2014 at the Hammond Barn

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Guys

I was looking forward to the new season of 2014 @ The Hammond Barn, you guys really should make a reality TV series out of the adventures At Hammond Barn would probably be far more interesting than some of the TV shows they have down here in the States, but that probably would not work on American TV, Hammond Barn would be way to educational to survive on TV.

Cheers Phil

PS Our high this morning was 14C to nights low will be -15C.

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Phil Waterman

Hi Guys, I was looking forward to the new season of 2014 @ The Hammond Barn, you guys really should make a reality TV series out of the adventures At Hammond Barn would probably be far more interesting than some of the TV shows they have down here in the States, but that probably would not work on American TV, Hammond Barn would be way to educational to survive on TV. Cheers Phil.

Phil, if we did have live action video at the barn, there probably wouldn't be a 2014 "season". Without the cameras we can hide our mistrakes and show the results without all the drama that unfolds behind the scenes. I know it would be interesting to tune into Bob's double-entrendre and pun filled dialog, and his craftsmanship, or watching Grant striving for perfection in his handiwork, or my never ending fight with the welding learning curve, but we do have to leave somethings for the imagination.

For the time being, MLUers will have to find their video fixes on YouTube - and there are more and more CMP videos showing up all the time!

[RHClarke]

Stuart's plaint brought back fond memories for me of living in northern BC and northern Ontario as a kid. We used to joke about the cold and then revel in it by playing hockey from after breakfast til supper time. If we were lucky there was a rink shack nearby where we could warm our feet up every few hours. Most of the time we were on a frozen lake and had to start a fire to keep warm during the day. Fortunately back then (60s-70s), no one got their panties in a knot if we took down a tree and built a fire.

As for the cold temperatures, I remember some of the comparisons:

It was as cold as a witch's tit - got the giggles going when I was a kid.

...as cold as the ex-wife's heart - still annoys me - cause it was true!

These were followed by:
- It was so cold out that you had to chip the dog off the hydrant.
- It was so cold that the Liberals had their hands in their own pockets for once.

These days, I am with Stuart - I think I will wait til Spring before taking on any major out of doors work. Time for a nice hot cuppa!

[RHClarke]

Wet, wet and more wet. It was -1oC and raining when I got to the barn this morning and it was raining when I left the barn this evening. Most of the activity was inside the barn. Grant was busy at home, as was Bob. Our first task of the day was to break through the ice that had built up near the stream that runs under the road to the barn. It clogs up some times, so Bob dumped a load of road salt onto the top layer. We managed to break through three layers of ice, but the water level had not dropped off when we left it. Bob headed out for more domestic chores. He had to move a mountain of cat crap so he headed off with the trusty tractor to do so. I headed to the barn as the temperature broke into the postive value zone.

After lunch, Bob joined me at the barn to work on an old snowblower that was giving me some trouble. Bob and Grant repaired the broken shear pin and adjusted the drive train so that both wheels turned when in gear. Today's project was to repair the "fuel pump" - a plastic housing with three hose ports and a diaphram inside. There are replacements available, but we like to get max value out of our machinery, so we did a small repair on the housing. It was left to dry off near Lucifer and we will test it at a later date.

We had two visitors this afternoon. Bob's neighbour Bruce, stopped in with a friend to see if Bob could press out some bushings from a set of lower control arms. While Bob played with the press, I worked on my Pilot Model HUP running boards - see the new post under the Pilot Model Resto thread. This took up the afternoon, and as the day darkened, I splashed my way home. When this stuff freezes tonight, there are going to be problems. I am keeping my fingers crosssed.

Photos:
1 - Hammond weather report - ignore the days indicated - the forecast is the same for the remaining days of the week.
2 - Ice has formed on top of everything.
3 - The barnyard is a skating rink.
4 - Bob inspecting my welding - passed this time!

[RHClarke]

This weekend was a bit different. Bob decided that he would invite anyone who was interested in WS19 sets to join him on Saturday in the firing up of his radio set, and to talk about related issues.

The attendance was sparce, but those who did show up were treated to a very interesting session. And of course, when Bob hosts an event, he does it right. We had snacks throughout the afternoon and a few brown pops.

Stuart F, Grant, and I were treated to a tube testing session where Bob made good use of his test kit. Once a tube was identified, Bob went to the guide in the test kit and made the requiste switch settings. Most of the tubes tested were usable, but a few had deteriorated.

Following the tube testing, Bob fired up his WS19 set and tested the mic and earphones. There were some technical issues that were sorted out thanks to Stuart's original pocket guide checklist. Having a licensed radio operator handy ensured that we were not doing anything untoward with the spectrum. Other issues were beyond our capabilities. However, it was pleasant way to spend a snowy afternoon at the Hammond Barn.

Photos
1 - Bob holding court at Chateau Hammond in his newly appointed radio shack
2 - Tubes for testing - the big tube was not tested
3 - Stuart waxing eloquent on things tubular
4 - Grant eagerly awaiting Bob's first call
5 - The tube test set can be seen in the background

[Jon Skagfeld]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

This weekend was a bit different. Bob decided that he would invite anyone who was interested in WS19 sets to join him on Saturday in the firing up of his radio set, and to talk about related issues.

