Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

So far this morning, it has been far too dull and overcast to provide the sunlight needed for further polishing of the Sender front panel. There is a bright side to this, however.

When we returned from some errands yesterday afternoon, a REELS, Cable, No. 2 Mk II, I had found, was waiting in the mail. One of the two possible versions shipped with the Wireless Set No. 52 Kits, by Canadian Marconi.

According to the manuals, these REELS are normally shipped empty, with a separate, larger wooden spool of wire also included. Wire is drawn from the wooden spool and wound onto the REELS as needed.

This particular REELS came with wire already fitted, and from what I can see, it would appear to have been professionally wound onto this reel. The starting end of the wire passed through the small hole and is fitted with the two connector terminals shown. These both have claw crimps and have been soldered in place as well. About six inches aft of the terminal connectors, a rubber guard has been fitted over the cable to prevent the twist from unwinding. The terminals and rubber guard have been removed from the free end of the cable. I trimmed those ends back about ¼-inch to confirm the specs for the cable. The wooden block has been fitted to the inner part of the REELS to prevent the cable from relaxing off the hub. Originally, I think the free end would have been passed through the elongated hole in the side plate and tied off with light cotton twine to secure it.

What I would like to find out is the correct identification of this cable, what it was used for and if it is wartime or postwar in nature.

The core of the cable is 16 ga stranded copper wire. It has a rubber sheath and a woven cotton loom, either khaki tan or light army green in colour and possibly a clear coat of some sort added as well. As noted earlier, the cable has been assembled as a twisted pair.

My current thought on use is either phone line or wireless remote control line.

David

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

So far this morning, it has been far too dull and overcast to provide the sunlight needed for further polishing of the Sender front panel. There is a bright side to this, however.

When we returned from some errands yesterday afternoon, a REELS, Cable, No. 2 Mk II, I had found, was waiting in the mail. One of the two possible versions shipped with the Wireless Set No. 52 Kits, by Canadian Marconi.

According to the manuals, these REELS are normally shipped empty, with a separate, larger wooden spool of wire also included. Wire is drawn from the wooden spool and wound onto the REELS as needed.

This particular REELS came with wire already fitted, and from what I can see, it would appear to have been professionally wound onto this reel. The starting end of the wire passed through the small hole and is fitted with the two connector terminals shown. These both have claw crimps and have been soldered in place as well. About six inches aft of the terminal connectors, a rubber guard has been fitted over the cable to prevent the twist from unwinding. The terminals and rubber guard have been removed from the free end of the cable. I trimmed those ends back about ¼-inch to confirm the specs for the cable. The wooden block has been fitted to the inner part of the REELS to prevent the cable from relaxing off the hub. Originally, I think the free end would have been passed through the elongated hole in the side plate and tied off with light cotton twine to secure it.

What I would like to find out is the correct identification of this cable, what it was used for and if it is wartime or postwar in nature.

The core of the cable is 16 ga stranded copper wire. It has a rubber sheath and a woven cotton loom, either khaki tan or light army green in colour and possibly a clear coat of some sort added as well. As noted earlier, the cable has been assembled as a twisted pair.

My current thought on use is either phone line or wireless remote control line.

David

Is it definitely all copper wire, since the standard military telephone cable was mixed tinned copper/tinned steel for added strength. It may not have been for telephone or remote control use, but something else - or later cable from a more recent use. I think the small hole in the drum should also have a grommet or ferrule to thicken the edge and prevent the thin wall cutting through the insulation.

Wartime telephone cables were rubber insulated with a waxed fabric outer cover, coloured to denote the type - pairs may be the same or different colours. The final 'Assault Cable' was initially copper plated steel wire (single strand) with paint/varnish insulation (No.1) and single use, plus 7 strand steel, 1 strand tinned copper, coloured PVC jacket (No.2) which was re-usable. WW2 used D3, D5 and D8 cable (of various marks), plus assault cable. Post-WW2 there was D9 (not adopted, I think), D10 (still current) with 4 tinned copper, 3 tinned steel strands, black polythene jacket with clear (nylon?) UV/wear-resistant overcoat, Assault Cable No.2 for a while, then modern twin assault cable (which I have not seen).

Best regards,
Chris.

[David Dunlop]

Thanks, Chris.

There are indeed, brass metal grommets pressed around the rims of both the round and elongate holes. You can just see a bit of the brass showing on the round hole where a bit of paint has chipped away.

The description of the waxed loom fits but the all copper core does not. I tried a magnet on a few bits that trimmed off when I cleaned the two bare ends. Nothing stuck, so does not seem to have any steel content.

It is such a nicely wound reel of cable, my present thought is to restore the cut end, and securely rewind the loose bit on the hub and tie it off to keep it that way. In the end, it may not be 100% correct for the 52-Set, but tells a more interesting story than the empty spool actually issued with the set.

David

[Chris Suslowicz]

I have to say that it looks rather like lighting flex - the rate of twist is much too fast for field telephone cable and too slow (plus the cable is too thick) to be for demolition circuits - that was more like bell wire with an extremely fast twist.

I've got a reel of D3 twin somewhere, I'll fish it out for a cleanup and photograph.

Best,
Chris.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

I have to say that it looks rather like lighting flex - the rate of twist is much too fast for field telephone cable and too slow (plus the cable is too thick) to be for demolition circuits - that was more like bell wire with an extremely fast twist.

I've got a reel of D3 twin somewhere, I'll fish it out for a cleanup and photograph.

Best,
Chris.

Thanks Chris. I'd really (reel-ee?) like to so wartime sig wire.

[David Dunlop]

A nice sunny morning today so a little bit more of the panel has now been cleaned. Progress slows quite a bit when you get in between fittings and decals, and add that to the sections that are so heavily coated with varnish.

Took a bit of work but the erroneous decal under the door cutout did polish out. The white paint came off the top quickly and then a yellow rectangle remained where the backing of the decal had covered the original wartime varnish. Once I broke through the decal backing, the original varnish polished back very easily.

David

[David Dunlop]

A little bit more done down the right hand side today.

I think I am getting close to the halfway point for this polishing now.

David