A is for - Funksprecher a1

[Funksammler]

The German army had long dreamed of a "Patrouillenfunkgerät" or "Walky-Talky" but the technology only came together in the late 1930's. The new generation of army valves coupled to the successful development of VHF technology meant that a compact radio with a manageable antenna length could be developed. The resulting radio was called the "Funksprecher a", shortly followed by the Funksprecher a.1 (Fuspr.a.1):

The Fusp.a receiver is based on the superregenerative principle. Valve 1 (SD1A diode) acts as an oscillator/detector after which the audio signal is passed through valves 2 (RV2P800) and 3 (RL2P2)  for amplification. When transmitting, valves 2 and 3 act as microphone amplifiers with Valve 1 acting as oscillator/mixer and power stage:

The radio is compactly build and only takes up a small part of the radio box. As is still true today, the size of the device is largely determined by the size of the power supply it needs:

 

This early version had a lever as a Transmit/Receive switch, which could be operated with a cable. This cable mechanism proved troublesome in the field, so with a more conventional Transmit/Receive switch this radio went into series production as the "Funksprecher a1" (Fusp.a.1). The radio operated from 120 to 156 Mhz, with the frequency scale calibrated in channels (151 to 178); this gave a channel distance of 1.33 Mhz. Housed in an aluminium box, the radio had a minimum of controls: the frequency control was at the top, with the receiver fine tuning placed coaxially with the main frequency control knob. Under that were the on/volume control and the send/receive switch. A instrument allowed the battery voltages to be checked. Under that were the connection sockets for the headphones and microphone. A small storage section at the bottom allowed the storage of spare valves:

Housed in an aluminium boxThe radio could be carried on the back using two standard radio straps: 

The top of the box contains the hooks onto which the carrying straps are hooked, a carry handle and the antenna socket. The Fuspr.a.1 legend is painted in white on top of the box:

The back of the box has a bracket to attach a bag to hold the accessories. A long webbing belt could be passed through two loops at the bottom of the box, it appears this belt could be used independently of the belt and equipment of the infantry soldier wearing the radio:

The right panel opens up to reveal the battery compartment:

The bottom compartment held a 2B19 filament battery while the top compartment held the standard 90 Volt Anode battery:

With the lid closed, a small air vent ensures that any vapours from the 2B19 battery can be dispersed:

The 2B19 is a half sized version of the 2B38 battery normally used in portable equipment:

On the left side, the close panel is marked with E/S (Empfänger / Sender) to indicate where to find the transceiver:

The front panel hinges open at the bottom:

The folded lids slides into a compartment under the radio:

The standard Dfh.a and Kmf.b throat mic were used with the set. A sectioned antenna plugged into the antenna mount on the top of the box completed the radio. A small bag for the accessories could be attached to the back of the radio. Here a similar section from a Feldfu.b antenna is shown, the antenna would have another two sections of similar length:

By plugging in the headphones, microphone and antenna, the Fuspr.a.1 is ready for use. At this time (1938) the standard Dfh.a and Kmf.b would have been used:

Due to the omission of the cable operated Transmit/Receive switch, operating the radio while carried on the back proved impossible without a second operator walking behind. The very few period pictures showing the set in use show it carried on the chest instead, so that the operator could operate the transmit-receive switch and other controls. Operations also proved that the aluminium housing was too weak and that the radio was too easily damaged. Battery life was also limited, so when it came to design the successor to the "Fusp.a.1", all these weaknesses were addressed. This successor is off course the Feldfunksprecher series introduced in 1941. Here are a Fusp.a.1 and a Feldfu.f side by side:

Limited numbers of Fusp.a.1 were used during the Blitzkrieg campaign. We know from a surviving drop container designed to hold four radios that the Fusp.a1 was used by the Fallschirmjäger during the Norwegian campaign.

When the Feldfunksprecher series of radios were introduced in 1941, the Fusp.a.1 was relegated to second line duty. From this time, the Fusp.a.1 was sometimes referred to as the Feldfu.a. Its early manufacture in relatively low numbers make the Fusp.a.1 probably one the rarest of the Feldfunksprecher variants around today.

[kriegsfunker]

Great super rare set.  Amazingly advanced in the 1930s