Wireless of The Week - Week 26

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Posting remotely from sunny Halifax...

Another telephone set, this time the ‘Tele F’. It was a portable telephone for army communication and not normally used forward of divisional headquarters. It provided calls by buzzer, calls by magneto generator, response by bell to magneto generator calls, response by aural indication to buzzer calls and speech communication. It could communicate by wire directly to other telephones or as part a network of multiple devices connected through a switchboard.

This particular example, correctly identified as a Telephone Set “F” Mk.1* (Canadian), was made by Northern Electric Company in 1944. It is 12” long by 7” wide by 8” deep weighing 17 lbs. 4 oz. and is housed in a hinged wooden box for carrying and storage. The set was removed from its case by depressing a metal spring tab, or alternatively, the spring tab had a second stop leaving the set somewhat inside the case where it could be operated protected from inclement weather. The set had a cast alloy body with provision for the handset socket and cradle, a buzzer, ringers, line connections and a magneto generator operated by a crank. Power was supplied by two 1.5 volt “X” or “S” cells in a wax lined battery compartment on the left side of the set. The magneto and gears were in the centre and the buzzer slid in vertically on the right. Access to the batteries, magneto and buzzer was by way of removable caps on the top of the set. There was no provision for a Morse key as there was in other telephone sets designed for use in more forward areas.

Reliable voice range was 13 to 18 miles with twisted D8 wire, however range would be reduced with wet wires, poor connections or wires run along the ground. Two wires (Line 1 and Line 2) could be used, or alternatively, Line 2 could be grounded with an earthing spike and only a single Line 1 wire used between sets. Under good conditions this could actually increase the working range.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Was there ever a "Telephone Set 'E'", I wonder? (Or 'G' 'I' and 'K', for that matter?)

Presumably only development models that never made it into service.

'A' existed, and was very heavy (56 lb?) with wet Leclanche cells.
'B' also existed, as far as I'm aware.
'C' was the first real 'portable' (as opposed to 'transportable') telephone.
'D' began life as a commercial Siemens telephone, and 'Marks' I through V* exist.
'E' ?
'F' exists as Mk.I (cast alloy case with hinged lid), Mk.II, Mk.II* with buzzer replaced by induction coil after buzzer calling was obsolete.
'G' ?
'H' exists as Mk.1 and Mk.II in Tele-F cast cases, and Mk.III in Tele-L style pressed steel cases. "Sound powered" with dynamic inserts for microphone and earpiece, magneto call/bell, used for short distances (ranges and coastal defence installations)
'I' ?
'J' Fully tropicalised version based on Telephone Set 'L'
'K' ?
'L' Standard late WW2 linemans telephone.
'M' ? There's an STC Field Telephone 'M' that I thought was commercial only, but have since discovered versions with both Air Ministry and Army stores codes. Takes a 4.5V flat lantern battery (3LR12?) and is buzzer call only.
'N, O, P, Q, R & S' ?
'T' Supposedly to go with the Switchboard, Magneto, 10 Line (W.D.) and appears (as a 'ghost' image) in the early manual for the switchboard. It apparently existed but was not proceeded with, being twice the size of the Telephone Set 'J' that was used instead.

There are also Ericsson 'N1845' telephones that used Telephone Set 'L' and 'J' case components but were painted brown. These were rugged instruments for the civilian market and offered a variety of features (CB or local battery, magneto signalling, and an optional rotary dial).

See: http://www.britishtelephones.com/ericsson/n1845.htm

N1844A was the Telephone Set 'J'.

If you can find the battery adapter for two 'D' cells, it's very useful!

Chris.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

'B' also existed, as far as I'm aware.

I had a 'B'. It was Canadian made circa 1940 and was labeled as 'Training Pattern'. I don't know if this meant all B sets were made for training or if there was a regular B and the one I had was specific. It was housed in a wooden box about the same size as the Tele F box and the only concession to training was that it had a metal plate with the 'Ak, Beer, Dan, Edward...' phonetic alphabet attached.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Bruce Parker

I had a 'B'. It was Canadian made circa 1940 and was labeled as 'Training Pattern'. I don't know if this meant all B sets were made for training or if there was a regular B and the one I had was specific. It was housed in a wooden box about the same size as the Tele F box and the only concession to training was that it had a metal plate with the 'Ak, Beer, Dan, Edward...' phonetic alphabet attached.

If it was 1940 then that would be a Remote Control Unit 'B' rather than a Telephone Set 'B' (which would probably pre-date WW1, since they were up to the D Mark III by 1915).

Everything is still packed away (or in the process of being packed), so I can't look it up in Instructions in Army Telegraphy & Telephony (Instruments).

The Remote Control Unit 'B' is moderately scarce as they were mostly rounded up and converted to RCU 'E' Mk.I for the WS9/52 and WS19.

Chris.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

If it was 1940 then that would be a Remote Control Unit 'B' rather than a Telephone Set 'B' (which would probably pre-date WW1, since they were up to the D Mark III by 1915).

Everything is still packed away (or in the process of being packed), so I can't look it up in Instructions in Army Telegraphy & Telephony (Instruments).

The Remote Control Unit 'B' is moderately scarce as they were mostly rounded up and converted to RCU 'E' Mk.I for the WS9/52 and WS19.

Chris.

Chris, now you have me wondering. I'm almost certain the name plate said 'Telephone Set B (Training Pattern)'. I know where it is and will check. I wonder if RCU B sets were modified to other things than the RCU E?