Page 181 control and signal building 2842 



2842. Vincent Sono -radio Buoy 



The Vincent sono-radio buoy (fig. 51) was designed on the Pacific Coast and it is 

 particularly adapted for use on that coast and in Alaska where it has been used ex- 

 clusively. It is of all-metal construction, comparatively light in weight, and is easy to 

 handle in anchoring and weighing. The various parts are detachable and the buoy 

 occupies little stowage space on board ship. The electric equipment for this buoy is 

 described in 651. 



(A) SPECIFICATIONS FOR VINCENT SONO-RADIO BUOY 



There are, essentially, three parts to the Vincent sono-radio buoy: A steel barrel containing the 

 radio equipment and batteries; a superstructure that consists of an antenna, antenna support, and 

 suitable insulating equipment; and an underwater extension Incorporating a counterweight. 



The barrel is of a standard 55-gallon bilge type construction. It is made of 13-gage chrome 

 steel, hot-dipped galvanized, and it is strong enough to need no external ribs or bracing, offering min- 

 imum resistance to wind and current. The barrel has a full removable cover, whose edge is rounded 

 to fit the rolled chimes of the barrel. The cover is held on the barrel by a semicircular, split ring, 

 fitting over the rounded edges of the cover and chimes. The cover may be removed when one bolt is 

 loosened in the split ring, allowing it to spring apart. The barrel is made watertight by a rubber 

 gasket fitting under the cover. The cover is made of 12-gage chrome steel and in it is a 4-inch hand- 

 hole, fitted with a screw plug and gasket, and two watertight packing boxes in holes near the edge 

 of the cover through which pass the leads to the antenna and hydrophone. 



The superstructure of the buoy is supported on the barrel cover; it consists of a tripod support, 

 an insulator which encloses the antenna coupler, the antenna which is made of one or two sections of 

 metal tubing and a duralumin pennant, and three insulated wire guys attached to the barrel. 



The tripod support consists of three pieces of 1- by )^-inch strap iron welded to the cover, sur- 

 mounted by a 6-inch diameter plate. A 3-inch pipe flange is welded to the top of the plate to hold 

 the antenna insulator. 



The main antenna insulator is a bakelite cylinder of S^i-inch outside diameter, 2}^-inch Inside 

 diameter, and 12 inches long. Both ends of this cylinder are turned down on a lathe and threaded, 

 one end to fit in the 3-inch diameter pipe flange and the other end to take a 3-inch pipe cap. While 

 it is in the lathe, grooves are cut in the outside surface of the bakelite to increase the leakage distance. 



The antenna is usually made of one 12-foot section of 20-gage chrome-molybdenum steel tubing 

 of l}i-inch diameter, which is threaded into the pipe cap fitting on top of the antenna insulator. An 

 additional 4 feet of ^^-inch diameter rod of aluminum alloy and a duralumin pennant may be used if 

 desired. The antenna is supported by three guys whose upper ends are attached to a guy collar 

 clamp, and which lead, through turnbuckles, to a three-segment ring, which is bolted around the 

 barrel under the chime by means of three dogs. The guys are made of ^e-inch stainless steel cable, 

 7 by 7 construction, and each guy includes four 2-inch porcelain insulators, two near the top and two 

 near the bottom. 



The bottom structure consists of a tripod support made of Iji- by }^-inch strap iron welded to 

 two semicircular pieces of metal that fit and clamp to the bottom diameter of the barrel, and welded 

 to a collar clamp which fits a 2-inch diameter water pipe. The water pipe, used for the counterbalance, 

 is usually 7 feet in length and is counterweighted with 25 pounds of lead that is melted and poured 

 into its lower end. The upper end of the pipe is screwed into a 2-inch pipe flange welded to a 6-inch 

 diameter plate on the bottom of the barrel. This plate is held in the center of the tripod by radial 

 strips welded to each leg which serve to stiffen the structure. The pipe is then braced where it passes 

 through the collar clamp. Screwing the pipe into the pipe flange permits the use of varying lengths 

 of pipe to obtain a proper balance for the buoy. 



The buoy is provided with a hoisting sling, made from ^^-inch galvanized steel cable, with an eye 

 spliced in each end. The sling is attached in the bolts for the dogs at the upper and lower ring clamps, 

 and the anchor cable is shackled to the opposite dog bolt on the lower ring clamp. 



The antenna lead is carried through one of the watertight packing glands through a }^-inch welded 

 tube to the antenna coupler in the bakelite insulator. The lead to the hydrophone is carried through 

 the other watertight packing gland to the hydrophone which is suspended by a cable lashed to the 

 bottom of the counterbalance pipe. 



