Jump to content

Noreen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by VulcanSphere (talk | contribs) at 05:22, 26 April 2022 (Adding local short description: "Cipher machine", overriding Wikidata description "off-line one-time tape cipher machine" (Shortdesc helper)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Noreen on display at Bletchley Park museum

Noreen, or BID 590, was an off-line one-time tape cipher machine of British origin.

Usage

As well as being used by the United Kingdom, Noreen was used by Canada. It was widely used in diplomatic stations. According to the display note on a surviving unit publicly displayed at Bletchley Park in the United Kingdom, the system was predominantly used "by the foreign office in British embassies overseas where the electricity supply was unreliable."

Usage lasted from the mid-1960s through 1990.

Compatibility

It was completely compatible with Rockex.

Power Supply

The units were powered by two batteries of six and twelve volts respectively, though some were known to have been powered by mains.

Other uses of the name "Noreen"

  • Noreen was the name of a wooden dragger that was acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II and converted into the minesweeper USS Heath Hen (AMc-6).
  • Noreen is a common name in the Americas, Ireland, Scotland, and the Middle East. Also spelt Naureen, Noirin and Nowrin (نورين). In Arabic, the word means "luminous"'. In Ireland and Scotland, 'Noreen' is the anglicized version of 'Nóirín', which is the diminutive of 'Nora'.