Nuclear Research Corp NPS 28/25YAGD Power Supply

[Curtiss Wright]

Looking for information on this. It's 115V 400 Hz input, 26-29V DC at
25A output. Mfr's p/n A1519-010. Size is 14.6" L x 5.7" D x 6.4" H,
weighs in at 41 lb, weight's all up at one end so I suspect it's a
linear power supply, but doesn't seem to have enough heatsink. It's
soldered together, which sort of militates against going in for a
look. Finish is Haze Gray, suggesting shipboard use - doesn't look
like an aircraft device.

On the label it specifies the customer, in this case 'McClellan',
which was probably McClellan AFB, home of the DoD's only nuclear
reactor. So why would the AF spec a shipboard equipment? And weirdest
of all, how did it get to Australia, brand new and unused?

NSN is 6130-00-097-9458

Incidentally, it works well - I have 115V 400 Hz on hand.

Thanks,

Curtiss

[Jon Elson]

The Air Force also used a lot of ground-based gear.
If it has an AN/ designation, the next letter tells whether it is
for Mobile, Aircraft or Fixed station use. (U would be undersea and
S for surface ship, but that won't be Air Force.) The Air Force
had a lot of radar stations, and some of them ran off 400 Hz because
all the gear was lighter that way, and they ended up transporting much
of the gear and spare parts by air. I poked around in some Korea-vintage
radar trailers, and that was all 400 Hz stuff.

NASA may have used some of the Mil-Spec gear in tracking stations, too,
the antenna mounts, etc. are essentially identical to a radar dish mount
I know some of the big fixed installations at NASA-Wallops Station
ran on 400 Hz, the sound was unmistakable. Woomera had a big NASA
tracking station for years.

Jon

[Michael A. Terrell]

When were you at Wallops? I worked on a lot of the equipment
Microdyne supplied the NOAA ground station around 2000 to track &
control their birds.

--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

[Jon Elson]

Michael A. Terrell wrote:


> When were you at Wallops? I worked on a lot of the equipment
> Microdyne supplied the NOAA ground station around 2000 to track &
> control their birds.
>

1972-1973, I think. It was an AWESOME place to work, even after the
winding down of their heyday there when there were major launches daily.
I got to see several rain erosion tests with the 2-stage rocket that
did a 19 mile arc through the cloud tops to gauge erosion of MIRV
vehicles coming down. I saw the reference test that was done in
clear air. I still don't know how the hell they did this, but the
actual rain erosion tests
were scheduled months in advance, and they were able to predict the absolute
WORST weather with pinpoint accuracy. These things were ususally scheduled
for what was essentially a hurricane sitting off the coast.

I also got to see a exametnet super-loki datasonde launch from a mile
away, the rocket simply disappears with 120 G acceleration off the pad.

I was in the blockhouse for the launch of MTS-D, the meteoroid technology
satellite, on a Scout-II.

Lots of other cool stuff, like the FPS9 radar and the advanced data
acquisition site.

I worked with 2-way radio and CCTV, mostly.

Jon

[Jon Elson]

Fred Abse wrote:

> On Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:38:08 -0600, Jon Elson wrote:
>
>> If it has an AN/ designation, the next letter tells whether it is
>> for Mobile, Aircraft or Fixed station use. (U would be undersea and
>> S for surface ship, but that won't be Air Force.)
>

> U is general Utility, submarine is "B"
OOps, I wrote that from memory, you are quite right.
AN/UYK-7 for instance, is certainly not submarine gear, although
they might have been used there, too.

Jon

[Michael A. Terrell]

I was in the Army at that time, at Ft. Rucker. My job was to
maintain the 'Weathervision' system of CATV, cameras microwave relays
and about 350 video monitors. I installed the first emergency alert
system, where the Army could take control of the civilian CATV system in
an emergency, and transmit on all channels. I did work on some of the
older RADAR systems around the base, and worked out of the main RADAR
installation with a pair of 2 MW Westinghouse built systems. They were
installing new IFF hardware when I was transferred to Ft. Greely, and
they needed the space for the new equipment. I don't know where they
were moved to, since I left while we were still packing up everything.

[josephkk]

On Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:38:08 -0600, Jon Elson <jme...@wustl.edu> wrote:

>Curtiss Wright wrote:
>
>> Looking for information on this. It's 115V 400 Hz input, 26-29V DC at
>> 25A output. Mfr's p/n A1519-010. Size is 14.6" L x 5.7" D x 6.4" H,
>> weighs in at 41 lb, weight's all up at one end so I suspect it's a
>> linear power supply, but doesn't seem to have enough heatsink. It's
>> soldered together, which sort of militates against going in for a
>> look. Finish is Haze Gray, suggesting shipboard use - doesn't look
>> like an aircraft device.
>>
>> On the label it specifies the customer, in this case 'McClellan',
>> which was probably McClellan AFB, home of the DoD's only nuclear
>> reactor. So why would the AF spec a shipboard equipment? And weirdest
>> of all, how did it get to Australia, brand new and unused?

Most likely the equipment it powered was replaced by newer gear. Then the
spares were surplused, and sold way below 1 cent on the dollar. Once in
the surplus chain it can end up anywhere in the world.

>>
>> NSN is 6130-00-097-9458
>>
>> Incidentally, it works well - I have 115V 400 Hz on hand.
>The Air Force also used a lot of ground-based gear.
>If it has an AN/ designation, the next letter tells whether it is
>for Mobile, Aircraft or Fixed station use. (U would be undersea and
>S for surface ship, but that won't be Air Force.)

Um no. See here:
http://www.milspec.ca/radcodes/ancodes.html

And the N does relate to McClellan.

[josephkk]

I worked on UYK-7 equipment in the mid 1970s. Yourself?

?-)

[Jon Elson]

Nope, never in the military, but did work for NASA for a couple
years. Have worked with lots of surplus military gear over the
years. Such stuff as R-392, CV-57 and some older stuff.
I did get to tour the Minuteman silo turned into a museum at
Whiteman AFB in MO, that was a gas! There's a UYK-7 there, too,
supposedly still operational and used for training.
Just seeing this stuff a decade or so earlier would have gotten you
shot.

Jon