Chris Suslowicz

It's a lineman's tool for use with telephone/telegraph lines. Quite possibly Post Office rather than military, because the "draw tongs" used for air line usually have a ratchet and spring scale for setting the tension correctly (it's quite large and varies according to the air temperature when you erect the line). For 70lb (weight per mile length) cadmium-copper, the tension is 90lb at 0F, 75lb at 20F, 55lb at 60F, 35lb at 100F and 30lb at 120F though I would not like to be laying air lines at either temperature extreme! The triangle is probably for attaching to the lineman's safety belt so he can lean backwards to keep the cable clear of the ground during the initial laying (i.e: before it gets properly tensioned and fixed to the pole insulators). Chris. (I collect this kind of stuff.):red:

That's illegal (or at least extremely dangerous), I think? :shocked: The use of actual sand as an abrasive in sandblasting was banned because you get silicosis from inhaling the fine particles produced, which is why the "grit" used these days is aluminium oxide or other manufactured abrasive. A quick rummage finds: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press%5C2008/coinw01708.htm and a search on "sand blasting silicosis" will probably turn up a lot more stuff. Chris. (This post brought to you by the elves who drink safe tea. (Because elfin safe tea is very important: you've only got one set of lungs.)

On the assumption that they're solid rubber, it's a fairly sticky (or can be manufactured to be fairly sticky) compound until cured. Assuming the normal solid tyre was produced by extrusion, it could be cut to length, then formed into a hoop and have the studs bonded on before curing in an autoclave or be moulded as a standard length with the discs before the bonding and curing process. (The inner layer might well be "wound on" to a former before the tread is glued on (using naptha as a solvent, I think), similar to current practice where the case and tread (plain) are assembled from separate components (and different compounds) before insertion into the mould with the desired tread pattern for final forming/curing.) For pneumatic tyres the usual machine was a "Bag O Matic" press, in which a central bladder inflated to force the uncured "casing" into the two piece mould (with the tyre horizontal, there would be a top and bottom half mould) before the heat was applied (superheated steam) to cure the rubber. For solids I could imagine a segmented "belt" type mould to force the tyre against a rigid central drum. Yes, I used to work at Fort Dunlop, but as a dinosaur herder in the computer department.

Done! I'm in Birmingham (by the airport), might be at the Reading radio rally on the 13th, and am intending to visit Beltring-on-Sea for a couple of days if that's any help. Chris. (Worst case: I can repaint it and it'll do for static display with the pedal generator and a suitable radio.)

Hmmm... I assume it's been used (from the state of it), which would make shipping it a problem. Price and location? Chris. In Birmingham (UK).

Air ministry stores codes (number, letter / numbers) the part before the / is the stores section: 34E = POL Sampling and Testing Equipment 40P = Containers for petrol, oil and lubricants Chris.

WW2 for that one.It's "Lamp, Electric, No.1" and the standard military electric lantern for the period, can be clipped to a belt or hung up (using a wire handle that is missing from your photograph - it's a rectangular loop that fits into the holes at the top of the lamp and also acts as a retaining clip to hold the top on). Battery is the long-obsolete 3 volt No.800 cycle lamp one.The shutter is for blackout use (e.g: on the march) so it only casts light downwards, the red filter is so that you can retain night vision if you need to use a light after your eyes have become dark adapted.Joseph Lucas (Prince of Darkness) and other companies made vast quantities of them.Despite the optimists on eBay and elsewhere, they are not signalling lamps. (Nor bicycle lights.) Chris.

The 7.62 x 51 cartridge is the U.S. .30 cartridge of WW2 vintage, shortened by about 0.25" due to improved propellants. That's the theory, anyway. The reality is that it allowed the USA to retain their existing tooling - just shorten the chambering reamers, etc. - and take over much of the western arms industry with the resultant head start. It's far too powerful for the original purpose, and was only accepted due to politics. 7mm (e.g: .280 Ross) was far better from a ballistics/weight of ammunition point of view, and the standard infantry rifle didn't need the 1km range (most fighting during WW2 and since has happened at 300 metres or less). The EM-2 was the real answer but the politicians killed it (and then the Enfield design team had to make the SLR work properly, just to add insult to injury). :-( Chris.

