SOV - R-394KM Striž

The R-394KM "STRIZH" is actually a modified R-394KM for agency use abroad.
The modification itself consisted of:
- removing the military design, putting it in a different package (without straps etc.), as it was intended to be carried discreetly
- replacing the Russian descriptions with English descriptions; this would not arouse immediate suspicion during an inspection, and recruited foreign agents did not need to be proficient in Cyrillic
- replacing the fuse case with a standard "Western" fuse (looking for Russian fuses would be immediately suspicious)
- for backing up the stored message (about 10 days), a Russian cylindrical 9V battery is not used, but again a regular square battery (due to availability)
- replacement of the power connector with a DIN 8 262° connector
- replacement of the headphone jack with a 3mm jack so that ordinary civilian headphones could be used
station parameters:
dimensions of the closed box 275x240x120mm
reception A1, A2, A3
transmission A1, F1, A2
sensitivity: telegraph mode no more than 2 μV
telephone mode not more than 5 μV
power consumption: reception 0,7A
transmit 4,5A
memory 202 groups of 5 numbers
range approx. 1500km
12V power supply
antenna wire hanging 8/6m + counterweight 12/8/6/4m


The message itself (unlike the military R-394KM) can be written to the memory without power supply connected, just have a backup battery connected for the memory


Station accessories consisted of headphones, wired antenna, lamp, power cord (use in car on car cigarette lighter/car battery),
and, according to my findings, also :mains charger (with English descriptions) and probably a silver-zinc battery in a "belt" identical to the R-394KM, plus a power cord


The radio itself has no serial label, markings or serial number. The only possible identification is the date of manufacture and the (presumably serial) number handwritten on a sticker inside the radio on one of the blocks.
According to this number, date and information from cryptomuseum.com, it should be the so-called first type of Striz.
Somewhere this radio is marked as R-394T, but I highly doubt this claim, as according to the documentation for R-394KM the device is marked as R-394T information panel to display the received message.
Since the internet is silent about this rarity (this is only the second documented piece in the world after the radio on cryptomuseum.com) I would be grateful for any further information.



Photo source: own collection/ www.sptech.sk