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  #721  
Old 31-10-21, 17:33
James D Teel II James D Teel II is offline
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David,

You’re correct in that I’m used to “modern” 1985-present military radios. I’ll put my “listening ears” on and try again.

James
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  #722  
Old 31-10-21, 17:58
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Keep us posted, James.

You might want to try putting the headset on first and get it adjusted for a good fit. Let your ears adapt to them for a few minutes and then fire up your 19-Set and listen to it warm up. Max your RF Gain but make sure the AF Gain is backed off to a comfortable level. Let the Set warm up a few minutes and when you feel your ears are ready, try out a wee transmit to yourself.

Best regards,

David
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  #723  
Old 01-11-21, 22:52
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CURTAIN, Waterproof ZA/C 00075

This item is also known as COVERS, Waterproof No. C2 ZA/CAN 4764, and fastens to the top front of the Carriers No. 4 on the 52-Set when not in use. Should wet weather require it can be unrolled and lowered down the front of the set. A metal bar sewn into the lower edge provides enough weight to keep it in place.

If anyone has one at hand, can you tell me the length and width of the Lift the Dot fasteners across the top of the curtain and the diameter of the heads on the two stud fasteners on the straps? I am guessing the stud fasteners are probably truss head, but they might be flat head.

I may end up having to replicate this item so would like to do a little planning ahead, if an available original does not turn up.

Some years ago I bought some Lift the Dot fasteners for a webbing project I was working on but these are probably about half the size of what is needed for the CURTAIN.

Thanks,

David
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  #724  
Old 01-11-21, 23:18
Bruce Parker (RIP) Bruce Parker (RIP) is offline
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Stand by....


Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dunlop View Post
This item is also known as COVERS, Waterproof No. C2 ZA/CAN 4764, and fastens to the top front of the Carriers No. 4 on the 52-Set when not in use. Should wet weather require it can be unrolled and lowered down the front of the set. A metal bar sewn into the lower edge provides enough weight to keep it in place.

If anyone has one at hand, can you tell me the length and width of the Lift the Dot fasteners across the top of the curtain and the diameter of the heads on the two stud fasteners on the straps? I am guessing the stud fasteners are probably truss head, but they might be flat head.

I may end up having to replicate this item so would like to do a little planning ahead, if an available original does not turn up.

Some years ago I bought some Lift the Dot fasteners for a webbing project I was working on but these are probably about half the size of what is needed for the CURTAIN.

Thanks,

David
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  #725  
Old 06-11-21, 20:40
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default SLEEVES, Headband Assemblies, 8-inches long ZA/CAN 0592

I am not at all certain if the Type 10 Cdn Headgear pre-existed the Wireless Set No. 52 and was merely adopted for use with it By Canadian Marconi, or was developed in conjunction with the evolution of the Wireless Set No. 9 Cdn and 52-Set, and spread out from there to other, contemporary wireless sets. RCA Canada, and Philco, certainly advertised their involvement with the ones issued with the 52-Set, but I do have other similar headgear at hand that are original, with No. 2 Brown paint on the microphone with just a yellow C-Broad Arrow on the back and no sign of RCA, or Philco, stamps anywhere. Having restored two of these headgear for the 52-Set Project, I was going to consider that phase completed, but a few oddities popped up with the Type 10 Headgear that I thought might best be dealt with here as they would cover all such headgear, regardless of the wireless sets with which they are used.

The first and simplest item is the black, leather Sleeve Assemblies that cover the adjustable, spring steel headbands of the Type 10, and other headgear. These sleeves are correctly mounted on the headband when the stitched seam is running along the bottom of the headband, with the smooth loop of leather over the top of the metal to avoid chafing the back of the Operator’s neck.

Most of the ones I have on hand look like neglected work boots these days, being pretty much scuffed up. I got curious about that this morning and decided to see what a bit of cleaning might accomplish.

The first photo shows the Sleeve after several minutes of cleaning with a tin of Kiwi Neutral Shoe Polish. This is the pale waxy looking colourless shoe polish. All the dirt and grime cleans off nicely, but it does not do much at all for the scuffs, other than soften them up a bit.

