MOD's missing equipment rediscovered..
Dunky, you are quite right. MoD stopped using the stuff on flight instruments in the early 80s.
What's most frightening about these pictures is being old enough to recognise some of the Ref Nos.
What's most frightening about these pictures is being old enough to recognise some of the Ref Nos.
Further Nerd Alert 
Dunky - our MoD Watches (like the RAF/RN aircrew Seiko or Army CWC G10 watch) had either Tritium or Promethium on their hands for luminosity. The way to tell was a "P" in a circle or a "T" in a circle for Promethium or Tritium respectively. If I recall correctly, the G10s were Tritium and my RAF Seiko is definately Prometheum.
The Pulsars on current issue
use Luminova and have an "L" in a circle on their faces.
iRaven
Dunky - our MoD Watches (like the RAF/RN aircrew Seiko or Army CWC G10 watch) had either Tritium or Promethium on their hands for luminosity. The way to tell was a "P" in a circle or a "T" in a circle for Promethium or Tritium respectively. If I recall correctly, the G10s were Tritium and my RAF Seiko is definately Prometheum.
The Pulsars on current issue
use Luminova and have an "L" in a circle on their faces.iRaven
The discoveries by Nutloose makes for a 'cracking' stunt at bonfire night...just throw a box or two onto the fire........
no just kidding! - Do not try this at home kids.
no just kidding! - Do not try this at home kids.
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The G10's used to be Tritium, they're now Luminova. I preferred the SBS watch.
Another example of Tritium, my Omega Speedmaster Professional, (Cal. 861), on the Omega Rally strap with deployant clasp. The box it's sitting on is one of my desktop humidors.
An example of Superluminova C1 on a Flieger.
The type of cigars you'll find in my humidors.
Another example of Tritium, my Omega Speedmaster Professional, (Cal. 861), on the Omega Rally strap with deployant clasp. The box it's sitting on is one of my desktop humidors.
An example of Superluminova C1 on a Flieger.
The type of cigars you'll find in my humidors.
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My new valve amplifier....... uses Mullard valves ex forces new old stock the retifier valve with crows feet and service details and a 22 shillings plus purchase tax just cost me £105 from the company that bought most ex mod valves up
The old man Bought me this for xmas 1973 (cost £5) and got the soldering Iron etc from 706 sqn Culdrose gash skip. So with a Soldering Iron with 2' of flex and some end cuts of solder yours truly was set on his way to becoming a hobby and eventualy professional Comms Engineer...
...He is a tight arsed git my old man - but I still love him to bits
>I know what it is, but that looks like some kind of male torture device!<
The letters "HAC" under the centre pointer knob stand for "Heard All Continents". The parent company was one of the denizens of Tottenham Court Road when it was a Mecca for radio and electronics enthusiasts -- happy days.
The letters "HAC" under the centre pointer knob stand for "Heard All Continents". The parent company was one of the denizens of Tottenham Court Road when it was a Mecca for radio and electronics enthusiasts -- happy days.
Avoid imitations
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Not all the stuff that gets dumped is erm sensible, apparently some one has informed EOD over this
None but a blockhead
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Disappointingly, it doesn't appear to have any radium in the dials (I checked with a similarly sourced geiger), and I don't think it would be wise to balance it on a humidor, but after thirty years of hunting I finally have this bit of ex-MOD equipment gracing my front room...
Anyone got the PSU?
R
Anyone got the PSU?
R
About 2001 we did a Nimrod flight trial at China Lake. One of the armourers manage to break the key for the MASS.
Unfortunately, we couldn't get a replacement as it had a luminous arrow on it and BA refused to carry it as it was DAC.
This was a key that was engaged throughout flight and positioned about 18 inches away from both the TacNav and AEO.
Had to do an authorised fair old bit of a bodge job on the Arm Power Supplies for the duration of the trial. On completion we had to revert the system to "broken" and as a result had no access to the bomb day dinghy should it have been required, for any reason, during the return to KSS.
Unfortunately, we couldn't get a replacement as it had a luminous arrow on it and BA refused to carry it as it was DAC.
This was a key that was engaged throughout flight and positioned about 18 inches away from both the TacNav and AEO.Had to do an authorised fair old bit of a bodge job on the Arm Power Supplies for the duration of the trial. On completion we had to revert the system to "broken" and as a result had no access to the bomb day dinghy should it have been required, for any reason, during the return to KSS.
Unfortunately, we couldn't get a replacement as it had a luminous arrow on it and BA refused to carry it as it was DAC.
