Field Phones!

Field phones are one of items that a lot of folks love to talk about but few ever really use. But the fact is that having a set around can be incredibly useful for setting up closed networks to fixed locations. Where field phones really shine in a grid-down retreat, temporary patrol base or guerrilla camp setting, is to network observations posts (OPs). It’s primary advantage over radio is that there’s no electronic signature alerting anyone to your presence- since it’s a direct line from one phone to another, the only way it’s intercepted is if the line is tapped. Most models can be either sound powered or run a very long time from two D Cell batteries, negating the need for a lot of charging equipment. So having that field phone at your fixed positions can be a very good thing. Let’s talk about how to do that.

Equipment

There’s several models floating around on the surplus market, from WWII & Cold War-era European sets to the excellent US TA-1 and TA-312 and newer. Something to know about the older sets is that while good deals can be had, normally there’s no guarantee to their function, so you might be buying a set only to have them take a dump right out of the box. It is 60-70 year old surplus, after all. Because of this I’ve found the Vietnam and newer-era surplus to be a better deal even if more expensive. I prefer the larger TA-312 for fixed positions because they’re incredibly rugged and simple to set up. Most of the ones you’ll find on the surplus market are in good shape and they’re still being used in some specialized military units. Our commo section had a large stash of them to hardwire hide sites to the communications transmission site in order to keep the electronic signature low. We never needed to do that in combat, but had we been fighting a near-peer war, we would. And because they’re so robust in design, they’re repaired pretty easily if need be.

The older TA-1 is the smallest, lightest and simplest of them all. It’s just a phone handset and a push to talk (PTT) with a cord running to the two post hookup wire outlet. They’re sound powered- no batteries needed. But they are older and not usually as well taken care of as the TA-312 on the used market, so like the older Euro models, I wouldn’t buy one sight unseen. For around $100 on the used market, the 312 is a better bet.

TA-838. Note the touch tone pad and four wire connections.

That said, there’s newer field phones out there that are usually much cheaper. There’s a reason. Unless you’re a wizard with telephones, I’d stay away from them. The TA-838 for example, while still analog, was designed for use with a larger military phone network- not point-to-point. Models since then are digital units designed to securely link military posts and are, at least in my experience, more complicated then they’re worth for setting up a simple, local phone network. They’ll have touch tone pads and four wire jacks instead of the basic two. Not saying you can’t make it work if you find a deal on them, but I am saying it’s a lot of extra headache for limited gain. So like always, Keep It Simple, Silly.

Operation

Building a network with the field phones is pretty easy. There’s two jacks for dual strand wire; a positive and a negative. Military field wire is known as WD-1 and I’ve found spools of it pretty cheap both in person and online. WD-1 makes good antenna wire too in a pinch. But if you can’t find WD-1 its not a problem- any dual strand wire will work. In the Army I’ve used Claymore wire, which is just aluminum core lamp cord, and I’ve used dual strand speaker wire in private classes when the students asked for hands on with field phones. Match positive to positive and negative to negative and you’re good to go. Can’t get any more simple than that.

The TA-1 and the TA-312 have a ringer to signal the other phones on the line for a call. The TA-1 uses a hand pump and the TA-312 has a hand crank. It’s Joe-proof, meaning there’s no way to screw this up. You can patch several phones together on one common line or have them all linked in series, but organizationally its a good idea to have all of the field phones in the network patched together. Every position now has real time status updates and the person in charge of that shift can call all of the positions at once. If anyone is sleeping on duty, now everyone will know.

What if you end up with a mismatched set? Will they still work? The answer is yes. The TA-1 and 312 work just fine with one another in my experience and the European models will as well. As long as all of the sets are in decent working order and the electrical connections are good, there shouldn’t be a problem. But that said it’s always a good idea to stick to an established standard for equipment.

TA-312 and German surplus field phone work just fine together when the students tested them in the RTO Course.

As robust as they are, there’s no reason for a retreat to have at least one set of them. Even if all you’re doing is networking security positions, they mitigate your electronic signature and provide a very secure means to communicate over short distances. And even though they’re heavy, they can be very useful for a small patrol occupying an area in a patrol base or hide site setting, where you may only be temporarily but will absolutely want to keep a low profile- both physically and electronically.

