The world's toughest radio?

[Rob_Melotti]

Does anyone have any idea what this floating radio found off the coast of Guernsey might be? Ship's radio? How did it get lost overboard? WWII? Surely not that old? Been floating around for years possibly. The front panel of the radio includes the serial number 3259 (photo attached).

http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2009/11/10/crabs-hitch-a-radio-ride-across-atlantic/

WHEN fisherman Clive Brown found a large block, covered in barnacles, floating off the south coast, he had no idea it hid an emergency radio that might have floated across the Atlantic.

‘At first I thought it was a large piece of wood,’ said Mr Brown, 53.

‘It wasn’t until I pulled it aboard and chipped off some of the barnacles that I saw it was a radio. It is a real curiosity.’

Mr Brown said some of the barnacles had grown up to a foot long, suggesting that the radio had been in the water for some time. Amongst the barnacles were also four Columbus crabs.

Marine expert Richard Lord said it was unusual to see these crabs around Guernsey.

‘These crabs are found in much warmer waters,’ he said.

‘It is possible they have grabbed onto the radio. The crabs are native to Florida, so it is quite possible it has floated across the Atlantic.’

Mr Brown has now cleaned up the radio, and managed to fill a fish box with barnacles. He was surprised by what good condition the radio was in.

 

[tt65]

The insulators at top suggest it is transmitting equipment or uses high voltage. The legend A1 in the writing suggests it might be be telegraphy equipment.

No idea but I suspect aeronautical rather than marine or land based.

 

[sarabande]

British or American make, from the instructions label.

Looks as if it ought to have a cover (because of the rim shape) so probly designed for open water use as an emergency transmitter.

Aircraft or submarine ?

 

[ionian]

Looks similar to a ships lifeboat radio,WT type with crank handles to power it. Going back 30/40 years here.

 

[Bilgediver]

Looks similar to a ships lifeboat radio,WT type with crank handles to power it. Going back 30/40 years here.

Id say that it WAS a ships lifeboat radio. Used to be in a yellow two part case and the knobs and dials exposed when the cover was removed. On some old ships there was also a nifty box kite to lift the antenna ro a working height.

Mainly morse and able to trip the auto alarms on ships of the day using 500Hz

 

[oldharry]

30 - 40 years old? the Bermuda triangle strikes again!

 

[lenseman]

Mainly morse and able to trip the auto alarms on ships of the day using 500Hz

500kHz probably; my era.

 

[tt65]

Old radio

Ex r/o colleague of mine says it is almost certainly the innards of a ships portable lifeboat radio made by IMR of Croydon but is a late solid state version from just prior to the universal use of GMDSS systems. It would have worked on 500 khz, 2182 khz and 8364 khz
Normally kept in the ships radio room. Yes, was hand cranked for power and some had box kites to elevate an aerial
.
As an ex R/O, I have no knowledge of these things being of any use whatsoever. I have no knowledge of lives actually being saved in peacetime, not sure about during WW2

Other sets were made by Marconi (Salvita) and Skanti (Marineta) I think this one was called IMR Solas.

Precurser to EPIRBs.

IMR supplied radio equipment and Radio Officers to Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth amongst many others. A competitor of Marconi Marine.

 

[Bilgediver]

500kHz probably; my era.

Most definitely your ERA .... Redifon or MArconi???

 

[lenseman]

B40's and other Macaroni.

 

[Rob_Melotti]

Keyer Mark II - 5820-99-519-7782

See photo attached (rotated 90° CW)

Spoke to Guernsey photographer Richard Lord who got a better pic of the radio.

When typing in the number printed on the morse keyer ( 5820-99-519-7782 ) the ISO Group website comes up on Google.

See http://5820.iso-group.com/NSN/5820-99-519-7782

The serial number 3259 is also printed on the equipment.

We're waiting to hear back from ISO Group UK. The USA office said the '99' means it was a British job.

Does Keyer Mark II just refer to that part or is it the name of the radio?

 

[tt65]

The Derbyshire and the Estonia carried IMR SOLAS 3 similar to this set.

 

[Rob_Melotti]

Estonia and Derbyshire

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,527875,00.html

and

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/derbyshire/

But it could have been discarded by any of the other vessels at any time

 

[tt65]

Old Radio

Still reckon it is a IMRC Solas portable lifeboat radio.

The keyer shown was a kind of dual purpose thing. It was a morse key and it was the winder for the clockwork driven automatic keyer. This would send the alarm signal and the distress signal which was 12 X 4 SECOND DASHES FOLLOWED BY SOS SOS SOS DE CALL SIGN X 3. FOLLOWED BY 2 OR SO LONG DASHES FOR DIRECTION FINDING purposes.

It is possible there is a plastic cam with the call sign of the ship around the rim in morse, which would then identify the last vessel it belonged to. Although it might have had an electronic link. Good chance that the call sign cam is intact still. There was a list of call signs published by the ITU in Geneva from time to time. (Indicatif d'appel) .

Bit anorakish now, but the 2 insulators linked as in the picture show the transmitter output being connected to the internal artificial aerial used for testing (We had to do this once a week and log it.)

It was morse on 500 and 8364 khz (MCW) and phone (A3) on 2182 khz.

 

[nimbus58]

ITT solas 3 LIFEBOAT RADIO

i have one of these = ITT solas3 lifeboat radio.

can supply a pic if interested.

Cheers,
Glenn