[David Dunlop]

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