reconnaissance and surveillance leader course an/prc-138 training outline an/prc-138 manpack...

Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leader Course

RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE COMMUNICATIONS

RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE COMMUNICATIONS

RECONNAISSANCE & SURVEILLANCE

LEADER COURSE

RECONNAISSANCE & SURVEILLANCE

LEADER COURSE


AN/PRC-138AN/PRC-138AN/PRC-138 MANPACK FEATURES

• FREQUENCY RANGE……………………………………1.6 TO 60 MHz

• MODES………………………………………….AM, USB, LSB, CW, FM

• CHANNELS………..100 VIA KEYPAD, 1-9 VIA SELECTOR SWITCH

• POWER OUTPUT……………….1, 5, 20 WATTS (1, 5, 10 WATTS FM)

• BUILT-IN MODEM - DATA INTERFACE

• BUILT-IN TEST…………….SELF TEST, BATT, SOFTWARE , VSWR

• ALE

• ENCRYPTION (NON MIL-STD)

• ECCM (EP) FREQUENCY HOPPING


AN/PRC-138AN/PRC-138AN/PRC-138 MANPACK FEATURES (CONT.)

1. SLEEP MODE (LOW POWER CONSUMPTION

2. SECURITY,ZEROIZE FCTN, OPERATOR/PROGRAMMING LOCK

3. PASSWORD PROTECTION (DEFAULT 24458300)

4. POWER REQUIREMENTS...MANPACK 24VDC, VEHICULAR 24VDC (12VDC WITH RF-5052PS 12V/24V DC CONVERTER)


AN/PRC-138AN/PRC-138DATA INTERFACE / REMOTE CONTROL

• DATA INTERFACE: THE PRC-138 CAN BE CONNECTED TO A WIDE VARIETY OF DATA DEVICES VIA THE DATA INTERFACE CONTAINED ON THE DATA CONNECTOR J2.

• REMOTE CONTROL: THE PRC-138 CAN BE CONNECTED TO AN ASYNCHRONOUS REMOTE CONTROL LIKE A PERSONAL COMPUTER VIA THE REMOTE INTERFACE CONTAINED ON THE DATA CONNECTOR J2. A MS-DOS SOFTWARE PROGRAM CALLED FALCOM IS PROVIDED TO REMOTE CONTROL THE RADIO.

• THE REMOTE INTERFACE CAN ALSO BE USED TO SEND DATA USING THE RADIO’S INTERNAL MODEM. THIS ALLOWS A SINGLE COMPUTER TO BOTH CONTROL THE RADIO AND ACT AS THE DATA DEVICE.


AN/PRC-138AN/PRC-138CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS

FRONT PANEL


AN/PRC-138AN/PRC-138

CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS

KEYPAD

SELECTS THE ITEM TO CHANGE

SCROLLS THROUGH MENU SELECTIONS

LIGHT

CALL

CLEAR

ENTER

CONTROLS BACKLIGHT AND CONTRAST

INITIATES CALL SEQUENCE IN ALE AND HOP MODES

CLEARS PROGRAMMING ENTRIES AND CONTROLS SCAN/STOP IN ALE. ALSO GENERATES HOPSET AND HALTS A SYNC REQUEST IN HOPPING.

ENTERS A PROGRAM PARAMETER CHANGE




KEYPAD (CONT.)

OPT

PRGM

1ABC 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

0

DEF

GHI

JKL

MNO

PQR

STU

VWX

YZ?

SPACE

ADJUSTS TX POWER, BFO, VIEW LQA SCORES, RETUNES ANTENNA COUPLER AND VIEWS TIME

ALLOWS OPERATOR TO PROGRAM CHANNEL AND CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS FROM A SEQUENCE OF MENUS

ENTERS NUMERIC AND ALPHANUMERIC DATA. PRESSING THE KEY MULTIPLE TIMES SCROLLS THROUGH THE NUMBER AND LETTERS PRINTED ON THE KEY. I.E. PRESSING THE NUMBER 5 KEY THREE TIMES SELECTS THE LETTER N.




