Jan 09, 2023 09:00:00

The internal structure of the transmitter 'DDR Type 2' used by the spy of the secret police Stasi in the former East German era is amazing

The Crypto Museum, which introduces equipment that has been used in past cryptographic communications, has taken up the shortwave transmitter `` DDR Type 2 '' developed by the East German Ministry of National Security `` Stasi ''.

DDR Type 2

https://www.cryptomuseum.com/spy/ddr2/index.htm

DDR Type 2 is a valve-type shortwave covert radio transmitter developed in the early 1960s by Operativ Technischer Sektor, a division of the Ministry of State Security known in former East Germany as the Stasi. The name DDR Type 2 is a nickname given in 2004, and the official name is unknown. It was used by Stasi agents operating in Western European countries.

Agents are usually instructed via One-Way Voice Link (OWVL), a shortwave radio broadcast known as Numbers Station. And the response is usually returned by 'dead drop' that drops and collects secret items at a secret place, but if for some reason dead drop cannot be used, DDR Type 2 was supposed to be used. rice field.

DDR Type 2 consists of a transmitter suitable for frequencies from 3.15 to 8.5MHz, a mains power supply, a high speed manual Morseburst encoder and some spare parts. The size is 150 × 105 × 50 mm, and it is housed in a gray metal housing, sockets for connecting with sockets and antennas on the top of the main unit, sockets for connecting to the power supply unit on the left side, and on the front has a knob to adjust the frequency.

The setup completion diagram when actually sending a message looks like this. The message is first converted from plain text to a numerical value by some conversion method, then encrypted in

one-time pad format, and recorded as Morse code on magnetic tape using a hand puncher. The tape is played back by 'KEYER' in front of the image, and the signal played back is sent through 'TRANSMITTER'.

DDR Type 2 was usually hidden in underground stashes called caches to avoid discovery during house raids. The operative reportedly had a handbook that encrypted the location of the cache.

The actual DDR Type 2 has been found all over Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc., and the one introduced by the Crypto Museum is said to have been found in a certain country in Western Europe near the Netherlands. According to the discoverer, an avid amateur archaeologist, a metal detector caught the cache, and inside it was found a DDR Type 2 placed to look like a 1960s VARTA 6V car battery. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary discarded battery, but when it is turned over, it makes a rattling sound.

The Crypto Museum said, ``The transmitter and power supply are very well made and are still working after being stored underground in an uncontrolled state for nearly 60 years. I will.”