Chris Suslowicz

Drummond St, N1 I think. Parallel to (and North of) Euston road. Bought far too much (and at the same time Not Enough) stuff from their "Boffin Shop" across the road. Chris.

Now that's a lunatic piece of equipment! :wow::clap:

Carrier No.3 (later renumbered to No.23) is the "truck and ground station" one. It's mostly timber with relatively simple metal parts. The difficulty will be the set clamping straps which have clamping plates fitted, and the adjustable end was a metal stamping and not trivial. You will probably have to buy the straps, just make sure you get the ends and knurled nuts (which are 5/16" British Standard Cycle Thread, just to be ruddy awkward). You'll also need the table mounting brackets for the carrier (which include shock absorbers because that carrier doesn't have any), a proper WS19 supply unit case, and the seating plate + packing piece for the variometer mounting. There's a perspective drawing of the carrier in Wireless for the Warrior Volume 2, and I've got an original carrier if you need detailed measurements of parts. I may have a spare table clamp somewhere as well. Chris.

No, the power unit looks like a home made mains one built in the case of a supply unit for the (wartime) PCR 3 receiver. If you look at the front of the power unit you can see where all the original power connectors have been blanked off. It's nothing whatever to do with any military radio in its current form, other than being built from parts. The set is a U.S. Mk.II built for Lend-Lease. It's also been modified because the power input connector has been changed and part of the 'B' set removed (the tuning wheel slot has been filled in as has the aerial socket. Oh, and someone has removed all the flick locking screws which is a particularly nasty thing to do since it's a complicated mechanism and something of a pig to reassemble...

Caption says it's 8.8cm, so maybe this is the origin of the 88mm SPG?

Ah, it will be in Wireless for the Warrior Volume 3, because it's a butchered vibrator supply for the PCR3 receiver. As an aside, the Americans did not build the Mk.3 set, those would be British or Canadian. Your power supply is going to be home made, and I'd be inclined to examine it very carefully from a safety point of view. Further thoughts: the connectors used are post-WW2 Pattern 104 types, as used on Larkspur kit, and the power input connector on the set (which is a Mk.II judging by the connector size (6-pt)) has been changed to suit the homebrewed supply. The "dog-bone" connector in the lower socket is a "set to supply unit" cable for WS19 Mk.3 and is unlikely to be fully wired as they only used 8 pins (Earth, +12V heaters/relay, +250V HT1, 540V HT2 (+&-), Speech & Signal (driver intercom) and transmit relay (to run the HT2 dynamotor). Chris.

It's pretty much the "flying pigeon" firework, to government specifications.

Trust HMVF, give them a person to identify and all they can see is the vehicle in the background! :rotfl: Chris.

Quartermasters (at the Angel)? Chris.

More likely it was originally under Section W (since it has a WB stores code) and then they moved it across to Section Y when they reorganised the catalogue to reuse Section W for something else. One box is W2/WB2768 and the other is Y3/WB2768 - is the first bit the DMC? (Domestic Management Code/Category.) Things got rather complicated after WW2. Clives illustration is from 1955, which predates the introduction of the Hellerman crimp tool (that made life so much easier when jointing D10. Chris.

Er, no. It is Signals equipment, and meant for jointing "lightweight Quad" telephone cable if you get a break in the line. The cable is basically two pairs of D10 type cable in an overall plastic jacket, with one pair being white and the other black for ease of identification. Jointing would be done using the standard Hellerman tool and crimp sleeves, as with normal D10 cables. Quad is used were you need two circuits, e.g. for carrier telephony with repeaters for long distances, as you can use one pair in each direction, making the repeater circuitry a lot simpler (and lighter). Chris. (If you've got a few of them, I'd like a couple for the collection. (Though then I'd have to get some Quad to go with them!))

Is anyone coming up from Salisbury way? Ideally I'd like something (small but heavy and fragile) brought up here rather than trusting it to the tender mercies of the Post Office (or worse still, a courier service). Chris.

