[David Dunlop]

This little gem arrived on my wireless bench last week and I finally had a chance to take a quick look at it. Never knew they existed until this one arrived and I was even more intrigued that it was a Canadian Marconi Product built for an entirely otherwise RCA Victor Canada Wireless Set.

This one was used by somebody who thought removing a ¼-turn fastener and replacing two ceramic aerial terminals with UHF Sockets was a huge improvement. However, internally, it all still appears to be there.

The four screws on the right side of the case are, I suspect, mounting screws that allow the Matching Unit to be secured on top of the 29-Set A-Set Case. One screw is missing, but underneath it and that horrid aluminum paint is very original wartime Semi-gloss Olive Green paint as used by Canadian Marconi.

The screw on the back of the case secures a large guide pin that engages a set of holes in the chassis when it is being removed or returned to the case, to prevent damage to the tuning coils.

It is not until you see the tuning coil arrangement inside the Matching Unit that you realize why RCA called CMC in as a sub-contractor for this part of the 29-Set Project they had undertaken. The tuning coil setup is almost a carbon copy of the PA LOADING circuit Marconi used in the Sender of the 52-Set, and it had proved a very successful design. No need for RCA to have wasted time reinventing the wheel.

Interestingly, when I took my first close look at the Matching Unit, I had to smile when I read the Data Plate. The Serial Number is: C-52.

David