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

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Old 18th Aug 2018, 2:24 pm   #1
Peter G3YYN
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Default Information wanted on WW2 transmitter: Radio Electronics Laboratory REL 750W

All help greatly appreciated in unearthing any information on the model REL750W transmitter and also the manufacturing company itself. A pair of these American manufactured transmitters were reportedly in operation at the govt. wireless station at Calverton, near Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, around 1943

The village historians are trying to shed more light on the actual station, of which nothing now remains except the odd concrete generator plinth. Their archive can be seen at : http://www.mkheritage.org.uk/calvert...adio-stations/

For once Google and others are not being particularly friendly. Surprisingly there is no reference to REL in the extensive archives on 1930/40/50s electronics journals at thelifeofkenneth.com.

My only web reference to REL is from an account of WW2 US/Aus mil communications at Hemmant Australia , http://www.bdars.org.au/wp-content/u...estigation.pdf at page 126. The lack of any other reference to REL might suggest that there is an error in the company name or that it was actually a division of a larger enterprise? All thoughts apreciated!

Peter G3YYN
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Old 18th Aug 2018, 2:48 pm   #2
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Default Re: Information wanted on WW2 transmitter: Radio Electronics Laboratory REL 750W

Radio Engineering Laboratories ?

Lawrence.
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Old 18th Aug 2018, 2:54 pm   #3
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Default Re: Information wanted on WW2 transmitter: Radio Electronics Laboratory REL 750W

Try this for various REL products.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/m/radio17_usa_en_1.html

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Old 19th Aug 2018, 6:36 am   #4
G3VKM_Roger
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Default Re: Information wanted on WW2 transmitter: Radio Electronics Laboratory REL 750W

Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter G3YYN View Post
All help greatly appreciated in unearthing any information on the model REL750W transmitter and also the manufacturing company itself. A pair of these American manufactured transmitters were reportedly in operation at the govt. wireless station at Calverton, near Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, around 1943

Peter G3YYN
Hello Peter,

Would you like me to cross-post your query on the VMARS forums? I checked their member's list and can't see you there, hence my offer. I don't recognise the transmitter but of course a lot of equipment came in on Lend-Lease and often it was a case of different services making use of what was available. I have some post-war experience of one of the transmitting stations in the area where WW2 TXs were still in use in the late 60s, in this case the sets were made by RCA and had a similar power level to the set you mention.

73

Roger/G3VKM
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Old 19th Aug 2018, 8:36 am   #5
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Default Re: Information wanted on WW2 transmitter: Radio Electronics Laboratory REL 750W

Peter,

A brief follow-up:-

The Calverton site is mentioned in "The Secret Wireless War" by Geoffrey Pidgeon and there is a small piece in chapter 12 which may be of some help:-

"Weald Station was at Upper Weald, Calverton, on the road between this small hamlet and the then busy A5 Watling Street. The station was in a field to the south of the road and consisted of a pair of huts and a brick built generator shed in which batteries were also charged. The operation of the station is described in some detail by Pat Hawker* who also spent a year there as an operator.

The transmitters and aerial arrays were sited in the village of Calverton near Fountains Farm, where there was another brick-built shed to house a generator. This transmission site was run, in very great secercy, by the US Civilian Technical Corps. The site also transmitted the outgoing traffic from the other SIS staton at Nash".

* see Chaptor 24 of the book.


US Civilian Technical Corps got a lot of hits on Google.

73

Roger/G3VKM

Last edited by G3VKM_Roger; 19th Aug 2018 at 8:42 am. Reason: add link
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Old 20th Aug 2018, 9:25 pm   #6
Peter G3YYN
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Default Re: Information wanted on WW2 transmitter: Radio Electronics Laboratory REL 750W

Many thanks to all who have replied. I clearly took a wrong turning in using the Oz Hemmant translation of "REL" to being "Radio Electronics Laboratories" rather than "Engineering" but have now been put right!.

My original source for the equipment type came from Pat Hawker's work simply as "a mixed bag of American (REL) 750W units and various British and Whaddon 100 -Watt and 30-Watt transmitters - of which only the REL units seemed to be equipped with fast -acting keying relays."
I'd also seen Geoffrey Pidgeon's work as well as the write up of his visit in the "Whaddon Quarterly", August 2016.

So the search now goes back to Radio Engineering Labs Inc of Long Island City, N.Y. with trade name: R.E.L, according to the Radiomuseum.org.

I'd be grateful if you'd cross post it to VMARS Roger. I have to say that I'd actually seen and passed over Armstrongs bunch at "that" REL some time back as being more domestic radio rather than high power tx people. Well maybe not as QRO as the stuff supplied by Press Association et al to the ACAN circuits.

The intriguing part for me is the reference to fast keying. This possibly suggests machine cw and paper reperforaters; and possibly leads to Creed machines later. Not something that naturally tallies with manual QRP cw circuits to France.

Peter
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Old 21st Aug 2018, 9:16 am   #7
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Default Re: Information wanted on WW2 transmitter: Radio Electronics Laboratory REL 750W

Hi Peter,

Reply to your P/M set and have posted a link to this discussion on VMARS-Member. I occurs to me that there might be some info on REL on https://www.americanradiohistory.com/

73

Roger/G3VKM
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Old 21st Aug 2018, 7:47 pm   #8
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Default Re: Information wanted on WW2 transmitter: Radio Electronics Laboratory REL 750W

Peter,

Dropping a line to either Dr Phil Judkins (DEHS) or David Whte (G3ZPA) wouldn't be a bad idea - I would say both of them would have some idea where information could be found - I would be very surprised if David hasn't actually worked on them!
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Old 28th Aug 2018, 3:24 pm   #9
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Default Re: Information wanted on WW2 transmitter: Radio Electronics Laboratory REL 750W

Hello Peter,

I hope your conversation at the radio rally with G3ZPA was suitably enlightening, but did you find out anything about the REL 750 Tx?
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Old 29th Aug 2018, 10:38 am   #10
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Default Re: Information wanted on WW2 transmitter: Radio Electronics Laboratory REL 750W

Hi,
My 1984 edition Jane's Military Communications lists REL Incorporated of Boynton Beach, Florida as manufacturers of various high power transmit amplifiers for use in military troposcatter systems. They were used in Vietnam, I think.
Could be the same company?
cheers
Peter G8BBZ
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