I should have snapped a picture -- I helped my son repair one of the 375HP Teledyne engines on the Cessna -- I held the bolts in place while he torqued them up.
As a father, you get a real sense of fulfillment when one of the small-fry, a particularly messy one in his youth, is meticulous in re-assembling an aircraft engine.
I should buy one of those. Back in the 1960's one of my friends brother had to keep his chained to the garage floor to keep it from getting stolen!
The hot car in my youth was the SS Camaro with 396 and headers.
As a father, you get a real sense of fulfillment when one of the small-fry, a particularly messy one in his youth, is meticulous in re-assembling an aircraft engine.
I should buy one of those. Back in the 1960's one of my friends brother had to keep his chained to the garage floor to keep it from getting stolen!
The hot car in my youth was the SS Camaro with 396 and headers.
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I just finished three hours of taking all food out of the freezer section of my refrigerator and putting it in Ice Chests.
Then I removed all shelves, and the back plate covering the evap coils.
I then poured warm water over the ice covering everything until I had it cleared while laying towels on the floor to collect the run-off. After melting the ice, I cleared the drain tube to the collection pan, flushed it with bleach and then water.
Then I used compressed air to clear the condenser coils of lint, sprayed everything with Greased Lightning, flushed it and dried up the mess.
I used a shop vac to suck up the dust bunnies.
Finally I put all the shelves back in place after washing them, and turned it back on.
After a 15 minute wait I restocked all the shelves from the ice chests.
Then I cleaned up the resulting mess and pushed the refrigerator back into place.
Then I removed all shelves, and the back plate covering the evap coils.
I then poured warm water over the ice covering everything until I had it cleared while laying towels on the floor to collect the run-off. After melting the ice, I cleared the drain tube to the collection pan, flushed it with bleach and then water.
Then I used compressed air to clear the condenser coils of lint, sprayed everything with Greased Lightning, flushed it and dried up the mess.
I used a shop vac to suck up the dust bunnies.
Finally I put all the shelves back in place after washing them, and turned it back on.
After a 15 minute wait I restocked all the shelves from the ice chests.
Then I cleaned up the resulting mess and pushed the refrigerator back into place.
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Don't buy a C5! They all have an Achilles heel in that the EBCM is obsolete. It affects the later years much less than the early years like mine. For me it's a nightmare.
Actually, a Corvette isn't the car I desired in my youth, that would be a big block musclecar or a 30's hot rod. The Corvette is just so practical: roomy, powerful, reliable, open air (targa top).
So good to hear your son is meticulous with airplane maintenance. If you read the report on the Reno Air Race crash that took quite a few lives a few years back, you'll shake your head plenty of times. I'm pretty sure I've sat in the stands in the area where spectators were killed, just not that year of course.
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A friend pointed out that someone was selling GenRad (General Radio) microphone "1/2 inch preamps" (the body part that a condenser mic capsule screws onto, giving it ultra high impedance buffering and 200V polarization supply) for $25, shipped. I had recently got a nice Bruel and Kjaer capsule and was watching for a B&K type preamp for it. But these are a lot cheaper and easier to use than B&K's preamp-bodies, also has a 10x (+20dB) gain position and the 200V supply is builtin. Worth a gamble for $25 I thought --
But these come without their unobtainium cable or cable connector. But no biggie, I opened up the case and soldered cable wires (an old USB cable) directly to the pins, 3d printed some cable clamp parts, and... found that the preamp was dead! Shorted (B-C) transistor in its amplifier circuit. Found a schematic online. I replaced the blown NPN with a 2N3904 out of the parts drawer and now it works like a charm. I also printed a nice inline 1/2" mic to standard mic stand attachment.
At the moment there are still 4 of the preamps left on the bay if anyone wants a project with a good payoff (for anyone wanting to put together an ultra high quality microphone anyway - A B&K like it would cost hundreds). No connection to me, but I bought two of them. Waiting on the second to arrive and get adapted.
But these come without their unobtainium cable or cable connector. But no biggie, I opened up the case and soldered cable wires (an old USB cable) directly to the pins, 3d printed some cable clamp parts, and... found that the preamp was dead! Shorted (B-C) transistor in its amplifier circuit. Found a schematic online. I replaced the blown NPN with a 2N3904 out of the parts drawer and now it works like a charm. I also printed a nice inline 1/2" mic to standard mic stand attachment.
