The original MS1030 built in the 1980's had several variations.  In the 3/31/83 Specifications Brochure (from Bill Turini's site) the MS1030 is listed as "HF Transceiver (amateur)" and the MS1030CM is listed as "(Commercial/Military) HF Transceiver".  The main difference is the MS1030CM is continuous transmit coverage from 1.6 to 30 Mhz.  The radios with "MS1030C" on the front panel may be the ones listed in the Brochure as the "MS1030CM" but I'm not certain that is the case. 
MS1030 Specification Brochure

Bill Gordon, N5RG, sent an email saying he recalled the C designates a radio with the RS232 interface and not the "Commercial/Military" version.  Massimo Rampa, IZ0KIO, also sent an email (with picture) stating he has both an MS1030 and an MS1030C manual.  The C manual has "computer controlled modular system" on the cover.  That most certainly is one difference in the two models. 
My two MS1030Cs do have the computer interface while my MS1030 does not. 
MS1030 / MS1030C Manual Covers

February 2008 - Some very helpful and accurate information has been provided by Darrell Huth, W6VHK.

If it is a "factory" 1030C it will say 1030C on the front panel.
The 1030Cs have a one piece "milled" receiver shield.  The older 1030's have a "block" type shield, put together from many separate pieces.
Here are two pictures of the 1030C receiver block. 
The 1030 has a shield built from separate pieces.  This is shown in the two pictures on the right, from K5MBX.
      

Also, the 1030 has the relay card and not the pin diodes.  The power supply is different as well.  The MS1030CM designation may in reality be the MS1030C but as I said, I'm not certain.  The relay board is installed in the 1030 in the left thumbnail.  Notice the power supply differences and there is no relay board in the 1030C
   

The 1030C has extra bandpass filters and is pin diode switched instead of using relays.
The fact that it has a computer interface alone does not make it a "C" model. 

A large number of the original 1030s were sent back for upgrades.  Depending how much money you were willing to spend determined the extent of the upgrade.  This explains why there are a number of 1030s (no C on the front panel) that do have the RS232 interface.


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Created: Septermber 08, 2006. Last Updated: April 12, 2017
� Copyright 2008, PakRatz, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA