Jump to content

RB44 FFR radios and equipment ? help needed and pictures please


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 73
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted
I think I can see a TUUAM to the top right of the front wall which suggests at least a 353 in there somewhere.Richard

 

 

Yes, there are TUAAM fixings (for the bolts) on each of the front top corners inside. Beneath them are the fixings for the ARFATs.

Posted
Yes, there are TUAAM fixings (for the bolts) on each of the front top corners inside. Beneath them are the fixings for the ARFATs.

 

 

The more i study the pic the more it loks like my truck ? Coincidence ??? i have mounting holes for the same ....

 

Whats a TUUAM and whats a ARFAT ? and is this something obtainable ? id like to really restore my truck now to original , but theres lots of bits missing , even on the wall behind him i have mounting points and cables for kit , also under the bench seat thers threaded holes and brackets for stuff ??

 

Any help with the layout much appreciated . its coming together slowly .

 

Cheers;)

Posted
The more i study the pic the more it loks like my truck ? Coincidence ??? i have mounting holes for the same ....

 

Whats a TUUAM and whats a ARFAT ? and is this something obtainable ? id like to really restore my truck now to original , but theres lots of bits missing , even on the wall behind him i have mounting points and cables for kit , also under the bench seat thers threaded holes and brackets for stuff ??

 

Any help with the layout much appreciated . its coming together slowly .

 

Cheers;)

 

Tuaam

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]75225[/ATTACH]

 

Arfat

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]75227[/ATTACH]

 

Both can be bought of epay

Posted

As to what they are and do, the TUUAM (Tuner Unit Automatic Antenna matching) is an antenna tuner designed to match a 2 metre whip antenna (w x Clansman rods) and base No. 31 with the cylindrical VHF adapter to 50 ohm cable as used with Clansman. The ARFAT (Adapter Radio Frequency Antenna Tuning) connects between the UK/VRC-353 and TUUAM and contains a power attenuator to protect the TUUAM and radio from high levels of reflected power (bad SWR) during the time when the radio is keyed but the TUUAM is working to match the antenna after a frequency change. Quite why the ARFAT was necessary and not built into the 353 or TUUAM is one of the mysteries of Clansman - as I understand it the TUUAM is a RACAL device and used with the initiate box rather than the ARFAT as part of the 351/2 vehicle kit whereas the 353 is a more powerful vehicle mounted set by Marconi.

 

In use with a 353 connect a BNC lead and 12 way "harness" cable from radio to ARFAT and a BNC lead and 7 way cable from the ARFAT to the TUUAM. The TUUAM output has a short BNC to the antenna base adapter which contains a transformer and must be used with the TUUAM.

 

Iain

73 de G0OZS

Posted

it amazes me how this knowledge is obtained , and how much you guys know , Many Thanks indeed . unfortunately its like learning a foreign language for me , but im enjoying the lesson , just hope I don't fry myself in the process ;)

Posted

I've been playing with and building radios as a short wave listener since the mid 1970s and worked professionally in Electronics during the 1980s when Clansman sets were then the latest and greatest and are very much the kind of technology I used to work with in college and my first day job. Having waited 35 years or so they are now available as surplus and finding out about the insides over the last 4 or 5 years has been a great deal of fun - some are very much as I guessed when I first saw them in the 1980s and others are surprisingly mechanical (especially the 321 and 353). It helps that VMARS (the Vintage & Military Amateur Radio Society) obtained most of the military service manuals under a FOI request in 2010 and they are available to members from the Society archive - a few other manuals have escaped onto the open internet as well so Google has been most helpful !

 

As I get older and my eyesight gets worse I seem to be going further back in time to when components were bigger than rice grains so Larkspur radios next I think ;)

 

Regards

 

Iain

  • 3 months later...
Posted

progress is slow ? Im still guessing what the layout was and what kit went where ? there seems more leads and plugs than space at the moment , also would love to find out what goes on the slide out rubber isolated mount ?

PB210107 comp2.jpg

Posted

dunno why they left the SA 80 in there , wonder what went into the shorter rack though ? something Austrian or a GMPG maybe ??? and would the comms pod have a TUAAM in every corner ? for all 4 corner aerials ?? wish I had some pics of a original

PB210112 coml.jpg

Posted

I looked up Finning on the net. Their line of work is caterpillar generators and power so it might have been looked at to mount something along those lines. FAD rings a bell as the next generation of artillery directing systems so it might be something to do with this. Richard

Posted
dunno why they left the SA 80 in there , wonder what went into the shorter rack though ? something Austrian or a GMPG maybe ??? and would the comms pod have a TUAAM in every corner ? for all 4 corner aerials ?? wish I had some pics of a original

 

