Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

Hi Chris.

Thanks for your input. Would the TELEGRAPHY EQUIPMENTS box be a key locked steel box, like a small strong box by any chance? I have seen the odd one over the years at flea markets but with no ID on them.

Here is a slightly different angled photo of the mystery bits under the 52-Set bench. The photo is from the same RCSIgs .ca Website. In this photo it looks like either two large units with two sets of fittings at the top of each, or four smaller ones with a single fitting on each. There also appears to be a clamping devise across the top of them locking into a vertical rod at the right side, not unlike a battery hold down clamp.

David

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Hi Chris.

Thanks for your input. Would the TELEGRAPHY EQUIPMENTS box be a key locked steel box, like a small strong box by any chance? I have seen the odd one over the years at flea markets but with no ID on them.

Here is a slightly different angled photo of the mystery bits under the 52-Set bench. The photo is from the same RCSIgs .ca Website. In this photo it looks like either two large units with two sets of fittings at the top of each, or four smaller ones with a single fitting on each. There also appears to be a clamping devise across the top of them locking into a vertical rod at the right side, not unlike a battery hold down clamp.

David

Deed boxes are key locked but not thief-resistant.

Reinforced (rolled) edges to box and lid, lock at top edge of front (pipe type key) and a folding wire handle on each end. eBay lot 164550836688 looks about right but is damaged, has no key, and the lock may be broken.

All the ones on eBay appear to have been broken open - the hooks on the lid are missing!

.....

Mystery units under the bench: possibly Canadian versions of the Converter DC/AC No.1 to power TYPEX machines? There's what looks like the slider for a rheostat at one end, plus a meter at the opposite side to the switch, so they may well be rotary converters to turn 12V DC into 230V AC at 50 c/s for coding equipment.

It's a 3-ton command vehicle, so may well be for higher formations and would need that sort of kit.

Best regards,
Chris.

[David Dunlop]

I pulled the Remote Receiver off the shelf this morning and in very short order am now pleased to have the original non luminous dial it came with mounted to it and the fully luminous one is now available as the likely candidate to be installed on the Frequency Dial of the Sender when I get to reassembling it.

The attached photo shows the dial the Sender came with on the left and the replacement candidate on the right. Interestingly, the yellow phosphors still really pop on both of these dials, the Green on the right side dial comes in a pretty good second, not so much on the left. The orange on both really takes a long time to load up and start glowing, but has a very short duration time. This is interesting because in conversations I have had with current suppliers of phosphor luminous paints, it is now the yellow phosphors that are hard to find with any reasonable brilliance and glow time. Orange, on the other hand is now right up there with blue, green red and white for brilliance and duration.

The original dial from the Sender had a lot of splatter on it that covers the luminous sections and I doubt it can easily be removed without taking the original paints underneath it along for the ride. It also has a lot of rust now on the plated surfaces. I am thinking I might use this dial as a test bed to see what can be restored and how, before I take a closer look at the remaining two Sender PA LOADING Dials.

David

[David Dunlop]

On a whim, late this morning, I decided to check the local Michaels store for the black Cable Lacing Cord I discovered I was out of recently. In the modern Crochet World, this is known as 100% Mercerized Size 10 Cotton Crochet Thread. Their website showed a limited supply in stock in 350 yard balls for $4.49 Cdn.

What the heck. I ordered one. 45 minutes later, I received an email confirming it was ready for curb-side pickup, so off I went. Did that, picked up lunch for Debbie and I and was back home, just as the latest snowstorm rolled into town. Life is good sometimes.

This cord will be used with the soldering iron portion of my 52-Set Project in due course.

David

[David Dunlop]

This morning was spent getting the soldering iron cord prepped for installation of a set of Mueller clips, once I find a pair of the correct ones.

First step was to remove the AC Plug, which turned out to be a 4-piece item made by Belden. The central portion of the plug, between the blades, turned out to be a plug and a small slot head screwdriver could be slid down to meet the bottom edge of the plug and pop it free. I then just clipped the two leads at their solder points on the blades and pulled the cord out of the plug, By gripping each blade with pliers and twisting it, they unlocked from the plug shell and could be pulled free.

