19-Set Vario/Aerial Base Mounting Plate

[David Dunlop]

Can anyone provide a correct ID for this mounting plate?

I have seen it, or something very similar, in use on a 19-Set installed in an MB/GPW, and it also looks like something used in the 19-Set Installation in a Mk I Carrier.

I am trying to wrap my head around how it is fastened to the top of the 19-Set Transceiver Case. If it used one or both of the PSU mounting plates on the left top of the case, does that mean the right hand end of the mounting plate is free floating?

Also, in an exposited environment like the two vehicles mentioned, it would make sense for the canvas variometer cover to be used, which would be a simple enough installation. However, in an exposed environment, it would also make sense to have the Canvas Cover for the wireless set itself also installed, but can that be done with this mount sitting on top of it?

Lastly, if we can get a proper ID for this mounting Plate, can Hanno go in and correct the title of this thread to match?

Thanks,

David

[Chris Suslowicz]

Plate and Bracket Assembly No.(whatever), I think.

It's the general-purpose top plate for demountable sets - usually on Carrier No.25 or similar - and some vehicle stations.

It attaches to to top of the set with four screws into the flat plates on the set case. The variometer is attached with three bolts from underneath (and the usual packing piece). The multitude of pre-drilled holes are symmetrically arranged so you can use it for left or right-handed installation in a 2-set vehicle (e.g. LCV).

I've got one somewhere but it's currently inaccessible due to the (completed) house move and a pulled muscle which means I've effectively walled off about two thirds of the new house with 100+ bananana boxes that I cannot currently lift.

Photo's and measurements available once I can shift stuff around.

[David Dunlop]

Thanks, Chris.

This photo is the second one I have seen, making the one a friend has here in Winnipeg, less of an oddball now. When he first ran across his, the Vario was missing, the Control Box looked 19-Set related, but the Aerial Base did not match up any known 19-Set A-Set Aerial Bases we had seen (this was some 30 years ago). Slowly things eventually fall into place.

By the way. Try not to lead such an exciting life! No point in having wonderful wireless set stuff if you can't pick it up to play with.

David

[David Dunlop]

My friend here in town has checked his set and the aerial base is apparently an 'AERIALBASE No 10 Mk II' with ZA14172 and PC825740 also cast into the rubber. The Control Unit is a No.2 Mk II, which if the correct model, also raises the question of how the unused 12-pin socket was protected from the elements. Were protective caps ever issued for these things?

Also looks like four cheesehead screws hold the mounting plate in place as Chris noted.

David

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

My friend here in town has checked his set and the aerial base is apparently an 'AERIALBASE No 10 Mk II' with ZA14172 and PC825740 also cast into the rubber. The Control Unit is a No.2 Mk II, which if the correct model, also raises the question of how the unused 12-pin socket was protected from the elements. Were protective caps ever issued for these things?

Also looks like four cheesehead screws hold the mounting plate in place as Chris noted.

David

Aerial Base No.10 replaced Aerial Base No.8, and had a metal clamp (two strips riveted together with a wingnut, as used on Aerial Base No.11) instead of the spring wire clip of the No.8. Aerial Base No. 10 Mk.II replaced that clamp with a one-piece wrap-around clamp with wingnut one side (to operate the clamp) and knurled nut the other side to allow an aerial feeder to be connected. The rubber insulator was also changed slightly: the Mk.1 met the steel mounting flange at a sharp angle, and tended to separate, so the Mk.II had a slight concave curve at the boundary to give a better bond between the steel and rubber.

The Control Unit No.2 would have a 12-way cable fitted in the spare socket. This would be fixed to the vehicle (in e.g. a jeep) and run to a permanently fitted Control Unit No.1 in the front of the vehicle. If the set was being used dismounted from the vehicle, it would be under cover (building or tent), so there would be no need to protect the spare socket.

I think the securing screws for the plate are standard 2BA x 1/2-in cheesehead. (Hex bolts were also used as it's hard to get at the ones under the variometer.)

Chris.

(On that note, it's heading for Oh God o'clock here (0045Z) and I'm going to bed. Goodnight.)

:-)>

[Patrick Johnson]

Hi David,
As the owner of the WS19 set pictured above I can shed some light into the plate's identification and how it is fastened to the Transceiver case. A look on the underside of this plate yields the following original description spray-painted on the right side of the plate: Plates, Mounting No. 1 - ZA-10465.
On the top of the Transceiver case are two rectangular registering plates, each comprising two sets of three holes in a V-shaped configuration. Correspondingly, on the underside of the mounting plate are four "saddles", each holding a small threaded bolt with a clever retaining ring which keeps it in place. On this example only three of the original four mounting bolts remain, so at some point one of the bolts was removed and never replaced. The saddles with their extended bolt heads register perfectly with the middle tapped hole in each of the four mounting hole groupings. It's a simple operation to hand tighten the bolts into the top of the case, until the final couple of turns when a wrench would be used to firmly tighten down the plate to the case. I've also photographed the monogram found on the bolt heads holding the aerial and Variometer in place, as well as the small round black ink stamp of unknown significance. To definitively answer your question David, yes, the right 1/3 of the plate is truly cantilevered beyond the registering plates of the case.
Hope this helps,
Patrick