Chris Suslowicz

Say you buy for 150US $ and get it sent to the UK and have to pay taxes and what not.

 

How much would you pay?

A percentage over the item price only or a % over item and shipping?

Or maybe a fixed amount.

 

Enlighten me.

How long is a piece of string?

It all depends on what you are importing (to set the duty and VAT rate), whether it's a commercial transaction or a gift, the total amount to be paid, and who is collecting the money on behalf of HMRC.

If in doubt ask HMRC and you will find them very helpful.

Do NOT try to "pull a fast one" - if you get noticed there will be all kinds of trouble, not limited to impounded goods, the maximum import charge they can think of and probably penalties on top of that.

Small items and stuff that generates less than about 17 GBP tends to be ignored if it is not obviously a commercial shipment.

Books are VAT exempt but possibly attract import duty.

New radio equipment attracts import duty and VAT.

"Collectors Items" (you need to check if your purchase will fit in this category, it covers stamps, coins, ancient stuff, etc.) is exempt from import duty but liable for a special VAT rate of 5% (Yes, five percent!) At least, it was when I imported a 19 set from the USA some years ago. Customs lady exceedingly helpful.

Hope this is some help.

Chris

There are two leather straps which join the front edge of the hoop to the rad protector to hold it down. The funny thing is that in the majority of old photos that we have, the hood is folded back.

 

The first time we wanted a pair of these (for the FWD), I tried Googling 'leather straps' and got much more of an education than I was expecting! Another dear friend made them up for us in the end.

 

Steve

Heh. On the radio/wireless front it is extremely unwise to search for vibrator without including the words Mallory or Plessey (a third manufacturer, Oak can give surprising results too). Including the words radio or wireless tends not to help much, but synchronous or non-synchronous (or the number of pins) can keep the noise down.

Excuse me while I go and find the brain bleach. Again.

Exactly what I was thinking, good question.

 

If there is now a requirement for the car itself to be insured, that is a fundamental change to the law.

 

In the past I have re-taxed vehicles belonging to other people by producing an insurance certificate in my own name which shows D.O.C. ("driving other cars") cover, although I understand that this has not been possible for some time and now the insurance proof provided to tax a vehicle must explicitly identify the vehicle being taxed.

 

It seems to me that once again we are being clobbered by an ill-conceived and inoperative "solution" to a problem - the real problem is the huge number of uninsured motorists on the road and I cannot see how this will help at all! It will just make life more difficult for the law-abiding community.

 

Stop the world, I want to get off!

I think the "You cannot tax a vehicle without an insurance certificate listing that particular vehicle" was introduced to specifically stop the uninsured drivers from getting their impounded vehicles back - apparently the usual trick was to send a relative to the pound with an "any vehicle" policy, they would pay the fine/fees, collect the vehicle and hand it straight back to the uninsured owner. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Refusing to release the vehicle without proof of ownership, insurance, MOT and tax was intended to stop that.

Dunno how successful it is. I.m also not sure how it works with little brother's motorcycle accumulation (nearly all on nil-value tax discs and a rider policy).

I don't drive, so have no personal experience. (Keep death off the roads, that's my motto!)

Chris.

Um, I thought we'd got more battery photographs, but there's this one:

 

http://www.royalsignals.org.uk/photos/battery-box.htm

 

The wooden battery boxes are the same dimensions as the postwar pressed steel cases, since they had to be interchangeable without modifying the racks and clamps.

 

I found the other link:

http://www.royalsignals.org.uk/battery/

This has actual dimensions, as well as the photographs.

Note: these are all Signals batteries (i.e: for radio^Wwireless kit), not automotive types.

Never ever use a cell discharge tester on a radio battery - it will seriously damage it.

There's also our copy of the Defence Standards battery specifications (trawled off their website after I joked that "we ought to mirror this to reduce our load on their server"), and which promptly got all the interesting stuff (WS18 and WS38, etc.) specifications removed in a cleanup.

http://www.royalsignals.org.uk/links.htm#battery

Does anyone have a photo they could post of an original wartime 6v battery as fitted to British soft skins, carriers etc... I would like to have an idea what they looked like so I can tell how good the modern copies are.

Um, I thought we'd got more battery photographs, but there's this one:

http://www.royalsignals.org.uk/photos/battery-box.htm

The wooden battery boxes are the same dimensions as the postwar pressed steel cases, since they had to be interchangeable without modifying the racks and clamps.

