This is my Siemens/Ediswan G2 receiver installation donated to my collection by Steve Penn of Alresford in Hampshire. Steve was a radio officer who sailed with this type of equipment on a couple of ships including the "Clyde Pioneer". These particular receivers are believed to have been removed from the cable ship "Monarch" (3874gt) during a refit back in the 70's but they were also seen fitted to many other UK ships including some of the BP tanker fleet. Steve was given the opportunity to obtain equipment from the Monarchs old radio installation and choose these two receivers to keep up his interest in radio. When his personal circumstances changed and he found that he no longer had room to keep them, he offered them to my collection.

"Monarch" was the fourth cable ship so named and is pictured in the above image. The third was sunk on April 1945 by a torpedo fired by U2324 after she had repaired the Suffolk-Holland telephone cable. The wreck now lays in 30m of water off Southwold and was given to the BT divers Alan and Fiona Beaumont as a wedding present. The second cable ship Monarch was also a wartime casualty, she struck a mine in 1915 and sunk in 27m of water off Dover.

The G2 is a self contained rack system with a C14 switching panel on top, P17 PSU/AF amplifier below and then the G11 MF Rx over the G12 HF Rx. I must admit that I've never seen this model before and getting info on it may prove to be a problem, but none the less, they are very welcome additions to my collection are will be well cared for. Thanks again Steve.

• Circuit - Single conversion superhet with 9 valves G11 and 13 valves G12 plus 2 in the PSU/amplifier unit.
• Range G11 - 15KHz-20KHz, 100KHz-2.6MHz, G12 - 2.6MHz-26MHz
• Sensitivity - unknown
• Weight - unknown
• Supply - unknown
• Dimensions - 38" x 21" x 20""

The construction of these receivers is very similar to my R1475. It has a metal framework onto which are fixed the various stages built as separate modules. The spindle of the bandchange switch passes through the center of one group of modules and the bandwidth switch through the other. Belling Lee TV type connectors are used to carry the signals between the various stages and a Jones connector for the audio, power and metering.

Here are some internal images of the G11 receiver with the front panel removed and after it has undergone some serious cleaning. This particular receiver was completely standard with no mods, poor workmanship or damage of any kind. All that was needed was for the front panel to be resprayed and the chassis cleaned. The valves were removed and the whole receiver sprayed with a domestic kitchen cleaner. A paint brush was used to dislodge all the dust etc and the receiver was then rinsed with lots and lots of water. Finally, the chassis was thoroughly dried with a hot air gun, all of the rotary switches/valve bases treated with a contact cleaner and the gears and bearings of the variable capacitors lubricated.

Shown here are before and after images of the G11. All fixings have been cleaned with steel wool and the frequency dial and glass gently washed with soapy water. The control knobs have been cleaned and waxed, panel lettering touched up and the dial restrung.

On the left is an internal view of the P17 PSU/AF amplifier before restoration. The large rotary switch in the center of the panel switches power from one receiver to the other. After operating this switch, you have to wait for the second receiver to warm up before it can be used. On the right is the unit with the front panel removed and after the chassis has been cleaned.

The above image shows the finished PSU. Due to the amount of force needed to rotate the power change-over switch, I have replaced the control knob with a larger one of the same style.

Here are some before and after shots of the C14 supply switching panel. The original installation ran from the vessels various AC alternators or a 24 volt DC supply. As I only have the one power source, I plan or rewiring AC1 and AC2 in parallel so that most of the controls on this panel will still function. A problem I always have when restoring these old receivers is sourcing suitable replacement components. BA screws, pots, high voltage smoothing caps and transformers etc are getting more and more difficult to obtain. It's ironic because a few years ago I'd taken boxes of these items down to the local dump because I thought I wouldn't need them anymore. I'm still short of a few panel lamps and some fuse holders to finish this panel, hence the vacant holes.

On the left is an image of the G12's chassis as received. It has some very light surface corrosion on the steel frame but the chassis etc is still in pretty good condition. The image on the right is of the chassis being subjected to the same cleaning treatment the G11 underwent. While this was drying out, I cleaned the chrome lifting handles, all of the fixings and bushes with steel wool and repainted the front panel with a silver/grey hammered finish paint.

These are the before and the nearly finished images. I just have to fit two screws to the front panel that I've put somewhere safe and can't find and it will all be finished. I hope you will agree with me that the results have been worth all the hassle.

This is an image of the Siemens/AEI radio installation that was used in the Hardcastle Street School of Marine Electronics and Radio, Belfast. An E7AA emergency rack is shown on the left, with a T36 H/F transmitter in the centre and the G11/G12 receivers on the right. The installation was designed to be as close to a shipborne installation as possible, commensurate with the requirement to allow their student radio officers adequate access to the equipment for fault-finding training.

This photo is reproduced here with the kind permission of the Association of Marine Electronics and Radio ex Students (AMERES) group. This group was created by four ex-students of the Hardcastle Street school in order to provide a rallying point and a means for ex-students to keep in touch. Their website can be found here:- AMERES

Now I have this big Siemens maritime receiver, I'd like a matching T36 H/F transmitter to go with it - or maybe even a nice Marconi Oceanspan, complete with T1154 style coloured control knobs. I may have to get rid of the dish washer to make room for it though.