Any ideas on this Achilles wireless setup

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Johnny Canuck

"The 'F' rod diameters didn't change,"

Not.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...945%20Pg.4.jpg

ZA 0894 No.1 49.5" long 3/8-3/8 diameter both ends male/female
ZA 0895 No.2 49.5" long 3/8-1/4 diameter at ends male/female
ZA 0896 No.3 49.5" long 1/4-1/8 diameter at ends male/female

I've also seen a 'battle' aerial 4'+- 3/8(1/4??) male base 1" 1/2 long with balance 1/8 rod 3/16 ball on top.
There are probably other variations around.

Actually that is why a WS38 has 2 or 3 adjustable holes to insert aerial rods.

Geoff

That wasn't what I meant.

The original "Aerial Rods, 'F'" were 48 inches long and there were a set of three rods which could 'stack' into the then new Aerial Base No.8 for vehicle use. No.1 was the lowest, No.2 was the 'middle' and was swaged down to the same diameter at each end so that two could be used, and No.3 was the top and generally tapered to a point.

They allowed for a 16-ft aerial to be constructed (1 x No.1, 2 x No.2, 1 x No.3) for static use or as part of the 34-ft Steel Vertical Aerial, but tended to come apart when used on moving vehicles.

The Canadians solved that problem, extending the length by 1.5 inches and rolling a coarse thread into the extension. (So they were still compatible with the previous version but could be pushed together and then screwed home to prevent the shaking causing them to separate and be lost from moving vehicles. Aerial Base No.10 Mk.1 was developed to replace Base No.8, with a wing-nut operated clamp instead of the earlier spring wire clip. (This was later replaced by the No.10 Mk.2 with a terminal added to the clamp so that the aerial could be fed from the top _or_ underside, and wire aerials could be used (Aerial, 100-ft, No.5) that didn't need a plug to mimic an aerial rod.

Those rods became (and remained) the standard from WW2 up until the end of CLANSMAN and its replacement by the BOWMAN range of Combat Net Radio. The rod diameters remained the same even with the introduction of a standard 1 metre length (Metric!) with Clansman, and GRP aerial sections.

During WW2 the 'F' rods were also used with manpack sets, e.g. WS38 Mk.2 which had its own set of 4 rods: 1,2 & 3 for 4, 8, or 12-ft (only really used for static operation), and a "Battle Whip" referred to as '3B' by the Artillery consisting of a spring steel rod welded/brazed into a steel plug to make it compatible with the No.3 rod. (It was a _serious_ eye hazard, being small diameter and very rigid - I protect the end with a cork if I need to use one.)

There were other lengths of 'F' rods for various purposes, but 1, 2, 3 and 3B are the most common ones.

Loading the poor old infantry with a quiver of 4-ft aerials was decided to be a bad idea, so the WS38 Mk.3 was issued with Aerials 4-ft No.1 and No.2 - a pair of folding 'F' rod numbers 2 & 3 equivalents that were threaded on a wire and could be carried in the backpack (Satchel, Signals, No.10) with the set and ancillaries. The 12-ft option was discarded.

(The WS 62 got a folding 14-ft whip and the two 4-ft folding rods in Case, Aerial Rods, No.5, which could be fastened to the set for easy carriage.)

I think that's enough of my waffling for tonight. :-)>

Chris (G8KGS)