ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 32

January 2006
Articles, newsreports and Items of interest :enigma2000-owner@yahoogroups.com

An interesting piece

BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEWS & OTHER ITEMS an interesting piece which adequately follows on from the above article:

Member Anon writes:

Well following on from the section about a Morse to Voice encryption machine, I have attached two Photographs of some of the Crypto Kit I have.

The first photo shows the (nearly) complete radio setup for my GAZ 66 / R142. In the middle is a Brown box.

The Datschik machine is connected to a "Typewriter" (more electromechanical than anything else).

This is a Datschik machine. It’s connected to a "Typewriter" (more electromechanical than anything else).

Apparently, from the translations of the technical manuals I have, the message is typed into the "Typewriter" and is sent to the Datschik machine. The Datschik machine has 10 (ten) thumbwheel switches which appear to advance one position with each key pressed.

The message is then transmitted in CW at about 50-100 WPM, or a form of Baudot. I have it on good authority that the Russians and GDR guys used to send the initial establishment calls at about 20-30 WPM then flipped into High Speed Morse or Data. This would have required a high speed tape machine to receive, then slowed down to take the CW. Interestingly enough, the the complete R142 Radio setup includes a Tape Recorder.

The other photograph is of a Fialka machine. (I have one of these as well).

This has the same cable connections into the Datschik machine. So I presume the "typewriter" was for off line encryption and the Fialka was for on line. Funny that it looks so much like an Enigma machine?

When I got the Datschik, a friend identified it, and here's his email:...interesting comment about Trier as well.

"Anyway, your crypto gear. From the picture it appears you own a Datschik. I saw this setup in Trier when I visited the base there. A former top secret base was opened up when they goit money to create a museum on site. Now they have to let in ordinary guys like me too.

There's a central building covered in razor wire and people there say 'We are the German NSA'."

[Thank you Member Anon.]