RECEIVE DISPLAY

R05 - 06.9550 [

..USB OFF CLR ON

CH FREQ MHz S 3 6 9 +DB

MODE DATA ENCR SQ

CHANNEL

RX FREQUENCY

SIGNAL STRENGTH (S-METER)

MODE O USBO LSB0 AME0 CWO FM

DATA ENCRYPTION

SQUELCH




TRANSMIT DISPLAY

T05 - 06.9550 [MIC OFF CLR ON

CH FREQ MHz S 3 6 9 +DB

MODE DATA ENCR SQ

CHANNEL

TX FREQUENCY

POWER METER

KEY SOURCEo MICo DATAo AUX

DATA ENCRYPTION

SQUELCH

.




SELF TEST

TEST

TO PERFORM THE SELF TEST FUNCTION:

PLACE THE FUNCTION CONTROL IN THE TEST POSITION.

SELECT TEST ON THE DISPLAY BY USING THE KEYPAD ARROW KEYS UNTIL TEST IS BLINKING.

VERSION

VSWR BATTERY

PRESS THE ENTER KEY ON THE KEYPAD.

IF THE TEST COMPLETED WITH NO ERRORS FOUND, THE DISPLAY WILL SHOW:




SELF TEST

SELF TEST DONE

** NO ERRORS **

IF A FAULT IS FOUND, THE DISPLAY WILL SHOW THE SUSPECTED FAULTY MODULE NUMBER AND FAULT NUMBER.

RETURN THE FUNCTION CONTROL TO THE DESIRED FUNCTION AFTER SELF TESTING IS COMPLETED.




VERSIONTO EXAMINE THE VERSION OF THE FIRMWARE INSTALLED IN THE RADIO:


SELECT VERSION ON THE DISPLAY BY USING THE LEFT/RIGHT ARROW KEYS UNTIL VERSION IS BLINKING.

TEST VERSION

VSWR BATTERY


THE DISPLAY WILL SHOW A MODULE NUMBER AND REVISION NUMBER. USE THE UP/DOWN ARROW KEYS TO SCROLL THROUGH THE DIFFERENT MODULES. TROUBLESHOOTING OF THE RADIO IS HELPED BY REPORTING THE REVISION NUMBERS TO THE HARRIS TECHNICAL SUPPORT PERSONNEL.

RETURN THE FUNCTION CONTROL TO THE DESIRED FUNCTION AFTER REVIEWING THE VERSIONS IS COMPLETED.




VSWRTHE VSWR (VOLTAGE STANDING WAVE RATIO) MEASUREMENT DISPLAYS VSWR AS CALCULATED FROM THE FORWARD AND REFLECTED POWER AT THE OUTPUT OF THE RADIO OR POWER AMPLIFIER. IT ALSO DISPLAYS THE POWER, IN WATTS, BEING TRANSMITTED.

TO TEST THE VSWR ON THE RADIO:


SELECT VSWR ON THE DISPLAY BY USING THE LEFT/RIGHT ARROW KEYS UNTIL VSWR IS BLINKING.

TEST VERSION

VSWR BATTERY




VSWR (CONT.)THE DISPLAY ASKS WHICH FREQUENCY YOU WISH TO PERFORM THE VSWR TEST ON.


NOTE: THE RADIO WILL TRANSMIT DURING THE VSWR TEST. PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN.

THE DISPLAY WILL SHOW THE POWER OUT AND THE VSWR FOR THE FREQUENCY SELECTED.

POWER 20 WATT

VSWR 1.1 : 1

RETURN THE FUNCTION CONTROL TO THE DESIRED FUNCTION AFTER THE VSWR TEST IS COMPLETED.



CONTROLS AND DISPLAYSBATTERY

THE BATTERY MEASUREMENT DISPLAYS THE STATUS OF THE BATTERY VOLTAGE AND CHARGE LEVELS. THE SELECTIONS ARE FULL, MEDIUM, AND LOW AND VARY FROM 28.0 TO 20.0 VOLTS.

TO TEST THE BATTERY IN THE RADIO:


SELECT BATTERY DISPLAY BY USING THE LEFT/RIGHT ARROW KEYS UNTIL BATTERY IS BLINKING AND PRESS THE ENTER KEY.

