The Plated antennas would have likely been copper.  You can’t plate alloys, not easily anyway, and certainly not in that time period. (LBL (layer by layer) deposition with post annealing was developed by the semiconductor industry, 30 years later.  Steel is an alloy.  Also, the plating salts would have to be compatible with the base material (cellulosic fiber). Most aren’t, H2SO4/CuSO4 will attack wood fiber, and that is probably why few of the plated antennas have survived (I assume the wood was sealed with some for of lacquer or varnish, but it was probably an imperfect process).  I also wonder if they may have used metal flame spraying, which was a technique that existed at the time.

 

Scott W7SVJ

 

 

From: arc5-bounces@mailman.qth.net <arc5-bounces@mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of Michael Hanz
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2024 20:44
To: Hubert Miller <Kargo_cult@msn.com>; ARC-5 <arc5@mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [ARC5] [MRCA] AN-104 aircraft antenna copper sheathing replacement.

 

It's just battery acid, Hue.  My father always did his own auto mechanic work and taught me how to handle it safely.  (Add concentrated acid to the water, not the other way around.) 

I still remember. 

Back before such things became unfashionable, all these lessons were a common part of home mechanic magazines.  We seem to have lost most of that knowledge over the years.  How many people do you know who have a lathe in their home?  After the war it seemed like one in ten - helped by war surplus, of course.  Now it might be one in a thousand.  It would be interesting to see a survey.

That seems very sad.

- Mike  KC4TOS

On 1/11/2024 7:48 PM, Hubert Miller wrote:

OH, i just noticed and read the attachment. Odd, strikes me, that the NBS presented a paper on plating 

baby shoes. When i was reading this and saw the words, "sulfuric acid", i decided i would not be copper

plating any shoes, altho i think it's wonderful that the process is explained. 

-Hue Miller 

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