Another possibly useful source is the REME battery shop EMER:

http://www.royalsignals.org.uk/refEMERs/PwrJ330.pdf

And the wartime version (which you'll need to request in the usual way):

Doc: 5222

Maintenance, Testing & Repair of Lead Acid Batteries, 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Line REME Workshops, August 1944

Hope this is some help.

Hi Chris

 

Thanks again a great answer and full on useful info; Photos would be great being a result of the Barnsley education system I find pictures are better than words LOL.

 

I think I've found a picture of the Laport adapter...is this it?

 

Martyn

Yup! The spring clamp is the same as the type used on Aerial Base No.8, and prone to work-hardening as the base flexes on a moving vehicle and the rod sways about. Eventually the spring breaks and has to be replaced. The clamp type bases are far better but came in later on.

Chris.

Hi all

 

Thanks for the info; Chris you were invaluable and very interesting.

 

I do have one last question...i read on Royal Sigs that the 19 needed verticle aerials '12ft or twin 8ft'...how does that work having determined that the No9 base won't take another 8 footer?

 

Right, the No.9 base is for the 'B' (VHF) set only and takes the 24" aerial.

The 'A' (HF or short wave) set uses (usually) a No.8 or No.10 base with a variable number of 4-ft 'F' rods to make anything up to 16 feet, but 8 feet is the practical limit for operating on the move. It's not possible to tune a short aerial on the lower frequencies, and this was fixed using a "Laport" adapter [http://www.royalsignals.org.uk/photos/v.htm] which takes two aerial rods arranged as a shallow 'V'. There's also "Adaptor, Aerial, No.1" sold under a multitude of names on eBay, which is two circular metal blocks held together by a bolt and wing nut with a pin that fits the aerial base, a hole that takes the Laport adapter (or an aerial rod), and this has a serrated joint in the middle so the nut can be slackened, the blocks rotated to the desired angle, aerial inserted and tightened up, and you have a sloping rod or sloping V aerial. This was used well into the Larkspur and possibly the Clansman era.

Radio trucks used Aerial Base No.16, which is the pre-WW2 Aerial Base No.3 mated to a huge ceramic insulator and the actual rubber base bypassed with copper straps, for high power transmitters: the WS19HP, WS52 and WS53. This base would take Aerial Rods 'D', which form the 34-ft vertical aerial, or a large copper block & clamp (Antenna Rod 'F' Adapter No.5) which gave a very rigid twin 16-ft "Sloping Vee" aerial for use on the move.

I need to photograph all this stuff!

Minor footnote on Aerial Base No.9 - these come from the factory with the wrong retaining clip (the one for a Pye elbow socket) fitted. The correct clip (for a Pye inline socket) has to be fitted before installation on the vehicle or you'll not be able to connect the feeder cable. (This happens because the connectors are RAF kit and they almost always used elbow sockets on their equipment.)

Best,

Chris.

This one? http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?21102-Military-Radios

That is indeed the one.

Chris.

Hi guys

 

The antenna on the number 19's "B" set aerial was 20 inches long and fitted to a No. 9 Ariel Base.

 

 

Aerial Base No.9 is the standard AFV base, and will be fitted to a tubular mounting of suitable length to clear any "clutter" on the vehicle. Later on in WW2 a "protector" was fitted - steel halo affair - to the mounting to prevent the flexible base being ripped off if the aerial snagged on a tree or similar.

Aerial Base No.9A is fitted to a big spring clamp so it can be attached to a stake or jeep canvas hoop.

Both of these require a precise length of co-axial feeder, which was available in two lengths: Leads, Aerial No.2 (ZA.3142), later renamed to Connector, Coaxial No.11, which is the shorter one, and Leads, Aerial No.3 (ZA.3143) or Conn., Coax., No.11A which is the longer of the two.

(Leads, Aerial, No.1 (ZA.3141) is the WS19 A set to variometer cable.)

There's another apparent variant of Aerial Base No.9 - fitted to a flat disc with a rubber gasket and captive nuts. This is a post-ww2 civilian effort for vehicle radio, apparently.

Questions...

 

 

1. The B set ariel was 20'', but i'm sure I've seen longer than that fitted was that possible? Looks to be about 1/2'' diameter is that right?

2. The B set ariel was a straight rod (no taper) at 20'' but was there a 8'' B set ariel?

Were other sets ariels compatible and if so which?

