Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[Chris Suslowicz]

Ah....

What diameter is the central pin on the original?

I'm asking this because I bought a post-WW2 test kit last Saturday "Aerials, Dummy, No.2 and No.3" and this contains a bunch of short connecting leads with plugs that approximate aerial rods, the standard wrap-around spade lugs for the spring-loaded terminals on the WS12 and R107 (etc.), and the other end is a turned pin, probably nickel plated, that fits a slotted terminal as used on field telephones.

The pins are smaller diameter than the insulation on P11 cable (which they are fitted to) and the junction covered by a rubber sleeve.

I wonder if these were a standard WW2 item?

Chris. (G8KGS)

[David Dunlop]

Hi Chris.

Good question on the original pin diameter size. That little detail is missing from the Master Parts Listings. They do, however, identify that the slot in the AE Terminals into which the pins fit, are 1/8-inch deep and I found a 1/8-inch drill bit shank slides in and out quite easily.

The other factor that I ran across is that the 1/8-inch pin size seems to have been a standard for many decades for the Motorola Connectors used with automobile radio aerial leads. At one time I think the sockets used to have spring loaded innards that gripped the aerial connector sleeve to hold it in place, but todays versions appear to have switched that up. The spring grips are now on the connector sleeve, or they use a bayonet type lock.

Years back, a smaller version of these pin connectors were common for speaker and headphone connections to wireless equipment, so that might be another possibility for you Chris.

David

[Chris Suslowicz]

I definitely have some smaller pins with plastic ends, as used on old radio sets for aerial, headphone and possibly battery connections.

I will have a rummage tomorrow if I get the chance.

Chris.
(Currently working from home due to the pandemic, and wanting to stay well away from any potentially infection carriers.)

[David Dunlop]

A safe Gnome is a happy Gnome!

David

[David Dunlop]

Getting the front panel of the Sender to a point where I can clean it is a slow process. Some screws break free easily and some fittings slide off easily. Then you run into grub screws, set screws and knobs that do not want to budge without a soak of cleaner and or light oils. The current delay is freeing up the PA TUNE Knob from its brass shaft.

A good play is also helpful when doing a tear down. From working with tuning dials on 19-Sets, I remembered it is always a good idea to orient the main dial knobs in such a way that the set screw can be easily accessed with a screw driver. Adding to the mix with the 52-Set Sender is the fact it has three large dial assemblies spaced across the front of it. For disassembly, the Flick Control Levers must be in the "SET' Position, with the set screws facing to the right. That means one must disassemble each dial assembly in sequence, from right to left across the front panel.

As I remove parts, they are all being tagged and bagged with their respective hardware and placed in a bin.

I am never keen about this phase of a restoration. Whatever you are working on progressively looks less and less like what it should, and in some cases can end up looking like something even the local scrappie would run away from.

David

[David Dunlop]

Seems a small road block has been encountered with the disassembly of parts from the Sender front panel.

If you look at the first two photos of the previous post, you will see the PA TUNE Dial assembly has the four Clamping Screws removed, along with the central retaining screw for the large grey tuning knob. What cannot be so readily seen, is the set screw for the knob has also been removed.

At this stage in the disassembly of the dial, the grey tuning knob and the large dial disc immediately under it should just lift off the brass shaft to expose a few other bits beneath them. No such luck here. Both the knob and dial are stuck firmly in place.

Looking at the gap between the back of the tuning dial and the front panel, I can see the lower half of the supporting brass shaft is nice and bright. The top half, however, is covered in that brown, oily soot. I strongly suspect that crud has seeped into the space between the tuning knob and dial and glued them together.

After some thought, and consultations with Jacques Fortin, about options to proceed, I have decided the best approach will be to try and let some 3 in 1 Oil wick into the space to soften up the crud and then try using a gear puller on the knob to pop it free. The pullers I have on hand are far too robust to do the job, but I did find a small, 2 jaw, 3-1/2 inch max puller at Princess Auto so have ordered one. It is only a 2 inch diagonal across the corners of the grey knob, so this puller should fit in quite nicely. At Jacques suggestion, I will reinstall the central screw a couple of turns in the central brass shaft and use the face of the screw to rest the screw shaft of the puller on, to avoid damage to the brass shaft.

The puller should be here next week sometime so I will continue applying 3 in 1 Oil until it arrives.

David

[Chris Suslowicz]

I wonder if kerosine or diesel oil would be a better penetrant than 3-in-1?
(Always assuming you can't get 'proper' penetrating oil, of course.)

I'd also be wary of damaging the internal(?) thread on the shaft if you back the screw off to fit the puller. Perhaps adding a couple of flat washers to the end of the screw so you have a solid support and no pressure on the actual thread?

If all else fails and it won't shift, the square knob is presumably identical to that used on the WS19? (Check the part numbers first!) That could be sacrificed to protect the shaft.

Best regards,
Chris.