New military carrier telephone systems equipment features

EVEN though the over-all system design has been carefully planned and the transmission circuitry has been ably executed, a communications system is only as useful and reliable as it is permitted to be by the actual equipment. Equipment usefulness is dependent on ability to reach its operational site undamaged, adaptability to conditions of usage, competence in operation, and susceptibility to rapid reactivation if disabled. With these requirements in mind, two multichannel carrier telephone systems have been developed for military communication in tactical areas. These are a 4-channel system for operation over distances to a maximum of 100 miles, and a 12-channel system for heavier traffic and longer haul operation over distances to a maximum of 200 miles. The over-all plan, the transmission media, and the transmission characteristics of these systems have been covered in companion papers.1,2 Discussion here will be limited to a description of the actual equipment and its design features as they relate to the basic objectives of durability, transportability, ease of installation, and simplicity of operation, maintenance, and repair under any physical or climatic conditions to be encountered from the arctic to the equator.