Wireless Set 18, 48 or 68 static battery

[wendel daniel]

This label was sticking inside the WS 18 set static battery lid.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by wendel daniel

This label was sticking inside the WS 18 set static battery lid.

Ah... my mistake.

The W.S. No.1 used a 228 volt HT battery, consisting of 20 8-cell refill batteries (one was a spare) and one and a half of the batteries were used to provide -18 volts for grid bias.

The 240 volt battery was for the W.S. No.11, used a 2-pin connector, and was filled with four of the 60 volt HT batteries.

The WS18 (etc.) Static Battery Box (providing HT, Grid Bias and LT) needed a 5-pin connector and they used a British 5-pin valve socket for the connector.
(It was later fitted with a metal collar to prevent the plug being forced in with the wrong alignment, and damaging the set.)

Regards,

Chris.

[Chris Suslowicz]

p.s. I think your battery box is a WS18 (or WS48) box with the wrong lid (for the WS11) fitted.

Chris.

[wendel daniel]

Thanks for all information you give me.
Regards
daniel from france

[things_green]

My Primary Battery Box appears very close to Daniels one.

I'm guessing the 'MPL/39' and 'GEC/40' are manufacturers and manufacturing dates?

The diagram is glued inside the lid and is, again, very similar.
Different manufacturer with a different draughtsman?

I'm just trying to clarify what I have here Chris?

Brent.
N.Z.

[wendel daniel]

Have you more photos from your box. It's just a wonderful item you present us.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by things_green

My Primary Battery Box appears very close to Daniels one.

I'm guessing the 'MPL/39' and 'GEC/40' are manufacturers and manufacturing dates?

The diagram is glued inside the lid and is, again, very similar.
Different manufacturer with a different draughtsman?

I'm just trying to clarify what I have here Chris?

Brent.
N.Z.

Oh, very nice.

GEC will be "General Electric Company" (the British, not the U.S. one), and that's the WS18 battery box. (/40 will be the production date, and coincides with the introduction of the WS18.)

It has a very early stores code because they only issued ZA numbers around 1940 and initially in alphabetical order, so you get things like Aerial Coupling Units with low numbers ('A' for WS1 ZA.0021, B for WS2 & WS9 ZA.0025) and stuff at the other end of the alphabet with high numbers, regardless of the original date of introduction (e.g. W.T. Sets MB/MC which were a WW1 tank set (morse only) got ZA.8470 - noted for "training use only").

It's interesting that Wendel's box has the wrong lid (almost certainly a workshop replacement for a damaged original using an old WS11 box as a parts donor), and also that the HT refill batteries are specified as 63 volt!
(Also his label shows US battery equivalents in places.)

I've not come across a 63 volt battery before, but they may have existed and been dropped at a later date in favour of a standard 60 volt one (used with the High Power version of Telephone Set 'F' and the WS17.

I must get my WS48 battery box out and photograph that.

Chris.
(I have the empty shells (no lids or fittings except for the valve socket) of a couple of WS18 battery boxes - they were converted to drawers by someone!)

[things_green]

as always, the breadth and depth of your knowledge astounds me Chris.

thanks for the clarification.

Brent.
N.Z.