In transmitting mode, the audio signal from the microphone will pass an amplifier stage (3S4) and does modulate (1N34) an oscillator signal of 125,833 kHz (1T4), after a sixfold multiplication of the frequency (1U4), the signal of around 755 kHz will be preamplified (1U4), mixed with the oscillator signal from the transmitting frequency crystal (4,745 - 7,245 MHz)(1N34 x 2), has to pass two frequency doubler stages (3S4 and two 3S4) to reach the final R.F. amplifier in the transmitter stage (two 5618).
Valve layout
V1 (1U4, 1. RF preamplifier); V2 (1T4, 2. RF preamplifier); V3 (1R5, mixer); V4 (3S4, oscillator 4,745-7,245 MHz); V5 (1T4, 1. IF stage); V6 (1T4, 2. IF stage); V7 (1T4, 3. IF stage); V8 (1U4, limiter); two 1N34 in the discriminator; V9 (1U4, noise amplifier) and 1N34 in the squelch; V10 (1U4, 1. AF stage); V11 (3S4, 2. AF stage).
V12 (3S4, microphone preamplifier); V13 (1T4, oscillator 125,833 kHz); one 1N34 as phase modulator; V14 (1U4, frequency multiplier (x 6)); V15 (1U4, transmitter preamplifier 733 kHz); two 1N34 as Transmitter mixer stage with the oscillator signal from V4; V16 (3S4, first frequncy doubler stage); V17, V18, (two 3S4, second frequency doubler stage); V18, V19 (two 5618, transmitter output stage, the secondd valve 5618 is added only when the generator is used to increase the transmitter output power).
Entwicklung
In 1949/1951, engineers from Zellweger developed a manpack set with frequency modulation, which should operate in the same frequency band as the sets FIX and REX which were bought from U.S. Army surplus; which should be operational on several channels and should be prepared for vehicle use, too.
Development delays caused the artillery to acquire the american set SCR-610 from surplus; in Switzerland, these sets got the designation REX or SE-201.
Technically, the design of the set was similar to the SCR-610, the operation channels are crystal controlled and when selecting a channel with one of four pushbuttons, the antenna oscillator, receiver oscillator and antenna matching hat to be tuned simultaneously; the Uem Geräte Mech (signalman) had to pretune the four channels after inserting the channel crystals. In contrast to the single channel sets FOX / SE-100 and the dual channel sets REX and RTS, a selection of four working channels was considered as quite generous.
It's an interesting approach of the engineers to use the hand cranked generator also as rotary converter for vehicle use.
A variant of the set for fixed operation (SE-200 WR) seems to be rare, a mains power supply war added in later years to allow fixed use of the equipment.
Field use
Because of surplus equipment hat already been acquired and Autophon was about to introduce their SE-206/9, a very interesting compact portable and vehicle set, finally only 1500 units (in the documentation „Funkstationen der Armee“ you find a number of 1300 sets for 6'500.- Fr. each) have been ordered, they found their main use to establish the communications link between companies and battalions of infantry units.
The SE-200 was introduced with the troops in 1952/3 and were in use until 1975, in 1977 all the sets were faded out.
