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Old 31st Mar 2009, 11:44 am   #8
Dave Moll
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK
Posts: 6,118
Default Re: Need Help... N.E. Mk 1 WW2 1943 Field Telephones

The original (no. 12) cells are no longer available, but old ones are sometimes available via the likes of eBay. Obviously, the actual cells are unlikely to have any useful charge in them, but they are almost identical to those inside a 996 lantern battery (the 6V battery with spring terminals on top).

If you unscrew the terminals on the no. 12 cell and prise open the flaps at one end of the case - probably the bottom would be best - the cell should slide out of the case. Once the terminals have been removed from the original cell, they can be soldered to the side of the cell extracted from the 996, which can then be reinserted into the cardboard case of the no. 12.

Alternatively, there is a member of this forum (located in the USA) who may be willing to make reproduction cases into which a modern "D" cell can be inserted. I'll leave it to him to post if he feels able to offer help.

The other option, if you're not worried about the appearance of the cells, is simply to use two "D" cells in series, as I mentioned earlier in this thread. Plastic cases are available for this purpose.

As far as value of your sets is concerned, I notice from your picture that you have the wooden cases, which is a good thing, and given that your sets look in quite reasonable condition, I would expect to pay about £15-£20 for one in this country (I'll leave you to convert that into Canadian dollars), but I'm afraid I'm not in the market for them as I already have a number of British ones and the cost would be totally swamped by the cost of shipping such a heavy item across the Atlantic anyway.
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