Mountings, Carriers, No. 1

[David Dunlop]

I thought a bit about posting in this thread rather than the Restoration Thread for the WIRE-5 elsewhere, but decided here was best as I am pretty sure these items are not exclusive (though most definitely elusive) to the WIRE-5.

If anyone has a set of these, or a good clear photo, please post.

These mountings come as a pair, with Table Mounting Strips and are used to hold the 19-Set Carriers, Sets, No. 23 (the 'Bread Board') to the Wireless Table inside the WIRE-5. They look rather like a small steel box channel, with a slot cut the length of the top and fittings on the bottom to bolt it to the top of the wireless table. Support straps go top and bottom of the table as well to strengthen it. The front ends of the steel channels have spring clip assemblies fitted to them with a metal tab. They spring upwards in the 'locked' position and the tabs are pressed and held down to unlock them.

For those of you lucky enough to have the Carriers, Sets, No. 23, if you look at the bottom at each end of the main board, you will see a steel plate assembly with a strip of steel rod welded along the end. It is these rods that are slid into the slots on the top of the Mountings, Carriers No. 1 to secure the 19-Set assembly to the wireless table. When the rods reach the back of the Mountings channels, the clips pop up at the front of the mountings and engage the leading edge of the Carriers, Sets No. 23, thereby locking it in place.

Not one set of these mountings was to be found in all of the boxes at Princess. I even crawled inside a couple of upside down ones to check them out. You could always see where they had been located on the tables and Princess did not seem to be concerned about stripping parts out of the boxes for separate sale, so my best guess is that the military deemed them essential wireless equipment parts and removed them themselves before the wireless trucks were disposed of. Pity. Wonder if they follow a similar policy today when disposing of radio vehicles?

David


David

[rob love]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

so my best guess is that the military deemed them essential wireless equipment parts and removed them themselves before the wireless trucks were disposed of. Pity. Wonder if they follow a similar policy today when disposing of radio vehicles?

David

I think that I can assure you they do. IKEE components are controlled goods. Very few radio vehicles are disposed of in the first place.....most SMPs these days go to the prisons for dismantling.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

They do have four thin metal strips to mount top and bottom of the table as Dave says.

[rob love]

I am pretty sure I have a set of those floating around the shop. I was never sure what they were. Thanks for the photo Bruce.

[David Dunlop]

In the event there are some WIRE-5 wireless table owners out there with rotted table tops, or they are so full of holes they look like swiss cheese, maybe we can get it all sorted out with a group effort.

From what I can see on my 'Bread Board' the two Mountings would have to be spaced about 35 inches apart on their centre lines.

Can you measure the spacing between the four bolt holes on the feet for us? If we can rough out the spacing pattern for the Mounting holes, somebody with an original table could compare/match out measurements to holes on an actual table and confirm their actual location on the table top. With outside dimensions for the table top and Mountings sorted out, it should be easy enough for replacement wood to be cut for any table restorations needed out there. Probably a 1/2' or 3/4' plywood.

The Installation Instructions make no reference at all to hole locations on the table, or any drilling information for that matter. They simply read:

(7) Bolt the Mountings, Carriers No.1 to the Wireless Table, placing Table Mounting Strips on top and underneath the table and using eight 1/4"-20 x 1' long hexagon head bolt, nuts and lock washers.

(8) Lift the whole assembly of Carriers, Sets, No. 23 (this is after the Wireless, PSU and Control Box are installed) by means of the carrying handles and slide into position on the Mountings, Carriers, No.1. Fasten the Carriers, Sets, No. 23 securely by pushing up the spring clips at the front left and right ends of the Carrier.

Seems perhaps the Mountings holes were predrilled in the wireless table by Wilson Truck Bodies, or whoever built the tables. Life was so much easier then.


David

[cletrac (RIP)]

I have a set that are surplus to my needs. Maybe we could work out a trade. I need the shock absorbers though. Did they use two or three on a setup? These came wired together like they were a unit.
The end holes on the metal strips are 11 7/8" center to center. The bolts that go through the table top are 2" long so the table could be 1" thick.

[David Dunlop]

Nice photo Dave. It struck a bell and I went poking in the Working Instructions for the Mk III 19-Set. Sure enough, in the 'group photo' at the back of the manual of all the Wireless Truck kit, there was the set of Mountings and they appear to be fastened together.

Just checked the spacing for the outer two holes on my Carriers, Sets No.21 and they are only 9 or 9.5 inches apart (they are starting to splay out a bit with age and I better address that soon), so for these Mountings, they seem to have spread the distance between the rubber feet to compensate for the wider load with the Carriers, Sets, No. 23 added to the mix.

Could you check one other thing while you have your Mountings handy? The 'standard' feet on my Carriers, Sets No.21 are 7/8" wide. Are the ones on your mountings the same width, or did they beef them up a bit as well to handle the extra load? I think I ran across one lone foot assembly years ago that was much fatter than any of the others I had with my 19-Set gear and I tossed it assuming it was not correct. Now I am curious to see just how dumb I might have been back then.

Cheers,


David

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

The Installation Instructions make no reference at all to hole locations on the table, or any drilling information for that matter. They simply read:

(7) Bolt the Mountings, Carriers No.1 to the Wireless Table, placing Table Mounting Strips on top and underneath the table and using eight 1/4"-20 x 1' long hexagon head bolt, nuts and lock washers.

(8) Lift the whole assembly of Carriers, Sets, No. 23 (this is after the Wireless, PSU and Control Box are installed) by means of the carrying handles and slide into position on the Mountings, Carriers, No.1. Fasten the Carriers, Sets, No. 23 securely by pushing up the spring clips at the front left and right ends of the Carrier.

Seems perhaps the Mountings holes were predrilled in the wireless table by Wilson Truck Bodies, or whoever built the tables. Life was so much easier then.

David

On that basis, I'd agree that the table tops were pre-drilled as part of the contract for whichever set the truck was intended to have installed. (WS19 or WS52 would have been options, possibly with the WS19 (Canadian) HP (though I don't think that ever went into service: according to Louis Meulstee in WftW Volume 2 the Canadian Army Overseas used the British RF Amplifier No.2 due to problems (weight, power consumption, spurious emissions) with the Canadian WS19HP in user trials).

Later use of the vehicle with other sets would have added extra holes or possibly led to the replacement of the tabletop with a new piece of plywood to give a smooth surface with on awkward holes.

Chris.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's a few on ebay.