Thursday, February 6, 2025

Still in the Hangar ...

Source
Not feeling all that chipper still, but am feeling a bit better than yesterday. Staying hydrated, warm, and cozy. Good thing I don't need to go anywhere.

So I've got that going for me.

That beast in the photo above is what I worked on for nearly eight years, sometime in the last century. Looks complicated, and it was, but for my purposes it was pretty simple. Something doesn't work, you run BIT and then based on the tech order, or experience, you pull the offending box, and take it to the shop. There, they either tweak it (as in adjust the settings) or give you another.

Simple, but time consuming. And some of that stuff is heavy and/or awkward to take off and remount on the aircraft. Fun times in the heat or cold.

Anyhoo, I'm resting, recuperating, and reclining.

More tomorrow, one hopes, as I seem to be on the mend.



20 comments:

  1. After reading that description this morning I'm glad you're not being replaced because of the crud malfunction.........:)

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  2. Eight T-handle wrenches for adjustment? Wouldn't it save weight to just have one? And just WHO will be there to do the adjusting? :-) And thoughtful to include that Louisville Slugger for scale. I prefer a GOEX can, myself, but the Slugger works.


    In the Harry Turtledove anthology, "Departures," there's a story, "Nasty, Brutish, & ..." in which a trader is in a bar that caters to all, and sees a species (Fotani) with which is is not familiar. He asks the bartender about it, then goes over and asks to join and buy it a drink. So they start swapping information. Turns out that the stranger was a species that has a huge galactic empire tens of thousands of years ago, and suffered a civil war that nearly wiped it out. Earth had been at the fringes of that empire, but they had been unable to subdue the population. As in the primitives on Earth had even managed to kill and eat one of the 7 foot tall, wolf/bear warrior creatures, so they decided to wipe out humans. So they created a respiratory virus that could not be cured. At this point our trader sneezes and the Fotani asks about the sound, as his universal translator had no word for it. Our intrepid trader starts to talk about a minor virous that has plagued humans for tens of thousands of years, and the cure was always "just around the corner" and he stops, they look at each other, he buys another round of drinks.

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    1. The "t-handled wrenches" are IFF antennae. The "Louisville slugger" is the feedhorn. I'm surprised I remembered that.

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    2. Not quite Louisville Slugger, and more like a kid's whiffle-ball bat to me. I remember S-3B Aviation Electronic Technicians being actual techs, where the new Super Hornet ATs were just box pullers. With that beast, you were definitely among the former.

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    3. When I saw my first F-16, it was impressive. The jet would tell the techs what was wrong with it. Seemed to make life simpler, but yup. they were just box pullers. On the F-4 we had to figure it out for ourselves, though the jet would give us "hints."

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    4. I was wondering if the dipoles were IFF.

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    5. Dipoles! That's the word I was trying to remember!

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  3. Patience, my Friend, patience. I know it’s difficult for us guys to be ill, but…patience is needed.
    juvat

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    1. Patience, something I've always lacked.

      And yes, some have commented on that in the past (and recently).

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  4. Don't be in too much of a hurry... the last time I was sick the illness was sneaky.

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    1. I'm just chilling, watching it snow, warm beverage in hand.

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  5. That looks complicated beyond imagining, Sarge.

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    1. We were stowing one of those and the aircrew waiting for the bird said the same thing.

      It was complex.

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  6. Interesting photo. I don't think I have ever seen what was behind the curtain before.
    It's got wires in it, so it is all magic as far as I am concerned. Mechanical stuff I can usually sorta figure out, but electricity, PFM.
    JB

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    Replies
    1. Wires and vacuum tubes, we're talking old school!

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    2. Sarge, then there are the newfangled integrated circuits filled with magic smoke that operates them. Obvious, because when you see the magic smoke leak out, they quit working.

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    3. I knew it had to be the smoke!

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  7. I too have a walking petrie dish of a grandson, who to be fair, has been reasonably healthy recently. However I must have been walking around with a sinus infection as my sinuses cleared up after being put on antibiotics for what was thought to be a bladder infection but turns out it was diverticulitis. Yay, new diagnosis.
    So I am on my second round of antibiotics, and getting tired of broth, ginger ale, and jello. However, I am enjoying nesting into the cozy blankets, the lemon ginger tea, and watching it snow/sleet/freezing whatever as I hang out on my couch reading. At least my head is clear...now if I can get my tummy to get with the program, I will be all set...sigh...

    Suz

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    Replies
    1. Ah, my old friend diverticulitis, I know it well. Talk about sapping one's energy! Stay cozy, rest, and drink your ginger ale!

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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