The attendance was sparce, but those who did show up were treated to a very interesting session. And of course, when Bob hosts an event, he does it right. We had snacks throughout the afternoon and a few brown pops.

Stuart F, Grant, and I were treated to a tube testing session where Bob made good use of his test kit. Once a tube was identified, Bob went to the guide in the test kit and made the requiste switch settings. Most of the tubes tested were usable, but a few had deteriorated.

Following the tube testing, Bob fired up his WS19 set and tested the mic and earphones. There were some technical issues that were sorted out thanks to Stuart's original pocket guide checklist. Having a licensed radio operator handy ensured that we were not doing anything untoward with the spectrum. Other issues were beyond our capabilities. However, it was pleasant way to spend a snowy afternoon at the Hammond Barn.

Photos
1 - Bob holding court at Chateau Hammond in his newly appointed radio shack
2 - Tubes for testing - the big tube was not tested
3 - Stuart waxing eloquent on things tubular
4 - Grant eagerly awaiting Bob's first call
5 - The tube test set can be seen in the background

2. the big tube, more properly referred to as a valve...why didn't you test it?

It's only an 807.

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Jon

Now I get it..... the big tube was the beer bottle behind the tube set... I mean the valve set.....

Wish we had your expertise closer to us..... do you make house calls.

I recently acquired a military Hickok TV 7 A/U ........ circa late 40s specifically to use on the old army radios. Similar model were used in Canada sold by Starke but made by Hickok.

It has been recently calibrated and tested with special calibration tubes I purchased seperately ... 6L6 and 12XA7.

The only component I cannot, yet, test is the little red can EF50 which I can find in my data sheets.... in fact not sure if it is proper to call it a "valve".

Found some NOS E1148 in TO with the box marked as for WS 19 sets....

Every tube/valve from the WS 19 sets are still available on EBay..... a lot of ot is still made fresh from Serbia, Russia, Lituania..... but I am limiting myself to US/CDN made new old stock.

All and any advice is welcome...... now I wished I had listened more attentively when you gave a presentation on the 19 sets at one of the Convoy gathering.

Bob C.

[charlie fitton]

Originally Posted by RHClarke

.....were treated to a tube testing session where Bob made good use of his test kit. Once a tube was identified, Bob went to the guide in the test kit and made the requiste switch settings. Most of the tubes tested were usable, but a few had deteriorated.....

I used to do this with my dear ol' Dad many years ago. We'd take a whack of tubes to the corner store, use every trick to find the serial numbers, cross reference to the catalogue, set the machine, test the tube, label and pack them away.

fond memory - thanks

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Stuart Fedak

Quote

When I was working in Inuvik, NWT (which is above the arctic circle, just south of the Beaufort Sea), I would loose air pressure in my Jeep Cherokee Laredo tires. I had all the tires switched to steel rims before driving up the Dempster Highway from the Yukon, to Inuvik, NWT. ...

... They then remove the stems, and re-seal the the tires onto the rims. They had some low temperature sealant, as most of the truck work they did was for the trucks on the ice road in the McKenzie River ice road for the oil patch.

... A big problem was the compressed air would cool as it expanded. This would often freeze a stem valve. You could get compressed air in the tire, but the stem would not seal when the pressure was removed, as the ice had frozen the stem valve open.

...

Stuart

Jeez Stuart, you know how to make a fellow feel glad for global warming!

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Phil

After replacing two $75 aluminum chimney flashings I decided to build a fake "fake dormer" roof section much like the prow of a boat.

Every year the snow/ice buildup would melt on the roof and exert enough pressure to rip the crimped very light gauge aluminum sheeting.

We set up a dummy roof section with the same pitch as the barn roof....... a wooden under structure with 22 gauge galvanized sheeting. Then took it apart and re/erected the whole thing on the roof....... braced the existing sheet metal roof with plywood between the joist to provide a solid area to screw in the roofing screws. Has certainly worked well this Winter with all the snow we have had.

Hi Charlie

I scored a couple of USA military tube testers late 1945 to early 1955 ...... they can handle all old tubes from the 30s - 40s - 50s and some peanuts from the ealry 60s. Far more accurate than the Drug store machines...... comes in handy when you need to test WS 19 tubes.

There is still a large market on the web (ie Ebay) for NOS and used tested good old tubes.... and new stock still being manufactured in Europe in the former USSR like Romania, Lituania, etc...

Interesting to note ...... the going prices for a complete box of WS 19 set of spare tubes is hovering around the $100 mark...... which sounds expensive. BUT if one was to buy off Ebay each tubes individually it would total slightly over $250 US incl. shipping.

Cheers

Bob C

[RHClarke]

Hi Bob,

How are things going? Your fake dormer did indeed work as you planned. Hopefully, we will see you this coming weekend. I should be out on Sunday for some quality time with the welder.

[Bob Carriere]

....with sparks flying......

Not feeling too bad ...I just can't breath with out my 50 foot hose......

Will manage.

Bob C

[Alex van de Wetering]

Grant,

Excellent work on the wooden rifle blocks! I never noticed the drain hole. Just last week I tried saving the one left in my C8 cab, but sadly it fell apart after years of neglect. Your pictures should come in handy when I come round to making a set for my truck.

Alex