WHAT IS THIS? ex Royal AirForce Establishment

[chatterbox]

Hi all,

 

Just wondered if anyone out there knows exactly what this is?

 

It is ex Royal Air Force Establishment.

 

Measures 20" length and 7" high.

 

Made of metal

 

Looks like some sort of jig ? to measure focal lengths maybe - just a guess...

 

Want to advertise it and sell it, but cannot do that till I know what it is......

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv118/chatterboxes2000/LIGHTINGJIG.jpg

 

 

http://s675.photobucket.com/albums/vv118/c...LIGHTINGJIG.jpg[/img]

[mrg198]

It's an optical rail for use with an optical table (although I could imagine it would be used for other things). The rail is bolted to the bench to fix in position and then the carriages will hold lenses or other items and then slide along the rail to focus the lenses in an optical experimental setup.

 

See Optical bench

[RoyJ]

:( Yep would agree,while not quite the same as the laboratory version, it does the same job, light source at one end, different mounts for slits,lenses or gratings and generally space at the end for a spectroscope,quite a nice bit of kit.Happy new year,keep it illuminated Royj

[springgrove]

:( Yep would agree,while not quite the same as the laboratory version, it does the same job, light source at one end, different mounts for slits,lenses or gratings and generally space at the end for a spectroscope,quite a nice bit of kit.Happy new year,keep it illuminated Royj

I agree. It's an optical bench of a type common in schools about 40 years ago. I can't recall the name of the manufacturer, but definitely used this type with my students, and a couple of the benches hung about in the back of a cupboard for years. Might be of interest to a collector of old apparatus, or someone who wanted to set up a particular demonstration.

Nigel

[boatman]

It was probably made by Barr & Stroud in Glasgow. They used to manufacture a wide range of optical equipment including periscopes for submarines. Now known as Thales Optronics.

[cedd]

In an RAF situation it may well have been used for setting up VASI approach lights. We have a similar setup for calibrating our PAPI units (precision approach path indicators - modern variant of VASI's). Basically as an aircraft approaches it sees 4 lights to the side of the approach. These use a dichroic filter so that when above the centreline drawn out from the lamp, they show white, when below, they show red. Now position the 4 at varying angles so that when on the correct glide angle when making an approach (3 degrees normally) you get 2 white and 2 red. You now have an indication of correct approach angle.

 

Is it me or do Thales own just about everything now????? It's either them or BAE systems! Goodbye Marconi, Plessey and Racal!

[J Pearce]

BAE became Selex a few years back. And Finn Meccanica now own them as far as I know; who seemingly own pretty much everyone else!

 

[edit]

I was wrong, having checked only part of BAE became Selex. It was the parts I was working with hence my incorrect assumption.

[Andrew C]

Plessey --> Siemens=German

Many --> Thales=French

Selex (who I'd not heard of)=Russian or similar

 

I wonder who is going to make our tools of death in the next European war?

[cedd]

The radar arm of Selex (previously Plessey) is now Selex Sistemi Integrati. I'm pretty sure they're related to BAE systems somewhere. Sure our last batch of radar spares (Our Plessey Watchman Radar has been going 22 years - they just don't make em like that any more) came with BAE packaging.

 

Seriously, what beautiful equipment al of the above names used to make. The 19" rack on the radar is a solid milled aluminium affair, 1/2" thick solid sides and takes a forklift to shift. Beautiful!