From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Sourcing and installation of 'wireless sets' (radios) in cars, focusing on brackets, suppressors, and aerial testing.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 63\3\ scan0052 | |
| Date | 13th July 1934 | |
| 16153 Cx{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager}1/ES.13.7.34. dict. 12.7.34. To ~~Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD}~~ c. to Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Wst. re: RADIO ON CARS. Summarising the results of my visit to W. yesterday and discussion with Wst. one of the chief concerns of the Works is that they should be able to supply and fit to the chassis suitable brackets to carry a wireless set, in order to prevent inferior fitting and damage to parts of our chassis, wiring, etc., arising therefrom. For this reason I am getting in touch with the two English concerns, Lissen and Ekco, to ask them to send to the Works a sample Car set which they are likely to be supplying in the future, together with samples of the suppressors which they use, so that the Works can test these and see if they are really good. We are anxious to establish the fact, if it exists, that the British sets are at least as good as foreign, so as to encourage their use in favour of imported ones. Works had in mind the possibility of equipping all our chassis with suitable suppressors or the necessary screening of certain parts, so that all the customers would have to do would be to fit the wireless set in the ordinary way. It seems, however, hardly necessary to go to that extent, but it would seem advisable for the Works to definitely ascertain exactly what method of screening and what suppressors they would want to use and have these standardised and fitted to any chassis to which the customer intends to fit wireless, and when they are ready to do that, we propose to ask the customer, when we ask for many other particulars about the chassis, whether he intends to have a wireless set fitted. Another point of special interest which requires further investigation, is the Aerial. It was definitely established yesterday that the volume of the set on my car diminishes when the sunshine roof is open and this is because the metal covering of the rear portion of the roof under which the sunshine roof slides, tends to blanket the aerial and therefore the output of volume is affected. It has been suggested that perhaps the roof is not the best place in which to house the aerial because of this variation, and therefore it is hoped by experiments, possibly with the sets which Works will have, to ascertain which form of aerial is the best amongst the several different methods, i.e., wires running fore and aft under the platform sets; sheet of the metal which Philco use in the roof placed in other positions in the car such as under the back seat cushion; also on cars with bumpers, to insulate the bumper from the chassis and use the bumper as an aerial. We should then be able to recommend customers which form of aerial they would find best and avoid all the troubles which I had with my own at the start. Cx.{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager} ---- | ||