[Boatanchors] Partially Off Topic Questionþ

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

I am indeed, Jim. Though I did have an old '56 Chirs Craft cruiser with a
pair of Continental engines and 6v generator system, I mainly played with
British cars for a decade or so (they were dirt cheap in the 70s-80s) and
remember clearly the dual 6 volt batteries behind the seats of my MGBs that
Bill mentioned. Not the big boost of a single 12v when initially cranking,
but they'd crank forever. Negative ground, so they were radio-friendly
vehicles in today's terms, though a Bearcat scanner under the dash took up
much of the available space.

More interesting was the look on my dad's face the day that he picked up the
jumper cables to find one end splayed open a good 4 feet. That was the main
drawback to the dual 6v batteries: you had to hook to the negative terminal
on one batter and positive on the other which, down in their little
compartments was a span of over 3 feet. Paint issues prevented grounding one
cable to the body.

Did manage to mount a sand state mobile rig to the passenger side of the
transmission hump, but that was about it for space. Also ended up putting
one of the orange bicycle pennants on top of a whip after nearly getting
squished by large trucks or their trailers. This of course prompted queries
as to whether the MG was a 'real' car or R/C.

How you old timers managed to do so much with the big cars of the 40s-50s is
amazing. Though simpler in design and layout, there was a lot more metal and
a lot fewer options for performance and handling. I was always impressed
with the adaptation of surplus dynamotors (PE-73 or 93?) to power the old
AM/CW mobile rigs. NE1S has a 1964 Ford Falcon with an early Elmac
transmitter and Gonset converter under the dash. A ride down the road
listening to your AM buddies voices coming out of the rear speaker is like
stepping back in time.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4



On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 12:27 PM, Jim Wilhite <w5jo at brightok.net> wrote:

> Todd you are showing your age.  You have to be of the alternator
> crowd.  :>)
>
> Jim/W5JO
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Todd, KA1KAQ" <ka1kaq at gmail.com>
>
>
>
> > That's some handy info! Never realized it was that simple, Carl.
> > Good to
> > know. Hoping to have the '50 Lincoln ready for Deerfield/NEAR-Fest
> > this
> > fall, complete with its original 337 flathead V8. The replacement
> > radiator
> > was the hold up, all brass and copper, close to $1500 when all was
> > said and
> > done. Just need to find the appropriate boatanchor mobile set up
> > for it now.
> > Plenty of room in the trunk for a dynamotor, Jimmy Hoffa, and
> > whatever else.
> >
> >
> > We can cruise to the AM dinner in it. Just remember, the back
> > doors open
> > funny. :D
> >
> > ~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4
> >
> > On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 11:44 AM, Carl <km1h at jeremy.mv.com> wrote:
> >
> >> >From 1928 to 1953 (1954 in Canada, Australia) all Fords were 6V
> >> >positive
> >> ground.
> >>
> >> Converting to negative ground is very simple. Reverse the
> >> ampmeter leads,
> >> coil wires, and battery terminals. Repolarize the generator by
> >> lifting the
> >> field lead off the regulator and momentarily touching to the
> >> battery
> >> terminal next to it. The engine must be off.
> >>
> >> The above works with all 46-53 Fords that are standard with
> >> internally
> >> grounded regulators. Im not sure about earlier ones. Other makes
> >> sometimes
> >> use externally grounded generators and the repolarization
> >> procedure is
> >> slightly different.
> >>
> >> Carl
> >> KM1H
> >> Flatheads Forever
>
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