11 Set stuff

[kevin powles]

Nice find Ron, if you see anymore I'm looking for one.

Anyone got an internal fitting for the two pin power supply socket, mines been modified as you can see.

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by kevin powles

Nice find Ron, if you see anymore I'm looking for one.

Anyone got an internal fitting for the two pin power supply socket, mines been modified as you can see.

You might get lucky if you look at vintage electric kettles or similar items . I've seen some power plugs/connectors on old electric kettles that will fit the 11 set Aust. power pins . I assume the British had the same type of power connectors ?

[kevin powles]

Thanks for the tip Mike, English and Canadian sets use the same plugs. On another note I'm looking for a remote control unit "A" for my Austalian 11 set if anyone got one to trade or sell.

[Chris Suslowicz]

I'm guessing that it's the same connector as was used on the R107 receiver for AC Mains input. (Also the RF Amplifier No.2 for he WS19, though in that case for 12V, and was also used on some test equipment for inserting an ammeter to measure the supply current.)

If so, they should be easier to come by than the "domino" connectors as they were still in use in the 1960s!

Chris.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Was the golf bag full of gold? I know it's nearly complete but $900???

[Ron Pier]

Blimey! I'm glad I bought a lot of this stuff when I did as I just couldn't justify the cost nowadays. I regret not buying a deac Lewis gun which I thought was too expensive at £1000. Last ones I saw a few years back where 7-8 Grand. Ron

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by cletrac

Was the golf bag full of gold? I know it's nearly complete but $900???

700 GBP is a completely insane price for that lot! Admittedly the 32-ft mast kit seemed to be complete and unissued, but I sold one of mine (complete apart from the hammer and spare staytighteners) last month for 50 GBP.

That mast was for the WS62 (with the 14-ft sectional whip and connecting cable) plus a mixed bag of 'F' rods (including a few of the 'battle aerials' for WS38 Mk.2) and tubular case.

Obviously a couple of bidders with lots of money and a determination to have it regardless of cost.

Chris.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's a fairly complete 11 set on down under ebay.

[Mike K]

Morwell is not far from me but that's too rich a price for me. The lid/seat is missing . Will be interesting to see how much it goes for. I've written this opinion a few times but worth repeating. The Aust. sets were not the best quality , AWA used their typical crappy paper capacitors and poor quality resistors and the next to useless cotton insulation ( ideal for the damp tropic climates ..not ) . After the war at least one surplus dealer was offering AWA 11 sets converted to xtal control , which was a more practical conversion.

The genemotors: extremely poor quality castings made from some kind of rubbish metal that shrinks/expands and cracks while you are looking at it . Super glue is your best friend here.

As a receiver moderate to terrible as a transmitter oh my god don't even think about it unless you rebuild the whole set - fitted with modern good quality components

[Tim Bell]

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

700 GBP is a completely insane price for that lot! Admittedly the 32-ft mast kit seemed to be complete and unissued, but I sold one of mine (complete apart from the hammer and spare staytighteners) last month for 50 GBP.

That mast was for the WS62 (with the 14-ft sectional whip and connecting cable) plus a mixed bag of 'F' rods (including a few of the 'battle aerials' for WS38 Mk.2) and tubular case.

Obviously a couple of bidders with lots of money and a determination to have it regardless of cost.

Chris.

Check it didn't get relisted - I saw a WS38 "sell" for around £900 in the last week or two... only to then see it immediately relisted.

I suspect some fraudulent bidding is pushing up the prices in the hope they snare an unsuspecting bidder who does not know the market.

That said... if a genuine sale... I have a set I'll let go for that money.

Tim

[David Dunlop]

Mike.

How were contracts awarded in Australia during the war. Were companies assigned them by a government agency, or were they bid on?

David

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Mike.

How were contracts awarded in Australia during the war. Were companies assigned them by a government agency, or were they bid on?

David

Not sure . Maybe somebody else will know ?

