Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

Thanks for the date confirmation, Wayne.

On looking at the two Mod Cards again, I realized two different numbers were referenced: F527 and F257. One of those has to be a brain fart.

Looking at my two receivers over the weekend, I have decided to focus first on restoration of the Remote Receiver. Foremost, it is electronically intact and also cosmetically very good looking. The chassis will need a cleaning and an inspection/testing of all valves and should then be ready for a careful feeding of electrons. The case needs a few repairs but they can wait until I get the correct painting information sorted out. I will also benefit by becoming more familiar with the receiver chassis before I have to tackle the more serious switch damage repairs in the Main Set Receiver.

I was able to download and print out a copy of the Parts Identification List for the set on the weekend. An absolute goldmine of information for a project like this.

David

[Tim Bell]

Epay - not mine... ws52 remote receiver psu...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WW2-Canad...wAAOSwDFBaS4UL

[David Dunlop]

Thanks, Tim. I will check it out.

David

[David Dunlop]

Well I have found another receiver this past week that will be serving as a parts doner for my Main Set and Remote Receivers. It is complete but has been in a humid location somewhere just long enough to build a bit more surface rust on the chassis than is worth dealing with. Also, a number of key decals on the front have been badly damaged/chipped away. Not a choice I take lightly, but other events this week led me to conclude it was a wise decision.

I started to clean and visually check the valves on the Remote Receiver, starting with V2B, the 12Y4G Noise Limiter. I chose that one as it was missing it's shield cap and I now had a replacement from the doner receiver. You can see this valve in Post 37, horizontally mounted, mid rear chassis.

First thing I discovered was this valve is the only receiver valve that does not have any physical locking means to keep its shield assembly in place. Consequently, Marconi sweat soldered the base of the shield to the valve socket and coated the solder seam with clear red lacquer. Marconi appears to have used this lacquered solder technique throughout the 52-Set Receiver chassis. This valve is the most difficult to get at on the chassis and it takes a bit of wiggle to remove it from the shield. When it was out, I realized the top of this particular shield was different from others I have encountered. The top edge is straight cut, not rolled in, The rolled in approach makes for a very firm shield top that a cap can be pushed over very easily. Not so the straight cut edge as a close look showed several dents and bumps around it. Which explained why the cap was missing. Back to Debbie's jewellery supplies for her small, smooth faced, needle nose pliers. After nearly 45 minutes of bending, tweaking and muttering, I finally had the edge of the shield smooth enough to accept the cap. Then the second problem smiled at me.

The 12Y4G has no central key post on its base. It relies on proper seating in the socket by the pattern of spacings of the pins, No big deal for a vertical installation with no shield to deal with. Very big deal in a horizontal mount with a fixed shield obscuring any observation of the process. I ended up staring at the bottom of the socket at the back of the chassis, with a flashlight in one hand while the other twiddles the valve, which I hoped was at least starting out in somewhat correct orientation. Only took 10 minutes.

Extra valves on hand are going to be a definite asset with this project!

David

[David Dunlop]

I joined the wireless-set-no19 Group in the UK at the beginning of the year, on the suggestion of Chris Suslowicz. They have a very good reference library members can download from.

Found the 52-Set Modifications. Only 6 issued. The first one, of course, was where and how to install the Mod Card Holder on all the 52-Set components. Number four was also interesting. How to prepare the set for Arctic operations. And the fifth mod was for the removal of the pocket watch holders which were to be thrown out as the watch had become a redundant item.

David

[David Dunlop]

In January of 1945, the Canadian Army published their EME Instructions (Telecommunications F254/3 ) for the Wireless Set Canadian No. 19 Mk III. This is a very lengthy tome, which goes into beautiful, well illustrated, procedures for the complete testing, disassembly, repair and reassembly of the Cdn 19-Set Mk III. It even lists all of the test equipment required to do the work.

I would like to determine if the Canadian Army every produced an equivalent publication for the Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian. Has anyone ever seen a copy over the years?

I am planning to contact the Signals Museum in Kingston to see what they might have in their archives. It would be a great help, (if the publication actually exists) to know its Telecommunications Reference Number and when it was first published. Would not be a surprise if updates came out in the 1950's as well. They certainly did for the aforementioned 19-Set Instructions.

Thanks,

David

[David Dunlop]

Another week. Another adventure.

As I had mentioned earlier, I want to first focus on getting the Remote Receiver back up and running. There do not appear (so far) to be any electrical issues. Most work will be cosmetic and physical in nature. However, at some point I am going to have to chase electrons into it and see what they get up to. Towards that end, a huge piece of the project arrived last week…a ZE 11 Remote Supply Unit.

I had known about this item for a while, but was also aware it related to the Wireless Set No. 9 Mk. I Cdn. The ‘correct’ Remote Supply for the WS-52 is actually the ZE 12. Then I learned from Jacques Fortin, out Quebec way, that there are only a few minor component variations between the two supplies and in fact Marconi had shipped ZE 11’s with initial production of the WS-52, until production of the ZE 12 was ramped up. So I bought this ZE 11.

Externally, the supply shows the usual dirt and nicotine accumulations for its age, but overall the original wrinkle green paint and white silk screened markings are in excellent condition. The underside of the cover assembly is finished in a very fine textured silver/grey metallic paint. I am curious now if this finish was also applied to the interior of the main set carriers and the remote receiver case.

The OZ4 looks a bit scruffy and has not yet been tested. The Serial Number (3892) has been stamped on a small metal plate which was then riveted to the top of the Choke cover, over top of the white stencil that notes a location for a serial number. I am wondering if initially these supplies just had a painted on serial number and then later Marconi switched to a metal plate format to extend the life expectancy of the identification?

The outside top of the cover has the number ‘3820’ hand written in white on it in two separate locations. Possibly a cover from a doner supply.

The AC cord is original, measuring about 7.5 feet. It had electrical tape wrapped around it a couple of inches above the base. At first I though this might be hiding a splice, but a closer look indicates a rodent of indeterminate size appears to have used the cord as dental floss at some point. I will have to take a closer look at that later.

In any event, it seemed the right idea to get this supply checked out and working as the first part of getting the Remote Receiver back up and running. Same initial goal, just a slightly different start point.


David