The second photo shows the same Sleeve after good rub in of Kiwi Black Shoe Polish, a couple of minutes of waiting and then a good buffing with a shoe brush. The history of wear can still be seen and appreciated up close, but the overall improvement to the look and texture of the leather cannot be denied. I think I will be cleaning up all my other ones in a similar manner now.


David
Attached Thumbnails
SLEEVES, Headband  ZA:CAN 0592 1.JPG   SLEEVES, Headband  ZA:CAN 0592 2.JPG  
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  #726  
Old 06-11-21, 21:32
Bruce MacMillan Bruce MacMillan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dunlop View Post
I am not at all certain if the Type 10 Cdn Headgear pre-existed the Wireless Set No. 52 and was merely adopted for use with it By Canadian Marconi,

David
In WftW the #10, ZA21514, was for use with WS19,22 & 62. It is similar to headgear #8 but uses microphone #13 ZA17605 (the small brown fist size). I currently use a #10 on my MKIII with the #10 control box.
The only marking is a small black acceptance stamp. I have a few mics in the junk bin I'll look at.
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  #727  
Old 06-11-21, 21:34
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default STIRRUPS, Receivers Headgear, No. C1 and No. C2

It was these two assemblies that suddenly grabbed my attention with the Type 10 Headgear, and even then, this only happened after my looking at them in the Master Parts Lists for the 52-Set countless numbers of times, but the information only now sinking in.

For close to 40 years, I have blissfully assumed these two Stirrups, one on each side of several types of wartime wireless headgear, were identical each side. As long as the side slot and locating pin for the headband were at the front half of the Stirrup, everything was OK.

It was only last week, while working on the Type 10 Headgear for my 52-Set, that I suddenly realized two of these Stirrups are illustrated in the Master Parts List and both have different names and ZA-Numbers. Even reading the descriptions was not enough to understand what was different between them. So I dug out an intact Headband and Stirrup assembly to have a closer look at the real thing.

After making certain I had the assembly correctly oriented, I marked an ‘L’ and an ‘R’ on the inner face of each and carefully removed them from the Headband. I then placed them in the same orientation, side by side on the page illustrating them from the Master Parts List. With this visual check in front of me, what the designers were saying in the two descriptions finally made perfect sense. The key to it all is being able to clearly see the pivot ball location on the side of each Stirrup, as in the first photo. I have now marked ‘LEFT and ‘RIGHT’ on the page in the Master Parts List to avoid any future confusion. So to summarize the descriptions:

STIRRUPS, Receivers Headgear, No. C1 ZA/CAN 0696, is the Left Side Stirrup.

STIRRUPS, Receivers Headgear, No. C2 ZA/CAN 0695, is the Right Side Stirrup.

When they are both properly installed on the Spring Steel Headband, as in Photo 2, the top edges of the Stirrups are at and parallel to the top edge of the Headband and about 3/16-inch of headband is visible below the Stirrup.

Lastly, I have found these Headbands are formed from a very tough spring steel. The easiest way I have found to remove the Stirrups is to slide a slot head screwdriver blade slowly into the gap behind the Stirrup Ball until the two leaves of the Headband are nearly parallel. The Stirrup can then either be pulled out, or popped back in, very easily, and the screwdriver blade withdrawn.


David
Attached Thumbnails
STIRRUPS, Receivers Headgear, No. C1 & No. C2 1.JPG   STIRRUPS, Receivers Headgear, No. C1 & No. C2 2.JPG   STIRRUPS, Receivers Headgear, No. C1 & No. C2 3.JPG  
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  #728  
Old 06-11-21, 22:26
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default HEADBANDS, Web, No. C1 ZA/CAN 0594

Probably a bit of a crap shoot with this item, when it comes to any correct orientation for it, but I will stick my neck out and suggest that at the factory, these Headbands were assembled with the stitched end facing up, to keep the smooth web face against the Operator’s head when in use, and with the closed loop located at the right hand Receiver assembly. I suggest this side for three reasons.

First, of all such web headbands I have available to look at, two thirds are oriented this way. Second, the photograph of the Type 10 Headgear in the 52-Set Operator’s Manual shows the web headband oriented this way. Third, the 1940’s world was very much a Dexter centric World. My parents (Dad from Winnipeg and Mum from Wigan) both regaled me with stories from their school days wherein classmates who tried using their left hands to do anything, had their hands wrapped with a ruler and told in no uncertain terms to use their right hand. To this last statement, I will refer you to the next Post covering the next Type 10 Headgear item.


