gordonb

My civvie plates are on flexible magnetic sheet, slap 'em on and peel them off when at shows, then stick them underneath or elsewhere out of sight. Gordon

Surely as Ferret lights precede any E nonsense you can use whatever bulbs you like. It is too cold to go and check but I'm 99% certain my Ferret lights do not have E marks. Gordon

it just tells you where we are our email and how to find us Not on my PC, using XP and Chrome it doesn't. Perhaps it is beyond the word Projects, only half of which is visible. Still, plenty of time before May. Gordon

Not wishing to be called lazy, I've been and checked and what I thought is indeed the case. I can also confirm the NSNs as: top - 5985-99-649-8140 middle - 5985-99-630-8456 bottom - 5985-99-630-8455 Gordon 03BB33

Without going and looking, is it not the case that a top section will only fit into the top of a middle section, which is smaller than the bottom. Therefore you can only use one middle section. So, for a 4m whip you need one top, one middle and two bottoms. Or four bottoms. or three bottoms and a middle. Gordon 03BB33

I can also recommend ANR headsets, Racal RA195, just used as ear defenders. Powered up they go a bit quieter but I don't bother when solo. Gordon 03BB33

Yes, booked in yesterday on line and got email confirmation a few hours later. Gordon 03BB33

Going back to earlier posts, I've now found out the the "work ticket" currently in use is Form F/MT 1001 which seems pretty much as I remember it from the 70s. The one I filled out last week certainly had lots of boxes to fill in. Gordon

I don't know the AB562 but I would like a copy of the what we knew as the "work ticket" as used in the 1960s/70s and maybe later. Like you I have a rather bare vehicle document wallet. gmb 03BB33

Now having the menus in front of me I can report that oatmeal blocks appear in these 10 man ration packs. Box A, menu 5, Box B menu 17 and Veggie box menu V8. gmb

Many thanks Grasshopper. Just what I needed to know, I'll get some screws in those holes this weekend. Gordon 03BB33 Mk1 Ferret.

On top of the engine oil filter housing there is a large nut which holds the bowl on. Either side of this nut there are two tapped holes, one to the front of the vehicle, the other to the rear. These holes are maybe 2BA or 4BA, that sort of size. When the engine is running oil comes out of the rear hole. From what I can see in the manual nothing is fitted to these holes. Are they for pressure relief or should there be a plug in them? I'd like to know the cause of the leak before I take it all apart. Gordon

Oatmeal blocks are still with us. Some, but not all by any means, of the current 1 man/day packs have an oatmeal block in them. In green foil. I'll get you the menu number next week. Gordon

Everything I have read says the Ferret used No.80 smoke grenades in the dischargers. A number of sources on the net give the diameter of the No.80 as 2.5". My Ferret has 2" bore dischargers, which I am assured are original and correct. The usual references to the dischargers say that a fuse or charge No.103 was used to launch the grenade, if so why is there no stowage for these? Gordon

Jim, Just seen Chris's post. He is of course correct and I was wrong when I said the C42 was AM. I was thinking of it's compatriot the C11, also Larkspur. As he says it covers the 6m amateur band which on FM is hardly used at all, down here at any rate. Gordon

Jim, Sadly for you I'm down south, in Kent. Otherwise I'd be happy to give you a hand checking it all out. Gordon

Jim, Forgot to say that you can of course listen to the radio (you'll be very lucky to ever hear anything!) and use the IC function, you just can't transmit. Gordon

Jim, You can't use the radio without a licence. The only licence you could get is an amateur radio licence which would let you use the C4x but not the 88, if it is an 88 I saw. The amateur licence nowadays comes in three levels, foundation, intermediate and full. Each step up gives you more privileges, power levels, frequencies etc. The foundation licence is limited to 10 watts which means you would only be able to use the low power setting of your C4x. The good news is that you can do a short course with most amateur radio clubs and take the exam, often all within one weekend. There is next to no radio knowledge required at foundation level, it is more about operating safely. Be aware that there is debate about foundation licencees using ex-mil equipment, so claim it is not allowed. Best to put a bit of effort in and do the intermediate licence as well. I should also point out that the Cxx is not the best choice for either talking to your chums in their vehicles, or amateur radio in general as it is AM (amplitude modulated) which is old technology and it will only talk to other radios of a similar vintage. This is a bit of a generalisation but you get my drift. Most Clansman is FM as is all amateur gear nowadays for short range work. And Clansman won't flatten your batteries when static! Have a google for amateur radio clubs in your area and get in touch with some. Myself, I have a full licence and an interest in WW2 kit which is compatable with the C4x, hence my interest if you should want to get rid of it. Regards, Gordon

In the top photo the two gold top boxes are Clansman, an IB3 and a Crew Box. The IB3 can control three radios and more importantly has the Intercom (IC) amplifier in it. The crew box is as it says, it allows a crewman to plug his headset into the system and then use any or the radios and/or the IC. The rest on the kit is all Larkspur, the radio system which preceded Clansman. There are the IC boxes there as well as the radio bits. It uses valves not semiconductors and is very power hungry. The radio itself is a C42 or a C45. They have overlapping frequency ranges and your could be either. This link has the info to tell which one you have. http://www.wftw.nl/larkspur.html As to which IC system is actually in use, you need to start following wiring. As to the helmets etc, there is a mix of Clansman and Larkspur there, mainly Clansman. Also I think there is an 88 Set, pre-Larkspur manpack short range. Should you want to get rid of the Larkspur kit, I might be interested depending on which radio it is. Regards, Gordon 03BB33 - Mk1 Ferret

Jim, Post photos of the radio kit then we can tell you what it all is, and how useful. What you really really want are ANR headsets (automatic noise reduction) which go with gold fronted Clansman boxes. Gordon

Good advice bit: enlist the help of a local radio amateur unless you are happy dealing with the co-ax connectors. I suspect but do not know for certain that a modern FM radio will be happy with more or less any bit of wire. An old AM radio will need a properly matched aerial. A DAB radio I'm afraid I've no idea. Your wing box contains an aerial tuner but for frequencies a long way off broadcast FM so is best bypassed by a short lead with the relevant co-ax connectors on it. At the radio end you will need the connector changed or an adapter made up. An radio amateur worthy of the name can do this easily for you. At the end of the day just try it, you won't hurt the radio. Gordon

If you can find it I recommend "Scotch-Weld 847: Nitrile high performance rubber and gasket adhesive". Similar sort of stuff to Evostick. We used it regularly when I was in the commercial laundry servicing business. Gordon

My memory of RLs is smashing your elbow on the back of the cab when changing from 1st to 2nd..... And of reversing hard against the handbrake while shoving of the transfer box lever to get it out of low. Our TAVR ones were always winding up whereas the ones at work (seismic exploration), which spent a lot of time in low box, never gave a problem. Gordon

Thank you Clive, it was as I suspected. Gordon

Just wondering what sort of vehicle this was/is as I have a bit of Clansman kit (4 w SURF for a 351) with the number on it. I'm guessing Landrover. gmb