I'm attempting to determine the approximate age of a device I have by it's wiring since there are no other identifiable marks. While it's not actually a rig (it's an old electric powered film security camera), I feel this is the appropriate place to post given the expertise of the Ham community.

At first I believed the outer coating of the wire is a waxed cotton or paper but upon closer inspection may actually be white paint or some early form of wire plasticization. This waxed or painted part is braided around a rubber wire and the rubber is translucent white in color. The wire is 14 gauge, stranded steel, one conductor.

My intuition says this is a plane or tank camera from WWII, or possibly a bank security camera but since it has no markings I cannot look it up. I have also not found anything even remotely similar in likeness anywhere on the Internet. Any insight to an age range of when this wire was used commercially would be greatly appreciated.

wrote:
I'm attempting to determine the approximate age of a device I have by it's =
wiring since there are no other identifiable marks. While it's not actually=
a rig (it's an old electric powered film security camera), I feel this is =
the appropriate place to post given the expertise of the Ham community.=20

What is the camera? Any nameplate? Does it take 35mm or 16mm? Perfed or
unperfed? Does it shoot a single frame or cine? What does the lens mount
look like?

At first I believed the outer coating of the wire is a waxed cotton or pape=
r but upon closer inspection may actually be white paint or some early form=
of wire plasticization. This waxed or painted part is braided around a rub=
ber wire and the rubber is translucent white in color. The wire is 14 gauge=
, stranded steel, one conductor.

Anything that is stranded steel is pretty weird to begin with, and would be
used only for special purposes. Are you sure this is an electrical wire and
not used for a mechanical purpose?

My intuition says this is a plane or tank camera from WWII, or possibly a b=
ank security camera but since it has no markings I cannot look it up. I hav=
e also not found anything even remotely similar in likeness anywhere on the=
Internet. Any insight to an age range of when this wire was used commercia=
lly would be greatly appreciated.

If it's a bank security camera it probably took unperfed film with a
mutilated roller to advance frames. The film was processed with the same
microfilm processing gear the bank used for check microfilms.

If it's a gunsight camera from WWII, it will be a cine camera and it will
(if it's American) accept a 16mm daylight-loading magazine. The Army
standardized on those early in the war and there are a _lot_ of old
AN/N-6A gunsight cameras out there.

Another common possibility is a radarscope camera. Those were single frame
and not cine, but they would often accept daylight-loading magazines of
various sorts.

Got any photos of this item?
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."