Wireless Set No. 52 Canadian - Project

[David Dunlop]

As part of the introduction to this case, I have added a couple of more basic photos today. The first is a quick look at the interior, showing the two wooden partition walls and the general layout of the inside of the case.

The large central section holds the Remote Receiver Supply, and at the very least, its Connectors, Plug, No. 1 which feeds the power to the Remote Receiver. The Leads, Battery No. 1 and Leads, Earth No. C3 may also fit in this section of the case.

The right hand section is lined with KimPak on all sides and holds the complement of spare valves for the Remote Receiver and Remote Supply, spare vibrator and fuses for the Remote Supply and the spare Bulbs, 12V “F” for the Remote Receiver.

The unpadded left hand section would hold the remaining items to support the operation of the Remote Receiver and I won’t even attempt a guess on how at the moment.

All of the factory original Flat Olive Drab paint is still present inside this case. The Contents List on the lid is near mint and there is no damage present on any of the KimPak padding. A couple of interesting notes, however. When this case was painted NATO Green at some point, the painter took the time to edge the top of the box, the rim of the lid and the top edges of the two partitions, there are a few small runs of this paint on some of the upper walls of the case that will have to be sanded and restored, when the time comes. Also notice how the tan/yellow coat of paint on the exterior front panel of the case has some small runs in the paint that accumulated along the front edges of the inner walls. This would indicate the case was placed on its back, front up, when given the coat of tan/yellow on the front and its new NATO Stock Number.

The only other thing of note at this point is the presence of a white stencilled number on the lower right side of the box, as per the second photo today. I have absolutely no idea what this number means. It does not follow either the old VAOS Stock Number System, or the NATO Stock Number System.


David

[David Dunlop]

Three more photos today to give a better idea of the interior layout of this case.

The interior of the left section is remarkably free of most signs of use, probably because nothing really heavy, or with sharp edges, was ever stored here.

The main, central section definitely shows signs of the Remote Supply being placed in it over the years. It is a very heavy item, with most of the weight to the back of it. Even if you place the supply at the front of this section, its main weight sits behind the handle on the top of the case. When you lift the case up, it pivots slightly to the rear and you can feel the supply slowly slide up against the back wall of the case. When you next remove the supply from the case, some of the fittings on the back of the supply scrape the lower part of the rear panel of the case. You can see these vertical lines in the photo. Fully packed, this case is going to be a handful.

The KimPak installation for the righthand section follows a similar pattern to that for the Case, Spare Parts. A 9-inch wide strip would first have been fitted to the lid and the bottom of this section. Stapling of the KimPak was done in the same fashion as discussed with the Case, Spare Parts. A 7-inch wide strip of KimPak was then fitted around the walls of this section. This strip, as in the Case, Spare Parts, is set 3/4-inch below the upper lip of the case. However, because this case is not as tall as the Case, Spare Parts, it only reaches to 1/4-inch from the wooden bottom of the case, which means it rests nicely on top of the bottom KimPak pad. The wall pad runs from the left rear corner of the section, along the back wall, up the right side wall, across the front to the partition wall and back along the partition wall to the left rear corner where it rests on top of the rear pad.



David

[David Dunlop]

The handle, hinge straps and corner caps for this case are all identical to those used on the other two boxes/cases forming part of the 52-Set Kits. The thickness of the wooden lid is also the same.

The sole difference in hardware is the two latch assemblies, which although similar in appearance, are larger and of a much more robust design. The first two photos show the standard latch which is 1-3/8 inches wide by 2-5/8 inches long. The second two photos are of the latch used on the Cases, Operating, Remote Receiver. These latches are 1-3/4 inches wide and 3-inches high. Notice the wider clasp and the upper rivet set are installed further down the sides of the bottom assembly. The other significant difference is evident when the clasps are open. The lip of the clasp has a heavy duty tab that engages a corresponding slot in the back of the throat of the catch on the lid. Useful considerations on the part of the designers at Canadian Marconi to ensure this case stays closed when the Remote Supply Unit ZE-12 is inside and the case is being carried over uneven ground. The ZE-12 is a compact size at 8.5 inches high by 10 inches wide by 8 inches deep and yet weighs in at 26 pounds.

I am not sure yet if these two styles of latches, were made by the same company, but I will try and report on that later as more information is uncovered.


David

[David Dunlop]

At first glance, the CONTENTS Label on the inside lid of this case, apart from size, looked the same as the one that survived under the lid of my Tool Box, but when I had a closer look, there was one noticeable difference. The label in the Tool Box was plain paper. The one in this case is plain paper that has been given a spray coat of lacquer/schellac/varnish before being glued to the lid. It is still paper thin, but the outer surface is shiney and the entire label is very, flat, smooth and stiff. I am wondering now if this was an upgrade Canadian Marconi Company implemented following feedback about these labels being easily damaged when these boxes/cases were in use.

The other nice find in this case was a two page (Legal Sized paper) postwar version of the Contents Label using the new NATO Stock Numbers for all the contents of the case, so at least some of the parts for the 52-Set can be cross-referenced between the original VAOS Numbers and the NATO System.

Clearly, CMC had a standard format for their CONTENTS Labels used with the 52-Set, the interesting thing, however, is that neither of my Spare Parts cases had such a label fitted anywhere inside of them. The logical reason for that would be the presence of the KimPak padding on the inside of this case and the only free space that was all wood, meant any label fitted there would be very hard to read and subject to damage with items being placed in, and removed from the case. A small CONTENTS Label, similar to the other two, just sitting in the case, would have been very easy to lose, so perhaps CMC got around that problem by issuing a larger format list (8.5” x 11” perhaps), folded in half and placed in the case, probably on the valves side.

If anyone has run across an original surviving CONTENTS List for the 52-Set Spare Parts Case, please let me know.



David

[David Dunlop]

It pays to be able to move ones lighting around on a work space.

For the most part, the work to date on this case has been with the lighting coming from the back portion of it. I moved the lighting around to the right side and front the other day and this damage suddenly showed up on the inner front lip of the lid. It looks impressive but should be pretty easily repaired. The torn piece of Pine still attached can be glued and clamped back into position and wood filler used to build the area back up where the wood chipped completely out.

A careful sanding down and repaint after that and it should be good as new.


David

[David Dunlop]

I started work on the repair of the big wood chip in the lip of the case lid this afternoon.

Wood glue was placed between the section of wood still attached to the lid, and the lid itself. I then slid a small piece of paper up against the side of the lip, where the clamp was going to go, and then applied the clamp. I do this simply to keep the clamp surfaces clean. Any paper that happens to stick to the wood after, is easily sanded away, at that stage of the restoration.

Tomorrow afternoon, when the 24-hour cure is up for the glue, I will start applying wood filler to the area where the original Pine board is missing.



David

[David Dunlop]

The repair to the lid has now been sanded down to blend in with the rest of the wood and the interior edge of the lid and case have had all the lumps and runs of NATO Green and Tan/Yellow paint sanded down, ready for a cover coat of the original factory Flat Olive Drab pint.


David