WS-19: Aerial Feeder Assemblies No. 9 ZA 10312

[David Dunlop]

I have had this item on hand for a number of years, suspicious of what it was, but never really certain. The only identification on it was the VAOS Number stencilled in silver paint on one of the Terminal Lug Sleeves: ZA over 10312. Any of the logical places in the various 19 Set Manuals did not reveal that number. It is roughly 4-foot in length.

Chris S, in England, finally identified this item for me this morning as being:

Wireless Sets No. 19: Aerial Feeder Assemblies No. 9. ZA/10312.

Once I had its correct name I found myself tripping over references to it in all sorts of 19-Set Publications. Amazing what a little knowledge can reveal sometimes.

The reason I have held onto this Feeder so long is because of the nickel plated turned brass Plug fitted to one of the Terminal Lugs. This is a 1-Inch early pattern screw on Plug commonly used with a lot of wartime wireless equipment, but for which supplies today are hard to find. Same goes for the in-line solder in place version of this Plug and the later production 1.25-inch longer ones of each.

Thought I would post a photo with full ID information for reference for all.


David

[Chris Suslowicz]

I got it slightly wrong, it's a little more complicated than I thought:

The original "Aerial Feeder No.9" lacked the plug on the end and had a thin lug to fit the slotted post on the rear of the variometer (ZA.10313 Aerial Variometers: Plates, Adapter, No.2) for a permanent installation. The other end had "ZA.10204 Aerial Feeder Connector Plates, No.1" to go under the aerial base (No.8 or No.10) and a pigtail to connect the plate to the base. Length of cable was 39 inches. See FZ256/3 pages 116-117.

The "brass post on a paxolin plate" is extremely fragile but normally OK in a vehicle installation because it's out of reach behind the set. A later "Plates, Adapter, No.2A" of much heavier construction with a bakelite "castle" protecting the much larger knurled screw was issued... I wonder if this is why TWO of the fragile ones appear to have been issued with the set, one as a spare? (I've seen a photo of a Bren Carrier where the adapter has clearly broken off and the aerial feeder passed through the resulting hole and 'hard wired' to the terminal inside the variometer.)

Also, to switch from "aerial on vehicle roof" to whip aerial on variometer mount would involve fiddling with the fragile connector, and maybe disconnecting the copper strip to the rigid base... much easier to use a plug that simulates an 'F' rod and is a simple push/pull fit in a robust socket.

So changing to the plated brass plug obviously simplified things all round, and that's why your Aerial Feeder No.9 has a plug on the end.

Idle thought: changing a broken Aerial Pigtail on a wireless truck must have been dreadful. It's possibly OK on a vehicle with a canvas roof and the aerial base mounted on a bracket, as you can get at both sides. (Bolts are underneath, lock washers and nuts on top.) Armoured vehicles are easier: the mounting is fixed to the vehicle by the variometer and the bolts are on top, into tapped holes in the aerial base mounting, but on a flat plate or a roof someone will need to hold/insert the bolts from underneath as the mounting is just a "straight through" spacer with a couple of sealing gaskets.
(You have to remove all six bolts to gain access and change the pigtail, then reassemble the thing.)

Anyway...

There's also "Connector, Single, No.7C" on pages 120/121 which is 6 feet long and used to connect the WS19 to the 34-ft mast when used as a ground station.
(Apart from the length, type of cable (P11 as used for aerial feeders, etc.) and the slotted lug on the far end (it needs to hook over the (captive?) screw on the mast or maybe just to avoid dropping the screw into the mud and losing it) this appears identical.)

Hope this is useful, or at least interesting. (I have learned quite a lot today!)

Best regards,
Chris. G8KGS
Junior Password Gnome

[Petr Brezina]

David, very interesting WS19 stuff again! Thanks for posting to you and to Chris