Leads , aerial No 5 Canadian

[Robert Bergeron]

Yes Chris , the fused switchboard replaces completely the C-5 Cdn switchboard . So i made what you call a 7C lead out of No 8 rubber insulation copper wire with a couple of copper connectors . Instead of plugging in the aerial socket , i screw the connectors directly to the variometer screw and nut . I will take pictures soon . Did a reception test and it works just fine .Thanks for the help . Any pictures Chris of all this nice equipment ? Cheers .

[Robert Bergeron]

Illustration picked up on an old thread from 2010 source unknown.

[Robert Bergeron]

Here is a picture of a little known feature about the Wire-5 truck . To the right , the ground wire .The grounding post to the frame is just inside the box right beside it . To the left another possible connection for something ( an antenna mast lead either 5c or 7c depending on Can/ UK ? ) . I connected a 100 feet single insulated wire strung up on trees on this post and inside the box a lead to the variometer nut and screw post and reception was great . No idea what would happen in the transmission mode . We never concluded definitely what these posts were designed for in the first place . Many ideas came out but none were definitive and the manuals don’t mention it’s existence. Field phone wire connection, 12 V power , 110 V power . Nobody has ever mentioned antenna lead connection . I just don’t know . Over .

[Robert Bergeron]

Better overall view.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

Illustration picked up on an old thread from 2010 source unknown.

Aha! That's the same illustration as Louis used in Wireless for the Warrior and comes from the Truck & Ground station installation book. (It's on Page 8 and the lead is wrongly identified as "Leads, Aerial, No.5" in the book. The 2010 illustration is obviously a corrected version but still has the same drawing reference number 7-298-3-A.)

Thinking about this, it's probably a direct result of the Great Renumbering that went on, where they changed the names of lots of cables/connectors to avoid confusion (especially for those parts used with many different bits of equipment).

For example:

ZA.3141 Wireless Set No.19, Leads, Aerial, No.1 became Connector, Coaxial No.10
ZA.3142 Wireless Set No.19, Leads, Aerial, No.2 became Connector, Coaxial No.11
ZA.3143 Wireless Set No.19, Leads, Aerial, No.3 became Connector, Coaxial No.11A

and I suspect that our little friend

Wireless Set No.19, Leads, Aerial, No.5 became ZA.10318 Connectors, Single No.7C

so as not to confuse the stores people or Wireless Fitters.

The installation instructions are dated September 1943 and the EMER is dated October 1944.

Chris.

[Robert Bergeron]

Thanks again Chris . Just to add to the discussion here are some pictures i found in a Canadian wartime manual : 1- Cover of said manual , 2-description of lead No 3 referenced as No 37 on the picture , No 3- picture of a substantial coil of lead cable for the antenna masts . The mystery deepens. Is that coil i estimate as being 25 or maybe 30 feet in length coaxial or single wire ? I dont know much but i don’t see why it would be coaxial the way it is coiled . In my mind it’s meant to feed a mast . I don’t see why the user had to setup his mast just 6 feet from the No 19 with a No 5 lead when dug in a deep trench with overhead cover and revetting . So if my assumption is right , you could use a mast aerial remotely meaning more than 6 feet away.

[Robert Bergeron]

Here is the title of the illustration and list of equipment in said illustration / picture .Check no 37

[Robert Bergeron]

Here is number 35 : Lead No 5 estimated as being 6 feet in length previously. Anybody who has had the chance of working / living in a defensive position knows that you don’t want a mast / aerial on top of your position . 20-30 feet away from the trench / command post / bunker is better whatever the tactical situation. The farther the better because the opposition used binos . Now the question remains : Coaxial or single wire ? There is nowhere to plug a Pye connector on the variometer to feed the antenna so single wire . As the list says : No 3 lead , single . Coaxial was only used to feed B set aerials , in this setup anyway except for the one feeding the A set variometer . Comments , remarks ?

[Robert Bergeron]

Here is a 6c lead wire posted for sale by Frank v R in 2015. Much shorter version than the No 3 referenced in my discussion but single wire again. The caliber or size of the wire sure looks impressive .