AWA history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalga...s_(Australasia)

As always with WIKI , the information is not to be believed until its been double checked . I have found a few WIKI blunders .

[cletrac (RIP)]

He didn't get any bids so it's relisted. Same price though.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Well, this time the 11 set sold for the buy it now price of $1200. I guess they must be worth that much!

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by cletrac

Well, this time the 11 set sold for the buy it now price of $1200. I guess they must be worth that much!

I recall buying three of them for 50 bucks each , would have been 1990. Not as complete as that set just sold but the power supplies were in the deal. Included in the same deal were three British 22 sets with power supplies , ah the good old days ! I paid 100 bucks in the mid 90's for a B2 spy suitcase set , I had 3 of these sets at one time, one sold recently for 5k$ , madness if you ask me. I ran out of space and the sets in my collection were deteriorating from dampness , wardrobes stuffed full of stuff, under the house, whats the point, we cannot take it with us to the grave.

A chap in NSW had shipping containers jammed full of this stuff, he died, the wife had to deal with it all, the vultures came out of course.Found the story here http://www.portabletubes.co.uk/sitefiles/colin.htm

His main site is here http://www.qsl.net/vk2dym/

[cletrac (RIP)]

Wireless training in England.
This picture is for sale on ebay.

[Tim Bell]

Aerial Coupling Unit C for Ws11 - appears to be in good condition - not mine...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aerial-co...s/192419008345

Starting Price @ £19.99

Tim

[Ron Pier]

Does anyone have a definitive answer to the type of antenna base used for 11 sets in British trucks (especially the 8 cwt's). I have this image which shows two types. Strangely they are named as MK1* and No1 ? The MK1* is shown on an 8 cwt, but is it British or Canadian? The second drawing shows a No2 and what looks like a rubber No3.

What is the number of the more squat base as fitted to UC's? I'm just trying to sort out what is what with these. Ron

[Chris Suslowicz]

The base with the toothed ring and spring (so that it can be rotated to get the clamp into a convenient position and have some flexibility on a moving vehicle) is Aerial Base No.2 and the insulator is made of ebonite (like the Insulator W/T 'B' used with the ground spike)).

The other one is Aerial Base No.3 and is a hollow rubber moulding with a heavy clamping ring for bolting it to a flat plate, and a brass socket with clamping screw and wing nut to take the aerial rod. It's rather bigger than the No.2, but doesn't require the cage for the spring mounting.

Chris.

[Ron Pier]

I get that Chris! But have you any idea about the other base's? MK1* and No1 And which one is correct for my PU8/4 and anyone got a close up picture for scaling?
So far I've made a scaled up copy of the MK1* as it's clearly shown on an 8cwt truck. Ron

[Mike K]

Ron

Maybe the base Mk1* is a pre-war 1930's issued base. That first pic shows a antenna setup on a pre-war 1930's Mk1 Morris PU 8 cwt , the top locker was not fitted on these early PU's and the antenna base is seen sitting on a tripod .

The later and more common type base, the No.1, has the rubber water shed cover.

[Ron Pier]

Thanks Mike. I'm hoping to acquire a rubber watershed, which will hide up most of what I have anyway.....Which is a bit of a shame, as quite a bit of time and money has gone into it. Ron

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Ron Pier

I get that Chris! But have you any idea about the other base's? MK1* and No1 And which one is correct for my PU8/4 and anyone got a close up picture for scaling?
So far I've made a scaled up copy of the MK1* as it's clearly shown on an 8cwt truck. Ron

1940 Z1 VAOS entry:

Cat No. ZA.7833
List of Changes B 3092
AERIAL BASES No.1
Price (each) £1 12s 0d

Ebonite insulator; fitted with brass clamp and guide for aerial lead; mounted in magnesium alloy socket (toothed) fitted with M.S. chain; and 1 magnesium alloy ring (toothed); approx 7.3/4-in. x 5.1/2-in. x 5.1/2-in., overall; used on vehicles fitted with Masts, duralumin.