At the moment there are still 4 of the preamps left on the bay if anyone wants a project with a good payoff (for anyone wanting to put together an ultra high quality microphone anyway - A B&K like it would cost hundreds). No connection to me, but I bought two of them. Waiting on the second to arrive and get adapted.
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Nicely done bwaslo, didn't know that B&K capsules can be used with preamps from a different brand.
In 2009 I bought a property with a 1972 lawn-tractor on it. Didn't want to start and run but I got it going again. There wasn't a lot of lawn to mow, but I used it for hauling, even to grade the driveway.
Cut a pair of tongue & groove cellular PVC panels to slot into the lips & channels of my aluminum storm window, to cover up the pockets on either side of an air conditioner in a double-hung window. This should keep those damn squirrels from parking their little fuzzy butts in there while they're trying to chew through the plastic accordion louvers on either side of the unit and GAIN ENTRANCE TO MY HOME. Little bastards... 😡
It was news to me, too. Demian Martin clued me onto it, apparently there is an overall mechanical standard for this stuff, set originally by Western Electric. As far as I can find, GenRad never made an externally polarized capsule themselves. The 200V is provided for Bruel and Kjaer capsules according to the preamp's manual.
Kenwood Chef. Been in the family ~50 years. Aunt, Mum & now my Daughter.
Worked last time it was used but when tried again it sounded like a cement mixer.
Found good parts support on the web. Design barely changed.
Plastic pinion had split. Went for the gearbox conversion kit as not much more expensive - replaces first pair of gears with helicals for quieter running as per current models.
Interesting speed controller - centrifugal governor opens a contact. Contact open - 450R in series with motor. Contact closed - resistance bypassed.
Speed dial moves the contacts closer or away from the governor. No electronics.
Worked last time it was used but when tried again it sounded like a cement mixer.
Found good parts support on the web. Design barely changed.
Plastic pinion had split. Went for the gearbox conversion kit as not much more expensive - replaces first pair of gears with helicals for quieter running as per current models.
Interesting speed controller - centrifugal governor opens a contact. Contact open - 450R in series with motor. Contact closed - resistance bypassed.
Speed dial moves the contacts closer or away from the governor. No electronics.
The latest repair is a handheld garden sprayer. Suddenly, the hand air pump became hard to use. On inspection, I found the pump could be disassembled easily. I removed the pump's plunger and cleaned the barrel and the plunger's head. Then, I used Vaseline to lubricate the rubber O-ring. After assembling, pumping air was much easier than I can remember.
Repaired old soviet ВЕГА-108-СТЕРЕО (VEGA-108-STEREO, like in an attachment) vinyl disc player for my older colleague. Threw out 30-40 old faily paper, electrolyte and ceramic type caps, and old prone-to-fail transistors. Resistors with +10% or -10% deviation (or even more) in feedback circuits and awful PCB design make me crazy.
Now it works like a new one or possibly even better.
Now it works like a new one or possibly even better.
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Broke down and bought some more. Next worked fine without repairs, just needed cable (an old USB cable works great) soldered on and a strain relief added. Drive it from +15V to +20V. Not sure what I'll do with several of them (only needed one) but seemed too good to pass up.
Just fixed the side window in my wife's Fusion that wouldn't move. After drowning the thing in silicone lube it looked like it was definately the motor. I already had a motor on hand from an old trip to Pick n Pull when a sale was on. Just popped it on and it worked right away.
Put some switchback LED's in the Vette this week. I noticed a bolt was missing from a previous owner's work. I thought "hmm, that looks like the same 10mm head bolts that Ford uses". It was. I guess common sense took over the globalized auto industry a while ago.
Put some switchback LED's in the Vette this week. I noticed a bolt was missing from a previous owner's work. I thought "hmm, that looks like the same 10mm head bolts that Ford uses". It was. I guess common sense took over the globalized auto industry a while ago.
A very small job but I learned something useful.
I had just recently been told the story of a transformer manufactured with mylar insulation that had started to get a bad mechanical buzz. The winder figured out that the bond between the mylar and potting compound which seemed good when first done separated with the repeated stress from operation and then things could start to move.
So when I was asked to put the plug back on the power cord for a twenty year old (!) Hitachi laptop it was the perfect chance to see how it worked and use the bond failure for good effect.
