Shed Find

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

The 21 foot wood mast bag is rare and I've never seen one before. Can you take more pics of it ? Not sure what it's for, ancillaries ?

Aha! So that's what it it. I've got one of those (came from Australia with another bag). I imagine it was to contain all the ancillaries (guys, pins, hammer, and base plate) and the mast would be carried separately - being wood I'd expect it to be rather longer than the 3-foot 'D rods', possibly only two or three sections, like the 17-foot poles used for overhead line and road crossings which were two-piece with a slot-in joint sleeve.

Chris.

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

Aha! So that's what it it. I've got one of those (came from Australia with another bag). I imagine it was to contain all the ancillaries (guys, pins, hammer, and base plate) and the mast would be carried separately - being wood I'd expect it to be rather longer than the 3-foot 'D rods', possibly only two or three sections, like the 17-foot poles used for overhead line and road crossings which were two-piece with a slot-in joint sleeve.

Chris.

This pic shows the three hook/straps along the upper sides that hold the wooden masts . Maybe three 7 foot long or two 10.5 foot long ? Both sides of the van have the straps. For some unknown reason, photos of the masts in their storage straps are rare.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C207912

[Mike K]

Would this be a Humber ?

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1094150

cab 11 wireless van in the desert

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1096344


could be inside the van with a 109 set

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1096346

[Dave Mills]

It is not a Humber FV1601A, unsure about another model Humber.

The differences I see are;

1. Rear cab window central - Humber RHS.
2. Spare Wheel in tray - Humber in Cab LHS
3. No roof hatches.
4. Bow Set not correct - Humber has flat plate strips running length ways.

Great pictures of the radios and vehicles.

Cheers,

Dave.

[Dave Mills]

Some more radio equipment from the Sheds.

Not WW2 but most certainty military.

Two dishes and one rectifier along with more cables and a very long lead which looks like an aerial lead (ZA 43174).

They look dirty from years of being stored in a shed but are almost untouched.

Any help would be of assistance.

Cheers,

Dave.

[Bruce MacMillan]

looks to be part of the B70 carrier telephony set.
https://www.royalsignals.org.uk/photos/B70.htm

[Dave Mills]

Thanks for the quick reply Bruce. Now I know, wonder if the dishes can be used to pick up the local FM Radio station?

Thanks again.

Cheers,

Dave.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Dave Mills

Some more radio equipment from the Sheds.

Not WW2 but most certainty military.

Two dishes and one rectifier along with more cables and a very long lead which looks like an aerial lead (ZA 43174).

They look dirty from years of being stored in a shed but are almost untouched.

Any help would be of assistance.

Cheers,

Dave.

Yes, those are part of the SR B70 (or Marconi HP 311) SHF radio relay set. You're missing the actual set, though.

It operates around 4.5 to 4.8 GHz.

I actually need the aerial leads for a set, and a few other parts, so if you're not intending to get the rest of it, I'd be interested in buying them.

Chris.
(The set is not that useful, providing a duplex audio channel on a strictly line of sight microwave link. Works well from hilltop to hilltop, or across a river/gorge, but obstructions are bad news - and a cow standing in front of the aerial will completely block the signal.)

[Mike K]

Maybe those sets were useful because the enemy would have little chance of listening in. With such a narrow beam of energy , an enemy receiving station a few degrees out of line would not hear anything ? During WW2 the Germans had a similar light communicating system .

Was the reflector in those ubiquitous wartime Lucas lamps a parabolic dish ?