This will start off a new thread following the conversion of my recently acquired S-250 communication shelter into a mobile HAM radio shack. The 2500 mile road trip to bring it from NY to MN is posted under the "road trips" area. Leaving on 2500 mile Road Trip to get my S-250 Shelter
This really isn't a restoration, although I'm trying to make all my modifications look as "military" as possible. The new HAM gear is often used with PC support, or even total PC control (Ham Radio Deluxe), so the modern station set up can run the gamut from tubes and big knobs to keyboards and monitors. I'm a computer kind of guy, but I also like to build test and repair my own circuits, so my station will have a little of both. I plan to use 2 separate IBM computers to support my future radio gear and run 4 or 5 monitors for all the peripheral applications and gadgets that add to the enjoyment and utility of radio communication. (Plus, they look really cool!)
I'm also planning to include a little workstation for testing and repair that will utilize several military surplus Tektronix test equipment modules, I've collected over the last few years. Finally, if you can believe it, I'm also planning to add a bench seat that folds down to a 6 1/2' by 30" sleeping area for overnights (or if Jan locks me out--just kidding, dear). The shelter is mounted on a 4' x 8' trailer with a 3500" axle and bigger trailer tires and Jeep style fenders. There's an area by the tongue for my Subaru 3500W generator, a Jerry can for gas, and a 20' crank-up antenna mast (an army surplus light tower in it's previous life). Depending on how much heat I need and get from the rear mounted AC/Heater, I also have room by the tongue for an LP tank to run a small ventless heater. It DOES get cold in MN!
My first project after getting the shelter home was to determine if the AC/HTR was still going to work after all those years sitting outside. It wasn't the ideal place to put my workshop, but upstairs off my studio was the only place left when we did our addition 10 years ago. Lugging the 163# monster upstairs was a one step at a time deal using a two-wheel dolly. Working from the inside panel, I disconnected the hard to find Amphenol power connector and made a temporary connection to a 115VAC cord--not pretty, but OK for testing. The next thing I discovered was that almost every screw on the exterior was rusted to the point of crumbling. A Phillips head bit would just make a divot. I removed over 50 pan-head screws using a vice grip pliers and holding my breath. Only one broke. Now somebody please tell me why the military would specify an AC unit made entirely of aluminum and stainless steel, and then put it together with corrosive fasteners?!
Once inside, I had all kinds of surprises waiting for me. At the very bottom perimeter of this unit there are three 1/2" holes for water condensation to drain out . Apparently these were very attractive to paper wasps and other little critters from all the nests I found way up inside the unit! The filters prevented them from entering the shelter interior, but I wouldn't have wanted to be around the outside if the unit had been fired up in summer. I spent the next four evenings trying to coax the unit back to life, but after facing rusted control assemblies and missing refrigerant from the sight glass (a demil thing), I decided to keep this as a parts unit and spring for a new crated unit I found online just 3 hours away in St. Paul. I really didn't want two of them, but I can't just requisition a new "#247J / 20-EEE thingy" when I find another bad part either.
The next Saturday I picked up my NOS unit, factory fresh from 1992. One of the things we surplus junkies thrive on, is the bargain basement prices we get (on stuff we already over-paid for as taxpayers). I was not to be disappointed when I saw the original price sticker on the crate at $4020! What a deal. Inside underneath the crate, the padding, and inside the plastic bag was the unit itself, along with a 390 page manual. Makes you wonder what the manual for a Stinger missile comes in at. The unit fit into place perfectly, and included a zippered weather cover for the outside. My only frustration is with the idiot who decided to attach the manual packet and desiccant packs directly to the new unit with gummy OD duct tape. What a MESS! It was stuck so tight in places, I thought it might pull the CARC paint off. A lot of time was spent with a razor blade scraper, turpentine, and elbow grease to get rid of the gummy goo.
Once mounted, I drilled some holes in the holding bracket tray to access the screws that attach the weather cover. Needless to say, I'm replacing them with stainless steel fasteners!
More later...
Last edited by professor solderflux; 04-08-2009 at 13:24.
Reason: added link to the road trip thread
Hi Stryker, When I say mobile shelter, I just mean portable, not to be used while in transport. Once set up, I'll have all the equipment, generator, and shelter linked to a 6' ground rod connection. Beyond that, I'm sure the shelter will possess a ground plane effect of it's own when using a vertical type antenna. I'll also be able to experiment with surface ground plane radials in the form of pipe or cables, when I get to that point.
