UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Powered By Google Custom Search Vintage Radio and TV Service Data

Go Back   UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum > Specific Vintage Equipment > Vintage Amateur and Military Radio

Notices

Vintage Amateur and Military Radio Amateur/military receivers and transmitters, morse, and any other related vintage comms equipment.

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 8th Jan 2011, 12:38 am   #1
Packhow75
Tetrode
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 55
Default British Army WS8

I just acquired a WS8 radio in the metal carrying case... however, the metal "doors" and canvas cover are missing.

Does anyone here have one of these radios with these fittings and would be willing to send me some photos of them so that I can consider if it's feasible to have new parts made.

Photo of my radio attached.


Thanks

Tim
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	WS8-FRONT.jpg
Views:	412
Size:	75.0 KB
ID:	44819  
Packhow75 is offline  
Old 8th Jan 2011, 11:29 am   #2
GMB
Dekatron
 
GMB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: near Reading (and sometimes Torquay)
Posts: 3,086
Default Re: British Army WS8

You could ask the guy who posted this: http://wftw.nl/wireless/ws08.jpg
GMB is online now  
Old 8th Jan 2011, 3:12 pm   #3
Gridiron
Heptode
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 659
Default Re: British Army WS8

You are lucky to have acquired one of these very rare sets, I have an incomplete transmitter which I am slowly trying to rebuild.
Martin Swift,G4NCE has a website www.greenradio.co.uk with many very good pictures of his set which I am using for my rebuild, there is a contact e-mail address on this site so you could try to contact him.
Regards, Mike
Gridiron is offline  
Old 8th Jan 2011, 3:17 pm   #4
Packhow75
Tetrode
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 55
Default Re: British Army WS8

Mike

Thanks - I will try Martin Swift.

How rare are these radios? How many were made?

I know what's printed in WFW... that's about it.

Would love to know how much use they had in active service prior to introduction of the WS18 at the end of 1940.

Cheers

Tim
Packhow75 is offline  
Old 8th Jan 2011, 4:15 pm   #5
Gridiron
Heptode
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 659
Default Re: British Army WS8

I don't have any info about numbers made, the transmitter I have has a serial number 186, what is the serial number of your set? Mike
Gridiron is offline  
Old 12th Jan 2011, 1:06 am   #6
Sparky67
Heptode
 
Sparky67's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Great Barr, Sandwell, West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 583
Default Re: British Army WS8

I have a large number of images of the WS8 on my network drive here Tim. If you would like to let me know what you are specifically interested in, pm me an email address and I will see what I can do to help. And Mike - if there's anything else you need let me know.

Is the cct still inside the case on yours - and is it legible ? Would very much like to see a cct.

All the best

Martin
G4NCE
Sparky67 is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2011, 8:09 pm   #7
Sparky67
Heptode
 
Sparky67's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Great Barr, Sandwell, West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 583
Default Re: British Army WS8

Serial numbers on my example are Tx:323 and Rx:464. The case has 762 stencilled on it.
Martin
Sparky67 is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2011, 11:36 pm   #8
Packhow75
Tetrode
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 55
Default Re: British Army WS8

The serial numbers on mine are - Case (stencilled) 1084, Tx 596, Rx 1118

So, presumably they made at least 1118 of these sets - if they started with serial number 1.

Tim
Packhow75 is offline  
Old 11th Jun 2012, 2:03 pm   #9
Packhow75
Tetrode
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 55
Default Re: British Army WS8

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparky67 View Post
I have a large number of images of the WS8 on my network drive here Tim. If you would like to let me know what you are specifically interested in, pm me an email address and I will see what I can do to help. And Mike - if there's anything else you need let me know.

Is the cct still inside the case on yours - and is it legible ? Would very much like to see a cct.

All the best

Martin
G4NCE
Martin

Sorry - I never answered your question about the cct diagram - alas, none on the inside of my case.

Tim
Packhow75 is offline  
Old 11th Jun 2012, 9:55 pm   #10
trh01uk
Octode
 
trh01uk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,648
Default Re: British Army WS8

Quote:
Originally Posted by Packhow75 View Post
Mike

Thanks - I will try Martin Swift.

How rare are these radios? How many were made?

I know what's printed in WFW... that's about it.