David
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HEADBANDS, Web, No. C1  ZA:CAN 0594.JPG  
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  #729  
Old 06-11-21, 22:43
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default SLIDES, North and Judd No. A-11 ZA/CAN 0597

This one made me smile when I finally found it in the 19-Set Mk III Illustrated Parts Listings.

I had been searching for the information regarding the ‘buckle’ found on the Headbands, Web of the Type 10 Headgear. Turns out it is not a simple buckle after all. It sports quite a fancy name for a very simple nickel-plated steel stamping.

In the attached photo, it shows up positioned slightly to the right side of the Headband, Web, but notice how, when the headband is fed through the Slide and then on over to the left hand Clip, up through the Clip and back through the Slide a second time, the open end of the Headband is now oriented to the right side of the Operator’s head: exactly where a right handed person of the day would need it to be located. Picky perhaps, but quite logical for the thinking of the day 80 years ago.


David
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SLIDES, North and Judd No. A-11 ZA:CAN 0597.JPG  
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  #730  
Old 06-11-21, 23:00
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CLIPS, Spring, Headbands, No. C1 ZA/CAN 0595

These Clips are found on a number of wartime Headgear. What caught my eye with them on the Type 10 Headgear is just how well thought out the design work was on this equipment.

When these Clips are used on Headgear with the round, chamois Ear Cushions, there is a significant amount of free space between the Ear Cushion and the Clip. As you can see in this photo, with the oval style Ear Cushion, the right angle bend at the top of the Clip just slips nicely over the top rim of the Ear Cushion. That kind of attention to detail always impresses me, even more so when it comes from outside the modern computer world.


David
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CLIPS, Spring, Headbands, No. C1  ZA:CAN 0595.JPG  
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  #731  
Old 07-11-21, 16:05
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

I am giving some thought to restoring this Connectors assembly next in the 52-Set Project. That is a bit of a concern as this particular part is the lifeline for being able to operate the set and I would hate to unscrew the cover on it and have the innards fall apart on me.

From the outside, there does not seem to be much wrong beyond the usual cleaning.

If you back up to the last photo in Post #705, you will see the hardware set in the upper left corner of the front cover plate has been missing since I acquired the Connectors. Having removed another of the hardware sets, I found it to be a 4-40 x ½-inch RH machine screw with matching flat washer. I still had a few such machine screws available but was out of 4-40 flat washers, so borrowed a reasonable replacement washer to at least finish off this corner until I order in more washers. Fortunately they can still be had for around $5.00 Cdn per 100, which should do me a very long time.

According to the Illustrated Parts List, the raised letter identification caste into the top of the Connectors should be topped with white paint. I can still see traces of it and the lettering is in excellent shape, so that should be relatively easy to bring back to life.

At the lug end, the cotton cording wrapped around the Negative Cable Lug has broken and started to unravel, so will need to be replaced. I think there is a wrap of black, cloth electrical tape just under the cotton, so I may need a new spool to hockey stick tape for the toolbox. I think I am out of that as well.

Where this Connectors assembly gets interesting is in regards to the colours of the two cables. The Parts Manual states a red cable for the Positive line and a black one for the Negative line. The black one is alive and well, but from what I can determine so far, there is no trace of a red colour to the Positive cable at all. The present visible length and the fuzzy bits that provide a glimpse into the interior of the cotton loom all show what is now a dirty tan/white cotton. Adding to the mystery is the presence at the lug end of the Positive line of a red, paper tape wrap, very similar in size to the paper tape Butcher Shops use for wrapping brown paper packages of meat. So if any red colour on the Positive line still exists, it is likely going to be found inside the Bakelite body of the Connectors.

If no red cotton looming shows up inside the Connectors, I wonder if these Connectors were rewired at 202 Workshop as part of a normal 52-Set overhaul and in the 1960’s they were using tan, or white, loomed cable for the Positive lines and marking them with a red tape at the lug end to comply with the descriptions in the manuals?

