1944 C-15A-Wire-5 Restoration

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

Thanks David, i think i got it now.

Four (4) batteries , two deep .

In the pictures, i only have two boxes for now but it gives you an idea,

Now i need to work on hold down brackets.

No Grant battery in my installation then.

Take the waterproof cover off the wireless...unless you have a leaky roof.

Also, you need some buss bars above the batteries linking them to the chorehorse and to the No.5 charging panel.

[Robert Bergeron]

Hey Bruce,

You are right , i will remove the waterproof cover.

It will go on the No 19 set on my GPW.


The roof is absolutely leakprook thanks to a lot of silicone in the right places , a material that was not available in 1944.

I will start working on the charging buss bars soon, they were next on my list.

Have you seen the size of this antennae ground spike !

My god, where did they fit all of that signals equipment in that small box ?

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

Have you seen the size of this antennae ground spike !

My god, where did they fit all of that signals equipment in that small box ?

The ground spike (there should be two of them) go in the "Bags, Aerial Gear", along with all the guys, pegs, both hammers, et cetera. I think they were designed to be unbreakable by squaddies, but the illustrations in the Working Instructions for the mast seem to hedge their bets on this.

I think the general rule for radio trucks is: "There is space, therefore we must FILL it". Operation on the move must have been very cramped, but once parked up and with the penthouse erected things would be a bit more comfortable.

There are two (or possibly three) versions of the insulator for the ground spike; the one you have (which has a vulcanite insulator portion), a later one with a ceramic insulator (because vulcanite was found to be a bit 'lossy' and unsuitable for the WS52 on high power), and I have a very fragile appearing ceramic one (similar to the later 27-ft mast insulators) that is definitely not squaddie resistant. The last is definitely related to the 34-ft telescopic mast because all the casting numbers match up - though it's much earlier that the usual insulators, judging by the part number on it - failed to survive normal usage and replaced by the vulcanite one?

Chris.

[Robert Bergeron]

Friends ,

Today i uncovered the No 19 set at the suggestion of Bruce Parker. This one is for you Bruce.

We see in front of the set , pertinent Canadian and British wartime publications covering the operation of the No 19 set, voice and CW procedure , field phones and the operation of the Chorehorse charger .

On top of the No19 set , the crystal calibrator

To the right , a battery box i just finished this morning. Doesn't it just look gorgeous ?

To the left the A set lead from the variometer to the chimney and hence to the antennae base

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

...To the left the A set lead from the variometer to the chimney and hence to the antennae base .

Er, nitpick: The co-ax lead should go from the 'A' set output on the set to the side of the variometer. The feeder to the aerial base is a plain piece of rubber insulated wire. (Leads, Aerial, No.9, perhaps - docs not to hand.) This has a Ross Courtney ring terminal on te aerial base end (to fit the Plates, Connector), and a plated brass plug/pin (as used on the wire aerials) that fits the rigid aerial base on the variometer mounting plate. The wire is also the same as the insulated type used for the wire aerial feeder: Cable, Electric, P11.

The general idea being that if you need to demount the set from the vehicle, you simply unplug the aerial feeder (and the 'B' set co-ax), the set power cable, unlock the table clamps and remove the set on its carrier. You then have a spare power cable (probably the one with Niphan plugs for a pair of 85 AH accumulators), another 'B' set co-ax and the clip-on aerial base (9A),
aerial rods/wire aerial as required, counterpoise, and you're ready to go.

(Fit the waterproof cover if wet!)

Chris.

[Robert Bergeron]

Chris, you are eagle eyed my friend. Everything in it's proper place now. Today a new task : Looking for steel screening for the two generator compartment openings...

[Robert Bergeron]

Friends,

It has been a busy day, a lot of time spent shopping for parts, running from one supplier to the other.

Before doing anything usefull i looked closely at the doghouse that i had installed the other day. That doghouse was a find in a deceased friend's collection . I was fortunate enough to have had access .

I found the original holes and paint ( or absence of ) for the weight data plate on right hand side near my left knee when sitting. So i unsrcrewed the data plate from the former non- original doghouse and put it in it's final resting place back where it was supposed to be. I am very happy and lucky that Rich was very carefull retrieving all the original data plates for this truck . It is a real treat.

In picture 1 we see the doghouse, hard to see where the data plate is, but if you look at the 4 o' clock spoke on the steering wheel ,you barely see a corner.

Then i started tinkering with the air filter element and the spark plugs. Put in a new element and new OEM plugs.

I then went for lunch and did a test drive and experienced a noticeable improvement in performance. Life is good.

After lunch i did the steel screening for the generator compartment.

Third shot the steel screening from afar over the Carrier .

Fourth shot a close up of the screening. I chose a light steel screen compared to what i have seen in the NWM in Ottawa and elsewhere . My idea is it was to prevent stuff from falling overboard when the doors were open not to prevent forced entry by well equiped burglars !

Did the same behind both gen doors . Now i have to reach into the gen compartment from inside the box to operate the Chorehorses. A pain if you want my opinion.

This is my report for today.

No idea yet what i am going to do tomorrow. There is so much left to do ! Restoring this truck is quite an undertaking !



Cheers.