# REES MACE Marine Radio Equipment



## David Fyfe (Nov 19, 2011)

Folks,
I'd dearly like to hear of memories of Rees Mace equipment. An aquisition last week of an AC/DC 3 Band(MF & HF)Rx Type 'N' has prompted my interest. Its of a wartime utility construction, & was used by the original owner to monitor wireless traffic on trawlers returning to Aberdeen after the war. A circuit diagram would be a boon.
Seemingly Rees Mace made equipment for commercial & RN vessels.

Regards, David


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## Searcher2004 (May 3, 2012)

*Rees-Mace gear*



David Fyfe said:


> Folks,
> I'd dearly like to hear of memories of Rees Mace equipment. An aquisition last week of an AC/DC 3 Band(MF & HF)Rx Type 'N' has prompted my interest. Its of a wartime utility construction, & was used by the original owner to monitor wireless traffic on trawlers returning to Aberdeen after the war. A circuit diagram would be a boon.
> Seemingly Rees Mace made equipment for commercial & RN vessels.
> 
> Regards, David


Hello David,

Not seen that model before, hope you manage to find some data on it. I think the company was local to me, based in Lowestoft and they made the 618/619 series transmitter and receiver installation for the RN, nice gear but VERY heavy! I have a full manual for that model if you come across one.

Cheers

Roger Basford


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## David Fyfe (Nov 19, 2011)

*Rees-Mace*

Hello Roger, 
Thanks for your reply. Just wondering - would there be any ex employees still living in Lowestoft ? And, is there a well-read local rag who I could send a info request ad to ?
I find that researching these small old UK marine radio companies such as Coastal Radio & now Rees-Mace, is just as interesting as the hands-on repair & renovation work.

Regards, David


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## cajef (Feb 8, 2012)

Hi,

Used to live in Lowestoft, you could try the Lowestoft Journal it is pretty well read there.

http://www.lowestoftjournal.co.uk/home


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## Searcher2004 (May 3, 2012)

David Fyfe said:


> Hello Roger,
> Thanks for your reply. Just wondering - would there be any ex employees still living in Lowestoft ? And, is there a well-read local rag who I could send a info request ad to ?
> I find that researching these small old UK marine radio companies such as Coastal Radio & now Rees-Mace, is just as interesting as the hands-on repair & renovation work.
> 
> Regards, David


Hi David,

I have a had a brief look at Google and see that R-M were taken over by Pye at some point. Pye had a TV factory until a few years ago and I think that became part of Sanyo. The Lowestoft Journal is the main newspaper and they have a web site. There was a time when several of the local hams would have been ex-Pye but I guess the years have taken their toll! I'm sure there will be some people in the area who recall the company or worked there. 

Let us know how you get on,

Cheers

Roger


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## GW3OQK (Jun 10, 2010)

I have a Rees Mace Marine 619 rx as a main RX in my vintage shack, with a Murphy 618 TX. They work well, but like all that generation the narrow bandwidth skirts are not steep enough for modern conditions. Pictures on QRZ Z. Would like to have some event for these old radios.
Andrew
GW3OQK


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## David Fyfe (Nov 19, 2011)

*Rees-mace*

Many thanks Andrew for your interesting reply. I was very envious of your vintage shack, after looking at the pictures on QRZ. 
I have a trio of ex marine HF AM rigs, but no room to power up or work on a bench. Just a Sailor 76D Tx/66TS Rx bolted to the wall & connected to an 80m Doublet via a Johnson Viking Matchbox. I've duplicated a vessel's 24V DC independant supply by connecting two 12V tractor batteries to the N1404 Battey Charger & N1400 PSU out of a huge 1000Series Sailor Radio ex Coastguard HF SSB Cabinet. Recently I've been renovating some Coastal Radio equipment, and another vintage radio pal has given me a lovely Eddystone 730/4 Rx to pair with the CR 340 Nimbus Tx. Just some rubbing down & respraying to do on the smaller CR Curlew Tx/Rx now that its been renovated.
The Rees Mace Rx awaits TLC. But an early start on spring-cleaning & bedroom decorating has put electronicing on the back shelf just now. I've emailed the Lowestoft Courier & the Lowestoft Maritime Museum, but no response yet.
I've ventured out into the ether on 80m just a handful of times with my three Tx's. But the likes of 3615 etc are inundated with interference & SSB traffic an awful lot. So sucessful test transmissions to the SDR site at Twente, Holland will do me just now.
VMARS seems the best medium for arranging some sort of vintage marine HF venue. But their venues are all down in England. Mainly ex Royal Signals or REME guys - using Clansman, Larkspur, WS19's & some 1154/55 rigs, etc. I take my hat off to them for their dedication.

Regards, David


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## GW3OQK (Jun 10, 2010)

What I meant by event was only on-air, and mostly CW. As for AM R/T I have heard 5317 being used, probably better than 3615. I sometimes use the Rees Mace etc on sked or a contest where I once had "Tubes 27" in operation. The RX receives on MF 472 kHz, and my T1154 does the transmitting. I made a variometer to tune my inv L and have had a QSO there last week.
Andrew


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## Searcher2004 (May 3, 2012)

Hi Andrew,

As you say, 5317 kHz is becoming the de facto AM frequency in the UK. Although the cold weather kept me out of the shack when I was home last I was able to make a few contacts there using my ex-US Navy WWII TCS station, about 15 watts of RF from a 1625 PA. I worked a few other vintage stations, including one using a WS-19. I don't yet have any gear for the old marine MF band but I'm on the lookout. A T1154 would be nice to have but prices are too high these days. I can run 450w of AM on the MW above 1 MHz, using a BC-610 but I expect that would make me very unpopular with OFCOM! No doubt some research would show if I could pull the '610 down to the allocation, must dig out the manual.

Cheers

Roger

G3VKM/MM


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## David Fyfe (Nov 19, 2011)

*Rees Mace Eq.*

Andrew & Roger,
Thanks guys for your replies. For me, sadly, both the oscillator circuitry & the tank circuitry for Sailor & Coastal Radio ex marine AM Tx's which I have,(the only Tx's I have, in fact), are only designed for tapping adjustments from 1.6 up to 4.2 or 3.8 MHz resp. So its only possibly 160m & definitely only 80m AM usage for me - for testing purposes & operating, after they've been repaired & returned to full working condition.
I wonder if Rees Mace ever delved much into Tx research and production? I guess I should now aspire to aquire one of their old HF AM Tx's to repair & pair with the Type N Rx.

Regards, David


Searcher2004 said:


> Hi Andrew,
> 
> As you say, 5317 kHz is becoming the de facto AM frequency in the UK. Although the cold weather kept me out of the shack when I was home last I was able to make a few contacts there using my ex-US Navy WWII TCS station, about 15 watts of RF from a 1625 PA. I worked a few other vintage stations, including one using a WS-19. I don't yet have any gear for the old marine MF band but I'm on the lookout. A T1154 would be nice to have but prices are too high these days. I can run 450w of AM on the MW above 1 MHz, using a BC-610 but I expect that would make me very unpopular with OFCOM! No doubt some research would show if I could pull the '610 down to the allocation, must dig out the manual.
> 
> ...


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