Maybe two versions of these Connectors now exist: factory originals still in red and black cotton looming and overhauled ones in white and black.


David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 C.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 D.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 E.JPG  
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  #732  
Old 07-11-21, 16:24
James D Teel II James D Teel II is offline
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I think the latter hypothesis is probably correct. It could also be that at the time of manufacture no red wrapping was available so the positive was just marked at the end. We never know.
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  #733  
Old 07-11-21, 17:03
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Hello and Good Afternoon, Mr. MacMillan! Nice to hear from you again.

The Type 10 Headgear has been an interesting little side project to work on. Back in the 1970’s and 80’s, I never saw too many of them. I knew they were made with aluminum cases for the microphones and the story at the time was they had been made for tank crews because the Bakelite No. 7 style microphones were too easily broken. End of interest/information, but I suspect the breakage issue for the No.7’s was probably quite real. I was quite surprised, when I opened the first one up to discover it was caste aluminum, not the stamped sheet I was expecting. VERY robust indeed compared to the No. 7 Bakelite mics.

I have limited, dateable documentation covering the Type 10 Headgear, but what I have, from newest to oldest is as follows:

15 Feb. 1945: FZ 526 Issue 1 for the 52-Set

01 Oct. 1944: FZ 256/3 Issue 1 for the 19-Set

Oct. 1944: The Philco publication for WS 19 Mk III Cdn Installation Instructions for Truck and Ground Station. This was clearly a rush publication because the headgear illustrations in it all clearly have No. 7 Mics but are identified at Type 10 Headgear.

08 May 1944: The 52-Set Operators Manual, which has an actual photo of the headgear.

The latter document is interesting since it would have been the reworked version of what had originally been intended as the Operators Manual for the Wireless Set No. 9 Mk II that Canadian Marconi was targeting delivery for in late Winter or early Spring 1944, and which got delayed with British approvals and name change. The original manuscripts were probably written, proofed and delivered to the printers in late 1943 to keep things on schedule, so the Type 10 Headgear had to have been available sometime earlier in 1943 for CMC to have taken advantage of it with what became the 52-Set.

Besides the two complete Type 10 Headgear I have for my 52-Set that are marked top to bottom by Philco and RCA (the RCA markings of which match up with the ones on the Supply Unit Drop Cord photos in the 52-Set Manual) I also have another Type 10 with no RCA stamps, or Philco on the receivers for that matter. No. 2 Brown microphone case with just a yellow C-Broad arrow under the D-ring on the back. Two other sets are devoid of any markings at all and the microphone cases have been NATOed.

My thoughts on all this are that RCA was probably the prime, or sole, maker of the Type 10 Headgear and were approached by Canadian Marconi to supply the needed amount for their 52-Set Contract. Since these types of wireless accessories are never serial numbered, maybe as a means of production control, RCA elected to stamp parts with their logo in the production line to help them identify and separate the Headgear that were to be used to fulfill the CMC Contract?

Either that, or the executives on either company knew each other in the business and social circles well enough the RCA Executives decided to do it just to poke the bear?...

So perhaps today, some Type 10 Headgear survive that were originally part of the 52-Set Contract and many more are out there which were incorporated into other wireless equipment from 1943 (?) onwards.


David
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  #734  
Old 07-11-21, 17:05
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Indeed, James. But then what's Life without mystery…

David
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  #735  
Old 15-11-21, 01:38
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

I decided to clean up the large Bakelite socket assembly on the Connectors, Twin No. 17 this afternoon. I was thinking this would also give me an opportunity to open the assembly up and see if any red colour remained on the small section of Positive Cable inside the assembly. However, as soon as I had unscrewed the socket assembly from the front of the Supply Unit, I realized that was not going to happen since I could clearly see the cotton windings from the terminal sticking out of the socket assembly about one eighth inch. But I got a break anyway.

As you can see in the photos today, particularly the third one, there is a roughly two-inch section of the Positive Cable that faced towards the Supply Unit that shows the remains of a red colour. Finally! I feel good about that find.

These three photos show the uncleaned socket assembly and the last one I have started cleaning the oxidation off one of the brass sockets that accept the large banana plugs on the front of the Supply Unit.


