R1231

The R1231 is a military transportable VHF radio station of 30 W, for FM, SSB and A1A telegraphy, made by IEMI in Bucharest and designed at the ICE research institute in Bucharest [1]. A modernised version, the R1231M, was stopped in 1992 at the prototype stage [1].

ICE’s VHF professional radio communications laboratory designed radio stations mainly for the army, with civilian versions for oil fields, forestry, building sites and agriculture; they were made in ICE’s microproduction workshop, at IEI (and after 1989 at its successor, ELPROF SA) and at IEMI [1]. Work on new frequency-hopping military radios was abandoned after 1989 for lack of funds [1].

Chapter V of the book describes it as a fully transistorised station for armoured fighting vehicles and the Romanian tank, with 50,000 fixed frequencies in 30–80 MHz, tuned in 1 kHz steps, for SSB and telegraphy, with 30 W; it replaced the R1230 and IEMI made it until 1991 [2].

Its prospectus describes a compact station sealed against dust and humidity, for mobile or stationary use, made up of the R1231-ER transceiver, the R1231-BAL power unit, the ABL 50 and AA 50 broadband antennas, a 3 m whip, emergency wire antennas and the R1241 on-board telephone; it had 10 programmed frequencies, automatic tuning, tone calling, a duty-receiver mode, remote control over 500 m and relay working [3]. The prospectus gives a range of 26–76 MHz (the chapter text gives 30–80 MHz), FM telephony, 30 W (6 W and at least 1 W reduced), 20 km range, 24 V DC at up to 14 A and a weight of about 50 kg [3].

IEMI’s table of special production lists 245 R 1231 K and R 1231 T stations made in 1985 [4][5].