POWER 20 WATT

VSWR 1.1 : 1THE DISPLAY WILL SHOW THE BATTERY STATUS AND VOLTAGE.

BATTERY 27.0V

FULLRETURN THE FUNCTION CONTROL TO THE DESIRED FUNCTION AFTER THE BATTERY TEST IS COMPLETED.




LIGHT KEY FUNCTIONS

LIGHT THE LIGHT KEY CONTROLS THE BACKLIGHT INTENSITY AND THE CONTRAST OF THE DISPLAY.

PRESS THE LIGHT KEY AND THE DISPLAY SHOWS:

LIGHT CONTRAST [MAX]

THE LEFT/RIGHT ARROW KEYS TO SELECT EITHER LIGHT OR CONTRAST. USE THE UP/DOWN ARROW KEYS TO CHANGE THE SETTINGS.

THE USE DISPLAY WILL THEN PROMPT THE USER FOR THE LIGHT TO BE OFF OR MOMENTARY. USE THE UP/DOWN ARROW KEYS TO SELECT THE DESIRED LIGHT SETTING.

PRESSING THE LIGHT KEY AGAIN RETURNS THE RADIO TO NORMAL OPERATION.



SSB OPERATION

SINGLE SIDEBAND (SSB) OR SINGLE CHANNEL MODE ALLOWS OPERATION OF THE PRC-138 FROM THE PRE-PROGRAMMED CHANNELS OR FROM DISCRETE FREQUENCIES USING A SCRATCH-PAD CHANNEL.

PASSWORD

THE AN/PRC-138 RADIO CAN BE PASSWORD PROTECTED TO PREVENT UNAUTHORIZED USAGE. A NUMBER OF OPERATOR AND PROGRAMMING FUNCTIONS CAN BE ENABLED (LOCKED) OR DISABLED (UNLOCKED). THE RADIO RETURNS TO THE FACTORY SET DEFAULT PASSWORD WHEN ZEROIZED. TO ENABLE OR DISABLE THE RADIO’S FUNCTIONS, THE USER MUST ENTER THE CORRECT PASSWORD. A ROADMAP OF THE PROGRAMMING MENUS THAT CAN BE LOCKED OUT CAN BE FOUND IN THE APPENDIX OF THE AN/PRC-138 OPERATOR’S TRAINING GUIDE.



SSB OPERATION

SELECTING A CHANNEL

R05 - 06.9550 [

..USB OFF CLR ON

THE OPERATOR CAN USE THE CHANNEL KNOB TO SELECT CHANNELS 1-9 DIRECTLY. ALL THE CHANNELS 00 THROUGH 99 CAN BE SELECTED BY USING THE KEYPAD.

FROM THE RECEIVE DISPLAY, USE THE LEFT/RIGHT ARROW KEYS TO SELECT THE CHANNEL FIELD (I.E. R05 WILL BE BLINKING).

USE THE ALPHANUMERIC KEYPAD TO SELECT THE CHANNEL NUMBER OR USE THE UP/DOWN ARROW KEYS TO SCROLL THROUGH THE CHANNELS.

PRESS THE ENTER KEY TO CHOOSE SELECTED CHANNEL.

NOTE: A CHANNEL CAN BE PROGRAMMED TO BE RECEIVE ONLY. THIS ALLOWS A USER TO MONITOR A FREQUENCY BUT NOT TRANSMIT ON THAT FREQUENCY. IF THE RADIO IS KEYED ON A RECEIVE ONLY CHANNEL, THE RADIO WILL SOUND A WARNING TONE IN THE HANDSET.



SSB OPERATION

SCRATCH PAD CHANNEL

R00 - 06.9550 [

..USB OFF CLR ON

WITH THE CHANNEL KNOB IN THE M POSITION, CHANNEL 00 CAN BE SELECTED AS A SCRATCH PAD CHANNEL. A SCRATCH PAD CHANNEL CAN SELECT AN OPERATING MODE, DATA PRESET, AND ENCRYPTION KEY. IT ALLOWS THE OPERATOR TO QUICKLY ENTER A RECEIVE AND TRANSMIT CHANNEL WITHOUT GOING TO THE PROGRAM MENUS.