David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 F.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 G.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 H.JPG  
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  #736  
Old 15-11-21, 01:54
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

These last three photos today show the Socket Assembly after cleaning and polishing. The dirt is all gone and about 80 % of all the scratches, which is a major improvement. Even the ‘LT’ and the ‘ 12 VOLTS’ caste into the upper and lower parts of the front face are easier to read now.

Once the dirt was cleaned off the white ID Printing, it turned out to be in very good condition and will not require any attention.


David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 I.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 J.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 K.JPG  
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  #737  
Old 16-11-21, 16:11
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

If, by any chance, one of these Connectors has survived with original (or even near original) red colour on its Positive Cable, can we get a photo of it to see what shade/tone of red it is?

Even if it is a small surviving section of the overall 8-foot cable, it would be a nice bit of information to have documented.

David
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  #738  
Old 16-11-21, 16:28
Chris Suslowicz Chris Suslowicz is offline
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My guess is that it would be "Chinese Red" if the cable is a cloth braided type, the problem being that it fades badly due to sunlight. To add to the difficulty it will have been waxed or varnished and that will darken towards brown over time.

I've got some D3 Twisted that is still close to an original colour somewhere.

Chris.
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  #739  
Old 18-11-21, 15:04
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Hello Chris.

I was looking for signs of varnish when cleaning the cables but only found evidence of it being applied to the cotton cording at the four terminal ends. The possibility of a wax based coating did not enter my mind but has attracted my attention now.

When cleaning up the cables, I started with the positive one and was noticing the cleaner was pulling a consistent brown stain onto the cloth. I thought that might be remnants of red dye, but when I switched to the negative cable I was still getting the same brown stain, not black like I thought I would.

If a wax based coating was applied to these cables, that opens up some interesting possibilities for me to explore.

Funny thing about ‘Chinese Red’. There seems to be enough interpretations of that colour out there to make its own colour chart! Grrr!

David
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  #740  
Old 21-11-21, 16:55
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

It has been said before, but one of the nicest things about MLU is the collective knowledge of all the members and how frequently it all comes together when working out the details of many restoration projects.

This pool of knowledge proved its value again this last week, starting with Chris’ comments regarding the likelihood the Connectors, Twin No. 17 assembly for the Wireless Set No. 52 may have been waxed when finished, rather than varnished. I had seen, but not recognized those details when examining mine, and it all made sense. It also proved very advantageous with regards to restoring this connector assembly.

There are a few scuffs on this connector but nothing at all close to fully penetrating the rather heavy outer cotton loom. With all traces of the original red colour gone from the positive cable, the absence of varnish means that with a little cleaning, the cotton loom will be able to accept a new dye treatment rather easily. That would not have been the case at all, had these cables been varnished.

Next was Chris’ comment that the original red colour was very likely a Chinese Red and that colour dye was known to fade out rather quickly back in the day. The question was then what type of dye to try and use for the restoration. The commonest dyes today for fabrics are RIT Company and are water based. They work by soaking for a given period of time. Not a good plan for a big, long electrical cable. While looking at information on-line for ‘Chinese Red’ I stumbled across a photo of a red shoe cream which was the colour I was looking for and when I traced the source of the photograph, found Moneysworth and Best was the maker. This had possibilities. It could be applied by hand, had a wax and petroleum distillates base and would be absorbed easily by the cotton loom. It would also be less prone to bleeding out of the loom over time, compared to water based dyes. So I ordered a jar each of the red and black shoe cream. For reference, the two colour codes are:

Red - #30523
Black - #30500

I ordered them from Amazon.ca on Friday and they arrived late Saturday afternoon. Photo attached.

David
Attached Thumbnails
IMG_1930.JPG  

Last edited by David Dunlop; 21-11-21 at 22:59.
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  #741  
Old 21-11-21, 18:50
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

I have been experimenting with the red shoe cream I bought to get a better idea of its capabilities and limitations.

