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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 0725.PDF
FLIGHT, 5 June 1953 719 ELECTRONICS on VIEW An Officially-sponsored Display of British Equipment BRITISH electronic development during World War II promoted a great expansion of our radio industry; never theless, capacity was strained to the utmost to meet the vital commitments of research and production. Today the posi tion is somewhat changed. There is plenty of scope in every field of activity but, for the first time, our powerful radio industry is in a position where it can supply large quantities of modern elec tronic equipment to friendly overseas buyers. This is a most heartening sign and it shows that, far from becoming a nation renowned only for our great strides in research and development, we are backing this immense effort up with an already considerable export trade in electronic devices of all kinds. But, in spite of this trade, it appeared that much good could result from a comprehensive exhibition of the latest equipment now available against firm delivery dates in order to show overseas visitors the many things that we have and they have not. Accordingly, a private display was last month organized by the Radio Communication and Electronic Engineering Association at the instigation of the Ministry of Supply. Admission was restricted to delegates nominated by the Ministry : about 200 attended from sixteen countries, and from the staffs of SHAPE and NATO. The venue chosen was the R.A.E., Famborough—around Cody's Tree—and the general set-up resembled the S.B.A.C. Display, with a large indoor exhibition of equipment and components, in separate halls, and outdoor and flying demonstrations. There were 63 exhibiting firms, all but four of whom were members of the R.C.E.E.A., the Radio and Electronic Manufacturer's Federation or the British Radio Valve Manufacturer's Association. Their products included fixed and mobile communication equipment, various appli cations of radar, radio navigational and bad-weather aids, and related equipment such as testing gear, valves, laboratory equipment and components. Much of the apparatus was shown working and the greater part of the exhibited equipment was in production for the British fighting services. Opening the display, Mr. Duncan Sandys, Minister of Supply, said: "Great Britain was the first country to create a radio industry and we are proud of the fact that in many ways she is still leading the world, both in research and in high-quality manufacture. British electronic equipment is at present being supplied to the Air Forces of 19 countries and to numerous civil airlines throughout the world. . . . The proportion of Britain's defence expenditure devoted to elec tronics is today over four times what it was in 1939. In the case of a modern bomber aircraft, electronics represent nearly 10 per cent of its total cost compared with only about two per cent before the war." The following is a synopsis of the equipment shown. Equipment Hall Airmec, Ltd., High Wycombe, Bucks.—Aircraft intercommunication systems, stabilized power units for high-voltage Klystrons and a con siderable amount of industrial electronic apparatus, and fault-finding, testing and measuring equipment. Automatic Telephone and Electric Co., Ltd., London, W.C.2.— All types of telephone equipment, V.H.F. transmission equipment, radio survey vehicles and other (principally ground-based) apparatus. British Communications Corporation, Ltd., Wembley, Middle sex.—A.M. and FM. U.H.F., V.H.F. and H.F. communications, field and laboratory test gear and wide-band amplifiers. British Thomson-Houston Co., Ltd., Rugby, Warwick.—Elec tronic airborne computors, airborne speed- and voltage-regulators, high-energy gas-turbine ignition units and ignition testers. The company also showed a great amount of marine and military radar, a variety of special valves, many with airborne applications, and much industrial equipment. Burndept, Ltd., Erith, Kent.—A most interesting exhibit was the X1512 Air/sea Rescue Dinghy Automatic Beacon. Developed by the Vidor-Burndept Group in conjunction with the R.A.E., Farnborough, this lightweight transmitter is powered by a Vidor Kalium battery which lasts for 36 hours at "normal" temperature and 24 hours at o deg C. The transmitter, which measures 4in by 2in, sends an automatic distress signal every two seconds on nor mal wireless channels; the quoted range is 60 miles. Type B.E.219 is a lightweight transmitter/receiver in production for "single-seat jet fighter aircraft for the Royal Air Force." Weigh ing but 9 lb, including an anti- This transformer, Type RD 4470, is one of the Ferranti "Pentland" series, the unique construction of which is described on this page. The largest part of Sarah (page 720) is the battery, carried