CHANGE THE SCRATCH PAD FREQUENCY:

SELECT THE M POSITION ON THE CHANNEL KNOB.

USE THE ARROW KEYS OR KEYPAD TO SELECT CHANNEL 00. PRESS THE ENTER KEY.

USE THE LEFT/RIGHT ARROW KEYS TO SELECT THE FREQUENCY FIELD.

CONT.



SSB OPERATION

SCRATCH PAD CHANNEL (CONT.)

USE THE UP/DOWN ARROW KEYSOR THE KEYPAD TO ENTER THE DESIRED RECEIVE (RX) FREQUENCY. THE POSITION OF THE DIGIT THAT CAN BE ENTERED BLINKS. USE THE CLEAR KEY TO CORRECT ANY MISTAKES.

PRESS THE ENTER KEY TO CHOOSE THE ENTERED RECEIVE FREQUENCY.

USE THE UP/DOWN ARROW KEYS OR THE KEYPAD TO ENTER THE DESIRED TRANSMIT (TX) FREQUENCY. THE POSITION OF THE DIGIT THAT CAN BE ENTERED BLINKS. USE THE CLEAR KEY TO CORRECT ANY MISTAKES.

PRESS THE ENTER KEY TO CHOOSE THE ENTERED TRANSMIT FREQUENCY.

NOTE: ENTER LEADING ZEROS FOR FREQUENCIES BELOW 10 MHz, (069550 FOR 6.955 MHz).



SSB OPERATION

SELECTING A TEMPORARY OPERATING MODE

R05 - 06.9550 [

..USB OFF CLR ON

USE THE UP/DOWN ARROW KEYS TO SELECT THE DESIRED MODE:

o USB o AME o FM

o LSB o CW

PRESS THE ENTER KEY TO CHOOSE THE SELECTED MODE.

NOTE: WHEN CW OR AME MODE IS SELECTED, THE DATA PRESET AND ENCRYPTION FIELDS GO TO OFF AND CLR RESPECTIVELY, AS THEY ARE INVALID IN THESE MODES.

USE THE LEFT/RIGHT ARROW KEYS TO SELECT THE MODE FIELD.



SSB OPERATION

SQUELCH

R05 - 06.9550 [

..USB OFF CLR ON

ALTHOUGH THE SPECIFIC SQUELCH THRESHOLD (LOW/MED/HIGH) IS DETERMINED DURING THE PROGRAMMING CYCLE, SQUELCH IS TURNED ON OR OFF FROM THE FRONT PANEL DURING OPERATION.

USE THE LEFT/RIGHT ARROW KEYS TO SELECT THE SQ FIELD.

USE THE UP/DOWN ARROW KEYS TO TURN SQUELCH ON OR OFF.



SSB OPERATION

OPTION KEY FUNCTIONS

RETUNE

USE THE LEFT/RIGHT ARROW KEYS TO SELECT RETUNE. PRESS THE ENTER KEY TO RETUNE THE SYSTEM.

NOTE: THE RADIO WILL TRANSMIT DURING THE RETUNE. PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN.

OPT THE OPTION KEY ALLOWS THE OPERATOR TO RETUNE THE SYSTEM, CHECK THE TX POWER, CHANGE THE TIME OF DAY CLOCK, AND ADJUST THE BFO (IF ENABLED).

PRESS THE OPTION KEY AND THE DISPLAY SHOWS:

RETUNE POWER

TIME BFO



AUTOMATIC LINK ESTABLISHMENT

FUNDAMENTALS

AUTOMATIC LINK ESTABLISHMENT (ALE) IS A TECHNIQUE THAT PERMITS HF RADIO STATIONS TO CALL AND LINK ON THE BEST HF CHANNEL AUTOMATICALLY WITHOUT OPERATOR ASSISTANCE. WHEN NOT IN USE, EACH RADIO RECEIVER CONSTANTLY SCANS THROUGH ITS ASSIGNED FREQUENCIES, LISTENING FOR CALLS ADDRESSED TO IT.

