It turns out that the mud IN the cooling system wasn't the only thing causing my overheating problems. While the system cleaning helped quite a bit, it would still run hot and I assume overheat if I allowed it.

Typically, if you overheat on the highway, it's a sign of not having enough radiator and if you overheat in town, it's not enough fan. I had both so today I used my compressor and blew 125psi air thru the radiator to get the rest of the mud out and it appears to have fixed it. Unlike last time I thought I had it fixed, this time the fan comes on, the temp drops, and the fan turns off which tells me that it's working properly. Previously, it would need the fan just to maintain normal temp at idle but would stay there all day.

The moral of the story is that if you get into mud deep enough for it to get in the fins of the radiator, undo the 4 bolts to separate the radiator from the condenser, remove the fan (if you don't have an electric) and blow the snot out of it with an air compressor. I got what looks like 5lbs of dirt out from the fins of the radiator.

 

Wow Tom. Thats gonna make your ride to Centralia much more enjoyable. By the way, is Clifford the big black dog coming?

 

Holy cow! Well, I'm glad you got it. I was afraid it was another "show-stopper" on Centralia.

Hey, is tbarcia.net back up? It was unaccessible earlier today -- unless it's just from my end. I went to print pic's of your mounted plate for Jesse and company and couldn't get the pics.

 

I'm not sure if Clifford is coming or not. If I can find a dog-sitter then he's staying home.

John, I mounted my fan to the shroud and put insulation around it so that it MUST pull thru the radiator and it now sounds much louder than it did mounted right to the radiator. It's not quite as loud as yours, but much louder than it was.

It's not up right now and I'm not sure why. I'll look into it and let you know when it's back up. It looks like my DNS entry has died but I don't know for sure.

 

Yes, that makes sense. I'm getting a message saying it's looking it up, but then it times out. I'm going to try a command line DNS lookup and see what I get.

Edit: Yes, I get a timeout using nslookup with your domain name.

 

Turns out that the place that hosts the server had a power failure and all sites on that box are down. The box is back up but the sites aren't. We've got a ticket to get it fixed....

BTW, do you still have that HAM radio that you give away and keep getting back??

 

Yes, and it's yours for the asking.

 

can I have it??


lol




tom you ever consider hood louvres???

 

I'm asking!! I'll be taking the test on Thursday but I don't know if I'll have the license by Centralia.

 

You won't. Let me clean it up, and redo the microphone connector (which is loose) and get it ready to rock and roll. I have a 5/8 wave 2 meter antenna with a standard 3/8-24 stud mount you can have if you buy a mount for it (or I may have a useable one of those too). The case covers are scraped and even rusted a bit, so I'll sand them and hit them with a shot of industrial flat black epoxy paint for you if you like - or you can do it yourself.

I hope it holds up in mobile service since it's 20 years old, lol. But it always was a good radio and it's probably going to be fine.

And, no, Gil, you can't have it - especially when you flip me the bird when asking, you very silly person!

 

Thanks John. You don't have to go thru all of that trouble unless you want to. The antenna sounds good... I'll drill another hole in the lip at the front of the bed and pick up a spring if that'll work. Otherwise, I could go to the inside of the bed since it is metal and pick up an L shaped mount.

 

Either one. Tuning on VHF is sometimes funny with springs -- but this is lightweight antenna so get the smaller spring (even the smallest ones) which will be fine and they are shorter and will cause less tuning issues. You should have a spring either way.

The only problem with a front bet lip is that a good deal of the radiated signal gets into the cab. Not a big problem, but to be avoided if you operate a lot. Not as bad with an extended cab as it is with a regular cab though.

 

Since I already have the CB antenna there, I figure I might as well be consistent. Of course, if I put them both on the bed rails (opposite sides) then the rear corners of the cab should keep *most* of the radiated signal out, right?? In either case, I'll probably bring a spring and a drill with me just in case. Does that radio have the bracket and power cord?? If not, PM me the model number and I'll see what I can do. What coax should I use for that rig??

 

Standard RG-58, 50 ohm coax. The run you're making is so short, I wouldn't worry too much about quality.

 

Should I stick with a shorter length or is there a 9' rule like CBs??

John, my site is back up!!

 

Okay, good on the site. I'll show them tomorrow.

Well, you want it an odd multiple of a 1/4 wave -- but we can "fix" that if it's not quite right. Make it an odd multiple of 17" in length and you should be close (19" is the free air wavelength, but the "velocity" factor of the cable will take it down at least 10% generally -- so a 1/4 wave of cable is physically shorter than the accepted "wave length" -- if thatn's not on the tech test, don't worry, lol!)

 

Am I better off buying a length of cable and attaching the ends myself then?? I am actually only half thru the book so I may not have gotten to that section yet. I'll be done by Thursday tho.

 

i knew it was mud, happened to me. no reason or a cooling system to fail like urs was...without significant issues...now change out the 160 t-stat for a 180 or 195 and see what happens :wink

 

Well, Tom, I can make up a cable for you, or just give you one I probably have lying around. Did you intend to install it this week?

You need PL-259 connector ends generally. Certainly the radio needs them and most VHF antenna's use them -- same as a CB antenna connector. Find something online about how to solder them though -- improper installation is common and then they fail easily in the weather.

 

I was thinking that I could install it in Centralia at the campsite. One of the forums I was reading made it seem as though if the VE does what their supposed to do that the license should be available the next day. I don't know if that's the case, but if so, then I could get on the air as soon as the radio is installed.

In any case, if you've got cables lying around too then it sounds like you're providing my whole rig. I'm okay with that if you are... I'll just have to remember to give it all back to you when I can get a setup to replace it. I was thinking of mounting the radio on the ceiling tho so that my daughter doesn't kick it when she sits up front. I don't know how much cable that will take tho...

 

That may be a new thing, Tom. Usually, the first license you get is mailed to you by the FCC, who assigns your callsign and prints the license. Generally, VEC's don't assign your callsign or modify the FCC database directly -- but maybe that's changed for all I know.

Upgrades and so on are "instant". I'm just not sure they're handling new licenses like you say. I'll take a look at the ARRL site and see if anything is there.

Next day licensing would be a great incentive -- it took me 6 weeks to get my first license in the mail!

 

Tom, the entire text of the VE manual is here:

http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/vemanual/index.html

And I see nothing in it about the VE's giving you a callsign within 24 hours.

In most cases, they won't even mail your CSCE and form 605 to the FCC until the next day, and the FCC won't get it for another day or two.

Sorry!

 

I'm fairly certain that the VE just submits the paperwork and the FCC does the rest but your license is valid as soon as it shows up in the database.... You don't have to wait for it to be mailed to you if you have internet access.

 

Ah, yes, that's true. But I still think a Thursday test you're looking at Friday mailing and at least Tuesday of the following week with the Columbus day holiday and all -- if goverment offices close for that, that is. Even if the FCC gets it Monday, it could take a day or two (hey, if you're LUCKY -- it's government!) to get you on the roster.

 

Aaaargh!! Oh well... It would be nice to have it for the ride home from Centralia, but if it's not possible, then I'll have to deal with it.