Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[Chris Suslowicz]

Hi David,

Well, I've fished out the bag(s) of yellow sleeving - one continuous 5-metre length and a bag of "umpteen" (100) by 25mm sleeves, the set of 'bodkin' sleeving tools, a Larkspur aerial pigtail and the bottle of "Hellerine" lube.

The "MJ8" bodkin takes the pigtail (which I assume is P11 cable) and I can slide a 25mm sleeve over it well enough - 50mm might be harder work to get it off the bodkin - probably needs a polish as there's a bit of surface spotting, and more Hellerine might help. I'm not sure the prongs on the pliers are long enough for much more than 25mm, and they're not immediately to hand anyway. (Also, the tool itself may not be strong enough to expand a 2-inch length of the sleeve unless it was softened by heating first.)

Printing on the sleeve is going to need some suitable ink (craft shop or a company that prints on rubber) and probably metal type - though I've seen one-off cables with handwritten labels and a protective layer of varnish (probably applied later).

Wording will probably be "CONN. SINGLE No. C7" or similar followed by the stores code. I've got "Leads, Aerial No.9" somewhere, spelled in full!

I'll see what I can dig up, it might be an interesting project.

Best regards,
Chris.

[David Dunlop]

Hello Bruce.

Now that is nicely in the middle isn’t it. Good to know one has survived. If you get a chance, can you post some photos? It will give me something to think about during the next phase in the Reno.

Chris.

If you are pulling night shifts again, don’t stay up too late with this stuff.

David

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Here you go...

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

Here you go...

Ah, what do the ends look like, please?

The exact length would help (for possible forgery purposes) too.

(Not that I have a WS52 nor am I likely to get one!)



Best regards,
Chris.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

Ah, what do the ends look like, please?

The exact length would help (for possible forgery purposes) too.

(Not that I have a WS52 nor am I likely to get one!)



Best regards,
Chris.

Metal ends are 1/2" at 5/16" diameter and 9/16" at 1/8" diameter (1-1/16" total, and both ends are the same). Cable is 1/4" diameter 23-3/8" long between the backs of the metal end plugs, so overall cable length tip to metal tip is 23-3/8" plus 1-1/16" plus the other 1-1/16" or 25-1/2" tip to tip.

[David Dunlop]

Fantastic Pictures, Bruce. Thanks for posting with the specs!

Beats me what the original material was the ID Sleeve s fabricated from. It certainly does not look like the typical woven fabric, resin impregnated stuff one usually sees. The Sleeve you have looks very smooth with a consistent solid colour throughout it.

The only cables I have on hand with yellow ID Sleeves that still have a look and feel of rubber or soft 'plastic' are on a pair of CPP-2 output cables and a late issue 19-Set Black Rubber 12-Pin Connector Cable from Set to Control Box.

A 19-Set 3-Lead Battery Cable on Hand has one single cable yellow sleeve and a double wide yellow sleeve on it where the material is hard and 'plastic' feeling.

Two other yellow ID Sleeves are on the Headgear Type 10's I plan to use with the 52-Set eventually, Photo attached. They are 1.25 inches in length, just slide up and down the cable are still pliable but feel more to the 'plastic side of things than rubber.

I think I need to do some more thinking now.

Cheers for now,

David

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Dave, it's a rubber or synthetic rubber. Pretty soft, slightly mottled and with a joint molded seam throughout its length. I'd almost suggest modern coax cable although it would be a little too hard and not as flexible. The tag is smooth, glossy, plasticky and brown exterior and underneath. Whether it was originally yellow and faded (more GD tobacco?) I'd need a time machine to confirm.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Fantastic Pictures, Bruce. Thanks for posting with the specs!

Beats me what the original material was the ID Sleeve s fabricated from. It certainly does not look like the typical woven fabric, resin impregnated stuff one usually sees. The Sleeve you have looks very smooth with a consistent solid colour throughout it.

The only cables I have on hand with yellow ID Sleeves that still have a look and feel of rubber or soft 'plastic' are on a pair of CPP-2 output cables and a late issue 19-Set Black Rubber 12-Pin Connector Cable from Set to Control Box.

A 19-Set 3-Lead Battery Cable on Hand has one single cable yellow sleeve and a double wide yellow sleeve on it where the material is hard and 'plastic' feeling.

Two other yellow ID Sleeves are on the Headgear Type 10's I plan to use with the 52-Set eventually, Photo attached. They are 1.25 inches in length, just slide up and down the cable are still pliable but feel more to the 'plastic side of things than rubber.


David

The current (1980-onwards) cable ID sleeves are pre-printed plastic, non heat-shrink and slipped on (I think).

Larkspur-era were rubber of some (Hellerman) type, probably going back to the 1940s or 1950s.

WW2 version were the pre-printed cambric (Giant Systoflex) varnish impregnated to render it water/rot-proof. Later versions appear to be paper (for cheapness) and various other thin plastic tubing/sleeving, or stamped and paint-filled metal tags (as with the ZA.3141/2/3 WS19 aerial coax feeders)

I will, at some unspecified point in the future (Do Not Ask!) finally manage to hit the Post Office when there is no queue out of the door. At that point (assuming mail to Canada is working) I'll mail you some goodies: chain-link insulators, a length of P11 cable, and an assortment of sleeving. (If I actually have a spare sleeving tool, you'll get that and a small bottle of Hellerine lubricant so you can roll your own.)

Bear in mind I have not been to the Post Office since before Christmas, and I will need to fill out customs forms for just about everything.