First thing I noticed was the VERY floral potpourri scent it gives off. Great for a pair of high end designer shoes, but not so much for a military wireless set approaching 80 years of age. Second important finding was it is a translucent colour, not solid. This means that the background colour it is applied to will show through to some degree and influence/bias the final colour you see. For example, if you rub some on a piece of white cotton, the colour shifts from its reddish orange original to a more pink tone. The closest sample to the current colour of my CONNECTORS, Twin No. 17 was an old piece of American issue 19-Set headgear harness – chocolate brown with the red/white/blue tracer. In tone, it is about one half brighter than the CONNECTORS, Twin No. 17 cotton loom in its current state. This brown has the effect of pushing the shoe cream colour back from the orange hue to a more basic light red. A big plus here is that any staining on the base material will show through, so these products of use and aging will not be lost when the overall colour of the cable is refurbished. The history of the cable will still be there.

After letting it dry for 20 minutes and then buffing with a shoe brush and some cotton waste, it shed a lot of red dust, but the overall colour on the piece of harness did not change too much. I then remembered I had a large tin of Kiwi Brand Neutral Shoe Polish on hand for doing my work boots. It is a denser, waxier polish than Dubbin. So I dug it out and rubbed an overcoat of it on the red shoe cream. That had two, immediate, positive effects. First, the potpourri disappeared and was replaced with a nice waxy petroleum distillates smell that stayed, and the colour tone of the red darkened to one that better matched what the original cable probably looked like early in its aging process. That latter point fits well with my goal for this set to look used but well maintained and gracefully aged.

Of lesser note after applying the Neutral Polish was reduction in further red colour rubbing off the test piece. I think I should be able to stop that completely by giving the cable a topcoat of a silicon based, spray-on footwear waterproofing.

After a chat last evening with Bruce Parker, I have now sorted out disassembly of the Bakelite socket assembly head on the CONNECTORS, Twin No. 17. I need to be able to remove one of the cables from this head to get full and easy access to both of them for this step in the project. Love that MLU knowledge!


David
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IMG_1937.JPG   IMG_1938.JPG   IMG_1936.JPG  
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  #742  
Old 22-11-21, 21:45
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

I started working on the cables for this Connectors Assembly this morning. The first step was opening up the Bakelite Socket to get a better idea of what the internal setup for it is all about. A big shout out to Bruce Parker for sharing his experience in this regard.

The first step is to remove the large, central Clamping Screw from the middle of the Socket Assembly. This is a captive screw – basically a giant version of the four small, cheese head captive screws that mount a Wireless Set No. 19 into its case. The central hole in the front Bakelite cover of the socket assembly is threaded. Just a stink over one half inch of the end of the Clamping Screw is also threaded. Once that portion has cleared the front Bakelite plate, the shaft of the Clamping Screw allows it to slide freely all the way into the front panel of the Supply Unit to engage the locking threads for the Clamping Screw. See the first photo in this Post.

The second and third photos in this Post show the inner surface of the front Bakelite cover plate, before and after cleaning all the dust and dirt that infiltrated into the socket assembly over the decades. Note the large chip out of the Clamping Screw hole where the screw was forced or flexed at one time while the threads of the Clamping Screw were still engaged in the Bakelite. The Bakelite will lose every time in circumstances like that, so it is best to avoid them.

The last photo right now shows the electrical connections/terminals inside the socket assembly. Everything is a tight fit in there, Notice how the cording on the Positive and Negative cables has been pressed flat when the front Bakelite cover plate was installed and carefully screwed in place. Also note how much dirt has managed to get inside.


David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 L.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 M.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 N.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 O.JPG  

Last edited by David Dunlop; 22-11-21 at 23:38.
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  #743  
Old 22-11-21, 22:26
Chris Suslowicz Chris Suslowicz is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Dunlop View Post

The last photo right now shows the electrical connections/terminals inside the socket assembly. Everything is a tight fit in there, Notice how the cording on the Positive and Negative cables has been pressed flat when the fonts Bakelite cover plate was installed and carefully screwed in place. Also note how much dirt has managed to get inside.

David
Having got it that far the socket contacts are just a sliding fit in the Bakelite moulding, so you can simply push them out from the front. (I have an unused socket somewhere, just in case I ever stumble across a WS52!)

If you unwrap the whipping on the red lead you can probably get a good idea of the original colour, since it will not have been exposed to light and air since the cable was assembled.