Hit nail on head its for each aerial

Posted

Took some photos of mine - it's a work in progress but the outline is there. You can see how the antenna mounts, ARFAT and TUAM connect. I can't see similar fittings at the rear so I would imagine that the rear options are for HF rather than VHF, I've also attached the basics of the antenna system for the 321 - I fit the connector to the mast with the two arms of the dipole off it, usually in inverted V, length according to the schedule on the top of the TURF. Seems to work fairly well, certainly on receive, but have managed local transmission on LP. Haven't tried the VHF yet. Richard

IMG_2840.JPG

IMG_2841.JPG

IMG_2842.JPG

IMG_2846.JPG

IMG_2847.JPG

IMG_2857.JPG

IMG_2858.JPG

IMG_2859.JPG

Posted

Richard, can you please post some Pictures of the field chest? Maybe some Label or numbers, or a manufacturer on it? Also a Picture of the prniter rack in the right Hand rear Corner please. @majorweld the strange rack is for the LSW

Posted

Hi @ ferretmk1. Two Richards with RB 44s is confusing! I don't have a field chest - the box at the front on the floor is actually a printer. Massive thing, built like an outhouse. I have a smaller one from eBay which looks as if it would fit majorweld's tray. My racking is virtually identical in terms of the structure but has slightly different fittings. I assume this is deliberate, for example I have the stand and flat top like the printer stand but I don't have the shock mounts or the fittings for the paper reel. The holes are drilled though. Will post more pics tomorrow.

Posted

Confusing yes .

 

Next to my rubber mounted tray thing (is this the tele printer mounting ?)is a frame bolted to the side of the pod thats has a label stating its the "field chest frame" ? .

Where my radios are stacked up are the fixing frames for the clansman , 4 in total .

when i bought my 353 i also aquired a pineapple base and 3 section antenna mast ? im guessing this isnt for vehicle use ? if so what vehicle antenna is used with a 353 radio and would it still require a TUUAM and ARFAT ?

from looking around the pod and following the existing leads there was a lot of kit inside , even stuff under the bench seat bolted to the floor ? from what i can see it loks like at least 4 Tuuams were used as most the fittings still in situ ? would this be possible do you think ?

my SA 80 is a airsoft jobby , that i stripped and sprayed silver , then black and carefully buffed through in places to make it look worn but mettallic , its ok for a prop , especially after i was quoted £4500 for a average looking but real deac at war and peace :shocked: , so my £30 replica and couple hrs work was a bargain .

Richard 2 :cheesy:

Posted

Richard2

 

regarding

 

>> when i bought my 353 i also aquired a pineapple base and 3 section antenna mast ? im guessing this isnt

>> for vehicle use ? if so what vehicle antenna is used with a 353 radio and would it still require a TUUAM and ARFAT ?

 

The 353 vehicle installations always used a 2m whip in a No.31 Mk 6 or 7 base with the cylindrical antenna base extension (which contains a transformer needed with the TUUAM), TUUAM and ARFAT. This covered 30 to 76MHz with reasonable efficiency and could handle the full 50W output of a 353. If only interested in the amateur bands covered by the 353 (6m and 4m) whips cut to 1/4 wave (1.5m and 1m) with plastic extensions to make up 2m and look right could be used instead at lesser expense (and probably equal or better efficiency).

 

The EVHF pineapple is used on a mast for extended range when in a fixed location with a direct connection to the 353. A static station could also use a Ground Mounted Monopole but it probably won't work as well as the TUUAM & whip. The GSA with or without elevation kit can be used with a 353 provided it is on medium or low power as the GSA is really for use with the 351/352 and 350.

 

Long range rear links used the inverted V wire antenna supported by a 9m mast (usually a 12m mast with 2 sections left retracted). As with the GSA and Pineapple this came with its own matching unit and the TUUAM would not be used with an external antenna.

 

Regards

 

Iain

73 de G0OZS

 

 

 

Posted

Richard

 

If there are no antenna base brackets at the rear (I can see the mast occupies the left rear corner) then it makes sense there is no TUUAM position inside. The mast would have been used with an EVHF pineapple I expect. We really need the BATES or BMETS installation in RB44 EMER to be sure !

 

Regards

 

Iain

Posted (edited)

@Cornishbloke I can see the Grey shelf at the right Hand side, which i suppose is the Field Chest.Is there a Label or manufacturer on it? Seems like a Commercial part from what I see.Can you please post some Pictures of it?

Edited by ferretmk1
Posted

sorry if its a dumb question . I understand I need a TUUAM and ARFAT for the RT353 ...... does the VRC 321 also need TUAMMS and ARFATS , even with the TURF and 250w amp ? also im guessing the 321 antenna base doesn't have the Spacer VHF piece , just the rubber base ? Im in the market for a TURF and 250W amp if anyone has one , also a teleprinter or similar ohh and the BATES computer . Another daft question on BATES , would the computer be self contained as in its a one program computer with just its Artllery engagement software programmed in ? just cant quite figure how its supposed to work ? nothing like wireless internet im guessing :red:

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...