Self Loading Freight, isn't that a Wireless Set No.19? Designed for use in armoured vehicles with a 20 mile range HF 'A' set and a 1000 yard short range UHF super-regen 'B' set. There was also an RF amplifier available to increase the range; this included a very noisy rotary converter. It drew a huge amount of current and the only time we tried transmitting, it caused the power cables we'd used (OK, some Don 10..) to get very hot and start to smoke....which was the first and last time we ever tried it. As well as the PSU, you might also need the aerial tuner.
You could certainly get more than 20 miles out of it with a long wire antenna though.
None but a blockhead
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BEagle - spot on. It's actually Wireless Set*s* Number 19, due to the A and B sets which are exactly as you describe (the B set, being super-regen, is famously indiscreet and squegs all over the mil air frequencies if you let it. In the good old days, it could take out quite a lot of the ITV 405 line reception in one's locale... these days, I'd guess it'd be DAB which copped the damage.)
I used one - with the dynamotor PSU and the huge-knobbed ATU - in CCF as a spotty oik, and have wanted one for no logical reason ever since. Really happy to get one in good nick with the Cyrillic (and some Chinese!) labels - RCA Canada made it, and some ended up with our then-allies to the east. It'll sit with my R1155 (look, back in aviation now) under my tiny little 2011-vintage SDR HF rig, and I _will_ get it back on air. As you say, it can do a lot better than 20 miles, although I think it's only around 5 watts out. Less than a CB.
I used one - with the dynamotor PSU and the huge-knobbed ATU - in CCF as a spotty oik, and have wanted one for no logical reason ever since. Really happy to get one in good nick with the Cyrillic (and some Chinese!) labels - RCA Canada made it, and some ended up with our then-allies to the east. It'll sit with my R1155 (look, back in aviation now) under my tiny little 2011-vintage SDR HF rig, and I _will_ get it back on air. As you say, it can do a lot better than 20 miles, although I think it's only around 5 watts out. Less than a CB.
One dusty cubby-hole of our drillhall was occupied by a CI who rarely interacted with us spotty youths, but each parade night he could be seen, hunched over his R1155/T1154 combo, deep in conversation with others of a similar bent.
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"One dusty cubby-hole of our drill hall was occupied by a CI who rarely interacted with us spotty youths, but each parade night he could be seen, hunched over his R1155/T1154 combo, deep in conversation with others of a similar bent."
Of which a few were probably spotty youths of the type he rarely interacted with during the day.
Of which a few were probably spotty youths of the type he rarely interacted with during the day.
Trying to set up the pre-set 'flicks' on the 19 Set was quite a faff - and they lacked any stability. Although we had a fully functioning 19 Set, we never used the 'B' set. We did manage once to link to a couple of short wave 'portable' sets, a WS38Mk3 and even an ancient WS18. We also had the traditional WS12 'sender' / R107 'receiver' system, which had far better range than the 19 Set. Although the specified range of the 12 Set was only about 15 miles, I've certainly worked a station in Scotland from Taunton.
The 12/107 combo covered 1.2 - 17.5 MHz. Or Mc/s as it was termed in those days. Which meant we could listen to Radio Caroline or Radio Luxembourg, but it wouldn't reach Radio London (266m / 1128 KHz). Transmission was only allowed on 5 spot frequencies, the most commonly used being 'Whisky Lima' (4030 KHz), 'Delta Oscar' (5330 KHz) and 'Tango Golf' (5972 KHz). Although I do know that some people played pop music on medium wave....
With world wide Internet radio and global comms of today, it is difficult to explain how limited things were in the late 1960s - being able to talk to someone in another county using short wave radio was quite a thrill! All RT was on AM, SSB wasn't really possible with such frequency-unstable kit.
Our normal 'infantry' system was the VHF WS88 Type A. This was a 4 channel VHF/FM radio which used frequencies around 40 MHz. It had no squelch or volume controls, so your ears were constantly battered by white noise. It was powered by a very heavy wax-coated HT/LT battery - this was still the era of thermionic valves!
An interesting quirk of the 88 Set was that channel B was on 41.4 Mhz. Unfortunately, BBC 1 405-line TV channel 1 sound from the Croydon transmitter was on 41.5 MHz. After a number of complaints about interference, a large rivet was fitted to the channel selector, preventing anything except channel C (40.90) and channel D (40.20) from being used! There was also a Type B 88 set, covering 38.01 to 39.70 MHz, but I don't think any were issued to the CCF.
Old military radio sets issued to cadet units were an excellent way of using up old MoD equipment - and it taught us a lot about voice procedure, communications security and wireless theory. Also great fun!