Best regards,
Chris.
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  #744  
Old 23-11-21, 01:30
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

As Chris mentioned, the two power cable terminals inside the Bakelite Socket Assembly are a press fit into the Bakelite. They should press out relatively easily. The positive terminal I removed did not.

I first tried sliding a 4-inch piece of wooden dowel into the socket and pressing the assembly back with my thumbs, and then by putting the end of the dowel on the desktop and carefully pressing down on the Bakelite Socket assembly, nothing budged.

Next attempt was to hold the assembly in my left hand and tap the end of the dowel with a hammer. The terminal moved about 2 mm and stopped. A careful study of the terminal finally revealed what was going on. Decades of exposure to humidity had produced a build-up of salts on the surface of the terminal both inside the socket assembly and between the socket and the Bakelite tube the terminal was pressed into. Inside the Bakelite this was producing a lot of resistance. On the outside surface of the terminal, these salts had reduced the gap between the terminal, and what looks like a large brass flat washer in the photographs.

This ‘washer’ is, in fact, the ring portion of an intricate brass connector stamping. A pair of these, mirror images of each other, is used to connect the two Operator’s Lamp sockets to the main +/- 12 Volts DC Power Terminals to provide the power feed for the lamp. The ring portion of the connector was sticking to the salt build-up on the sides of the terminal and riding up with the terminal as it moved out of the Bakelite. It could only go so far before being stopped by the rest of the brass connector assembly, and it then jammed the terminal from moving any more. Once I realized what was happening, I could use the dowel to press the brass ring back down and then tap the terminal out a little further. Repeating the process several times eventually ended with the terminal popping free. I could then tap the brass ring back down in place.

The first photo shows the inside of the Bakelite Socket assembly with the positive terminal removed. Note again the dirt. The second photo shows the terminal assembly soldered in place on the end of the positive cable, Note the shoulder just below the soldered connection. It is this shoulder that makes contact with the brass ring portion of the Operator’s Lamp connector and holds it flush against the Bakelite when pressed carefully home. With the terminal out, I took advantage of the chance to clean all the excess salt build-up from the outside of it and also inside the hole it presses into in the Bakelite. Hopefully, it will press back in a lot more easily than it came out.

The last photo shows the interior of the Bakelite Socket assembly after cleaning. I was going to leave the Negative Cable in place in the socket assembly, but am now thinking I should also carefully remove it for cleaning as well.


David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 P.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 Q.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 R.JPG  
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  #745  
Old 23-11-21, 01:38
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

Hi Chris.

I thought of unwrapping that end but discovered this afternoon that the opposite (battery) terminal end of this positive cable needed attention.

In the photo, you will see that somebody cut away the cotton cording from around the base of the battery terminal just over one quarter inch and then just stuffed the end up under the lip of the terminal. So I will have to redo it completely and hopefully in the process will find some original colour.

I had to redo the unravelled negative cable at this end anyway so good thing I found this when I did.

Cheers,

David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 W.JPG  
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  #746  
Old 23-11-21, 17:53
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

Here are a few photos of the cleaning work on the Positive Cable from the Connectors Assembly.

The first three show the start of the process using the more aggressive of the two cleaners I like to use. The surprise here was the emergence of an actual red colour tone to the cotton loom. Part of the original condition, untreated loom is shown in each photo for comparison purposes. The second and third photos show how this cleaner can deal with dark, heavy duty stains.

The last photo shows the entire cable completed with the first cleaner and the second one. The second is a much milder solution that is great for light stains, but I use it here primarily to remove the first cleaner residue.

Once the cable is fully dry, I will mask the end terminals and looming, and hang it for application of the red shoe cream.


David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 S.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 T.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 U.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 V.JPG  
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  #747  
Old 23-11-21, 18:10
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Location: Winnipeg, MB
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

I was able to get the Positive Cable prepped and hung this morning and a first coat of red shoe cream applied.

It will sit and set up for at least an hour before I brush it. This will remove the excess dried shoe cream residue and definitely lighten up the colour. It will simply be a case of repeating the shoe cream applications and brushing until the colour tone I am looking for is reached. At this point, I have no idea how many coats will need to be applied to get there. Like me, it’s a work in progress.