Best regards,
Chris.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

Metal ends are 1/2" at 5/16" diameter and 9/16" at 1/8" diameter (1-1/16" total, and both ends are the same). Cable is 1/4" diameter 23-3/8" long between the backs of the metal end plugs, so overall cable length tip to metal tip is 23-3/8" plus 1-1/16" plus the other 1-1/16" or 25-1/2" tip to tip.

Aha! those metal tips are virtually identical to the ones on the Aerials, Dummy, No.2 & No.3 lead set, apart from those having black rubber sleeves over the cable to tip junction. (They fit into the slotted screw terminals as used on field telephones D Mk. V, L, J, F, etc. so were presumably a standard item.)

I can't break up the cable set I have (6 different leads, 2 with the screw-on spade connectors and 4 with different sizes of plug pin to simulate Aerial Rods B, and F, I think), but if I can get any more of the tips I will see about making a cable or two up. The lead is the standard Cable, Electric, P11 used all over the place for aerial feeder - usually black rubber covered.

Best regards,
Chris.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Bah! Didn't find the aerial lead; I must have moved it to a different box in the 3-D Chinese sliding tile puzzle. Though I did find a box of surprisingly chunky cables, which it turns out are battery cables for the Switchboard, Charging, No.5 (presumably useless because they live in the Stowage unless you need to remove the set from the vehicle for use as a ground station with charging set).

Oh well... might get an early night for a change.

Chris.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

Bah! Didn't find the aerial lead; I must have moved it to a different box in the 3-D Chinese sliding tile puzzle. Though I did find a box of surprisingly chunky cables, which it turns out are battery cables for the Switchboard, Charging, No.5 (presumably useless because they live in the Stowage unless you need to remove the set from the vehicle for use as a ground station with charging set).

Oh well... might get an early night for a change.

Chris.

Ah, but that is precisely what happens in a Chev HUW wireless van. Everything is quick release. When in the van the chorehorse runs through a permanently mounted switch box with a knife switch that, thrown one way, charges battery pair one, leaving battery pair two to power the 19 set. Throw the other way and the reverse occurs. A Switchboard, Charging No.5 is mounted to the underside of the wireless table. When the table, batteries and chorehorse are removed to work remotely those cables would then attach the switchboard to the batteries and chorehorse.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

Though I did find a box of surprisingly chunky cables, which it turns out are battery cables for the Switchboard, Charging, No.5 (presumably useless because they live in the Stowage unless you need to remove the set from the vehicle for use as a ground station with charging set).

Oh well... might get an early night for a change.

Chris.

Chris. could you post a picture of those battery cables for the Switchboard, Charging, No.5? They would most certainly be part of my HUW's kit. and I'd like to see what they entail. That is after a good night's sleep of course....

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

Chris. could you post a picture of those battery cables for the Switchboard, Charging, No.5? They would most certainly be part of my HUW's kit. and I'd like to see what they entail. That is after a good night's sleep of course....

They are _extremely_ heavy, with a slotted lug at the battery end and a ring lug at the switchboard. I have a mix of UK and Canadian types, and also the battery linking cables (Connector, Single, No.3).

Cables are thick rubber (about 0.75 inch diameter) or fabric-jacketed (about 0.5 inch) and Connector, Single, Nos. 24 and 24A-D. (Without going to look.)

I will need one set for my charging switchboard, but the others will be available at a reasonable cost - shipping is likely to be the killer, they are definitely not lightweight.

Best regards,
Chris. (So much for getting a early night for a change.)

[David Dunlop]

Hello again, Chris.

I understand completely regarding the mails. Best the items in question stay put with you for the time being where they are safe and sound. There is little, if any, international air mail going anywhere these days. It is a service totally dependant on available space on commercial airline flights and with that service almost curtailed, it has dragged air mail down with it. We just received notification 10 days ago about an air mail parcel finally arriving at the Canada Customs Depot in Toronto. It was mailed from Barnsley, Yorkshire first week of December. I have another parcel mailed from Perth Australia mid November that has yet to get here.

Thanks again for all your assistance.

Now get some sleep!

David

[Chris Suslowicz]

Going to sleep right away, Sir!



(falls into bed)

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

[David Dunlop]

Thinking about the ID Sleeve today, and the possible options for this Leads Assembly, my first decision was the easy one: going with the actual length of the sleeve from Bruce Parkers surviving example.

Another consideration was the markings on the sleeve. Bruce’s example confirmed them as well, right down to the size and font. My thought process for the markings had leaned towards pre-printed ‘Letterset’ style. 30 or 40 years ago, the odds of actually finding a matching font would have been excellent. Off the shelf today, not so much. I do have a few sets tucked away somewhere and will have to see if one is sized appropriately to work. That the font will not be a match to the original is fine with me. I am more concerned about fabricating a perfect working cable as close to specs as possible, without wanting to make it a perfect fake. 75 years from now, if this 52-Set is still around and in one piece, it will be nice to know that close inspection will reveal the replications and the care taken to make them.

I have now also decided to make this ID Sleeve yellow in colour. I agree with Bruce’s comments that his original very likely was yellow when made but age has not been kind to it. And that makes sense. Wartime was full of unexpected supply shortages, everywhere. It would not surprise me in the least that multiple manufacturers were involved in making these sleeves and they could have had to switch formulas for their production to maintain delivery obligations, Changes to formulas may not have altered the look of a product initially, but could very likely have impacted expected ‘life in use’ of the item.

So, next step is to find a suitable yellow colour paint for this ID Sleeve and see what happens.

Thanks yet again, Bruce.

David