Wireless of theWeek - week 4

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

The impressive...and colourful...Wireless Set No.52 is this week's radio, just for Jon. Tracing its lineage back to the British No.9 set of 1939, the Canadian No.52 was used in Canadian and Commonwealth forces beginning in 1944 at a divisional/brigade level as a ground station or in vehicles such as the 60cwt Chev CMP and Bedford Command, Low Power wireless lorries. They continued to soldier on postwar, notably installed in Dodge M152 wireless trucks.

Produced by the Canadian Marconi Company, the set follows the No.9 design and was originally designated Wireless Set No.9. Mk.II early in its development. It resembles the No.9 in having three components carried in a steel and aluminum frame carrier. The receiver was on the left, supply unit in the centre and sender on the right. Each of the three units slid into the carrier and the upper sections 'floated' on rubber shock mounts to prevent damage to the set. There were lifting handles at either end and provision for the operating manual in an enclosed box on the top. Connections between the units was by way of fixed connectors inside the back of the carrier. Fans were used to cool the supply unit and sender and much of the interior of the set was accessible through removable panels or a hinged door. A separate 'Coil, Aerial No.2A' was in a wooden clad box that could be quickly mounted on the top or right side of the set. The receiver was also manufactured as a stand alone unit that came in its own carrier.

The complete set was 43-1/2" wide, 17-1/4" tall,14" deep and weighed 270 pounds. Operating on a 12 volt DC supply, its frequency range was from 1.75 to 16 megahertz in three bands. The purpose of the colours was to assist the operator in keeping track of these bands. Similar to the 19 set, two 'flick position' frequencies could be pre-set. The transmitter had low, medium and high power settings; the high power selection was protected with a key lock (the key no doubt kept in the officer's pocket). Range with a 16 foot aerial was 40 miles voice and 100 miles CW on high power, however these could be increased substantially with telescoping mast and horizontal wire aerials. A crystal calibrator was built into the receiver to accurately set frequency. Much of the battery and battery charging equipment, remote sets and aerial gear was the same as that used for 19 and 9 Mk.II sets therefore simplifying supply and replacement.

Known for its reliability and performance, the Wireless set No.52 is considered one of the most successful radios of WW2.

operating, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-D8EZXRizQ

[Mike Kelly]

I have seen the receive section of a Canadian No. 52 set here - so there must have been at least one set imported at some time , maybe for evaluation. The thing was for sale but too expensive for me .

I know of a British No. 9 set in New Zealand in the hands of a collector

[Johnny Canuck]

Hello Bruce
Thank you again for posting these, great info.
Have one myself, almost complete, missing power plug, tent, operators lamp, misc 34' aerial brackets and the spare tools box, have pretty much everything else for the 11 Installation Kits except above items.

Geoff

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Johnny Canuck

Hello Bruce
Thank you again for posting these, great info.
Have one myself, almost complete, missing power plug, tent, operators lamp, misc 34' aerial brackets and the spare tools box, have pretty much everything else for the 11 Installation Kits except above items.

Geoff

The power connector is the seriously hard to get item, as most of them would have been left with the vehicle when the set was removed and subsequently scrapped with the cable for the copper content.

The operator lamp is the 2-pin one as used with the WS22 and plugs into the top of the power connector!

I have the vulcanite insulator for the 20 & 34-ft masts, but not the later ceramic one for high power use. (Vulcanite is rather lossy and not intended for the WS52.) An oddity is that I have a small diameter ceramic insulator for this mast - I know it's for the mast because all the casting numbers match - but it must be very early and was probably discontinued as it's very unlikely to be "soldier proof".

Chris.

[Bruce MacMillan]

For timeline reference when this set became available, see para 3. Due end of August, 1944.

[Johnny Canuck]

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

The operator lamp is the 2-pin one as used with the WS22 and plugs into the top of the power connector!

Chris.

Hello Chris
Wasn't the WS52 Operators Lamp similar, the cable and connection were the same as the WS22, but the WS52 Lamp had a rubber suction cup instead of the metal clip?





Hopefully some fellow in northern Ontario is sitting on a box of these unopened in original packaging.

Geoff