David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 X.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 Y.JPG  
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  #748  
Old 23-11-21, 19:52
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

I decided this morning to bite the bullet and see how easily I could remove the Negative Cable from the Bakelite Socket Assembly. It came out surprisingly easy compared to the Positive Cable the other day.

One tap on the wooden dowel and it popped back about one half inch and I could easily grab it and wiggle it free. It had accumulated about the same amount of salts build-up on the plating but I think the big difference in getting the two cables free was they were very tightly pressed together and the cording on both was in tight contact, thereby adding significantly to the resistance load. So the Positive one being first put up more of a fight.

As per the first photo, the excess salts have now been cleaned from the Negative Cable terminal socket.

The other two photos show the Bakelite Socket Assembly before and after getting cleaned up. Note that you can now easily see the ribbed outside surfaces of the brass screw fittings that were pressed into the Bakelite to provide a secure threaded connection for the four mounting screws of the front cover plate. When those were pressed into the brand new Bakelite 80 years ago, you can be sure they added a stress load to the surrounding Bakelite that probably has not diminished much over the years. The Bakelite will have aged significantly and it might not take much additional stress load for it to break around these small brass fittings today. Always a good idea to keep that in mind when tightening those 4-40 x ½-inch screws.

The other thing I noticed is the central hole in the Bakelite Socket assembly the long Clamping Screw passed through. Note the rough, broken rim. I found a small piece of broken Bakelite inside this assembly and the only place it could have come from is that rim. I will post a photo of it later as I think that originally on these sockets a tubular shaft may have been caste to guide the Clamping Screw passing through the socket.


David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 Z.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 AA.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 BB.JPG  
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  #749  
Old 24-11-21, 00:06
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

Here is the little mystery bit of Bakelite that was found in the Connectors socket assembly.

The curve of the piece matches that of the shattered rim around the central Clamping Screw hole. The wide end is actually a finished rim and the overall length is very close to one-quarter inch.

If the central Clamping Screw hole was formed with a quarter inch long tube projecting towards the front cover plate, then the half inch long threaded tip of the Clamping Screw would actually enter this tube before the threaded tip of the screw exited the front cover plate completely. The Clamping Screw would then slide smoothly towards and into the front panel of the Supply Unit.

As it currently stands, once the Clamping Screw clears the front cover panel of the Socket Assembly, it wobbles around enough that getting it into the hole at the back of the socket can be a bit of a challenge.

Be nice to see the insides of some other Connector Socket assemblies to see if more parts or a tube have survived, or even, perhaps a complete tube.


David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 CC.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 DD.JPG  
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  #750  
Old 27-11-21, 23:04
David Dunlop David Dunlop is offline
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Default CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 ZA/CAN/BR 2349

Things took an interesting positive turn while working on the Negative Connectors Cable this last week.

I started with the usual cleaning to remove the years of waxy dirt accumulation, which resulted in pretty much the same amount of filth on my cleaning cloth as I obtained when cleaning the Positive Cable earlier. The surprise was in just how good a condition the original black coloured cotton loom was under all the dirt. So nice was it, I decided against applying any of the black shoe cream to it. Just a light rub of the Kiwi Neutral Shoe Polish and I was happy with the result.

Another find, or discovery, with the Negative Cable I had completely missed since obtaining the CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17, was two little electrical tape patches on it. I have seen so many tape patches on electrical cables over the years, I rarely ever give them a second thought. They are always the same. A circular wrap of any number of layers of tape carefully wound over the damaged cable. These two were brand new to me, however. See the attached pictures.

When I first noticed them, I was looking at the full tape side and what struck me was that a rather wide roll of tape had been used to wrap the cable. Then, when I rolled to cable over to check for any possible loose end to the tape, I discovered these two repairs were not the usual circular warp of tape, but a careful build-up of several layers of rectangular cut patches of electrical tape. This was a first for me seeing this kind of repair. At first I thought the patches had shrunk and split but a careful look at the two opposite edges on both patches showed they were not the same lengths, even down through the layers.

I have no idea when these repairs were done, either in Military Service or in civilian life, but they are unusual enough to me to warrant they be preserved as is on the cable.


David
Attached Thumbnails
WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin, No. 17 EE.JPG   WS No. 52 CONNECTORS, Twin No. 17 FF.JPG  
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