3. I've seen a pair for sale on the net calling them 'F' and 'G' type ariels is that right?

4. The No. 9 Ariel Base; was it specific to the #19 set or a general fitting?

 

Ta

 

Smudge

 

Aerial Base No.9 (and 9A) is specific to the WS19 'B' set for inter-vehicle communication at short ranges. It takes a single "Aerial Rod 'G' (ZA.1771)" which measures 24" x 1/4" diameter. It's thin-wall copper plated steel, either a straight tube with a metal plug at the top to keep water out, or a tapered version. The bottom end terminated in an inserted plug threaded 2BA, I think. (Can't find my thread gauge.) This screws directly into the base. (The aerial base and rod was also used with the CN348 (Burndept?) VHF set for Air Support cooperation.)

The WS19 'A' set uses aerial bases No.8, 10 Mk.1 or 10 Mk.2, all of which take Aerial Rods "F", and allow the use of up to 16 feet of aerial (though never more than 8 feet on the move to prevent damage to the rods and/or base). The 'F' rods are 4 feet long (not counting a few odd ones for special purposes) and are push-fit (original British design) or push-fit then screw together (rolled threads on all sections) (Later US/Canadian production subsequently adopted by everyone). Base No.8 is fragile and the rods are retained by a wraparound spring clamp (which breaks or goes soft) and was replaced by Base No.10 this has a better clamp (with butterfly nut) but the rubber part was prone to shearing off the baseplate. The Mk.2 version had an improved shape for better bonding to the plate, and an improved clamp (with separate clamping and terminal nuts).

I must do some photographs at some point!

Other aerials: various long wire aerials were issued with the Truck & Ground Station, pre-cut to length for the frequency range in use. The standard lot were: 70-ft, 90-ft, 110-ft, 150-ft, 185-ft and 250-ft.

Aerial Masts: the Canadians produced 20-ft and 34-ft telescopic masts that could be used as vertical aerials or as supports for wire aerials. The British had the pre-WW2 34-ft sectional mast, made up of 3-ft Aerial Rods 'D', an adapter, and 12-ft of 'F rods on top.

The masts could be used on the ground or mounted on a roof insulator (Aerial Base No.3 or No.16 (which is a modified No.3 for high power) for the 34-ft British mast) on a radio truck.

Hope this is some help, or at least interesting.

Chris.

I am right in thinking that we are not allowed to use the Military radios that Withams is so happily selling us...

Correct.

is this still the case...

It will _always_ be the case. The radio systems may be sold off, but the actual frequency band (radio spectrum) remains in the hands of the military or otherwise licenced user.

suppose as I am in the business I could just as easily check...

Some ex-military radio kit can be legally used on-air. A lot of the HF and VHF kit covers bands that licenced radio amateurs have legitimate access to. (The PRC349 is a specific exception to this, as none of the frequency range that it covers includes any amateur allocation.) I believe the sole exception may be the PRR sets which operate in a specific licence-free frequency range that you can also buy commercial kit for, but I'd have to verify that before I would consider using one.

Chris.

Anyone know what this is for? it's marked:

 

Light Beacon Director Mk1

O.S. 545 G.A.

H.M.

1996

 

It's got 3 different colour filters, Orange, Green & White.

Artillery related, I think.

O.S. is "Optical Sights" as far as I'm aware - found on gunsights, binoculars, etc.

A "Director" is a sort of small (portable and less accurate) theodolite.

The coloured sleeves as so that the different beacons in a battery can be told apart at night.

See: http://nigelef.tripod.com/fc_laying.htm

Best,

Chris.

Thanks Graham.

And thank you very much indeed AlienFTM. That info is fantastic and a big step into the SLIDEX code. I have only ever seen a pic. of the kit/board. Will study with great intrest. We really do want to be able to demo. the system. Thanks again.

Andy.

There are a fair selection of SLIDEX cards and associated docs in the WS19 group archive.

See: http://www.royalsignals.org.uk/misc.html

(Declaration of interest: they're mostly scans of my collection, and I'm one of the moderators of that group.)

There were two designs of wallet: the original "oiled cloth over strawboard" which had a very short life under jungle conditions: the whole thing went floppy as the strawboard got wet, all the metalwork corroded like crazy as they'd used aluminium and steel fastened together with brass rivets(!) and the code cards were just what mould spores had been waiting for. The later one was paxolin sheet, an oilcloth "wallet", and the metalwork was designed with rather more care taken over its electrochemical properties. They also found a high grade card stock and an anti-fungal varnish that mostly solved the water adsorption and mould growth problems.

Sliding cursors (3 sets in case you need multiple keys for different radio nets) are double sided (so you can retain yesterday's key for unbuttoning late-arriving messages) and made of _celluloid_ (cellulose nitrate) for ease of destruction if capture is imminent. KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE!!!

