Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

Well the comments Chris made, along with some from a couple of professional painters I know got me to the point of where all else fails, track down contact information for the paint manufacturer.

I did that this morning and had an informative chat. First big discovery was that although mineral spirits are the recommended clean up substance for this enamel, it must not be thinned...with anything. This will set up differential drying producing the results I had been experiencing. Interestingly enough, this agent knew his stuff, we side-tracked into the realm of wrinkle paint finishes, which was where I was headed with my thinning attempts and he did point out where to find the small print on the label advising not to thin this paint. When I pointed out that even with laboratory grade optical equipment, it would be challenging to find said print, he chuckled and said that was the direction a lot of manufacturers were going these days. It's more of a compliance issue these days, rather than an effort to inform the consumer.

The manufacturers recommendations were to increase air pressure enough to get the paint moving out of the canister and then, if necessary adjust the air/paint mix to get the required smooth, glassy coat needed for a good finished product. So we shall try again this weekend after I sand out the sandpaper effect in place on the front panel of the Coil, Aerial Tuning No. 2 A.


David

[Chris Suslowicz]

Ah... you may need a 'gravity feed' spray gun if the paint is too thick for the standard suction type. (They're available in the UK from about 20 GBP upwards for the "Made in China" ones you will have to buy the connector adapter for, up to 150GBP for a basic DeVilbiss which doesn't even include the air hose!)

I can't find any air consumption requirements, except for the 150 GBP DeVilbiss that wants 2 Bar and 9.7 cfm, so you may need a bigger compressor.

(The more expensive ones assume you have a factory air-line to connect them to, and thinking about it the Perkins Engines tour I got had them using pressure-fed paint hoses for mass production! Rather out of the hobbyist league, I think.)

[David Dunlop]

I picked this item up this morning from Pembina ND.

It is a custom cut 9-inch square of 1/4-inch thick, canvas impregnated Brown Phenolic Resin which will eventually become the insulating mounting plate for the Aerial Base C2. The original on mine was missing.

The custom cut square was $11.00 USF plus shipping of $9.00. The only Canadian Company I could find selling small pieces had a one square foot minimum at $41.00 Cdn, plus shipping.

Went down first thing this morning and was the only car in line both ways. In fact, I think I woke up the Border Agents on both sides and even the Commercial Lanes were empty.


David

[David Dunlop]

While I think of it.

If anyone has an Aerial Base C2 with a surviving, original Brown Phenolic plate still fitted, can you tell me if the edges of the plate are lacquered the same colour as the two sides, or are the edges just the exposed, lighter interior plate colour?


David

[David Dunlop]

Sometimes it pays to look closer to home.

I was reorganizing my work desk this morning and suddenly noticed what I thought was a large block of cork sitting under some stuff I had placed there quite some time ago. Upon closer examination, I discovered it was a package of 1/16-inch cork sheets, 11-3/8 inch x 17-3/8 inch in size that Debbie had purchased about three years for a crafting project she had worked on for our oldest granddaughter. Son of a Gun!

This is exactly the material I needed to find to make the gasket that runs around the lower edges of the 1/4-inch Brown Phenolic Resin Plate used to insulate the Aerial Base C2 from whatever vehicle it is mounted upon. I checked with Debbie and she said to fill my boots as she did not need it any more. I will check to see my Cricut Maker can cut that cork sheet and with any luck will be able to write a patten program to make the needed gasket.


David

[David Dunlop]

So I have been spinning my wheels with this part of the project since 18 May 2025, trying to get a matched coat of paint down on the front panel of the COILS, Aerial Tuning No. 2A. Attempt number four went down this weekend after discovering the problem was air being dissolved in the paint during the spray process. The finished spray coat looks perfect but as soon as drying gets underway, millions of micro-bubbles of air start coming out of the paint to the point when it has dried, it looks like a very fine mica flake metallic. This can apparently be wet sanded out with a 600 grit or higher sanding paper, but one must be careful not to cut into the primer.

Meanwhile, on the back burner, I was getting low on the gloss Navy Grey (Misty Grey today) that was the original grey colour used at the factory for the 52-Set. It had been discontinued at Canadian Tire but a product internet search turned up a supply at Brantford Surplus in Ontario so I ordered another can this morning. Since the wooden case for the Coils Assembly has been restored to factory original colour and plating, I decided to complete the process with a factory original Navy Grey to complete the item and allow me to move on to getting the new luminous decals sorted out. The overall look of the complete 52-Set will then be of one in service prior to the conversion to the NATO Green paint that came into use sometime in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. It will simply have acquired a new Coils Assembly from Stores, for whatever reason.

Once this Coils Assembly is finally finished, I can then move to the Supply Unit to finish its restoration. It already has a set of Workshop Rebuild decals on the upper left corner of the front panel and I have photographed them and speced them out, so a Navy Grey paint on its front panel will also be a logical alternative. The only wrinkle here will be that the Workshop Rebuild decals were all white on clear which cannot be replicated on a home printer and I suspect a small run of such an item from a supplier would be cost prohibitive. In any event, the history of the Supply Unit will be well documented and the project can continue to move forward at an acceptable pace once again.



David

[David Dunlop]

I have been a bit remiss in updating this year and this seemed like a good place to start.

Early on in this project, I was very fortunate to find a very nice example of the Satchels, Signal No. 1, as pictured and described in the Issue 1, 15 February 1945, printing of the Parts List for the 52-Set, and was quite pleased something was ticked off my search list. Then, a couple of learned gentlemen here on the forum, pointed out to me that t1o 0f these satchels were actually issued with the 52-Set and the hunt was back on.

Recently, I was able to track down a second satchel in NOS condition and it arrived last week to complete the required pair I needed. I was expecting a satchel identical to the first one I had found but discovered several subtle differences. The material used is identical to both: the later war lighter weight cotton fabric, as opposed to the earlier heavier canvas. The design of both cases is identical with the exception of the first satchel has the buckle end of the shoulder strap fitted to the right side of the satchel. on the new one, the buckle end of the shoulder strap is sewn on the left side of the satchel.

On the original satchel, the ID is, SATCHELS, SIGNAL No. 1 ZA 6292, stamped on the cover with a C Broad Arrow, reading from the back of the satchel. No makers name or date anywhere.

On the new satchel, the ID is, SATCHEL, SIGNALS, with JELCO 44 centred below, and this can be read facing the satchel. No VAOS Number anywhere. This struck me as a bit odd, but I recalled seeing a comment somewhere in the 52-Set literature about available Signals satchels and went looking this morning. I found it in the 15 February 1945 Issue 1 of the Parts List, where there was a special note beside the illustration for this satchel. It stated there were 2 other types of Satchels, Signal No. 1, differing slightly from each other but all were completely interchangeable. I remembered when I first read this note years ago that I had assumed the note was making reference to all the other available Satchels, Signal that were produced during the war, and indeed, they all would easily interchange. But rereading the note now, in light of the two satchels I now have to compare, of exactly the same model, I now think there were actually three slightly different versions of this model Satchels, Signal produced late in the war. I the 01 July 1948, Issue 2 of the 52-Set Parts List, the special note on the model variations was deleted.



David