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  1. steelypip

    F16 Fighter to Drone as converted by Boeing

    I think you're actually under selling the D-21 a little - it was actually autonomous once launched, so was among the first guided cruise missiles with some degree of environmental awareness. As for runnining the AC full blast on the QF-16, you can safely assume that they used as much cheap...
  2. steelypip

    F16 Fighter to Drone as converted by Boeing

    Yes, it's the standard cooling system. It's blowing condensation because it's in Florida and they have rather a lot of humidity there on warm mornings. Nothing in this is new except that it's a QF-16 instead of a QF-4, a QF-106, a QF-102, or some other timed out airframe.
  3. steelypip

    Tracks for US halftracks

    If you're going to get one run made I wouldn't go for 100% natural rubber. Get a tire chemist to pick you out an ideal mix, but you want something with better shelf life, UV, ozone resistance and oil resistance than the WWII tracks had. I bet the Israelis used neoprene.
  4. steelypip

    My M3 Halftrack

    They ride surprisingly well, especially once you get the armor over the rear. I was surprised - I've had rougher rides in a lot of things with wheels. I'm guessing when they were kitted out with ammo, mines, or whatever and a full crew they probably rode better still. It does explain Patton's...
  5. steelypip

    balancing generator load

    I discovered by accident as I was turning on breakers during an outage that most of the largish plug-in loads in my house are on one leg, so part of the master plan is now to either split some circuits or move some over to the other side of the box. Luckily most of the wires come in from above...
  6. steelypip

    MEP-002A ASK Decibel Readings

    Probably worth mentioning that SPL measurements around equipment are usually done a particular way for industrial hygiene applications. The actual sensitivity is SPL of noise versus exposure time per day. So you can stand being around something quite loud for a short period without permanent...
  7. steelypip

    Last B52G dies today!!!

    The Ds were mostly cut up for START compliance back when, but a number survive at museums. Between the G and D model, I'm personally fond of the D because it had the biggest tactical footprint, biggest bomb bay (big belly mod), a better bomb/nav radar system, the bleed air powered generator...
  8. steelypip

    1943 Federal dump truck

    Looks like somebody's WWII wood gasifier project.
  9. steelypip

    GovDeals.com and bad item descriptions

    Speaking generically about buying computer hardware surplus: there tend to be very specific model configurations, and they can vary significantly with things like a letter suffix. For example, the laptop I got for my kid to do schoolwork on is a Panasonic Toughbook CF-W7. Sounds pretty...
  10. steelypip

    MEP-016b initial setup help and load terminal wiring.

    1. I would be very cautious about putting any kind of lubricant other than a dielectric rated dry silicone on the switches, which I would apply with a toothpick at most. The concern is dust/dirt attraction as well as conductivity. Chances are not bad that the switches would have to be...
  11. steelypip

    two MEP 17as

    Many parts interchange between those engines - the 4cyl is basically a doubled 2cyl. So there's some utility to keeping the 400Hz unit around for parts. Or if you can find an 018 with a blown engine it's an easy swap.
  12. steelypip

    Cutting oil as fuel?

    I'd be very cautious about it as a fuel. But, as has been mentioned, cutting oils tend to be specialized and expensive. I'd try hard to find a machine shop that wanted it.
  13. steelypip

    Nuke trucks?

    I vaguely remember some discussion of special railcars for either the MX or the Midgetman in Aviation Leak back in the day. One was never even prototyped, and you can see why. The sad part, as I understand it, was that the MX was deliberately much bigger than it needed to be because congress...
  14. steelypip

    Nuke trucks?

    The term in the business for a 'truck that carries and can launch a ballistic missile' is a Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL). Probably the most famous ones are those that launch SCUDs and their offspring. They're pretty much all tactical IRBMs like the Pershing and Pershing II. The only...
  15. steelypip

    MEP 002 blowing DC breaker

    Yet another dead fuel pump filter capacitor...
  16. steelypip

    new MEP - items of concern?

    As Munchies almost said, 'ground' isn't 'Ground.' In DC electrical systems, we use the term 'grounded' to refer to whatever is connected to the frame of the vehicle/machine/whatever and uses that frame as one of the conductors to the battery. Most of these DC-powered things made since about...
  17. steelypip

    new MEP - items of concern?

    Ike called it - almost certainly a bad DCVR. Small items that might be useful to know: 1. battery voltage is a variable even when the battery has been resting off the charger. A resting fully charged '12V' wet cell battery might read as low as 12.2 V or as high as 13 V. Yes, that nominal two...
  18. steelypip

    MEP002 & MEP003 Portable Load Tester

    We obviously think at least a little alike. I recently scored some nice 50 cal ammo cans from a member here and was considering doing exactly this with one of them. The only major difference is that I have 240 volt take-out baseboard heaters I was going to mount to the inside of my mower shed...
  19. steelypip

    Can I post this here??

    Yeah the first generation Power Wagons are great looking trucks. The advertising campaign of the era fit in neatly with it, and unlike a lot of ads, there's not a lot of puffery there - a power wagon with a chain saw in the bed really can go just about anywhere...
  20. steelypip

    Load Bank project

    One other little thing: the MEP-002A is the most over-cooled engine I've ever seen. That oil cooler is as big (and as nicely made) as one on a light plane engine making 150 HP. Admittedly, the air velocity over the fins is a lot lower than ram air speed on an airplane, but a 16 HP normally...
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