SLIDEX replaced CODEX & SHEETEX in late 1943/early 1944 and (if you'll excuse the unavoidable pun) soldiered on until it was clearly obvious to be useless against an enemy with computer assistance (during the Falklands war). GCHQ were requested to provide something better, and developed BATCO (which is virtually unbreakable when used correctly).

All SLIDEX cards in service prior to 1973 were downgraded to UNCLASSIFIED in the early 1980s, by the way.

Hope this is some help, or at least interesting.

Chris. (On the look out for SLIDEX cards that are not on that webpage - so that they can be scanned and put up there.)

Hi Chris

Yes that would be great if you have all the correct arial fittings to go in these 2 holes & if you happen to have 3 screw on covers to fit the 3 sockets on the front thats the next thing I was going to start to look for. If as you say the white button looks wrong if you have whatever should be in its place that would be nice also. At least if I have all the right bits fitted if by any chance i look into seeing if it will work everythings there & correct

(FX: looks on ePay)

Yikes! It's not worth that much...

Okay: you need the aerial base, a desiccator to replace that red light (and hope the previous owner didn't bore the thread out), and another fuseholder to replace the white knob (ditto about the hole, but I reckon the fuseholder is much bigger than whatever is on the end of the knob).

I suspect you'll get a "display only" refurb out of it, because I reckon the RF section has been stripped out - there should be a diecast box behind the aerial base,and I think it had gone in the ePay photographs.

Chris.

The fitting is for the vertical rod aerial.

The set was for Light Anti-Aircraft (40mm Bofors) fire control, and is VHF AM with different

receive and transmit frequencies, crystal controlled. Two aerial types were used - a two section screw-together whip and a dipole aerial with mounting for a tree or wooden post which connected to the set via a coaxial cable to the socket on the RHS of the set below the missing piece. The set was powered from a pair of standard 6V 40AH in series for 12V and sat on top of a tripod so it could be positioned next to the gun.

After they went out of service they were used to provide communications in Cyprus during the civil war there.

I am currently gutting a B44 Mk.3 which uses the same ceramic fitting, so it's yours if you want it. (The white knob on the front panel looks suspiciously unoriginal.)

The WS19 group has a full set of documentation for this set,if you need that, but if it's the one off ePay I think it's too far gone to restore to original function.

Chris.

Feetnote: the set is usually found fitted "upside down" in the case, as the tripod mounting prevents it from sitting flat on a table. The mount _should_ be on the underside.

Probably Chemical Warfare training.

 

DM is the two letter code for "Adamsite", a nonlethal riot control agent (later replaced by CN (Mace) and later still by CS).

 

It was almost certainly used in gasmask training drills.

 

Further info, following a spot of research:

DM was used in training, and people were only required/supposed to be exposed to it once, so that would explain the entry in the paybook.

Probably too much information follows:

From http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/02707318-7543-48F5-BB1A-3A4F50630575/0/part_ii.pdf Page 49 onwards.

CAUTION! 6.2 MB document!

7.2. Chemical warfare training

7.2.1. Gas chamber training

The use of the gas chamber to test if Service personnel could fit their

respirators properly dates back to 1918 [1]. Servicemen fitted their

respirators, entered the chamber and walked round for 5 minutes in an

atmosphere of tear gas. After leaving the chamber, respirators were worn

for a few more minutes to allow gas to dissipate from clothing. Special

capsules of CAP, an early tear gas, were issued for this training [2].

This routine was augmented in 1935 [3]. After going through the

procedure to check respirators had been fitted properly, each man

briefly re-entered the chamber without protection as a demonstration of

the protection afforded by the respirator.

By 1941 all Service personnel went through this respirator test and

unprotected exposure every three months [4]. Personnel were also

required to experience a nose gas, DM [5, 6], so that they might be able

to recognise the gas and appreciate its delayed action effects [7].

Personnel were exposed to DM for two minutes: no-one was required to

experience DM more than once [7]. These arrangements continued after

World War II [8].

The requirement to experience DM ceased in 1963 [9]. CAP, or CN as it

was also called, remained in use as a riot control agent until the late

1950s, when it was replaced by CS. By 1964 CS was being used instead of

CAP [10] in what became known as the "CS chamber" test [11]. Every

member of the Armed Services was required to undergo the test. The test

continued through the 1980s [12], by which time most permanent military

stations and training camps had a CS chamber.

References:

1. "Defence Against Gas" issued by the War Office in Mar 18 and revised

at Nov 18; "Training in Anti-Gas Measures" (Jul 19).

2. "Defence Against Gas: Individual Protection", issued by the War

Office 8 Jun 25.

3. "Defence Against Gas (1935)" 31 Oct 35.