With the center conductors spread and run into each other and soldered and a piece of black insulated wire connecting each end of peeled back outer braid I let a mix of G2 epoxy sit for about an hour to thicken up and then poured it onto the joint which was lying on a rectangular piece of mylar cut from an anti static parts bag. Lifting the mylar ends up and around around to meet each other and clamped pinched close to the cable until next day.
When I first started to pull the ends apart to separate the mylar the bond seemed pretty solid and I thought maybe it wasn't going to let go but once I hit some critical pull force it suddenly popped off nice and clean. Very useful for odd shapes that need infill or encapsulation.
I had just recently been told the story of a transformer manufactured with mylar insulation that had started to get a bad mechanical buzz. The winder figured out that the bond between the mylar and potting compound which seemed good when first done separated with the repeated stress from operation and then things could start to move.
So when I was asked to put the plug back on the power cord for a twenty year old (!) Hitachi laptop it was the perfect chance to see how it worked and use the bond failure for good effect.
With the center conductors spread and run into each other and soldered and a piece of black insulated wire connecting each end of peeled back outer braid I let a mix of G2 epoxy sit for about an hour to thicken up and then poured it onto the joint which was lying on a rectangular piece of mylar cut from an anti static parts bag. Lifting the mylar ends up and around around to meet each other and clamped pinched close to the cable until next day.
When I first started to pull the ends apart to separate the mylar the bond seemed pretty solid and I thought maybe it wasn't going to let go but once I hit some critical pull force it suddenly popped off nice and clean. Very useful for odd shapes that need infill or encapsulation.
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Not strictly a repair but an upgrade to studio EQ + a repair thrown in.
1 pair of Pultec EQP-1A valve / passive LC Equalizer copies, conversion from EQ
cut / boost potentiometers to 23 pos rotary switches. 5 in each module, 10
total. 220 resistors. I used a combination of XL spreadsheet and actual
measuring the existing Pot to work out the 22 resistor values for Log Pots
replacements.
The EQ's were also oscillating around 40kHz. Fixed that with revised compensation scheme. Re-tubed.
TCD
1 pair of Pultec EQP-1A valve / passive LC Equalizer copies, conversion from EQ
cut / boost potentiometers to 23 pos rotary switches. 5 in each module, 10
total. 220 resistors. I used a combination of XL spreadsheet and actual
measuring the existing Pot to work out the 22 resistor values for Log Pots
replacements.
The EQ's were also oscillating around 40kHz. Fixed that with revised compensation scheme. Re-tubed.
TCD
Attachments
Let's see.......
The 33 year old AO Smith gas hot water heater decided to crap out last month, and started leaking on the basement floor.
Me and my neighbor ripped it out and I purchased a new one, (also AO Smith) along with having to modify and upgrade the copper plumbing - a thoroughly dirty, messy job.
I'm currently finishing up a rebuild on a 70 pound 1962 Harman Kardon Citation 2 power amp.
The owner got it on Ebay, and of course it had plenty of issues.
The 4 bias pots were defective, the old capacitors were shot, and the meter needed repair, among other things.
With some proper restoration, it should sing reliably again for a long time.
Next up on the bench, an Akai PRO1000 10" professional reel to reel.
One channel not working.
Oh, and replacing 4 upstairs windows screens (I sent them to the hardware store for re-screening).
They were of nylon/plastic screening, and the birds apparently needed them for nest-building at my expense.
Nasty little birds!
They're now of anodized aluminum to prevent further destruction.
The 33 year old AO Smith gas hot water heater decided to crap out last month, and started leaking on the basement floor.
Me and my neighbor ripped it out and I purchased a new one, (also AO Smith) along with having to modify and upgrade the copper plumbing - a thoroughly dirty, messy job.
I'm currently finishing up a rebuild on a 70 pound 1962 Harman Kardon Citation 2 power amp.
The owner got it on Ebay, and of course it had plenty of issues.
The 4 bias pots were defective, the old capacitors were shot, and the meter needed repair, among other things.
With some proper restoration, it should sing reliably again for a long time.
Next up on the bench, an Akai PRO1000 10" professional reel to reel.
One channel not working.
Oh, and replacing 4 upstairs windows screens (I sent them to the hardware store for re-screening).
They were of nylon/plastic screening, and the birds apparently needed them for nest-building at my expense.
Nasty little birds!
They're now of anodized aluminum to prevent further destruction.
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