Hi Folks.  Just joined. First post. Just stumbled on this site. I've been collecting time switches for many moons now. Mainly Sangamo, then Venner and Horstmann. My favourites being in that order. Oldest one is a 3 pin Sangamo with Solar Dial - over 50 years old and still going , all be it with a little gear train noise now ! On the subject of Sangamo's I noted an earlier post by Diove. Speak to the incredibly nice and helpful people at Sangamo. What you need is a Zone 3 (54 degree) or a Zone 4 (56 degree) dial depending on whereabouts in Scotland you live. (I'm a 56 degree man) £25.00p delivered then fit and forget ! Well worth the money. Prized exhibit is a yellow dial model. Only made for the 3 year (?) experiment of permanent BST. Spring reserve jobs and long discontinued interval timers - masterpieces of electro-mechanical engineering !

Venners of various types and Horstman's too. I could go on, but those at the back are already asleep !!  

Cheers.

Welcome to Ukastle. Thanks for the info about replacement dials being available from Sangamo, didn't think they still made replacement parts like that for the solar types.

I have several Sangamo types, including some of the spring reserve types, as you say wonderful engineering, makes a part night electronic cell seem so dull!

I've seen the yellow dial ones before, but didn't realise why they were yellow.

Many thanks for the welcome. Yes, Sangamo keep various handy spares. Just a heads up.... If you buy a used Q (quartz) switch from an on line auction site, beware it may look "as new", but the rechargeable cell could be a goner if it's been left off the juice for a long time. I've bought new cells from the factory and soldered them into the board within. A simple job. Bingo, good for many years to come. Soldering leg positions vary on the cells. Check you order the right configuration.

Just for info. the newer switches although marked "S" (synchronous) are in fact all quartz units with NO battery reserve. "Q" as the letter implies are quartz WITH a battery reserve. Chatting to a chap from the factory, and he said the costs involved of producing a complex gear train unit versus a quartz unit is a no-brainer. I can quite understand that.

I hope the above may be of use to some. Apologies if I'm teaching my Grannny to suck eggs etc......

Mike.

That's good to know, thanks 3pin.
I've dropped quite a few when pulling them from columns and bashed the dials out-of-round. I'll see if they can offer replacements. The batteries have failed on all the others I look after.

I recently picked up a joblot of vintage electrical engineering magazines from the late 1930's. Although I have come across similar titles over the years, I thought these ones were particularly good, as they outlined the current trends and developments in motors, switchgear, heating / lighting etc.

At the time, electrical technology was continuing to advance rapidly, especially in areas such as generation, manufacturing, transport, industrial and commercial installations etc.

Anyway, as the viability of any publication is dependent on the regular purchasing of advertising space, it will come as no surprise that these journals have plenty of subscribers. Whilst the majority relate to cable, switchgear, motors and the like, there are also a good few adverts from the notable lamp and street lighting manufacturers of the period.

Some of these may already be featured on Mr Cornwell's website, but I thought I would share a few with you.

Here are a couple to get things going. They are advertising Sangamo and Horstmann timeswitches.

I would imagine we all have a fair few of these in our collections!

_________________
"As we moved along in a little procession, I was delighted with the illumination of the streets. So many lamps and they burned until morning, my father said, and so people did not need to carry lanterns."
Mary Antin - US author & activist. 1881-1949.

Superb adverts, from an era when we actually Made (things) in Great Britain.