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

Here is number 35 : Lead No 5 estimated as being 6 feet in length previously. Anybody who has had the chance of working / living in a defensive position knows that you don’t want a mast / aerial on top of your position . 20-30 feet away from the trench / command post / bunker is better whatever the tactical situation. The farther the better because the opposition used binos . Now the question remains : Coaxial or single wire ? There is nowhere to plug a Pye connector on the variometer to feed the antenna so single wire . As the list says : No 3 lead , single . Coaxial was only used to feed B set aerials , in this setup anyway except for the one feeding the A set variometer . Comments , remarks ?

For remote aerials there was a special kit (I saw the box for it on eBay last year but all the lid fittings had been removed). This was used with the WS22 and (British) WS19HP, and is fairly scarce. The kit contained a "Set Unit 'J'" with a couple of short leads to connect to the set aerial output and earth, and a Pye co-axial connector plus a movable link to select different capacitor values for better matching. The other (mast) end of the kit was "Aerial Unit 'J'" consisting of a variable inductor and a plug-in thermocouple meter plus other components. (The meter was selected from a range with different current ratings to match the set output power - they're quite fragile and burn out very quickly if overloaded.) Completing the kit were several lengths of coaxial cable with Pye connectors each end, and barrel connectors to link them together. I'm not sure of the number or length of the cables in the kit and have never seen a manual for it, but I'd guess they would allow 20 - 25 yards between set and mast.

There are photographs of some of this kit on Keith Watt's page:

https://www.royalsignals.org.uk/photos/ws22/index.htm

I'm gradually accumulating parts of that kit (unfortunately most of them have been heavily modified by radio amateurs or stripped of the silver wire by scrap dealers), and will eventually get myself a set that I can try out.

(The WS19HP (British) has co-axial output so does not require the 'Set Unit 'J'")

Best regards,
Chris.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

Thanks again Chris . Just to add to the discussion here are some pictures i found in a Canadian wartime manual : 1- Cover of said manual , 2-description of lead No 3 referenced as No 37 on the picture , No 3- picture of a substantial coil of lead cable for the antenna masts . The mystery deepens. Is that coil i estimate as being 25 or maybe 30 feet in length coaxial or single wire ? I dont know much but i don’t see why it would be coaxial the way it is coiled . In my mind it’s meant to feed a mast . I don’t see why the user had to setup his mast just 6 feet from the No 19 with a No 5 lead when dug in a deep trench with overhead cover and revetting . So if my assumption is right , you could use a mast aerial remotely meaning more than 6 feet away.

Hi Robert, I have that manual.

Lead, Aerial No.3 was renamed Connector, Co-axial No.11A and is the long one for the 'B' set to Aerial Base No.9 or 9A. You get two of them in the Truck & Ground station kit - one is permanently fitted in the truck to connect the set to the aerial base on the roof, the other is stowed for use when the set is removed from the vehicle for use on the ground. (That's item 35 on the layout of the kit.)

Item 37 is the Lead, Aerial, No.5 (later renamed Connector, Single No.7C) and is 6 feet of 7mm diameter insulated wire.

I will have a rummage in my mast kit later and see if I can find the No.5 (or 7C) cable, but it is fairly short (to avoid transmission losses).

Best regards,
Chris.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

Yes Chris , the fused switchboard replaces completely the C-5 Cdn switchboard . So i made what you call a 7C lead out of No 8 rubber insulation copper wire with a couple of copper connectors . Instead of plugging in the aerial socket , i screw the connectors directly to the variometer screw and nut . I will take pictures soon . Did a reception test and it works just fine .Thanks for the help . Any pictures Chris of all this nice equipment ? Cheers .

For my sins, I stayed up late last night, reading the WS19 Canadian Installation Instructions for the Truck & Ground Station, in conjunction with FZ 256/3. This turned up errors in both of them.

I already knew about the Connector 7C illustration being swapped with that of the 194, but there is also the Aerial Feeder No.9 which is shown as being connected to the variometer terminal (instead of being plugged into the aerial rod socket - this explains why the one I have is fitted with a plug like on the 7C (otherwise demounting the set would require fiddling around with the variometer connections and these would eventually break)).

The illustrations in the Installation Instructions show several different vehicle fits (which could be helpful as well as confusing) and there are various errors
in all of them.

I need to have a further think about all this.

Chris.