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Want to learn how to set up a communications network off grid using commonly available commo equipment? Wanna know how it all works in the small unit context? Come on out the RTO Course. I have two basic courses on the schedule through the Summer- one in NC and one in Montana with the Advanced Course in NC. What are you doing today to be better than you were yesterday?

 

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By Published On: January 30, 2019Categories: Comms, NC Scout14 Comments on Field Phones!

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14 Comments

  1. S. B. January 30, 2019 at 08:30

    http://www.softbaugh.com/fieldphone/
    Not to advertise off of your article but this is a system that uses regular telephones and phone wire. Runs off of anything from wall outlet to car battery to solar power. Biggest component is the size of a smartphone.

    • NC Scout January 30, 2019 at 14:47

      Drop me a line every once in a while brother. :)

    • Pineslayer January 30, 2019 at 22:09

      That looks great, thanks. I have been thinking of a way to utilize the phone grid in our neighborhood. I was going to ask my friendly phone man and see if he could give me an idea of how much power it would take to power up the 80 homes in this area. Obviously unsecured lines, but still useful.

  2. Cavguy January 30, 2019 at 09:49

    As a trained 36K wire comms is a given in all my mission planning. I opted for 1 mile rolls of wire NOS, TA 312s and TA1s . SB-22 been on the look out for a good one. Folks NC Scout is right use this gear.

    Cavguy

  3. Donk January 30, 2019 at 09:51

    What is your opinion on the SoftBaugh Field Phone; http://www.softbaugh.com/fieldphone/ The hardware is common and inexpensive. It does require a battery but they are ubiquitous and inexpensive and most folks in this sphere have recharging capabilities. The question to me is whether than can b made to be weatherproof.

    • NC Scout January 30, 2019 at 14:46

      I used one a while back. Seemed like a good piece of kit.

    • S. B. January 30, 2019 at 16:36

      I have my phones and ring modules mounted in a small Plano ammo case. I keep a compass, relevant maps and waterproof paper and writing utensils in there as well. Run the wire, hook up the phone and good to go.

  4. Warpig January 30, 2019 at 09:51

    Tom Baugh started a field phone project with the remote retreat in mind. I don’t know what the status is of this project; but, components are listed on his biz website: https://www.softbaugh.biz/?q=FPOK4

  5. Lima Sierra 08 January 30, 2019 at 10:27

    And if you live in an area with buried telephone plant, when the grid goes down, you can utilize the telephone network to extend your reach covertly. In our little tight nit community, I at one time had 4 houses interconnected via existing telephone drops and cable/pair with German field phones in these houses making the traditional “party line”. It was rarely used, but functioned well over a several mile range.

  6. Michael Dean Miller January 30, 2019 at 11:01

    .

    312s I used to occasionally repair in The Corps right before 838s showed up.
    Grunts were always ripping out the phone hold down straps on 838s cuz the nylon pulltabs were too short. A loop of green paracord thru the short strap fixed that real quick.
    TA-1s are a good set for short runs.

    .

  7. Badger January 30, 2019 at 12:50

    So if the base wants to contact the LP/OP without making noise out in the woods, how do we do that? What we do is turn the ringer all the way down on the LP’s phone and, instead, attach a U-184/GT glow lamp for a visual indication that an inbound call is present (assuming the light can be prevented from emanating where it’s not wanted). These are not much and can be used to either facilitate multiple field phones into an SB-993 style switchboard, or just to give a quiet “ringer” to one end. Short jumpers connect them to the same terminal as the main wire coming in

    One possible source (no connection other than satisfied customer):

    http://www.signalcenter.com/commo/ebaylist/11lamps/11lamps.html

    Pre-cellphone days works great to call back from far-point on property to let someone know you need ATV for a deer down.

  8. Anonymous January 30, 2019 at 13:06

    5

  9. Ed.smith January 31, 2019 at 14:54

    Signal center has these rebuilt and working. He’s and older vet so slow turn around but does a a1 job. Parts too

  10. 3ADscout February 15, 2019 at 20:29

    I have a set of TA-1’s and one 312. The 312 can be used without batteries for a short distance. Something else about the TA-1’s is that they do have a quiet function so as not to make noise in an LP/OP. There is a luminous dial that actuates when someone calls. Just a note of caution, since the phones on the market are older surplus many of those dials are not very bright.

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