in a pocket of the life-jacket. The smaller units are the microphone and transmitter! aerial unit. vibration mounting tray, the B.E.219 (formerly TR 2002) is an air/ground set operating on any single channel in the 117-128 Mc/s band. Type B.E.201 is a tropicalized and mobile 4-channel V.H.F. set which enables aircraft to maintain close touch with ground artillery. A Burn dept airfield-control V.H.F. trans mitter and its military development were also on view, both of which are the subject of very large orders. Also of interest is the fact that Vidor- Burndept claim to have produced the first neutron monitor outside the U.S.A.; three items were shown which had been developed jointly with the A.E.R.E., Harwell, and one item had been used at Monte Bello. Cinema-Television, Ltd., Lon don, S.E.26.—Previously seen at this year's Physical Society Exhibi tion was the flying-spot television scanner which projects a microscope slide image on to a 3jin screen. CinTel also showed a ground-traffic indicator, for airport supervisory control, but the major part of their output is in non-aeronautical fields. E. K. Cole, Ltd., Southend-on-Sea, Essex.—Ekco airfield radar is deservedly well-known and an example was in use in the outside demon stration area. This equipment, sometimes referred to as "the poor man's G.C.A" should in no way be looked upon as an incomplete or makeshift device. Combining pencil-beam radar with V.H.F./D.F. the Ekco Airfield Approach Aid, as it is termed, provides complete one- man talk-down facilities for all types of aircraft. Other indoor exhibits ranged from miniaturized communications equipment to an airborne plotter of centimetric aerial polar diagrams. But the most important, and unexpected, item was a radar-ranging unit for installation in fighter aircraft. This was a particularly neat little package, no bigger than about one cubic foot, and it was shown complete with waveguide, scanner and air-cooling pipes. During inter ception the set sweeps the sky in a small cone directly ahead, and "locks on" to anything reflecting its emission. The range of the target is then continuously passed to the gunsight, unless the pilot decides to ignore the target. The set can be used with the standard gyro gunsight, and it no doubt accounts for the dielectric tip to the nose of the Swift and Hunter. Cossar Radar, Ltd., London, N.5.—Cossar airborne Gee was fitted in several of the demonstration aircraft and the latest developments were shown on the company's stand. Gee Mk. ill, now in service with the R.A.F. and various civil airlines, shows a significant reduction in size and weight as a result of general miniaturization and the introduction of automatic counting. Three main units—indicator, receiver and wave generator—are used, and the presentation is on a 3m screen. Gee automatic ground equipment was also on view; this "master" and "slave" equipment is normally duplicated at each ground station to provide complete Gee coverage over a wide range of crystal-controlled frequencies. In the static park was a mobile Cossor Airfield Radar exhibit. The display console in the vehicle consists of two indicators with a central control unit between them. Each indicator has a 15m diameter tube presenting a P.P.I, display of the air surrounding the airfield, up to a number of selected ranges, about ten miles being a useful maximum. The power comes from a 3cm magnetron which feeds, via a number of intermediate devices, into a plastic paraboloidal reflector, 12ft by 3ft, mounted on the roof. Rotating about a vertical axis, the scanner can be tilted between 0 and 6 deg to provide optimum cover with a minimum of permanent echoes. Electric and Musical Industries, Hayes, Middlesex.—Although only a minor proportion of the E.M.I, stand was devoted to aeronautical equipment, the range of products was so great that this section embraced many fields. One development concerns a special test equipment for airborne interrogator radar, enabling such testing to be carried out on the ground against simulated targets. Other E.M.I, equipment concerned airborne electronic installations for interception of enemy aircraft, aircraft, marine and ground fire-control equipment and various navigational aids. One of the demonstration flights was made via Boscombe Down so that delegates could try out D.M.E. with E.M.I. Rebecca ground equipment. A radar-pulse altimeter was also shown, the production version of which should be quite accurate at 60,000ft. English Electric Co., Ltd., London, W.C.2.—Although, in the aeronautical world, E.E.C. are best known for the manufacture of complete aircraft, the company also manufacture a great amount of electronic and "heavy engineering" electrical apparatus. But little of this has direct aeronautical application.
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