Air Ministry Sound Generator - please help me id what it is?

[robrinay]

I bought the attached item at an antiques fair some time ago as I recognised the Air Ministry mark and assumed it was flight related. After a while in my 'interesting stuff collection' I decided to pass it on to another collector. After a bit of research I made the (probably incorrect) assumption that it was a navigational aid and put it on eBay, but took it off when it was suggested that it might not be a landing aid but was possibly a voice scrambler producing a pulsed noise behind a phone or radio call which could be exactly cancelled by playing the same pulsed noise at the receiving end of the call exactly out of phase. The following is a link to the original ebay listing but this is for information to save me from having to post pics and text here. It is not a 'for sale link' as I don't want to sell until I know what it is how rare it is and whether I should perhaps donate it to an air museum or similar. I have emailed Duxford and Bletchley Park but have had no replies yet. Can anyone help?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360661052730? ... 1562.l2649

 

[269sqnhudson]

Re: Air Ministry Sound Generator - please help me id what it

Google 'Air Ministry sound reproducing unit' and this comes up as the first result:

60 - The National Archives | Search results:AVIA 15
discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk › Discover our collections‎
Results 1 - 60 of 6796 – Ministry of Aircraft Production and predecessor and successors: Registered Files ... papers taken over from the Air Ministry and a few papers added to the ..... proposals for use of self-contained sound reproduction units .

You'll need to dig within and may need to request a document but it's in there somewhere!!! The plate on the machine says 'sound reproducing unit' so I think it's the right thing.

T

 

[robrinay]

Re: Air Ministry Sound Generator - please help me id what it

Gosh we'll done I'll give it a go
Rob

 

[robrinay]

Re: Air Ministry Sound Generator - please help me id what it

An advanced search brought this up which if it refers to the unit I have seems to denote a propaganda sound reproducing device ie a device which played a message - in German? when dropped by parachute - short message then ha ha? I'll have to order the full copy to find out. It might be - if so then the glass disc contains a voice recording read by a light beam converted to sound and then amplified. It is certainly robust enough to stand being thrown out of a plane.

Avia 15/72

Description:
PROPAGANDA (Code 39): Propaganda over Enemy Towns; proposals for use of self-contained sound reproduction units dropped by parachutes

Cheers
Rob

 

[269sqnhudson]

Re: Air Ministry Sound Generator - please help me id what it

Possibly instead of leaflets I guess. Utterley crackers idea clearly not widely used. Try the IWM rather than the Duxford branch, it's where the records are held.

 

[robrinay]

Re: Air Ministry Sound Generator - please help me id what it

A very expensive lump to parachute too. Thank you for your advice I'll email them too.
Rob

 

[robrinay]

Re: Air Ministry Sound Generator - please help me id what it

Update:
A friend is looking at it and started to get it working -the light works and the motor was run for a short period- It takes 240 Volts so its possibly not a self-contained unit designed to be parachuted over enemy territory. More news to follow I hope ref. the message recorded on the glass disc.

I received a reply from the IWM curators who are too busy with their building work/closure to set up an appointment to enable me to compare it to objects in their collection, but kindly gave me a list of Military dealers who might be able to help.

 

[robrinay]

Re: Air Ministry Sound Generator - please help me id what it

Update - here is a link to a YouTube video we made to show the unit and how it operates.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee0mIctsAAU

 

[dujardin]

Re: Air Ministry Sound Generator - please help me id what it

try this link

http://midimagic.sgc-hosting.com/changers.htm

i think it's a kind or recorder, to put data on it, recording voice, message; aso aso....