11 Set stuff

[things_green]

I have had a couple of requests for the above, unfortunately Kevin's two are the only pair I have surplus to my requirements.

The purest' are gonna puke but.....
What I do have are a few of the Kiwi made equivalents.

Like the Aussies 'we' made alot our own kit being at the end of a long supply chain.
The British may have even supplied some of the machining.

As you can see in the images the Kiwi plugs sit in the Brit reel fine they also plug into one another allowing daisy-chaining.

The Brit plug has a raised letting for the nomenclature and the Kiwi one is sunken.
I'm thinking some filler and a touch-up, voila!

Brent

[cletrac (RIP)]

If you put the prongs in the right holes, the Connectors No 1 will plug into the Connectors No 3. The guts are identical and the housing is different.
That's a No 1 off my remote unit on the bottom.
My NOS remote unit came from New Zealand . It has PMGs W/S SYD stenciled of the front of the case.

[Ron Pier]

Hi Brent. I'd be more that happy with a pair of NZ plugs. My 11 set is Ozzy anyway. Maybe double up with Kevin re post? I sent a PM with my email address but can't see it as 'sent' anywhere? Regards Ron

[cletrac (RIP)]

The complete station for use in a vehicle requires three different power supply cables. I have the one that goes to the charging switchboard in the first pic.
The next two pics show the one used with the two 6 volt batteries on a ground station. The fourth pic is one I got off ebay that I'm going to convert to one of those ground station cables. I have another plug for the power supply unit to replace the one on the cable. Does anyone have any Niphon plugs for the batteries that would work with this cable?
The third setup is for the ground station when used with the dry cells. I don't have any pics of this setup so I don't know what I need.
The 1A2 setup uses 4 batteries so I need 6 of the male Niphon plugs and four of the matching female plugs.

[Mike Kelly]

Did Canada manufacture the Niphan plugs? If so then be careful because they might not match the British connectors , eg the pin spacing on the Aust. made niphan plugs is different .

I have two of the British male Niphan plugs , salvaged from one of the artillery speaker system units. I checked the plugs in my British 6V batteries ( the drawings I did ) and the plugs fitted perfectly .

You may have to think about remanufacture , being a hobby machinist myself, making those plugs its not as easy as it looks

A group buy would be a better deal. A CNC machine could spit them out , but if made in brass like the originals the cost would be ridiculous .

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by cletrac

The fourth pic is one I got off ebay that I'm going to convert to one of those ground station cables. .

At least you have an original plug to copy but does it fit the British/Canadian battery connectors OK ? BTW are the Canadian batteries , used in the 1A2 bodies , the same pattern/dimensions as the British batteries ?

[cletrac (RIP)]

Mike, the Canadians likely used the British plugs. They didn't really get into radio stuff until 1941 or 1942.
I took some screenshots from that Erecting the 11 Set video showing the dry cell battery setup. That connector plug no 6 is from the Brit manual.
The soldier on the left has the H T unit and on the right has the L T unit.
It looks like the connector has a switch built in. Both battery units use Niphan plugs as well. That makes 8 male Niphan plugs and 6 female ones on one complete vehicle setup.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's the only other 11 set pictures I have that show those dry cell batteries. They must have quit using them fairly early in the war.
The H T accumulator looks to be about 14" square and about 3 to 4 inches thick.
Chris, could you post a picture of that partial case you mentioned in an earlier post?

[cletrac (RIP)]

I got these cables and ends off ebay. The 6 Niphan connectors are all the same size so I guess they're the right ones. I have a couple more coming from the same UK seller. I got them for a reasonable price but now somebody else thinks they're valuable and is bidding over $100 for a cable with two Niphans on it. If anybody needs some I'll send you his email address. He said he has around 75 Niphan connectors but no females to match the ones I bought.

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by cletrac

I got these cables and ends off ebay. The 6 Niphan connectors are all the same size so I guess they're the right ones. I have a couple more coming from the same UK seller. I got them for a reasonable price but now somebody else thinks they're valuable and is bidding over $100 for a cable with two Niphans on it. If anybody needs some I'll send you his email address. He said he has around 75 Niphan connectors but no females to match the ones I bought.

Those are a nice find

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by cletrac

I got these cables and ends off ebay. The 6 Niphan connectors are all the same size so I guess they're the right ones. I have a couple more coming from the same UK seller. I got them for a reasonable price but now somebody else thinks they're valuable and is bidding over $100 for a cable with two Niphans on it. If anybody needs some I'll send you his email address. He said he has around 75 Niphan connectors but no females to match the ones I bought.

Most of the 2-pin Niphan connectors will be for batteries (there were other uses such as aerial feeders for the WS12 with different pin arrangements, but they are very rare, also some from the next size up used for AC power, I think).

The Niphan to ring terminal cables are general purpose, I think the very long one has a 'line' stores code and was used with the F&F switchboard. Niphan to 2-pin bakelite socket was for WS22, R109, PCR receivers, etc., and the twin plugs to Pye 6-pin socket is (of course) for the WS19.

