S-P3A_Radios_of_the_rising_Sun_1997.pdf

VINTAGE GEAR Once againG4BXDoffersusarareglimpseofhistory.Someof theequipment, although60years old,isquite innovative and remarkableforitstime.Benalso maintains andiscuratorofthe Military WirelessInTheMidlands Museum. RadiosofTheRisingSun BY BEN NOCK,G4BXD The S-P3A setasitarrived (although after an initial cleaning) had flaking paint and odd broken bits.Itwasasorry little set. The transmitter is on the top, receiver in the middle.andbattery tray on the bottom. O neofthe nice things about the col- lecting hobby is that one never knows what will arrive next. Soit was that a couple of additions10the col- lection appeared, and being somewhat unusual, prompted this short account. Japanesewar-timesetsarefewandfar between. Ihadseen several inotherwell- established museumsandattheoddauc- tion, but had never-untilnow-owned one. The day came when I took delivery of these two war-time sets (in fact, made pre-war) to add to a post-war Japanese receiverIalready had. Thewarsetswerecomprised of amule- carried HF receiver transmitter and a man- carried short-rangeVHFtransceiver, while the post-war set was a large tabletop- modelHF receiver. The post-war receiver (mid-1950s) was delivered in very good condition,withtheexception ofthefactthat the lid of the receiverhadbeen pushed in during its tripfromJapan to England. A couple of hefty screwdrivers and a lot of strength later thelidwaspriedback toits correct position,withthankfully noperma- nent damage havingbeendone. The two pre-war sets arrived in atotal- ly differentstate-paintflakingoff,dirty, cobwebs galore, and many years of dust. They neededa lot of cleaning to evenget them intopresentableshape, long before thoughts of getting them working. The Pre-War Sets Japanese pre-war and war-time sets ap- parentlywere far behind thoseof the Brit- ish and American equivalents in technol- ogy and finish.lilliefaith in their own equipment seems to have been demon- strated,astypical spareskits, carriedwith the sets,even included nuts, bolts,wash- ers, oil, and repairing insulating tape. Somecopying isevident in someof the designfeatures ofJapanese sets. British, 62 Cobden St., Kidderminster, Worcs DY11 6RP, England 22 CQ November 1997 US,andevenGermansetsobviouslysup- plied ideas which were incorporated into Japanese war-time sets.Evensome of the components were surplus stock pur- chasedfromsuppliers in other countries. The mule set, designated S-P3A, is very similar to the British Wireless sets No. 18/48/68 in some respects, in that it hasthreecomponents: areceiver, atrans- mitter, and a battery space. In addition to the batteries carried within the set, an external hand-cranked generator was needed to power the transmitter. De- signed as a guerrilla warfare set, itwas carried either by themule,poor thing, or by a tour-man team who carried the set Say You Saw ItIn CQ 15-505 Mobile/Base 160M-10M Transceiver Rearofthe receiver showing the supply board. This connects withasimilar plug in thecase,which then connects with the battery tray. IJ removed and replaced with a working example. This is whymanyNo. 18 sets have different numbers for the case and transmitter and receiver units. Presumably, the original case and set went infor repairduringthe years, andthe matching receiver was removed and a workingexample fitted. The unit then was returned to active service, probably as quickly as possible. Dating Japanese equipment is a little differentfromdating westernunits. There is a number on the plate, somethinglike 13 and then anothernumber-say, 12. Thismakesthe datethe 12thmonthofthe 13thyear of the reign of the Emperor, or theShowa. Asthewar-timeemperorHiro- Close-upofthe transmitter dialandcoil unit. This coil is marked2000-3000 kHz. The plug board above the coilisfor antenna taps. The crystal,iffitted, goes behind the small door above the tuning dial. and accessories between them on bam- boo poles. The S-P3A differs from the British WS No. 18 breed in thai the transmit power is around1Oto15watts,CWonly. Thetrans- mitteruses asingletube,while thereceiv- er uses five tubes in a standard superhet design. The nomenclature plates on the case and transmitter date them as May 1939, while the receiver is dated December 1938, although this set seems to have beenaroundsince at least 1932.The ser- ial numbers for the case and transmitter match, while that of the receiver is differ- ent. Much like theNo.18 sets, when they went in for repair, a unit would havebeen IC-100H 2M/440MHz! 1.2GHZMobile FT-IIRH High Power 5W2M HT IC-706 HF+6Meter Transceiver With OPC581RemoteCable YAESU lID IC-2GXA 2MHTwlAlkaline Pack, BC-105 (Export only) VXIR Ultra-Compact Dual Band HT ?COM 24 CIRCLE 48 ON READER SERVICE CARD BALUNS a_ U9,95 U9.95_ $-(9.95 . . PARTNO._IMPEDANCEMATCK 9:1-HUSO5()l.l;S,Ml:I 1.78:IHOUSO5OU:28Q t,HBSO$019.95 1:1HBH5Q_$9.9S_ 15:1-tlB75_$69.9! :l;1_-tl8100 _$099S :lHB_$oI).9! 