#1
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Wireless of the Week - week 30
It’s easy here in Canada to think of 19 sets as all having luminous black Russian/English decals, however the original 19 set was a British design which was quite different in appearance. British production continued throughout the war parallel with sets made in Canada, Australia and the United States. In fact British production by Pye Radio Ltd., Ekco, Mitcham Works Ltd. and AGI totaled into the tens of thousands in all three marks beginning in 1941 whereas Canadians produced only Mk.II and Mk.III versions and the Americans and Australians only the Mk.II.
As stated in previous weeks, the Wireless Set No.19 was a ground, vehicle and tank radio comprised of an A set (R/T, CW and MCW, AM, 2 to 8 MHz with a range of 10 to 15 miles), a B set (R/T, VHF, 229 to 241 MHz with a range of 1000 yards) and an intercom for voice communication in armoured vehicles. The set was a modular design, and control and aerial systems were very flexible to allow for a wide variety of installations and uses. British 19 sets operated on a 12 volt DC power source, however they could be centre tapped to use 24 volts for use in tanks with 24 volt electrical systems. The set featured this week is a British No.19 Mk.III made by E.K. Cole dating probably from 1943. Its components and cables are compatible and can be used with their corresponding Canadian and American counterparts, however its internals are different. For instance the British ‘Supply Units No.1 Mk.III’ shown has individual rotary transformers to supply HT1 (275 volts) and HT2 (500 volts) whereas the comparible Canadian ‘Supply Unit No.2’ had one rotary transformer with commutators on a single armature shaft for HT1 and HT2. The set also has the usual British style of English only black lettering on its face which takes some getting used to for a colonial like me. This set is a work in progress and requires a correct British base, variometer and control units to complete it. |
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19
I did have a 1943 dated Canadian Northern Electric Mk3 power supply. It has a vibrator unit for powering the receiver and a genemotor for powering the tx .
re: the Mk 1 19 sets . I believe these were prototypes only ? Does anyone have a photo of a Mk 1 ? Does Lou Meulstee mention the Mk 1 anywhere ?
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1940 cab 11 C8 1940 Morris-Commercial PU 1941 Morris-Commercial CS8 1940 Chev. 15cwt GS Van ( Aust.) 1942-45 Jeep salad |
#3
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The WS 19 Mk.1 definitely existed, and was fairly rapidly replaced by the Mk.2 partly because the frequency range (single band) was insufficient.
I have a copy of the Working Instructions which has various layouts for vehicle installations Valentine, Humber AC, etc. displayed on a table & wall and the associated parts lists for each installation. Post-WW2 they were sold off as surplus, but I suspect didn't meet with much favour due to the restricted frequency range (2.5 - 6.25 Mc/s?) when Mk.3 sets were available for similar prices and would just about cover the 160, 80 and 40 meter bands with careful tweaking. Oh, and the aerial current transformer was in the set rather than the variometer, making them non-interchangeable. (You could use a later variometer with a Mk.1 by turning down the calibration pot in the variometer, but a Mk.1 variometer wouldn't give aerial current readings with later marks of set.) Chris. Last edited by Chris Suslowicz; 10-09-16 at 14:41. Reason: Corrected frequency range covered. |
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