If it's anything like the Telecommunications EMERS, then Page 2 will be the back of Page 1 and will simply contain the word: END. Chris.

To help you on your way, I have a couple of the single channel units (that I bought to strip for parts), as yet untouched from how I got them. They will probably need some restoration as the finish is badly worn. All valves present except the buffer stage (QV03-10, I think) and I have some of those somewhere. The bad news: it's set only, no ancillaries.:-( The worse news: they were part of a large clearout last year (originating, I think, from Coventry Airport decades ago), so you've missed all the control boxes and cables - which went for scrap.:-( I'll see about some photographs at the weekend.

They appear to be from China, judging by the quoted shipping time, not to mention the oriental characters that seem to have been left in the listing, and this disclaimer really does not inspire confidence: NOTE: In the event of any misunderstanding as to the description or this package contents, the package contents shall prevail. :wow: In other words "if we send you something completely different to what you purchased (including a box full of sawdust and swarf), that's what you get, no comebacks". Thanks, but no thanks.

It probably is Wireless Telegraphy, and would be to note that the vehicle had been drilled for aerial cables and had mounting plates for control units, etc. added to the standard fittings. Does the non-W/T version of the Daimler Scout Car have the aerial boxes fitted to the rear of the hull? Chris.

It's fairly safe, they're steel cased lead-acid batteries and are securely bolted down. It can't have been comfortable for anyone trying to use the seats behind them though - unless that was where the radios were fitted? (The boxes are actually the battery casing, so the only way you'll find them is with the cells fitted or with the cells stripped out - probably converted to toolboxes.) Chris.

There's another theory they might be part of the 70-ft mast for the W.S.3 in its 6x4 wireless truck. Working out the scale is likely to be the difficult part since I have no idea of the size of the truck.

I think 9 foot eight is rather too long, and am tending to the idea they might be marquee poles. (I think the military used stick to between 4 and 6 feet for the small masts, and only the trailer transported ones were longer than that - e.g: the 26-ft sections for some of the large towers. http://www.hariggers.co.uk/odds.htm may be of interest.

Hmmm, the good news is that I've got 25,000,000 Dollars sat in front of me, doing nothing. The bad news is that it's a single Zimbabwe banknote (and it has an expiry date that is long since gone). Anyway, I can't drive.:embarrassed:

8" diameter is a bit big for a mobile application! Also, it's marked as "Moving Iron" so is intended for AC use. I would suspect it's for a large generator set or a power distribution switchboard in a factory. I remember seeing something similar on the motor control boards for the mill lines at Fort Dunlop back in the 1970s. (The machinery went back forever, being made by Armstrong Whitworth and Vickers (etc.) with cast-in dates of 1919, and the No.3 Calender that was commandeered by the War Office (from a carpet factory in Kidderminster, apparently) to increase production for the war - it was still in use in the 1980s, by which time depreciation had given it a book value of £0.75 - and a replacement cost of £4M - I noticed it on a Plant Inventory printout and boggled a bit.) The motors (driving 2 - 3 rolling mills that mixed the compound) ran on 2000 volts at around 20 amps (probably per phase) and were about the size of a transit van (from my fairly flaky memory).

Markings around base SWN/124/56/HEIT/TNT N13Z On the flat of the base 55 RG OEZ SWN may well be Swynnerton, which was an ammunition factory that produced/filled 20mm Oerlikon ammunition. 124/56 is probably a batch/date code HEIT/TNT is the projectile type and filling: High Explosive Incendiary Tracer/TNT N13Z may be propellant (Z is a suffix denoting Nitrocellulose propellent as opposed to Cordite). I suspect the case was manufactured at Radway Green due to the headstamp, and sent to Swynnerton for filling. 55 RG OEz = 1955 Radway Green Oerlikon Nitrocellulose propellant. Chris.

Canadian, manufactured by Montreal Suspender & Umbrella Ltd. Apart from that, no idea but it's probably not for radio kit. Chris.

