Mystery Challenge

[ColinB]

This was recently photographed on South Camp RAF Sealand. It is out of context and had a surprising later life. Do you know what it's original purpose was?

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr82/ColinBa/Tardis2.jpg

[forget]

As it happens I can tell you exactly what it is/was. It's a radio screened (Faraday) cage. The Electronic Counter Measures maintenance sections for V bombers had half a dozen where you could run high powered radio transmitters inside without zapping the outside world.

[stepwilk]

So what was its "surprising later life"? Aviary?

[brakedwell]

Smoking Room?

[forget]

Smoking Room?

When I worked in them, with a Red Shrimp and 5KV floating around, it very often was. :hmm:

[ColinB]

These were standard units on all flying stations and had a very specific use. I would not have fancied flirting with 5Kv in one of these. This is a closer view of the same unit.

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr82/ColinBa/Tardis3.jpg

[forget]

I've looked closer. Now that we've confirmed a radio screened (Faraday) cage used for, amongst other things, Electronic Counter Measures maintenance sections for V bombers etc, and which, in my experience, were never standard units on all flying stations with a very specific use - perhaps we can hear your theory. :)

[Herod]

Pigeon house? :confused:

[Warmtoast]

Could it have been a Tempest Cage? Very much in fashion in the 1980's when it was shown that CRT VDU's radiated what was on the screen to all and sundry who had the necessary intercept equipment. In particular the concept was brought to the attention of the general public by a TV demonstration on the BBC's “Tomorrow’s World” in 1985, which demonstrated that the screen content of a video display unit could be reconstructed at a distance using low-cost home built equipment, namely a TV set whose sync-pulse generators were replaced by manually controlled oscillators.

Government departments got panicky following the BBC program and follow-up newspaper articles that showed how easy it was to read what was being shown on a computer screen in someone's house or a bank etc. which led to Tempest Cages being installed where classified information was being displayed on bog standard CRT computer screens. The computer operator sat in the cage with the door closed to operate the computer or terminal, the screen of which if it wasn't inside the cage would be radiating interceptable signals.

A good explanation can be found here:

The Complete, Unofficial TEMPEST Information Page (http://www.eskimo.com/~joelm/tempest.html)

Or if you want to read what is the definitive (non-classified, available to the general public) research document from Cambridge University on TEMPEST and emanation monitoring:

"Compromising emanations: eavesdropping risks of computer displays".

This is doctoral thesis by Markus Kuhn and is a must read for anyone who has a serious interest in this topic, but be warned, it's 167-pages long and fairly technical:

http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/TechReports/UCAM-CL-TR-577.pdf

[ColinB]

This is a Sarah cage. Periodically, the Sarah and I guess later Sarbe beacons were removed from the aircrew Mae Wests and tested in them. This was to my recollection generally assigned to the most recent and junior arrival in RSF. It was not a popular job as it was cramped with the bench and test equipment in situ and the d****d aerials kept squirting out of inexperienced hands when attempts were made to reload them. It was however at other times an excellent place to go and read when things were slack.
I do understand that faraday cages were used for ECMs etc on some stations but this was a standard fixture on all flying stations.
As I said earlier I would not have enjoyed playing with 5Kv in one of them. An acquaintance of mine alleges whilst leaning across Orange Putter, which was at the time strapped to a test gimbal, he inserted his thigh across an 8 Kv klystron source and with a dramatic flash drilled a hole through his thigh. He says he was rushed to sick quarters where he was treated with the straight faced, sympathetic words of “Shocking, shocking”
The cage shown was at the back of the Rugby Club at Sealand and was used for many years to store beer barrels. I don’t know how it was acquired but neither did Cheshire Police ever find who borrowed their coffin and skeleton.

[forget]

This is a Sarah cage.

No it’s not. At a stretch I suppose it could be called that – if you happened to be testing a SARAH in there. The two objects top right of the front face are power switches for 28vdc and 115vac ‘aircraft’ supplies, neither of which SARAH needed but ECM systems did. The only time I saw a dedicated SARAH cage was at RAF Acklington Flying Training (dates me) and it was half the size. Why use a huge and very expensive cage for ELT tests only?

[Krystal n chips]

" This is a Sarah cage"

Not for a Ms Palin or Kennedy by any remote chance ?

[ColinB]

I discussed with a couple of pals of mine and firstly sorry for the jargon, the rough translation is as follows:
Search And Rescue And Homing (SARAH) beacons were homing devices inserted in the Mae Wests of aircrew. They had a range of about 85 miles.
Sarbe beacons were a more modern version of Sarah.
These devices needed periodically testing in an environment which did not allow the transmissions to be received and responded to.
ECMs Electronic Counter Measures were specialised and often bespoke radio devices, quite often hand built at RRE Malvern.
Orange Putter was a tail warning system usually fitted in V-Bombers (the other was Red Steer).
A Klystron was the device which provided the high power for mainly search radars. The more well-known one was the Magnetron.
RSF was Radio Servicing Flight, normally located in the second line servicing area.
Concerning the cage, it appears that it originated at RAF Ternhill. I do not think ECM’s were common in Jet Provosts.