I have long wondered exactly what this unit was, the magneto appears from the points end to be M01 but it has that square cover on the other end, the Alternator I know nothing about, was it made specially for this project or was it a pre war device for some other purpose?

Does anyone have any codes to identify either part?

Rob

email (option): robmiller11(a)yahoo.co.uk

The oblong end cover might just have been a non standard drive cover fitted to a standard MO1 to adapt it for the alternator...It's interesting that the mag dynamo straps appear to be unaltered with an aluminium 'top plate' fitted to take up spare space and allow them to be tightened....

The alternator itself was an early attempt at such a unit and it had an obviously and impractically low output, even for blackout restrictions!...I imagine the attraction was the deletion of the dynamo, regulator, horn etc. and battery etc. in the quest for weight reductions..From the wiring diagram I recall a resistor was used instead of a regulator...Alternator outputs were not controlled by a regulator (zenner diode) until 12V alternators appeared post war...Later 6 volt alternator systems with a higher output controlled output to match demand by switching the various alternator coils in and out as required...This required fully integrated lighting and ignition circuits and complicated switching....
The B30 system was soon, unsurprisingly, deemed a failure as it seems magdynamos were retro fitted at a later date..I have photos of the same B30 with both systems at different dates...Later pictures show the machine with a DU42 headlamp, battery etc...
The Triumph 3TW also had an alternator, though of a different type and in two different versions, or at least in two different locations on the engine...
I didn't come across any Lucas numbers for the unit during my searches for B30 information and it may well have been entirely experimental....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

There is some info in the instruction book on electrical equipment.

Thanks Steve, so the alternator windings are in the outer body and the magnets are attached to the central spinning shaft?

Jan has turned up some wartime paperwork which shows that this system was discontiued because at low speeds you lost your lights unless you switched over to the dry cell battery which presumably didn't have a very long life.

Its still hard to see how the end plate on the magneto looked inside?

Rob

email (option): robmiller11(a)yahoo.co.uk

This is a No 800 type battery as fitted inside the head lamp shell,pics off ebay no sizes given.