RCAF Wireless/Communications Equipment

[Bruce MacMillan]

SEC/REF is Section/Reference number. In this case it is 10EU/5479.

Section number 10EU refers to valve type radio equipment and Reference number 5479 is the individual stores number for the receiver.

I believe this numbering scheme was began by the RAF and there are some references on the net as to what each section number means. There are quite a few section numbers.

[David Dunlop]

Bruce.

Thanks for that information. The word "section" actually came to mind while I was thinking about that data plate, but for some reason I ruled it out as "too easy" for a piece of military equipment. Silly me!


David

[David Dunlop]

I finally located a photo of the back cover, complete with wall mounting brackets. Seems easy enough to replicate, with the exception of the two columns of louvers. The only place I can think of that used to do that sort of work was custom automotive body shops many years ago, but it also looks like the kind of thing any well equipped sheet metal shop should be able to do.

Anybody had this sort of work done?

David

[David Dunlop]

I have run across a 17 March 1945 Technical Memorandum from the Director of Signals, Canadian Army advising of proper lubrication of the tuning gear set for the AR88LF. The above noted lubricant is identified in stock as the one to be used for this work.

Does any one have any other references to DND 640, know if this item is still in stock, or what lubricant may have evolved from it in today's world?

David

[Mrs Vampire]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSnkeVnjE8o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PsYAJVFBH4

[David Dunlop]

A chap in Holland recently sent me some photos of his RCA AR88 speaker. It is a version designed with an open back, no outlet hole on the lower right side for the speaker cable and oddly, no holes on the bottom for mounting the RCA Speaker data plate.

The frame of the speaker element inside, however, has this unusual paint stamp marking. Could this be a date stamp? The middle '44' would certainly be on the money for a valid production year, but how would one read the '3' and the '5'? March 5, or 3 May?

Just wondering if anyone can confirm this would be a date stamp and how it would be read.

David

[David Dunlop]

I finally got around to replacing the finishing hardware on my AR88 Series Loudspeaker today, with a bakelite holder and correct military pocket watch, thanks to the great service from BA Bolts in England getting me the correct hardware.

When I removed the rear cover from the speaker case to work on the hardware, the markings on the rear of the speaker element surprised me. These speakers were built by RCA in their Montreal plant and the bottom of the case has a yellow C-Broad Arrow stamp on it. I assumed the inner speaker element would also be either of Canadian or American manufacture. The idea was sourcing in North America would avoid delivery problems. As you will see in the first photo, there are two stamps on the PM Housing on the back of the speaker element. The upper one is a black ring with R.C.A. at the top and a broad arrow stamp at the bottom. To me, that suggests a speaker element build in England.

The lower stamp, I have seen somewhere before, but cannot recall it's origin. It is a large red Capital P, with a broad arrow fixed to the foot of the P and a single arrow barb fastened to the P in the top left part of the letter.

Can anyone ID this stamp?

The second photo is of the completed speaker together with the AR88LF Receiver.

David