Wireless of the Week - week 37

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

I think that was made for the power hungry Amplified Canadian 19 set.

Or the WS52. I see they've doubled up the battery terminals by the look of things, so it may have been intended for pairs of 12 Volt or quads of 6 volt accumulators that were possible to move by hand without crippling yourself.

(The largest batteries I have are 1950's 6 Volt 170 Amp Hour which are really a 2-man lift, even before you fill them with acid. Next size down is 6v 125AH, then 85 AH, 40 AH, and 16 AH, the last being wooden cased ad used with the Class D wavemeter. In 12V there are the 75, 22 and 14 AH units, all steel cased.)

Modern practice seems to be to fit UK06TNMF 12 volt 110 AH Maintenance Free (Advanced Glass Mat) vehicle batteries for the radio fit, as they can be stored for 6 months once fully charged, or indefinitely if the vehicle is on a suitable "smart charger" - so cheaper for the government to cycle new batteries through stores on a 2-year cycle (test/recharge every 6 months) then surplus them and buy new ones than maintain a battery shop and all the support costs of that.

Chris. (G8KGS)