radio equipment sources?

[panzer224]

Hi all,

I have been looking into where the best source for radio equipment is. I am saving up or offering trade for a torn e.b. eventually but cannot find one. Anyone know of any sources?

Regards

[Funksammler]

Try Ebay.de. Torn.E.b's come up frequently. There is one on there now, but since it is offered with overpriced fantasy fake support, antenna etc I would avoid that one. Be patient and make up your mind what you want, early, mid or late war, original mint or something for restoration. Beware that accessories like the battery box are significantly harder to find.

regards,

Funksammler

[Hue]

Late War Minefield

You should be cautioned about late war radios with poor quality metal alloys used - think "pot metal". I think this started in 1943 "some" and definitely
1944 onward. The clue is they are not just heavy but extremely heavy. If you buy a Torn.E.b. that is not advertised as working, you should make sure the bandswitch can be rotated to all band positions. I have a couple late-war Torn.E.b. - on one, the X shaped turret rear support is cracked and decayed and some of the turret coil sections have swollen. Vorsicht! -Hue

[Yuri D.]

HA! That's right Funksammler. That is a fantasy mount with the Torn.E.b. I was looking at it, and could not find that mount in any photos in any of my books.

Hue is correct. After Stalingrad the radios were made with ever decreasing metal qualities. The 1937 Torn.E.b weighs 20 lbs, while the 1945 Torn.E.b weighs 45 lbs.

Germany always had natural resource problems, but with the war going south for them, strategic materials such as aluminum were directed to planes, steel went guns and tanks. Radios and medals/badges were made from zinc alloys.

Some models were only made after 1943, such as the Dorette and the Torn.Fu.i. I have a 1944 set of Ukw.E.h and 10W.S.h that were of the earlier light-weight construction. So, just like with other areas of manufacture, there were exceptions to the rules.

Yuri

[panzer224]

Hi all,

Great to hear from the experts. I am not very picky when it comes to dates on it. I have an offer via a private message and am looking into it. Is radio equipment seen more in Europe or the U. S.? Shipping will be crazy from Europe.

Regards

[Hue]

Yuri, i am amazed that there was 1944 production without the poor quallity alloy metal. This metal is really odd, i have no metallurgy knowledge, but i recall you can see shining crystals in it when it cracks, and when moisture gets to it - bad news. I think in general, German ground radios used more steel and less aluminum than USA equipment - thus more vulnerable to rust. For example, the RS3/RS20 set carried as a shore set on U-boats, that one for a marine type radio is very vulnerable to rust. -Hue

[Funksammler]

Yuri, i am amazed that there was 1944 production without the poor quallity alloy metal. This metal is really odd, i have no metallurgy knowledge, but i recall you can see shining crystals in it when it cracks, and when moisture gets to it - bad news. I think in general, German ground radios used more steel and less aluminum than USA equipment - thus more vulnerable to rust. For example, the RS3/RS20 set carried as a shore set on U-boats, that one for a marine type radio is very vulnerable to rust. -Hue

Most German radio equipment was designed to use light aluminium alloys for the frame and face plate of the radio. Boxes were usually made of "Panzerholz", a steel and wood sandwich. The Radione set is not realy designed in that way, because it is an addapted civilian set. The Germans were always short of Shortwave equipment and a lot of civilian designs were used as an emergency measure (Lo40k39, KST are other examples).

As the material supply problems became desperate towards the end of the war, the aluminium alloys increasingly were replaced by alloys containing Zinc. It is significantly heavier and suffers from a sort of "Tinpest". The metal transfers into a different cristaline phase. This happens when the metal is kept at low temperatures so keep your late war radios warm!

regards,

Funksammler

[Oscha]

I put an early 1941 Torn Eb on a scale without the case and it weighed 19 pounds. I put a 1944 Torn Eb on the scale without the case and it weighed 33 pounds. The 1944 radio also had the expanding/crumbling parts. I think these radios are better just for display so one should consider this before giving a lot of money for one that has no hope of being repaired to running condition.

[Yuri D.]

I had a 1945 Torn.E.b that weighed 45 lbs. But it did work on all frequency ranges, and its performance was not significantly worse than that of earlier built sets. Interestingly, there was not much solder used on that set for electrical connections. These connections were made by electrical fusing of component leads.

Yuri

[panzer224]

Hi all,

Just making a quick update on here. Just bought an original signalmans tool pouch! Very nice item I might add. I am still looking for a torn e.b. though. I do have many nice items I can offer in trade as well. If anyone is interested please feel free to contact me. I am also open to offers on torn fu b2 systems.

Regards

[Funksammler]

Torn.Fu.b1 or d2? b2 doesn't exist....

this trader has one of each on offer (and a Torn.E.b): http://www.tarnmilitaria.com/?cat=23

regards,

Funksammler

[panzer224]

Oops was late last night and wasn't thinking hahaha I meant feldfu b2