I've had a quick look through the operator guide for the 404 and it doesn't say anything about using them for anything other than point to point (another phone or an exchange). On the other hand, "bus" circuits for field telephones have a very long tradition and I'd be very surprised if you couldn't run four or five instruments on the same D10 pair. The limiting factor will be load on the ringer, making it impossible to call the other instruments or audio level too low in the receiver. A quick rummage at Infantry Signal Training, Pam 41 Part 5 (1984) shows the omnibus circuit still being taught, with the PTC-404 for when an exchange is not available (and a system of rings being used to call a particular handset). The diagram shows 4 phones in an omnibus circuit: BN HQ, A, B & C Coys (all in parallel on a single D10 pair). It also notes: United Kingdom Portable Communications 405 (UK/PTC-405) This telephone is a plastic desk set and can be fitted with a dial for use on outside lines. It will not be issued to Infantry battalions but can be found in training depots and similar training establishments. (I think the PTC-404 replaced Telephone Sets J and L, while the PTC-405 replaced the Telephone Set 'F' for office use. The Unit Level Switchboard 16 line was the replacement for the 10-line Magneto switchboard.) Chris.

I hesitate to suggest getting the REME battery manual and tooling up to pull the plate assemblies in order to remove the sludge. (Though I'm tempted to do this with a cracked 6V 40AH as a donor for a clapped-out unit - as long as the Elves aren't listening.) Long-term reconditioning with a pulse charger might bring them back if they're not physically damaged (i.e leaking) or short circuited internally. Chris.

The top pair look to be 6 volt 40 amp hour batteries, they're general purpose signals batteries but typically used with the WS B44 and WS62 (in pairs to provide 12 volts). The bottom one was used (in pairs, again) with the WS19 and similar sets. It's another general purpose battery and was also fitted to the REME lightweight repair trailer, used in pairs (12v) or quads (24V) in land rovers and the K9 wireless truck to rune whatever radios they were fitted with. Your biggest problem will be finding someone willing to supply you with the acid to fill them (due to the depredations of the Elves who drink Safe Tea). Chris.

Metropolitan Police Athletic Association? It's definitely a Queens Crown, so post-1953.

Just _one_ firework: Borrow the biggest WW1 howitzer that's still functional to fire a saluting charge then play the last post....

I would hope that the hoop stress is well below the yield point! (Otherwise you're into the permanent deformation region if the stress increases any further - which it will during use I'm sure.) But yes, the hoop stress is limited by the strength of the material (which increases with the cross sectional area (i.e. width of tyre x thickness of band)) and the gripping force on the wheel is determined by the radial force and the area of contact. I'm sure that the larger diameter tyre will grip as well as a smaller one because of the increased length of the circumference and hence a larger area in contact (which would compensate for the reduced radial stress) - otherwise they'd make the hoop thicker to compensate and avoid the tyre spinning on the wheel or slipping off. (It's nearly 40 years since I had to know this sort of stuff, so don't ask me for the formulae or I will have to resort to Google!):-) Chris.

All sand is silica (Silicon Dioxide, SiO2), and it's the fine particles that give you silicosis if they get into your lungs in any great quantity. Hence the ban on using it. Commercial abrasives are more expensive but much safer. (Aluminium oxide, silicon carbide, steel shot, etc.)

All the photographs and line drawings in Wireless for the Warrior Volume 2 show Aerial Base No.10 being used with the WS19 and WS22 in Jeeps. (There's one exception of a WS19HP installed across the back of a Jeep instead of one side, and that uses a Canadian "Aerial Base C2" instead.) The mountings vary between a stalk with a plate on top, (similar to the later Land Rover mountings), a metal box (that sometimes also has the variometer mounted to it) on two (or 3) box section uprights (plus custom made folded steel brackets for things like halftracks). I would be very surprised if the installation kit for the radio did not include the aerial mounting hardware. (Which is not to say that hybrids of Commonwealth radios with US aerial mounts did not exist, as there's bound to have been some "field expedient" installation performed.)

Indeed, and was built specifically for the job, as the RA kept breaking the back of the LWB landrovers due to the weight of the ammunition and crew. Rumour has it that Rover didn't actually make any money out of the FC101 production, it was more of a "we must keep the Army happy" deal. Chris.

Sunday 9th November, surely? :red:

You may well find this helpful, too. http://www3.telus.net/bc_triumph_registry/smoke.htm

Certain to have. (I was going to suggest a Banbury Mixer but thought better of it.)

Better than having your tool removed by the moderators, though!:shocked: