How old is my RACAL?
Ex-services Racal equipment is fitted with a front panel identification plate
comprising of the N.S.N (Nato stock number), description, serial number and the
date code. This is in addition to the Racal serial number plate fitted on the
rear of the equipment. The military plate gives either a letter code or a figure
code which indicates when the equipment was manufactured. This date code may
appear in the form 'UD" or "7315".
|
A Jan |
M 1955 |
|
B Feb |
N 1956 |
|
C Mar |
O 1957 |
|
D Apr |
P 1958 |
|
E May |
Q 1959 |
|
F June |
R 1960 |
|
G July |
S 1961 |
|
H Aug |
T 1962 |
|
I Sept |
U 1963 |
|
J Oct |
V 1964 |
|
K Nov |
W 1965 |
|
L Dec |
X 1966 |
| |
Y 1967 |
| |
Z 1968 |
After the end of 1968, the date code changed to a numerical presentation
giving the year and week of manufacture. Thus "7315" indicates the equipment was
manufactured during week 15 of 1973. However, it is possible in some instances
that the label may show the actual year of manufacture i.e. 1957.
The ex-services front panel identification plate is usually black with the
relevant info stamped onto it. Non-services equipment front panel identification
plate is usually all blue with just the equipment description included on it.
* An extract from a now defunct racal chat group. Thanks to Brian Goldsmith
for providing this information.
Last modified
Thursday March 29, 2007