Wireless set 109
 

Following on from Neil's article , with the WS 109.

Another simple but effective design. These sets are very easy to repair as all of the components are within easy reach , this is a unusual feature for a WW2 military wireless set . Around 1500 was the total production 1939 to 42 , making these sets comparatively rare .

I have used a 109 set on the ham bands and it's a good performer with the transmitter having three 807 valves and a xtal or VFO drive. The VFO is tuned by a rotating coil arrangement , rather than a split air capacitor , the VFO takes a while to settle down but it is not too bad. The AM modulation is strong being plate modulated .

The power supply units changed over the production run , some have four 6X5GT tubes as a full wave rectifier setup . The power source is a 6 Volt lead acid battery.

scenes
 

109 sets . Some of the PSU had selenium rectifiers rather than the tubes.

Scenes include Malaya and Egypt.

power units
 

The two different power units as seen in the 109 manual .

One of my 109 sets has a NSWGR tag on it: NSW Govt. Railways ?

After the war, outback stations used 109 sets as RFDS emergency radios.

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