Any suggestions are appreciated, My first antennas on the mast will probably be a discone at the top, and an inverted V or two coming down from there. I'll probably mount a 2-meter whip on the shelter. After I get into some HF gear things will get more interesting.
These shelters are definately COOL to have fun with. I've got an AN/GRC-46-B shelter that I restore and though it is a bit tight it is very relaxing to fire up the generator and sit inside and listen,( I don't have a license to transmitt)......much fun!!!
I know what you mean HAWKMAN, would love to see some pics of your setup!
One of the added benefits, besides using a $20K piece of Military equipment for your hobby is the beefy door. Someone that wouldn't think twice about kicking in a regular entry door on a shed or garage is going to be pretty intimidated by these shelter doors and a good padlock.
You should think about getting a HAM license. Just a couple weeks to study out of the manual, no more morse code requirement, and then you can legally carry a scanner in your vehicle in just about every state.
Of course like any hobby, the money starts to turn up missing from your wallet...
The Following User Says Thank You to professor solderflux For This Useful Post:
Hey thanks for sharing the photos--man, that's a lot of metal! I didn't figure you had the radios with it! Is that a dynamotor on the floor to generate 115VAC? Looks like a jump seat peeking out from behind he door. Do you have lighting and heat as well?
Curious if you got the whip antenna with it, or are you using a long wire, or something else?
Pretty cool, Don at Spruce Mtn. has a couple shelters with all the equipment for a pretty reasonable price, but they come in pretty hefty--my Jeep would croak!
Yea, the weight of that T-135 transmitter alone is crazy. The shelter has two of the dynamotors that suppy power to the teletypes,( 28 VAC to 115 VAC). This set-up I'm told was for the back of an M-37 so a jeep would be groaning from the weight. I do have lights and DID have heat at the begining of the season untill my multifuel heater went south but that's OK as I have plenty of the electric shelter heaters from the larger TRC-117's I've got out back. The antenna is a copper whip that is mounted on the back of the shelter I usually get good reception with this setup.I did try(once) putting wire in the trees as high up as I could but when the thunderstorms got me worried I took them down and only use the original one. I like this shelter set-up cause it's small and easy to move.
You can't work in the dark, and without electricity and the doors shut, these shelters are as black as it gets. Power enters the shelter and its' 60 Amp panel through a service panel to the right of the exterior door. The recessed panel has an integral weather shroud, and two imposing connectors (connected in parallel for "daisy-chaining" these things), a covered duplex outlet, and a grounding terminal. The connectors that mate with these plugs carry 115VAC across two sets of wires (to spread the current load across more copper, and thus requiring smaller, more flexible wire), and are a little hard to track down. I did find one for $50 including shipping, and am still waiting for it's arrival from MD. In the meantime, I used the "backdoor" to energize the shelter, so I could use the lights and outlets. I made an electricians nightmare, and wired a short cord with a grounded AC plug on both ends. This goes between the extension cord and the duplex auxilary outlet at the exterior service panel. I also made a bright red sign warning anybody not to unplug the "hot" plug from the shelter. I'll be sure to disassemble this cord when I'm done with it!
Getting started to refurbish the shelter, I realized I had two fronts of attack: INSIDE and OUTSIDE. The outside was still a little cold to work on, but it smelled a lot better than the inside! This shelter is very light-tight, air-tight, and water-tight when all the hatches and vents are closed. While that keeps moisture OUT, it also keeps any moisture that happens to be there IN, as well.
There seemed to be evidence of powdery mildew on almost every metal surface, so one of my first jobs was to wash everything with a solution of hot water, PineSol, and a little bleach. I took the fluorescent lamps out of their holders to clean too, and discovered these neat little brown plastic retaining clips that slide over the socket and two-prong bulb terminals to prevent them from turning, and coming loose. I only discovered their function after snapping two of them, so if anyone knows where to find more, please let me know. I've searched the web, and local places, but no ones ever seen them before. The other neat thing on the fluorescent fixtures, was a bracket on the side to hold a spare bulb. These used a large O-ring to hold the spare bulb to the bracket--love this sort of thing!
S-250 Shelter / Ham Shack Conversion