Niphan sockets are going to be difficult to obtain: they were used on batteries and when the battery was scrapped the socket had to be removed in order to get the cells out, and if not reused would be melted down for the brass content. You need to look for old batteries with 2-pin sockets - they will all use the same connector. (6V 16, 40 or 85 Ah, 12V 22 and 75 Ah units.)

Chris.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I took one of the Niphan plugs apart to see how they're made. The female one is a bigger size but the construction will be the same. The female one would be reasonably easy to make on a lathe but the male part is a bit more complex. If I had a lathe I'd give it a go, but no lathe. The insulating part could be nylon or the like. I could scavenge the brass wire holders out of the larger plugs that I have.

[Mike Kelly]

The male half , somebody skilled with a oxy torch could braze on the 90 degree bit , the ring would be slid on before the brazing .

I am pretty sure the pair of niphans I salvaged for the speaker system are made from brass . Yes would be a interesting project for a lathe . The most difficult part to make would be the internal threads on the lock rings , being so short and a coarse thread .

[cletrac (RIP)]

I just clicked on ebay and look what I found for about $25.
It was listed for a 19 set but we all know better than that by now!
The contents list is for a complete vehicle station and differs from the list in the manual.
The last pic is the 5B for the 11 set.
It looks like the only difference is the paint job.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I'm wondering if this is for the No 9 set or something.
The aerial leads are the same as the 11 set as are some of the brushes and brush holders.
The operators lamp is the No 1 which is earlier than the 11 set and the ammeters are different amperages.
The case partitions are the same layout.
It has A105 painted on the lid.
Any thoughts?

[Bruce MacMillan]

WftW lists it as belonging to either WS9, WS12, WS12HP or WS33.

[Chris Suslowicz]

I think David is correct with his suggestion of Wireless Set No.9, as that incorporated Converters, Anode, No.1 (as also used with W.S.2) - an 80 watt rotary transformer delivering 1100 volts. (Probably the one with the high failure rate!)

The parts list for the W.S.9 also has 6V and 12V bulbs (J & F), motor brushes 4, 5 & 9, and a 2 or 3 amp RF ammeter

The "Roof Aerial" connectors would be for the early vehicle fit.

Lamp, Operator, No.1 is the 2-pin version which plugs into the W.S. No.9 power connector (there are a couple of holes in the top of the free socket to accommodate this.)

Chris.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I've got this connector coming from ebay. It's called a power supply connector but has three contacts instead of two like in the 11 set manual. It just has to look the part anyway I guess.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I've gathered up quite a few Niphan plugs. There's four different makes in that row but they're all interchangeable.

[Mike Kelly]

David

Where are you finding this stuff ? ebay ?

[cletrac (RIP)]

I bought some cables off ebay then asked the guy what other stuff he had and that's what he came up with. He doesn't have any of the other end of the couplers though.

[Peter Hommes]

for sale a replica ws11 aerial mount. Rare beast even as replica cost quite some money to get it this far. Due to an major new porterunity it is for sale

asking 275 gbp if interested please PM me.

[kevin powles]

Gents, What does the shoulder strap look like on an Australian coupling and remote control unit?, Also does anyone have an Australian remote control unit available to trade or sell?.

Regards Kevin.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I think the Aussie and British remote units are identical. My NOS set out of New Zealand (PMGs W/S SYD) is identical to my Northern Electric Canadian unit. My NOS one is the only one I've seen with the carrying strap.

[kevin powles]

Hi, have you got a couple of pictures of the strap please.

Many thanks.

[Mike Kelly]

In case you don't know: PMG stands for "Public Money Grabbers" or "Pigs Meat and Gravy"

Isn't there a little canvas bag that slides onto the carry strap for the accessories like plugs ?

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

In case you don't know: PMG stands for "Public Money Grabbers" or "Pigs Meat and Gravy"

Isn't there a little canvas bag that slides onto the carry strap for the accessories like plugs ?

It's stitched to the strap. They turn up on eBay with people thinking they are for flare pistols.

Chris.

[Ron Pier]

Picked this up off a Belgium friend in Normandy this week. It's the last one I need to complete the set of four. A bit of tidying to do, but not bad for nearly 80 years old. Ron

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by Ron Pier

Picked this up off a Belgium friend in Normandy this week. It's the last one I need to complete the set of four. A bit of tidying to do, but not bad for nearly 80 years old. Ron

You don't need that Ron, it's too early a date to be suitable your vehicles. Ship it over to me . I deserve a gift don't I ?

[Ron Pier]

Ha Ha! Nice try Mike. Actually with these things being so hard to find, one can't be too fussy about the dates. I now have two of the early dates 1938/39 which both have the swivel type handles. My other two with the slide up handles are 1942/45. I need to find the Little hook catches for the lid. This 1938 box looks like it should have two of them? Ron