Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

I have not really detailed out the parts sequence for restoration work on this project just yet. The Carrier No. 4 still needs to be looked at up close once it arrives, but other than that, all I know so far is the first priority will be to finish work on the two receivers. That work is already three quarters completed, so best follow through with it.

My suspicion is the Supply Unit may end up being the last item tackled. I still have two single conductor connector cables to find for the main set and until they are found, I do not want to risk damage to the Sender, Supply Unit or both by ad hocing anything foolish. So buying more time by restoring the supply last makes sense from that perspective.

I was initially hoping the panel of the Supply Unit could be polished back down to the right shade of paint patina to blend in with the two receivers, but now that I have cleaned the grime off and had a closer look, that will no longer be possible.

First, too much paint is completely gone from the bottom of the panel. Nearly an inch, and in that same area, the bottom inch of the Receiver Vibrator Supply Module has been bent inwards just enough that it will have to be tooled carefully back to straight. I don’t think there is enough ‘careful’ available in the paint to prevent it from spalling off when that work is done.

The final factor in deciding on a complete restore of the supply panel was the discovery of just how incredibly sloppy the decal application work was during its 1966 shop refurbishment. Take a look at the attached factory photo of the supply decals from the manual, and compare it to the work done on this supply. Yikes!

I think some good water transfer decal software is on the horizon for me at some point.

David

[Grant Bowker]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

I think some good water transfer decal software is on the horizon for me at some point.

I recall reading about creating water transfer deals by printing. One issue is with printing white - most printers rely on white paper rather than actually printing white so you either need to find one of the rare printers that deposits white to the page or print on transfer film that has white background (and cover every scrap that you don't want to show white (including around the edges)).

[David Dunlop]

Hi Grant.

Yes. I suspect a bit of research will be involved when I get to that point. And very likely, a new desk top system.

Something else I just noticed reading your response. The decals used in the 1966 rebuild have a similar overall size to each of the originals, but there is a lot more black surrounding the words. The decals in the manual photo are a match in surround size to the decals on my receivers, and the Sender.

Hmmm. I think I will have to put the black light on the Supply Unit and Sender tomorrow and see what, if anything glows, and in what colours.

David

[Grant Bowker]

A really quick Google says that waterslide "paper" to suit either laser or inkjet printers exists with either white or clear background (i.e. four different types of "paper").
At one time there were dye sublimation printers made by ALPS that could print white but they seem to be out of business...
There are listings on ebay for refurbished Alps printers for waterslide printing - eg. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Refurnbished...IAAOSwRJ1Zn~QZ There are also results for Windows 10 drivers for the Alps MD-1000. However, specialized orphans can be relatively expensive and the consumables can also be out of line compared to more widely used and current product.

[Bob Carriere]

Could a very light canary yellow or very light grey be substituted for the white color?????

[David Dunlop]

The last major piece of this project arrived yesterday afternoon via FedEx. Quite an impressive beast when you get it unpacked!

Main plan for it at the moment is a basic clean up of all the years of dirt and grime accumulation. Sadly, it underwent a 1960’s era repaint in which all original finish was stripped and NATO green applied. Like the Remote Receiver Case I found, even the inside of the carrier was painted. In the Remote Receiver Case, the paint inside was thin enough the two grounding springs in the upper back of the case were still capable of grounding the case to the chassis of the receiver. The paint job on this Carriers No. 4, however, is so thick inside, I don’t think any of the six grounding springs could work properly again.

Once cleaned, I must read up in the manual about the correct way to reinstall the three components. Jacques Fortin brought this point to my attention, as it is a very tricky task. A 52-Set definitely makes for a very interesting learning curve!

David

[David Dunlop]

Hi Bob.

In reply to your question on water transfer decal colours, it could easily be done that way, yes.

From what I can piece together, the original decals were printed with the layers of paint colours built up on them. This included the small patches of luminous paint. When you look at the original decals up close at an angle, you notice they are not completely flat on the radio panels. There is always a subtle rectangular raised patch visible, where the pad of luminous paint was applied. The lettering in this instance is the clear portions of the decal allowing the 'white' luminous paint patch to show through.

If one is restoring a panel and not worried about the decals being luminous anymore, white background transfer sheets are a good fit. If, however, one wants to preserve the glow in the dark appearance of the panel, things get a lot more complicated, quickly. Commercial printers could possible reproduce the original luminous decals, but at what cost? I have some ideas to work around that problem floating about in my head at the moment, but have not yet made complete sense of it all.

Adding to the problem, is the luminous paints used during the 1940's. They all have a very similar, if not in fact identical appearance in daylight: a milky white colour. Under UV stimulation, however, some glow blue, some yellow, some orange and some green. Probably other colours and shade factors out there as well. Blues and greens are reasonably common in craft supply places today, but I have not looked enough to see if other colours can be had with the required milky white daytime appearance. I have found an orange one, but it comes as a neon orange daytime colour. Yikes!

David

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Dave, I would never have believed a loose 52 set carrier would be out there. Good find!!!!! I think you and I need to mix up a batch of matt brown wrinkle paint.

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

The last major piece of this project arrived yesterday afternoon via FedEx. Quite an impressive beast when you get it unpacked!

Main plan for it at the moment is a basic clean up of all the years of dirt and grime accumulation. Sadly, it underwent a 1960’s era repaint in which all original finish was stripped and NATO green applied. Like the Remote Receiver Case I found, even the inside of the carrier was painted. In the Remote Receiver Case, the paint inside was thin enough the two grounding springs in the upper back of the case were still capable of grounding the case to the chassis of the receiver. The paint job on this Carriers No. 4, however, is so thick inside, I don’t think any of the six grounding springs could work properly again.

Once cleaned, I must read up in the manual about the correct way to reinstall the three components. Jacques Fortin brought this point to my attention, as it is a very tricky task. A 52-Set definitely makes for a very interesting learning curve!

David