Not a bad show, typical insane pricing from the usual suspects. Bought a K9 manifold gasket for a friend who has a K9, a mostly complete and apparently unused geiger counter (Meter, Contamination, No.1), a few electrical bits, a mine detector logbook (unused, 1945 issue) and a West African printed "notes on the care of instruments" (binoculars, compasses and watches). Oh, and a WS88 Officer's Handset in nice condition for £10.:-D Failed to buy a WS18 waistbelt (Mk.2 variety) and noted a quite nice Mk.1 (the full width P08 belt) version at £55 - rather cheaper than eBay pricing, but I didn't need another one of those. I _still_ haven't found the "dry battery cage" that fits the contamination meter - every one I've seen recently has either a vibrator pack or an empty space.

A note from the Elves who drink Safe Tea (because elfin safe tea is very important): Do NOT use (wear, put on, or especially breathe through) ANY gas mask manufactured before 1956 (possibly later if it's not a UK or US manufactured one). All the earlier ones contain asbestos fibre in the filters (esparto grass pulp mixed with asbestos fibre to make the filter paper, etc) and this will have degraded to the point where it is shedding fibres. The British "Service Respirator" (mask with hose and oval canister) contains crocidolite (blue asbestos) The British "Duty Respirator" (mask with canister on the front) contains chrysotile (white asbestos), as do the civilian gas masks. The green "Contex" filter fixed to the front of the civilian respirators (to protect against Arsine (Arsenic Hydride)) also contains blue asbestos. Later filters with red and green bands may also contain blue asbestos. (The Arsine filters were the result of confusion on both sides during WW2: the Germans captured some British gas detector kits which included test papers for the presence of Arsine (because British scientists thought it was possible the Germans might have/use it); the Germans concluded that the test papers meant the British had stockpiles of it and issued instructions and test kits of their own; news of this reached the British, confirming their suspicions and upgraded filters were promptly produced to meet the (nonexistent) threat. Arsine, though rather toxic, is not a very effective poison gas for military purposes.) Chris.

Item 1: Larkspur power lead, not sure which size from the photo. Item 2: Larkspur elevated aerial base (goes on top of 27-ft telescopic mast) for VHF sets. Item 3: Wireless Set 62 power cable (battery to set) Item 4: Leads, Counterpoise No.2. (Earth subtitute for when you're on concrete of desert/dry soil, etc.) Item 5: Aerial Base No.8 (WW2-era HF base, replaced by Aerial Base No.10 as soon as possible!) Item 6: Aerial Base No.28 (Larkspur VHF base) Item 7: Charging set cable, probably from the 60 watt pedal generator kit used with the WS62, but general purpose. (This is a lot easier than Clive's brain-teasers.) Chris.

It's going to be fairly nasty: horses would probably break legs, anyone falling into a pit has a good chance of ending up with the sharpened stake stuck somewhere unpleasant, and the GI wire will stop anyone trying to play hopscotch around the pits. That assumes during daylight; at night the enemy won't see the pits until they fall into them (especially if they try a mass attack on foot) and the resultant screams will have the whole camp alert before the enemy have got themselves out of the trap. (I was going to suggest "Punji trap" but was beaten to the solution by Lauren.) I suspect the French translates as "Wolf Pits" (Holes of the wolf). Concertina wire is a much kinder, gentler, substitute. Chris

I remember this item on eBay, fortunately someone preserved the listing. Enjoy! http://www3.telus.net/bc_triumph_registry/smoke.htm

The 1260 watt charging set was designed for the bulk charging of signals batteries, and you've got four independent outputs, each with its own rheostat and ammeter, so there's no reason why you can't charge vehicle batteries with it. It's intended for charging 6, 12 and 24 volt batteries (also possibly 2 volt cells, though they may have to be connected in series with another battery of similar capacity, and 10 volt batteries). The only thing to remember is that the amp-hour capacity of batteries connected in series must be the same (i.e: do not mix 6V 40AH, 85 AH, 125AH and 170 AH units in the same charging circuit or you will eventually boil the lower capacity batteries). If you were to build your own charging switchboard you could push the entire output into a single set of (rather large) batteries and charge them at around 36 amps (or whatever the rated maximum output current of the generator is). One small point: the charging set cannot be used without the switchboard, as that contains the generator field control resistance - without that in circuit, nothing much will happen (it's used to control the generator output voltage). Chris.