B40 built by my father

[alinton]

My old dad, now departed, told me not long before passed on, that during and shortly after the war, he worked for Marconi, making B40 receivers.
He told me that his initials, JL or JHL would appear either in or on the chassis of the radio somewhere!
What are the chances, I wonder, if there still being one of my Dad's receivers in existence?
I'd love to get a B40, and of course better if it was one of his!
Any ideas anyone?

Andy

[llama]

Welcome to the forum. What a delightful story.

There's a B40 on offer in the Offer section of the forum - free but collection only. How are your sea-legs?

Graham

[dave walsh]

I passed one of these on to a forum member last year alinton, minus valves but it came like that having been stored in Portsmouth since the mid sixties. It was probaly directly off a ship. I take it you do know that these Naval Items are top of the range for weight at 80lbs+? They are literally built like a Battleship and seem to have been designed to take a direct hit while being operated in the dark [chunky controls]. It would be great if one with your Dad's initials turned up but in the broader sense of survived, if any sets can it will be these steel and aluminium bemoths which are in a different league to wooden cased receivers! They do turn up on auction sites and Rallies. I would think you could get a working one for well under £100 if the free one is out of range or you are not technical. Americans call big heavy sets boat anchors which is ironic in this case There are some very detailed web sites and also B40 threads on here. I hope you are successfull one way or another.
Dave W

[paulsherwin]

I understand your interest and hope you succeed, but these radios were made in very large numbers and the chances of finding one with your dad's initials on it are fairly remote. There's also the complicating factor that these radios weigh a ton, so shipment will be very expensive.

[turretslug]

Hi alinton, are you certain on the details? Marconi certainly made very large numbers of the B28 receiver, also known as the CR100, during the war, a fraction of these survive but probably still a fair few. Murphy Radio made the distinctive B40 receiver, seemingly the first examples were appearing plus/minus about the end of the war. Large numbers were also made, though probably a factor or so less than the B28. It was a good performer, yet still fairly straightforward, and its very quirkiness gives it collector appeal despite the considerable size and weight.

I only know sketchy details of the manufacture of these sets- could Marconi have been instructed to second-source the B40 to meet demand?

Good luck with your quest.

[alinton]

My apologies, I confused Murphy's with Marconi, it was Murphy's he worked for then, on the B40s.
He did subsequently work for Marconi somewhere near Harpenden where we lived, but he was working on bits of aircraft nav systems then, as I recall.
Hence the confusion.

Thanks for the replies guys, I know its a long shot to find one with my dad's initials in, but it would be nice to get one anyway!
No problem with any work that needs doing, I'm an electronics/broadcast engineer and have renovated many things!
As for shipping, well I think I'd pretty much drive anywhere to collect!
Perhaps you people would be good enough to bear me in mind if you come upon a B40 anywhere.

Thanks

Andy

[Andrew Sinclair]

The B40 was in use by the Royal Navy up until the early eighties in roles such as ship's entertainment. I know some radio officers who used them in the Falklands conflict.
There were a number of variants. The early ones such as the B40/A/B/C used B8B based valves such as CV303/EF22. (They resemble EF50s.) The later B40D used miniature B9A /B7G valves. The B40D manual was issued in 1956 so you can probably discount these sets as being made by your father. You can spot a B40D as it has a "Local oscillator trim" control on the right hand panel below the crystal switch.
My B40D has the signature PA Brown inside.
These sets were re-built in the dockyards and by outside companies. The plate on mine states R/EMP /67 which I am told means that it was re-built in Portsmouth dockyard in 1967. There were two amateurs at my local club who worked on these lines. Re-building included stripping the set to a bare chassis which was then re-plated. The RF coils were boiled in wax for a couple of days to remove water!
I also have a B28. These were made from roughly 1940 to 1946. I read an old Marconi publication that stated they made 50000 of these. They suffered from being two lightly built as they only weigh 82lb!
The B40 is 114lb and shaped to be easily lowered through the ship's hatches.
I hope this is of some help.
Andrew

[Chris-G8ETC]

I too have a B40 receiver. Painted on the rear panel are the words "HMS Tiger".

[paulsherwin]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Tiger_(C20)

[alinton]

Lovely info, thanks!

[ms660]

Marconi might have had a hand in the remote control unit for the Murphy B40.

http://www.rnmuseumradarandcommunica...org.uk/SEA.pdf

Lawrence.

[alinton]

The B40 that was offered on here is gone.

So please let me know guys if you hear of another one available!

Thanks

Andy

[G4YVM David]

I made my first HF QSO on an OXO TX and a B40 RX.


David
G4YVM