Remote control

[Mike K]

Yes the asking prices for this military communications stuff on Epay is generally inflated to the point of being ridiculous. In many cases the seller has little idea of what the item is, it's green, it has wires and leads and sockets so it must be worth zillions. The ebay dealers are also asking exhorbitant prices for No. 19 set accessories. I believe a large stash of surplus NOS 19 set stuff has literally been dug up in Italy, back in the 1960s the stuff was buried in an old quarry or similar.

Those remote units were also manufactured in Australia, I can't recall the specific maker but it may have been AWA, I did have one at one stage.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Yes the asking prices for this military communications stuff on Epay is generally inflated to the point of being ridiculous.

<snipped>

Those remote units were also manufactured in Australia, I can't recall the specific maker but it may have been AWA, I did have one at one stage.

The Australian remote unit is more likely to have been a locally built Wireless Remote Control Unit 'E', which itself was a modification of the earlier 'B' unit (for the WS2, 3 and 9 (I think)) to allow it to be used with the WS19. A large number of 'B' units were converted (and retained their original ID plates).

The British "E Mk.1" had a wooden outer case, the subsequent Mk.2 was steel.

For further amusement, consider item 353517254336 on eBay UK, which is a Larkspur-era 27-ft telescopic mast (Racal MA 638) with no accessories and an obvious "clamp-on" repair piece to the top section and some corrosion, offered at the bargain price of 275 GBP. Alternatively there's item 274916183837 that is an incomplete Aerial Base No.28 (Larkspur VHF base) at a bargain price of 79 GBP - at least the seller has changed the description from "WW2, Aerial base for Wireless Set No.19 / WS 19 / WS 21 /WS22" after I pointed that out... (The last NOS one of those I bought cost 7 pounds, and I recently got a bagful of mixed bases for 20 pounds (mainly because it had a Base No.8 in amongst all the Larkspur ones).)



P.T.Barnum was right (or at least some of the sellers think he was).

Chris.

[David Dunlop]

Here is the RCA Unit I had years ago. Pretty much at the opposite end of the spectrum quality control wise from the one Rob posted, which just adds to the challenge of finding them today.

David

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

I just had a real close look at my two 1945 DIL made ones. There's not even a ghostly hint of a serial after the 'No.' Whatever ink/paint they used completely disappeared. Disappearing ink on RCUs....it must have confused the crap out the the Hun.

[Bruce MacMillan]

both of mine are RCA although the unit on the left looks like a post war refurb.
that s/n is C07126 so maybe 1942/3 and the right unit is 55628 (no C) dated 1945.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Bruce MacMillan

both of mine are RCA although the unit on the left looks like a post war refurb.
that s/n is C07126 so maybe 1942/3 and the right unit is 55628 (no C) dated 1945.

Yes, a post war repaint with the shiny dark green. I swear the entire post war Canadian army must have been tasked with painting every piece of kit from trucks to binoculars, and yes communications equipment (that had perfectly good original paint) with that goo then stenciling what was there before in rough white letters. It leaves people like me wondering if it's worth the effort taking these items back to original, especially if you can see the original paint and markings right there under the green.

[David Dunlop]

good one, Bruce.

That stuff does indeed seem to rub away easily once it ages. I thought of clear coating the numbers I had but not knowing what the ink/paint was, decided against trying. I should have put all the RCU’s I had under my Black Light back then to see what that revealed.

In fairness though, I doubt any of the designers or manufacturers expected them to last 80 years and if I think about it, these items in particular do not seem to hold up well in damp conditions. The wooden boxes just fall apart.

David

[David Dunlop]

Hello Mr. MacMillan.

Nice to know you are doing well in Borisville!

That left one does look like a postwar NATO repaint. I had a couple of those I could still see the original paint markings through and was able to uncover the Serial Numbers, with a lot of careful work. Sadly much of those NATO paint jobs were preceded by excessive sanding that destroyed anything original.

David

[Lynn Eades]

[QUOTE=David Dunlop;282302]Hello Mr. MacMillan.

Nice to know you are doing well in Borisville!

That left one does........

David, When I first started reading, I thought you were going to make a political comment.

[Bruce MacMillan]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Hello Mr. MacMillan.

Nice to know you are doing well in Borisville!

David

Life is starting to normalize here other than getting petrol. I was at an event last week and met and received a handshake from HRH Princess Anne. No social distancing and no one wearing masks. This means there is hope that our military shows and events will be happening soon.