Ian Ropper GM0UHC returned to the Lothians on 22nd May 2013 to present Part 2 of his talk “Restoring the R1155 / T1154. He described progress made since his last talk “Part 1” on 27 April 2011 (click for Report) – the short-comings of what went before, through the service life of the type and some remarkable photographs of what happened after WW2 … and he didn’t mean what replaced it! Ian also restores Racal RA17 receivers. See his website: http://www.chavfreezone.me.uk/
The R1082 receiver (shown above) & T1083 transmitter combination
used in military aircraft prior to the introduction of the R1155 & T1154.
Plug-in coil sets were awkward to use in the cramped space of the aircraft.
The T1083 transmitter.
The T1083 circuit was a simple 2-valve MO-PA (master oscillator – power amplifier).
The complete set-up, including power supplies, switching relays etc.
A decisive meeting between Charles Cotterell and A N Other led to the design of the R1155 / T1154
to replace the R1082 / T1083. Amazingly, the equipment was implemented in only three months.
The early versions of what became the R1155 were designated AD8882B.
Operating specifications of the R1155 & T1154.
Ian described the process of restoring an old R1155, starting with
stripping out all the components down to the bare aluminium chassis.
All metal parts were cleaned and all resistors and capacitors were replaced.
Ian points to the receiving loop antenna used with the Direction-Finding (DF)
capability of the R1155, used to guide the returning bombers back to base.
Similar restoration work was performed on the T1154 transmitter.
The MO-PA circuit of the T1154 was not very different from that of the T1083
with the addition of a modulator.
Picture schematic of the entire R1155 / T1154 installation.
Ian’s beautifully restored equipment, almost entirely original apart from a modern
power supply unit and rotary aerial switch.
After WWII the Radiovision company introduced a number of receivers based upon the R1155 design for the amateur market, including the Radiovision V55R (1945), Hambander (1946-48) and Commander (1947).
After Ian’s most interesting talk, a vote of thanks was proposed by Peter GM4DTH.
Dinner in the Braid Hills Hotel.
L-R: David GM4ZNX, Malcolm GM3TAL, Pete GM4BYF, Mike GM8KCS, Ian GM0UHC,
Briain GM8PKL, Colin GM4HWO, & (front) Peter GM4DTH; Alan GM3PSP (photographer).