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Old 01-04-16, 01:27
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
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Default Wireless of the Week - week 7

Since turnaround is fair play, last week was an American knockoff of a British radio, this week will present an American radio copied and manufactured by the Brits.

Observing the success the Americans were having with their man pack SCR-300-A radio station based on the BC-1000 sender receiver, they undertook development of a similar set in 1944 naming it the Wireless Set No.31. It was intended as a replacement for the current British 18 and 46 sets then in use, however this did not occur completely until 1949 and the 31 set was itself replaced as early as 1950 giving it a very short service life. It represents a significant change from the relatively low frequency AM sets the British were used to replacing them with an FM radio in the VHF band width.

The Wireless Set No.31 is a short range infantry set which is tropicalized and waterproof. Primarily a man pack set it could also be used as a ground or vehicle set, and in fact later versions were designed specifically for use in armoured fighting vehicles. It came in a metal case 17” tall, 12” wide and 6” deep with the sender/receiver on the top and the battery compartment below. Clamps allowed easy access to the inside of the radio and battery compartments. Controls, headset and aerial sockets were on the top with the controls protected by a hinged metal cover. An interesting feature is that the second headset plugged into the top of the first rather than there being provision for two separate headset plugs on the set itself. The set weighed 22-1/2 lbs and was carried strapped to a ‘Carrier, Manpack, G.S.’ along with the operator's haversack, a ‘Signals, Satchel’ for the headset and spares and a No.5 Aerial bag housing the optional 2’ 8” and 10’ 8” aerials. Aerial sections were held together with a wire metal core so they couldn’t be lost. Oddly, the use of G.S. manpack carrier turned a small, compact radio into a rather large and cumbersome load. Power was supplied by a dry battery providing LT (4.5 volts), HT1 (90 volts) and HT2 (150 volts).

Frequency range was from 40 to 48 Megahertz and was continuously tuneable, however the dial was graduated in 41 channels spaced 200 kHz (0.2 MHz) apart and numbered 0 to 41 so once again the operator tuned to simple graduations on the dial instead of an actual frequency. Tuning the sender and receiver did not require separate actions as it did with earlier British sets. In addition to the numbered channels, the set also had four letter channels (A, B, C & D) that corresponded to the fixed frequencies of the Wireless No.88 set then in use. A squelch circuit was built in to limit radio ‘hiss’ for the operator’s comfort. Range was 1-1/2 miles with the short and 3 to 5 miles with the long antenna.

While not a radio with a rich wartime history, the Wireless Set No.31 was born in WW2 and speaks to a transition in British radio communication thinking.
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Last edited by Bruce Parker (RIP); 01-04-16 at 04:10.
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Old 01-04-16, 11:34
Mike Kelly's Avatar
Mike Kelly Mike Kelly is online now
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Default 31 afv

The 19/WS31 AFV was a interesting unit . I have some pages from the manual .

I did have a 31 set , not the infantry set but the AFV unit . I gave it to a friend who owns a early Land Rover .
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Last edited by Mike Kelly; 01-04-16 at 11:43.
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Old 01-04-16, 17:30
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Jon Skagfeld Jon Skagfeld is offline
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The 31 set could be considered the father of the 510 set...so many similarities.

It could also be considered to be related to the CPRC-26, with the fixed channel selection.

My, how we've progressed.
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Old 16-07-16, 23:47
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
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Updating with manual for 31 set.
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