Next was to measure up 5.5 inches from the end of the cord and mark that point with a wrap of ¾-inch masking tape. I figured 5 inches was a good length to avoid strain on the cord and the 2-3/4 inches of Mueller clip for the No. 24A 25-Amp clips needed gives an excellent reach. The extra half-inch covers the distance from the crimp at the bottom of the Mueller Clip that captures the lead insulation and the screw terminal the lead is secured to and soldered. Interestingly, these Mueller Clips used on the Soldering Iron are identical to the ones used on the 19-Set Dummy Load Grounding strap.

The leading edge of the masking tape was where the loom of the cord would be cut back. The back side of the masking tape marks the start point for the black lacing cord that will be wound forward from that point to cover the main loom and first quarter inch of the two leads to secure them and prevent further fraying of the loom.

When the loom was finally bound, a coat of varnish was brushed on to hold it all in place. Should be ready in about three hours and then I just have to find the Mueller Clips.

There is an important addendum to working with this power cord. You may be familiar with cutting back the sheath on electrical cords to find two or more cords of twisted brown paper entwined with the electrical leads inside the sheath. This fills out the innards of the cable and presents a smooth exterior finish to the loom. It is also very flexible. On older high hear electrical appliances such as this soldering iron, toasters and laundry irons, they could not use these paper fillers. If the cord came in touch with the hot appliance, it was a serious fire hazard. This cord had three windings of asbestos in it, one formed the central core and the other two wrapped around this central core with the two electrical leads. I found that by cutting around the circumference of the black cotton loom at the masking tape and then using the edge of an Exacto Knife Blade under the loom and cutting away from it, I was able to easily slice straight down to the end of the cord, at which point the black cotton loom literally fell away. I did this with disposable rubber gloves on and a respirator and full eye goggles. With the loom off, I sprayed down the asbestos cords with a water bottle and they unwrapped easily and were cut free. Wiped everything down with a damp cloth after and everything went into a plastic bag. I can drop it off tomorrow at a hazardous waste depot at Manitoba Hydro tomorrow.

David

[David Dunlop]

Yesterday afternoon’s Mail brought these three paints I need for upcoming detail work. With the current COVID limitations and the Xmas Rush, it only took 19 days ‘First Class Mail’, for an otherwise 2-3 day delivery. Oh well, they are here now. Happy Dance!

The colours are all Testors products: Flat White TES2751, Gloss Red TES1103 and Gloss Dark Blue TES1111.

David

[David Dunlop]

From earlier Posts here, you will know the Flat White paint that arrived yesterday is to provide a reflective background strip on all the luminous paintwork coming up for the various knobs and markers on the 52-Set.

The red and the blue gloss, however, might be more of a mystery.

These two colours are for the Flick Indicator Dots on the Handles No. 72, as shown in the attached photo. As you can see, all these Handles on the Sender received a spray coat of varnish during their last overhaul, which has now turned that typical greenish yellow.

I had intended to redo the paintwork on all the Handles No. 72, but was initially hoping to save these two sets of original paint dots on the handles. These dots are all nicely placed in recessed holes, so a drop of Rubber Paper Cement placed on each would have protected them quite well, and would simply roll off with a little finger rub when the grey paint had cured. The problem was that very noticeable ridges would have been left behind around each dot from the build-up of a new layer of grey paint. It also eventually dawned on me these red and blue dots had also been covered with the aging varnish and, therefore, were no longer close to their original bright colours. This was confirmed when I compared a Handle No. 72 from the 52-Set to the original unvarnished ones on my Wireless Set No. 19 Mk III. The colours on the 19-Set popped by comparison. So I made the decision to remove all the paint on the 52-Set Handles No. 72 and build it all back up. A web search a while back found these two Testors colours were the closest matches to the originals.

So the rebuild of the Sender can continue now!

David