Ah ! you have those crazy asbestos laws too. As of 1st Jan here , old brake linings and head gaskets with asbestos component are illegal to sell .
Talking of No.11 set rotary transformers,UK built examples I have are 100% better quality than the crap AWA Aust. ones . The whole EK Cole set is better really . Take a look at my web page on No. 11 sets to see the genuine article from 1940 . The Aust. built version was , really a bit of junk compared to the UK version .
http://www.geocities.com/vk3cz/wireless.html
Those coastal CW stations , yes , same here , they are all gone now . But ,I often listened to VIM at CApe Shank just below 500 khz . The coastal trading ships had four letter call signs , always beginning with a V . Real shame its all gone , it lasted well into the late 1980's . 500 khz was the distress channel . We are region 3 here I think in the world IARU setup . JAp fishing boats often use our 80 metre segment , huge booming SSb signals , and they are usually within 20 miles of each other . Or tied up in a Aust. port causing much interference to us .
I have had many ex mil radios through my hands , passed most of them onto other people . Quality varies quite a lot with WW2 stuff . Most of the smaller Aust. sets are pretty crappy . US stuff, generally quite well built . British stuff varies , some very bad , some very good . I often think those 19 sets were designed to be just good enough to do the job , nothing fancy and actually , rather junky . German WW2 radios I have seen , very well designed and early on , beautifully built , very functional .
Yes, any CS8 pics welcome , even rusty wrecks . CS8's suffer rusted out chassis here . Of my three , only one is useable , and that one needs much work , dismantling and welding .
Mike