Would love to know how much use they had in active service prior to introduction of the WS18 at the end of 1940.

Cheers

Tim

Tim,

you ask how rare these radios are. Yours is the third I have heard of in the UK. Martin's was the first I saw. I saw the second one recently. And yours it the third. I have never seen one in any museum (though that doesn't mean they don't have any - they often hide stuff away in cupboards!)

Regarding the circuit diagram, I do have photos of the WS8 receiver schematic and parts list from Martin's case (the Tx is in WftW). The results are not particularly legible, and the style of the drawing is not one that is easy to read. To make any sense of them, it would be necessary to sit down and redraw it. Its one of those jobs for which I have never got a round tuit. PM me if you want a copy of what I have.

The question you ask about how much service they saw is one of those that is very difficult to answer. It may well be unanswerable, because the records have just not survived. The public records office (Kew) would be the place to start looking - but unless you are extremely keen this is likely to be a fruitless labour of love!


Richard


Richard
trh01uk is offline  
Old 12th Jun 2012, 8:54 pm   #11
Packhow75
Tetrode
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 55
Default Re: British Army WS8

Quote:
Originally Posted by trh01uk View Post
[
you ask how rare these radios are. Yours is the third I have heard of in the UK. Martin's was the first I saw. I saw the second one recently. And yours it the third. I have never seen one in any museum (though that doesn't mean they don't have any - they often hide stuff away in cupboards!)
Richard

Thanks... useful to know - with the exception of Martin's I've not seen any others - so had thought they were a fairly rare beast... have emailed Blandford to see if they have any data in the archive - not response though - guessing the answer may be no.

Will pass on the diagram front at the moment as unlikely to be able to do anything to get it re-drawn anytime soon - thanks for the offer though - will let you know if I change my mind.

Am thinking of re-focussing my collection in some areas - this is one item I could part with... but only in p/exchange for a British MK2 Eureka system (which I dont think is so rare, but is a better fit with my interests).

Cheers

Tim
Packhow75 is offline  
Old 17th Jun 2012, 7:03 am   #12
trh01uk
Octode
 
trh01uk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,648
Default Re: British Army WS8

Quote:
Originally Posted by Packhow75 View Post

... have emailed Blandford to see if they have any data in the archive - not response though - guessing the answer may be no.
Tim,

Having worked a lot in the archive at Blandford, I can tell you that there first problem is that no-one at the museum knows much about Army radios - at least not the ones before the time of those working there (which is generally anything before the Larkspur era).

The second problem is that they had no catalogue of their holdings. They were working on that - but as they got a load of young squaddies to do the cataloguing I have serious doubts about the quality of the result!

Louis Meulstee, who wrote the Wireless for the Warrior series, spent a lot of time in that archive too (and many others across Europe). If he says no diagram for the receiver has been found - you can be pretty sure it's well and truly lost!

Richard
trh01uk is offline  
Old 21st Jun 2012, 7:19 pm   #13
Packhow75
Tetrode
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 55
Default Re: British Army WS8

Richard

Hmm... so Blandford's not worth a special visit - pity... but then as you say, if Louis hasn't published it, chances are the info's not held there.

Am more interested in photos of the set in use, ces for webbing harness, spares etc at the moment.

Tim
Packhow75 is offline  
Old 28th Jun 2012, 9:16 am   #14
trh01uk
Octode
 
trh01uk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,648
Default Re: British Army WS8

Tim,

Well, anyone wanting the receiver circuit diagram can extract it from the photos I took of Martin's. I am happy to send a copy to anyone who wants to draw it out neatly and repost the finished article here.

Richard
trh01uk is offline  
Old 10th Dec 2012, 1:52 pm   #15
trh01uk
Octode
 
trh01uk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,648
Default Re: British Army WS8

Folks,

a quick update on the circuit diagram for the WS8 receiver. I see Louis Meulstee has now posted a schematic here. This is Amendment No.1 for the first volume of Wireless for the Warrior, so has other useful updates as well.

Richard
trh01uk is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 2:39 pm.


All information and advice on this forum is subject to the WARNING AND DISCLAIMER located at https://www.vintage-radio.net/rules.html.
Failure to heed this warning may result in death or serious injury to yourself and/or others.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 - 2023, Paul Stenning.