What is it? CXCI

[R.H.]

Just posted set 191:

[Smaug Ichorfang]

"R.H." wrote in news:46b19549$0$4930 $ [e-mail]:

1050. Wiring or grounding block 1051a/b. I was going to say a was a tamp of some sort, but b is a flail for seperating grain from husks, so I assume a is also. 1052. Assembly wedge used to keep parts together during manufacture 1053. Fiber optic "magnifying glass" used in night vision gear 1054.??

[dav1936531]

1050: cable connector---incoming circuit box 1051a-b: serial killer gadgets? 1052: no idea....but I'd open paint cans with it 1053: photographer's negative magnifier? 1054: Bruce Lee chop-socky movie weapon? Dave

[Lloyd E. Sponenburgh]

scope.

LLoyd

[RicodJour]

sticks into a rafter or strapping, the slate to be cut or punched is held on top of the beveled cutting edge, and the beveled edge of the slater's hammer is used to trim the slate. Pointy end of the hammer pokes the holes for the nails.

R

[Erik]

Hmmm... 1049 may indeed be a shell fuse, but it seems strange to me they would bother plating something like that.

Also it kind of looks to me like it's had a good bit of use, and I'm not talking 'explosive like' looking use.

Erik

[dav1936531]

The Navy may plate components such as this to prevent salt water corrosion. Dave

[else24]

And, I'm guessing, there were probably quite a few of them used in training classes. Those would have a much better chance to end up in somebody's collection than the pieces that actually went to war.

[Steve R.]

1049 looks like it might be the nose of a time fused artillery shell. Perhaps an AA shell.

Steve R.

[DoN. Nichols]

According to R.H. :

1049) A fuze for some form of munitions. I think that it is probably for a mortar, based on the size.

The bronze ring sets it for a specific time after firing before it blows up -- or perhaps (if an artillery shell) a specific altitude above ground.

1050) A splicing block for heavy gauge wires inside power distribution blocks. At a guess, it is sized for a maximum of 3-0 or 4-0 wire. I say a splicing block instead of a termination because the only through hole is too small for a heavy enough bolt to carry the current that the wires could bring in, so it must be just for attaching it to an insulator block. 1051) My guess that that both are for processing grain (breaking the husk and keeping the kernel). The second one is fastened to the end of short a chain, with a handle on the other end, and it is swung around the head of the user, so I suspect that it would be used for standing grain, while the first would be used on grain loose on a floor. 1052) Looks like a removable handle for some kind of mechanical (not electrical) switch. It pivots around the cross-pin, and the end slides some mechanism in something. 1053) A fiber optics magnifier (as oriented) or image reducer.

The giveaway is the greater brightness at the bottom as it sits.

1054) An interesting design of a harvesting tool -- at a guess for something like sugar cane.

Now to see what others have guessed.

Enjoy, DoN.

[DoN. Nichols]

According to Lloyd E. Sponenburgh :

Interesting that so many have identified it as night vision related.

I used to work for the Army Night Vision Labs, and while I have seen fiber optics blocks used to couple multiple stages of the old image intensifiers, and used to twist an image 180 degrees (when replacing a first generation intensifier which inverted the image with a second-generation one which did not, I have not seen one like the one here.

What night vision system was it used in?

I guess that it could be used on the input side, to allow imaging with a larger lens, or perhaps to shrink the output side to a smaller (but brighter) area as an extra stage of gain for free.

Enjoy, DoN.

[Smaug Ichorfang]

[e-mail] (DoN. Nichols) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

It's used on the exit (output) side of a microchannel device. It's an easy way to enlarge the image w/o lenses. I used to have one of these, donated by a mfgr. to demonstrate fiber optic principals (it had slight defects making it unsuitable for use in night vision system).

[Brent Beal]

Now you know how they come up with cost "overruns".

[DoN. Nichols]

According to Smaug Ichorfang :

O.K. The second generation ones.

O.K. Thanks, DoN.

[DoN. Nichols]

According to Brent Beal :

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I think that the plating would increase the chances that it would work after being battered in the field -- especially likely with a mortar round, which is likely to be set up and used in the rain. Also, Anti-Aircraft rounds might be kept exposed to the weather for a while until some enemy aircraft come around to be shot at, so having something which won't rust or otherwise corrode in the field is worth a bit of extra money for the plating.

Enjoy, DoN.