4. "Protection Against Gas and Air Raids". Pamphlet 2. Respirators

(1939) Amendments (No. 2), May 1941.

5. "Protection Against Gas and Air Raids". Pamphlet 1. Protection

Against Gas in the Field (1939).

6. "Special Weapons and Types of Warfare: Volume 1 - Gas Warfare". War

Office Monograph Second World War 1939-45, Army 1951.

7. "Gas Training 1942", issued by War Office 17 Jun 42.

8. "Gas Training (1951)", issued by War Office 6 Feb 51.

9. The Gas Officer's Handbook (1951), issued by War Office 28 May 51

amendment Nov 63.

10. Training Notes on "Pellets, Irritant, Smoke Respirator Testing" Oct

64.

11. "Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence Training", Pamphlet No. 8:

Training and Training Equipment, issued by MOD Nov 71.

12. "Manual of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence Training on

Land" Pamphlet No. 4, issued by MOD Nov 85

-----------

Chris.

Hi, I'm not to sure what a few things mean , and some of the writing is faded and some wrote like a doctors note "unreadable" , that entry is under Particulars of training ,, what can be read is -xpose- to D.M.

What does the entry "exposed to D.M" mean ?

Probably Chemical Warfare training.

DM is the two letter code for "Adamsite", a nonlethal riot control agent (later replaced by CN (Mace) and later still by CS).

It was almost certainly used in gasmask training drills.

Chris.

(This was going to be a much longer post but my session timed out and the original message was lost.)

T26E1 with 90mm gun.

My excuse? At least I've got the complete radio fit for that one.

Chris.

Well I would like to try for the early type as your picture I think is of a late MK2

This is the early type MK2 aerial also used on the MK1 and prototype.

Most of the aerial has been removed from this one but it has no board like on your photo.

If haven’t sent the picture follow this link. http://www.fareham-darc.co.uk/G8KZO/g8kzo.htm

Without digging _too_ far into the document pile, I think the roof aerials were only used with the very early "number" sets, WS.2, WS.3 and WS.9. I suspect the sets are rather more scarce than the Gin Palaces, these days.

There's a whole supplement to Signal Training Volume III Pamphlet No.25 that deals with the WS.9 in a vehicle.

There's also an Installation Print from March 1942 detailing how you fit a WS19 Mk.II Truck & Ground station to a 15cwt truck, and it has all the necessary parts listed on the diagram.

Chris.

Yes, it's 44-pattern webbing for the Wireless Set No.88.

ZA.33126 is the set carrier with the hole in the top for the aerial.

ZA.33127 is the battery carrier (for a large 90V/1.5V brick).

Chris.

Hi Chris, would I be right in thinking your name has Polish origins?

You would. (I don't speak Polish though.)

(You can blame Josef and Adolf (in that order) for that.)

Chris.

welome Chris ,no licence need not be a problem ,remember bicycles are vehicles too

Nigel

I fall off bicycles!

And don't get me started on horses: they sit down in the middle of a ford when I'm on them.

Bah!

Chris.

I found the Royal Signals Web site interesting...............but that 19 set group...........

seem to list some very nice reading material, but to try and down load it is near impossible !

 

They want alsorts of detailed info! to much like hard work!

 

Cheers

 

Jules

It's not that bad. Most of the hoop-jumping is because some little scrote was trying to download the entire archive, presumably to flog "collections" of manuals off on eBay and elsewhere. That's what introduced the "no webmal/free email accounts" and the "6 docs in any 14 days" limits.

We don't bite (much) unless Gnome Central is having a particularly bad day. 8-)>

Chris (Junior Password Gnome)

Thanks chaps, I will take some photos of what I have.

What I really want is some photos/drawings of how all this equipment went in the WW2 15cwt Wireless truck.

I have the truck, & all the kit but not sure how/where it all goes?

 

Jules

Ah! There's a carefully-concealed Installation Print for 15cwt Truck & Ground station on the WS19 group files section.

This will probably solve your "how/where it all goes" problem, merely leaving you with the "simple" problem of accumulating all the mounting hardware(!).

You need File 1811 (which calls itself "WS19 Mk 1, Various diagrams" for some bizarre reason).

Hope this is some help,

Chris.

...nor do I drive.

(FX: cries of "Burn the Heretic" as pitchfork wielding crowd assembles)

"Keep death off the road" is basically my motto, as I don't think I'd be safe behind the wheel.

Anyway, I'm in Birmingham/Solihull, and mainly interested in WW2 Signals kit.

I joined mostly to be able to drop the occasional bit of information into discussions.

Best,

Chris.