TO REACH A SPECIFIC STATION, THE CALLER SIMPLY ENTERS AN ID JUST LIKE DIALING A TELEPHONE NUMBER. THE RADIO CONSULTS ITS MEMORY MATRIX AND SELECTS THE BEST AVAILABLE ASSIGNED FREQUENCY. IT THEN SENDS OUT A BRIEF DIGITAL MESSAGE CONTAINING THE ID OF THE DESTINATION. WHEN THE RECEIVING STATION HEARS ITS ADDRESS, IT STOPS SCANNING AND STAYS ON THAT FREQUENCY. THE TWO STATIONS AUTOMATICALLY CONDUCT A “HANDSHAKE” TO CONFIRM THAT A LINK IS ESTABLISHED AND THEY ARE READY TO COMMUNICATE.




FUNDAMENTALS

ALE LINKING SEQUENCE

BASE 01

BASE 01

BASE 01

TEAM 03

TEAM 03

TEAM 03TO TEAM 03

TO TEAM 03

TO BASE 01

THIS IS BASE 01

THIS IS BASE 01

THIS IS TEAM 01




FUNDAMENTALS

THE RECEIVING STATION, WHICH HAS BEEN SQUELCHED, WILL EMIT A BEEPING SIGNAL TO ALERT THE OPERATOR OF AN INCOMING CALL. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE CALL, EITHER THE OPERATOR CAN “HANG-UP” OR TERMINATE THE LINK, A DISCONNECT SIGNAL IS SENT TO THE OTHER STATION, AND THEY EACH RETURN TO THE SCANNING MODE.

THIS TECHNIQUE CAN ALSO BE USED FOR A GROUP OF STATIONS AT THE SAME TIME, USING THE ALE NET CALL. IN THIS SITUATION, EACH RECEIVING STATION ANSWERS BACK TO THE CALLING STATION IN A CERTAIN SEQUENCE, WHICH IS SET DURING THE ALE PROGRAMMING.

AN HF COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK USUALLY HAS A NUMBER OF CHANNELS ASSIGNED TO IT. THE ALE TECHNIQUE HAS A LINK QUALITY ANALYSIS (LQA) PROCESS THAT ALLOWS THE RADIO TO EVALUATE EACH OF THESE CHANNELS TO DETERMINE THE BEST CHANNEL TO PLACE A CALL.



AUTOMATIC LINK ESTABLISHMENTFUNDAMENTALS

AT PRESCRIBED INTERVALS, A STATION CAN BE PROGRAMMED TO ATTEMPT TO LINK ON EACH OF ITS ASSIGNED FREQUENCIES AND MEASURE THE SIGNAL QUALITY ON EACH LINKED FREQUENCY. THESE QUALITY SCORES ARE STORED IN A MATRIX, LISTED BY THE OTHER STATION ID VS. CHANNEL. WHEN A CALL TO A CERTAIN STATION IS INITIATED, THE RADIO CHECKS THIS MATRIX TO DETERMINE THE BEST QUALITY FREQUENCY FOR THE CALL TO THE DESIRED STATION. IT THEN ATTEMPTS TO LINK ON THAT FREQUENCY. IF THE LINK CANNOT BE ESTABLISHED ON THAT FREQUENCY, IT WILL TRY AGAIN ON THE NEXT BEST FREQUENCY, AND SO ON, UNTIL A LINK IS ESTABLISHED. IF A LINK CANNOT BE ESTABLISHED, THE RADIO WILL PROMPT THE OPERATOR THAT IT COULD NOT ESTABLISH A LINK.

WHEN MAKING MULTI-STATION CALLS (NET CALL), THE RADIO SELECTS THE CHANNEL WITH THE BEST AVERAGE SCORE AMONGST THE ADDRESSES IN THE NET CALL.


AN/PRC-138 BASIC PROGRAMMING PROCEDURES

reconnaissance and surveillance leader course an/prc-138 training outline an/prc-138 manpack...

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