1-tlB,Y290$oS99S ,1H8HT200$89.95 ;=5E l:z,I-HB600Sl99.9! Small Man Pack Set Another recentacquisition is a much smallerJapaneserig, obviously a man pack. this time VHF judging by the size of thecoils. It is a very interesting piece of equipment. Not having anydetails at all on this rig,Iposed thequestion to an inter- netgroupthathasmemberswhoalso have an interest in militarygear. Bob. NA4G. a member of the group,re- sponded with the following: YourlittleJapanese rig sounds like the man packVHFset that used the clone of the type19tube. Itcovered about 60-70 work, it is interesting to note that these setsare notfropicauzedasweknowBrit- ish sets to be. True, some consideration of humidityhasbeen incorporated. The luning capacitors have plastic (?) covers around them, all the resistors in the P3A are mounted in holders (much like fuses), and there isplentyof room between wires. However, the variouscoils and wound components do not have that well-loved covering of varnishfoundinour sets. Cotton-coveredwireseemsto be used quite a lot, andthecapacitors resemble Germantypes of the period in theircon- struction. The transformers used in this set seem of verypoorconstruction. In- deed, measurements of other units have shown apoorresponse. .$9.95 $9.95_ $9,_ $9,95 $9.95 UNUNS IMP(OANCEMATCH SOU;2IL2.SO , PARTNO. 2:1-HOUSO_ 2:HIJ)Ul00 .5:1.j.lU75 :l-tlC!.!SO_ ,1-tlU50 5QQ;.12.SO0I-.c1Coflnect.!g;Beam 500:500_1mDiwlu!:.!lIQi _1J2Di.al0.22._G,rd_ 10001JV,DipoleIIIO-ZV.0ma-n 5OU:2OOO.Q!fc.nt.1:._ 5Oll:200010Kw.Tu.-s,GSfIV ._-; log_OcfIL.-d_ MIU:6000Rrnombick.W2FMI. researched. experimented andwoundover1000 Baluns and Ununs transformef5 for use in AmatourRadio and used over1mile of wires over a20yearperiod.The results of hissensationalwork are these newpowerful,2Kw to10Kw,98%efficient,1Mhz to50Mhz Baluns and Ununs.Hisworkis also featured in over2)articles. and3books. Thename plateonthe case. The top line says MilitarySecret. The date,14:5,is clearly visible. making it the fifth month ofthe fourteenthyearofShowa-1939. hito was crowned in 1925, thenumber 13 makes the year01manufacture 1938. Translation of thenameplates onthe case and set (kindly undertaken bymy friend Ikuo Fujimura inJapan) revealed the set to be Wireless Set Type94, No. 3A. There also seems to have been B, C, and possibly other variants. Itwas also knownas Communication Set 36D(?), made inMay 1939 (on the caseandtrans- miner plates)bytheTokyoWorks For Military. I would also like toacknowledge the assistanceofToshiki Matsuurain Japan in obtaining the missingpower amplifier tube for the set. The receiverplate stated the same type numbers but with the date of December 1938. A trademark is shown, along with the name Nippon Communication Indus- tries Co.lid., Ohmori Branch Office, San- yo Works. The transmitter uses a singletube (UY510B) as asett-oscillatinqpower amp- lilier stage, either fully tunableorcrystal controlled. Various plug-in coils allow a range of between 400and 5700 kHz. The keying line is inthehigh-voltage feed; hence the chirp and driftmusthavebeen quite evident. A smallpull-down Morse key is fitted to the front of the transmitter, with ajacksocketallowing an external key to be used if need be. A power output01about 10waltsor so couldbeexpected to give-intoa 90 foot long wire antenna withtwo65lootcoun- terpoise wires-apossible range of20to 500miles,depending uponfrequencyand lime of day, of course. High voltage was 500volts with filaments at7volts. The power for the transmitter was provided by a hand-cranked generator. The receiver again has a plug-in coil unit, five in all, giving acoverage of350 kHz to 6 MHz.Itis noticeable,though, that on the plug-incoil packs there are only three holes, allowing the adjustmentof CIRCLE88 ONREADERSERVICECARO27 The front of the smafl portable unit showing thetubebase behind. The metermea- sures antennacurrent. The eight-way plugboardisfor headphonesandmicropIJone. The tuning knob isonthelowerleh. MININECforWindows byJ.Rockway andJ.Logan Antennadesign/modelingsoftware. Design l ong Wires, Vagisoutputis 0.2 watts;sizeis3/8H x 53/8W x 33/80.Use wasasawalkie-talkielorshort-distance two-waycommunication: Itwasdesigned for regimental headquarters,used in low- erechelons. Power requirements: 135 V 40mAand3V250mA.Oftheeight jacks, fourontheleftareformicrophones, andfourontherightareforheadphones. WhilemostofStevescommentsarein- teresting,thesethementionedhas four knobs.Thisoneonlyhasthree knobs. It isquite likely,though,that they are of the samefamilyofsets,perhapswith a dif- ferentmarkorversion. Restoration Restorationwasrelativelyeasy.Sinceall the dial plateswerescrewedtothefront panel, they allcameoff,asdid allthe knobs-withtheexception of one,which provedtobe areal paintofreeup. Eventually alltheknobs, labels,meters, andterminalscame off,leavinga nice flat surfaceonwhichtowork. Rubbingdown andre-spraying waseasy-mucheasier Ihan tryingtoworkaroundleneringonthe front panel thatyoucouldneverreplace. The brass handleswere polished and all the Bakelite knobs and fittings cleaned up nicely,asdid thename plates for the case, transmitter,andreceiver. Reassemblywaseasy.Allthelittle screwshadbeencleanedandreplaced. Theknobsand terminalswentback,asdid the meters. The finished unitdoeslookvery smartona shelf in the house. Even though I had the missingpoweramplifiertube replacedbymyfriend inJapan, Idonot think I will fireupthe set. Even if itworks, the performanceofthereceiverandtrans- mitter willbefarbelowthatneededon tocayscrowdedbands. It is better the set remains as an example of the technology and design of that farawayland, in that far awaytime.Itis a real museum piece. Acknowledgements ImustthankJackJenner.G3ETJ. forgiv- ing me theopportunitytoacquiresuch interestingsets; members of theBoat- Anchours Internetgroup;and Toshiki Mat- suuraand Ikuo Fujimurafor their help in researchingthesesets. LJTHEBESTBATTERIES Mr.NiCdINAMERICA! 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