-----------------

Later on, there's a list of stores for Wireless Set No.1, and this seems to show the evolution of Aerial Base No.1.

Aerial-Bases

Mk.I
ZA.7540
List of Changes A 9104, B 731

Ebonite, with brass socket and shield.

-------------------------------------------------------

ZA.7544 SHIELDS. (Price each £0/0s/4d)

Rubber disc, 6-in. dia. x 1/8-in thick

-------------------------------------------------------

Mk.1*
ZA.7548
List of Changes B 731

Ebonite, 4-in. dia., fitted with brass clamp and magnesium alloy socket.

ZA.7552 SPIKES
List of Changes A 9104 B 731

M.S. 12-in. long x 1/2-in dia., with flange and footplate welded on.

-------------------------------------------------------

Mk.II
ZA.7560
List of Changes A 9104 B 731
Comprising G.M. serrated base, bracket; leaf spring and chain; and Wireless Set, No.1 aerial base, Mk.I or Mk.I*

-------------------------------------------------------

Mk.III
ZA.7564
List of Changes B 70 B 731

Comprising 2 toothed rings, 1 upper and 1 lower; 1 helical spring; and Wireless Set, No.1 aerial base, Mk.I or Mk.I*

-------------------------------------------------------

Now, from that lot I reckon that Aerial Base No.1 evolved from Wireless Set No.1 Aerial Base Mk.1, via Mk.1*, Mk.2 (with leaf spring) to Mk.III (with helical spring) and then was renamed when Wireless Set No.1 became obsolete.

N.B. the '*' against a mark number indicates a modification, so Mk.1 (or no mark number) is the original design, Mk.1* is the first modified version, Mk.1** is the second modified version, and Mk.II is a redesign or replacement. The * method of denoting modifications was OK for things that didn't change much (such as weapons), but rapidly became an utter shambles when it came to rapidly-developing things like wireless sets.

Further on in the VAOS is the Complete Station List for Wireless Set No.1 in various roles. 1B is the interesting one "For use in Trucks, 8-cwt., 4-wheeled, wireless", and that lists:

Aerial-bases Mk.1 or Mk.1* (1)
Spikes (1)
Aerial-bases Mk.II (0)
Aerial-bases Mk.III (1)

Mk.I or Mk.1* is clearly the ground station aerial, because it comes with a spike mount with footplate and is issued for ground and vehicle station.

Mk.II is likewise specific to tanks, being specified for the Light Tank 1C.

Mk.III is specified for the vehicle station.

So Mk.1 is for demounted operation of the set and Mk.III was permanently fixed to the vehicle.

By the time the W.S.11 came along, I suspect all this had been consolidated into "Aerial Base No.1" for general vehicle use and "Insulator W/T 'B'" for ground station/dismounted operation.

Does that help at all?

Chris.

[Ron Pier]

Thanks for this concise evolutionary package Chris. And verifying what the * means. I'll read through it all again a couple of times to digest it. Hopefully I can print it off for my file and future reference.

Cheers Ron

[cletrac (RIP)]

Ron, you were wondering if one of the aerials was British or Canadian. Any 11 set stuff on an 8cwt truck would have to be British. The 8cwts were obsolete before the Canadian or Aussie 11 sets came into production.

[Ron Pier]

Thanks Dave. Someone suggested that the * might be something to do with a Canadian part. But Chris has confirmed, it's just for an amended part. In that respect I'm going to stick with the one I've made as it's clearly shown fitted to a British 8cwt. Cheers Ron

[kevin powles]

Gents, I need a couple of those watershed and collar, anyone got an original to post some pics?.

Thanks

[cletrac (RIP)]

I got this little handbook thinking there would be more about the 11 set, but oh well.
I thought the wavemaker class C No 1 was just for the 11 set but there's a chapter on using it with the 19 set. It's dated 1941.

[Ron Pier]

My Antenna watershed. Made for me by a friend. Ron

[Mike K]

Is that a plastic moulding ? Looks neat