Australian made AWA 1960's VHF twin valve Radiosonde

[jonovid]

have you seen or do you have photos or know of this Australian made AWA 1960's 72MHz VHF twin valve Radiosonde
seen over Victoria from 1966 to 1972 most landed in the bush on the Victoria , south Australian border. 
some landed on farmland. Im seeking photos of one.  a story of my father, its the size of a shoe-box made of white cardboard
with Red Text on the sides, the box has white string and a 50 - 40cm brass rod sticking out one end & string out the other end.
thow the antenna is too short for 72MHz it is understood that this is the radio frequency used at the time.
the battery was a dark green twin voltage Eveready brand dry cell of a military radio type, dipped in wax.
if you have any photo of this Australian made AWA 1960's 72MHz VHF twin valve Radiosonde  please do post any photos.
if you have found one or have any photos of this Australian Radiosonde radio transmitter unit. please post any photos.
this image is a art drawing of what the Radiosonde looks like. a google search failed to find anything on Australian made radiosondes.
I am  trying to Piece together information on this.

[CJay]

No pictures here but if it was a commercial product might it be worth contacting current manufacturers of radiosondes to ask if they have any archives or 'history of' documents that may shed some light on the origins?

[vk3yedotcom]

It's a long-shot by maybe try contacting VK6FH who worked for AWA and wrote some history of it http://www.vk6fh.com/

Or try asking on the Amateur (Ham) Radio Australia Facebook page

[jonovid]

an update
text from power house museum - collection database
images of two Australian made radiosondes are from http://radiosondemuseum.org
note the label on the side of the ASTOR radiosonde box  72MHz  and its made in VIC
the humidity and temperature sensors are under the top of the box lid on a white plastic handle that folds out.
three wires on the side of the box are for testing.  the inside should be lined with white polystyrene.

In 1943 Radiosondes based on a design by Diamond-Hinman were first introduced to Australia.
These were a part of the war effort's attempts to predict and measure weather systems.
this design remained relatively unchanged for the next forty years although  in 1945 the first Australian made instruments were introduced by Radio Corporation Ltd under the ASTOR label.

In 1947 Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Ltd, (AWA), began to make small numbers and in 1959
were able to expand production after the introduction of six new stations.

A major shift in the design of the Radiosonde came about in 1981 with the introduction of the Vaisala RS80. Made in Finland
it was much smaller than previous versions and required no assembly or calibration before launch. Small balloons made them more economical and also less of an air safety risk.


the radio corporation  ASTOR radiosonde is of the same design as the Amalgamated Wireless Australasia AWA model.
 so far no schematic

http://www.pyemuseum.org/index.php   pye may be of interest   - has a lot of history about radio & electronics engineering in Australia

[jonovid]

update 2
note altimeter or barometer or one of the same - measures air pressure

See the black & white image of inside a 1950s radiosonde form the US is similar to the Australian design. note- that the dual voltage dry cell battery looks the same as the Australian made radiosonde used. but the circuits are tag strip electronics typical of the 1950s. the long black antenna wire & large RF tank circuit coil seen at the top.  suggests an operating frequency in the HF band.

Publication: The Age 
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Issue Date: Tuesday, April 10, 1973
Page: Page 14

?= error or missing text

The Bureau of Meteorology has again commissioned Electronic Engineering to produce radiosondes balloons carrying electronic equipment
to provide weather information. This is the 20th successive year the division has been awarded the contract.
Radiosondes produced at Hunting-dale are also exported, and recent orders have been received from Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Experts in the Electronics Engineering Division are also commissioned to write technical manuals and handbooks.

For the past 20 years it has been the sole supplier of these equipments to the bureau.
 The "sonde" is a lightweight equipment housed in a small cardboard box and contains instruments to measure air pressure,
temperature and relative humidity sequentially. The instruments are connected to a small battery-powered UHF? FM radio transmitter which sends continuous readings back to the ground station,  from which the equipment is taken aloft by a balloon. When released, the balloons have a diameter of about four ? feet. They rise to heights upwards of 16 miles, transmitting back to the ground stations a complete record of the temperature,  humidity and barometric pressure of the air through which they pass.
Also attached to the balloons are devices of balsa wood covered with aluminium foil which reflect radar beams back to earth.
group first launched the manufacture of radiosondes for the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology.

?  missing text
By this means the ground station can track the speed and direction of the winds. Every day the radiosondes are sent aloft at more than 60 points on the Australian continent and at meteorological outposts on Macquarie Island and the Antarctic. In addition to its very high order from the Bureau of Meteorology Electronics Engineering, which builds both the equipments and the ground station, has big export markets.

It is supplying radiosondes to New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
A modified version of the sondes is being used as a weapon in the fight against pollution of the almosphere.
It measures temperature inversion and the picture derived from this indicates the extent of smog and other pollutants at different heights in the atmosphere.
 ?
Ground stations built by Electronics Engineering receive, decode and print out the information sent back by the sondes.
(Photo- A Philips radiosonde is launched by balloon from a meteorological station in Australia.)
 The balloons carry the instruments as high as 16 miles into the upper atmosphere, from where they report back on temperature,
humidity and atmospheric pressure.

names used  by Electronics Engineering - Philips , Pye , as well as AWA and  Astor also a brand of Australian made 1960s TV set's.

assembling TV and radio sets. ':
Another Melbourne plant produces 'Astor brand refrigerators, freezers, dryers and washing machines,
- The Philips-TMC radio division, not ,? ? 'iar from the Clayton Centre, designs '  and produces mobile radios and radio links for 'isolated telephone subscribers Much of this equipment,  "oriiinally .designed and manufactured for. the Australian Post (PMG) also finding ready acceptance in export markets particularly Malaysia, Hong Kong 'and Fiji. At Oakleigh South, Philips Vision   page photo- radio assembly line at the Centre. (electronics assembly line) ? than 50 different ? of radios aro produced, many of them to suit the ? requirements of major car  ?  Philips and Pye  (car radios)