The 12/107 combo covered 1.2 - 17.5 MHz. Or Mc/s as it was termed in those days. Which meant we could listen to Radio Caroline or Radio Luxembourg, but it wouldn't reach Radio London (266m / 1128 KHz). Transmission was only allowed on 5 spot frequencies, the most commonly used being 'Whisky Lima' (4030 KHz), 'Delta Oscar' (5330 KHz) and 'Tango Golf' (5972 KHz). Although I do know that some people played pop music on medium wave....
With world wide Internet radio and global comms of today, it is difficult to explain how limited things were in the late 1960s - being able to talk to someone in another county using short wave radio was quite a thrill! All RT was on AM, SSB wasn't really possible with such frequency-unstable kit. Our normal 'infantry' system was the VHF WS88 Type A. This was a 4 channel VHF/FM radio which used frequencies around 40 MHz. It had no squelch or volume controls, so your ears were constantly battered by white noise. It was powered by a very heavy wax-coated HT/LT battery - this was still the era of thermionic valves!
An interesting quirk of the 88 Set was that channel B was on 41.4 Mhz. Unfortunately, BBC 1 405-line TV channel 1 sound from the Croydon transmitter was on 41.5 MHz. After a number of complaints about interference, a large rivet was fitted to the channel selector, preventing anything except channel C (40.90) and channel D (40.20) from being used! There was also a Type B 88 set, covering 38.01 to 39.70 MHz, but I don't think any were issued to the CCF.
Old military radio sets issued to cadet units were an excellent way of using up old MoD equipment - and it taught us a lot about voice procedure, communications security and wireless theory. Also great fun!
None but a blockhead
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Plymouth in the early 80s - we still had the 88 sets, a couple of 18 sets (never used except as triggers for the moustachio'd ex-Artillery history teacher to go off on a "When I landed at Normandy with one of those on my back.." diversion. Useful), and a couple of rather capricious Eddystone receivers. We were next door to Guz, after all.
Larkspur turned up, years later than promised, just as I was leaving. A realistic preparation for the military, the CCF.
The 88 sets had the rivet mod, and were well past their yomp-by date. We used 'other methods' to keep in contact when out on Dartmoor; the local hams never really minded us borrowing bits of 2m. Well, they did but... Although the 88s could never get five hundred yards under their own, giant-wax-covered-battery, steam, they could occasionally pick up the South African police. That was at the peak of cycle 21... and now 24's looking tasty at last. Jayzus. I'm measuring my life out in sunspots.
I remember those spot frequencies. Sunrays and seagulls: I didn't spot the wry military humour at the time, but now... Pass your message, over.
(Many other tales of youthful radio naughtiness redacted, of which there was really quite a lot and all reprehensibly irresponsible. But enormous fun and somewhat magical: I remain happily infected, and am now putting together a pop-science book proposal on the natural history of wireless. Who knows, perhaps some other youthful nincompoops can yet be rescued from the Net.)
Larkspur turned up, years later than promised, just as I was leaving. A realistic preparation for the military, the CCF.
The 88 sets had the rivet mod, and were well past their yomp-by date. We used 'other methods' to keep in contact when out on Dartmoor; the local hams never really minded us borrowing bits of 2m. Well, they did but... Although the 88s could never get five hundred yards under their own, giant-wax-covered-battery, steam, they could occasionally pick up the South African police. That was at the peak of cycle 21... and now 24's looking tasty at last. Jayzus. I'm measuring my life out in sunspots.
I remember those spot frequencies. Sunrays and seagulls: I didn't spot the wry military humour at the time, but now... Pass your message, over.
(Many other tales of youthful radio naughtiness redacted, of which there was really quite a lot and all reprehensibly irresponsible. But enormous fun and somewhat magical: I remain happily infected, and am now putting together a pop-science book proposal on the natural history of wireless. Who knows, perhaps some other youthful nincompoops can yet be rescued from the Net.)
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66 Set
I had a lot of fun with an Ex MOD 66 set in the 1970's .
Anyone remamber them, the ones that sounded like they had a Hoover inside them !
Managed to work all over the UK on 80 Mtrs and if switched to CW mode it would recieve SSB clearly. This was on a long wire of course, wouldn't get to the other side of town with the whip antenna
Good old days
coldair
Anyone remamber them, the ones that sounded like they had a Hoover inside them !
Managed to work all over the UK on 80 Mtrs and if switched to CW mode it would recieve SSB clearly. This was on a long wire of course, wouldn't get to the other side of town with the whip antenna
Good old days
coldair