No 19 Help

[Mrs Vampire]

Thanks David.

I guess I had better figure oput the cable lengths for the VHF .

All the Stuarts up to the M3A3 had the same length sponson. So mine a mid production M3A1 has the same length as the first M3.

The sponson guns were removed early in the piece and never used in Australia. They were removed as much for their ineffectiveness as for the desperate need for room in a cramped M3 series interior.

The Australian Stuarts had the 19 set in the stbd sponson from the first and never used the radio shelf that was at the stbd rear of the fighting compartment in the M3.
Our first 40 M3 came from the Uk and were modifies in accordance with the then UK standard....many of those mods were done away with before they were deployed to training and the 1st armoured. The smoke discharges and radio set location being two.

The British location for the 19 set on the shelf at the rear of the fighting compartment was a very bad idea. It was behind a 37mm storage bin and ideally located to either trip up the loader or provide a handy step for him . It was complete hazard when the turret was traversed...

Any photos of antenna set ups would be greatly appreciated .

[David Dunlop]

Well, I was almost right, Gina.

Seems they may only ever have been two cable lengths ever available for the 19-Set B Aerial, both based on multiples of the wavelength of the VHF frequency that was used. My confusion stems from the fact that at some point during the production of the set, the nomenclature for these cables was changed. Hopefully the following will be of help:

Aerial Feeder No. 2 (became Connectors, Coaxial, No. 11) was 4 feet 2 inches long - 1-1/2 wavelengths

Aerial Feeder No. 3 (became Connectors, Coaxial, No. 11A) was 7 feet long - 2-1/2 wavelengths

If the Mounting No. 9 for the B-Set needs to be close to the top of the turret for optimal signal strength, factor the distance from hull deck to top plate of turret from the longer cable length. Whatever length is left over, will give you an idea of how far away the 19-Set can be from the B-Set aerial assembly. I guess in your case, you already know the 19-Set location so the B-Set aerial location limit would be dictated from that point. My guess would be somewhere on the right hand side of the hull. One would waste too much cable trying to run it anywhere across the vehicle.

David

[Mrs Vampire]

Thanks so much for the info David

all very helpful as i wish to have the radio operational especially the intercom.

Any clues where I can get junction boxes ??

[David Dunlop]

Never actually searched on line for Junction Boxes to be honest, Gina. Used to be a surplus dealer locally with lots of them, repacked and in sealed clear plastic pouches, but I think he flogged them out somewhere.

Personally, I would first try searching the web for them via any name/descriptions I could think of to see what might turn up, where and what descriptions, if any, provide search results.

I would also follow up on any 19-sets, or major components thereof that pop up on line for sale. In the past couple of years, I have seen a couple of sets turn up in the USA that were clearly being parted out from Sherman installation kits. Lots of bits showing up from the same seller. In these cases, it never hurts to contact the seller and ask if they have what you are looking for. Often a seller not familiar with particular equipment only flogs what they have referenced can pay good money. If they cannot evaluate other pieces, they ignore them. Over the years, I have picked up a number of wireless bits this way, for very reasonable prices.

There are a couple of retailers in Europe come to mind as well. I will look them up and PM the info to you tomorrow. No guarantees, but it will not hurt, to contact them and ask.

Cheers for now. I have a dog and cat staring at me at the moment wondering why the hell we have not gone to sleep yet.

David