majorweld

The other thing is although the keypad looks the same this doesn't look like a LXI laptop in the photos of a BATES RB44 . http://www.army.mod.uk/rolefinder-content/68/gallery/047_gallery_01_502x335-1.jpg

cheers guys Crikey , well its a bit French so far , but im guessing im fairly lucky as under the front panel on the LXI I have a floopy disc drive and a cd rom drive ........ theres is a empty bay with a pin socket at rear , which is for the slide in Hard disk drive , its quite a small item approx. 3 " x 4 " at a guess so the HDD would have to fit into this slot. http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/13472/European-Data-Systems-LX1/ Im not far from Chippenham / Wiltshire and was wondering what my chances would be of finding new old stock HDD from EDS ? Only problem s they aren't coming up on any searches ? Many Thanks Rich:nut:

Hi Iain That's great , message me with your price if you would please , im hoping to power these from my RB44 distribution board and also from mains , looks like I need to find suitable hard drives now to get them working , also be amazing to find the original BATES software . surely this stuff is all old hat now and could be available ??? cheers

Just opened the front panel , and both hard drives are removed .... shame wondering if these are obtainable ?

Hi Ive just acquired 2 Lxi Ruggerised laptops as im hoping this is something that my BATES comms truck may have had ?? How do you power them up ? I had no leads / plugs , and the only sockets on the back look specialised jobbers ? will these laptops run from vehicle electrics ? or are they mains 240 volt only , I found the small battery so a bit in the dark . anyone help with user manual ? leads . most appreciated cheers:nut:

Now the BATES system is obsolete , do you think it would be possible to get the software that BATES operated on , just for simulation /display etc ?

SA80 was ridiculous at £4500 , cheaper to buy a working one .

Super excited , found this pic of my truck on the facebook rb44 clubs page in action , looking sweet with lots aerials .

very very interesting , mind boggling , but interesting . many thanks all

sorry if its a dumb question . I understand I need a TUUAM and ARFAT for the RT353 ...... does the VRC 321 also need TUAMMS and ARFATS , even with the TURF and 250w amp ? also im guessing the 321 antenna base doesn't have the Spacer VHF piece , just the rubber base ? Im in the market for a TURF and 250W amp if anyone has one , also a teleprinter or similar ohh and the BATES computer . Another daft question on BATES , would the computer be self contained as in its a one program computer with just its Artllery engagement software programmed in ? just cant quite figure how its supposed to work ? nothing like wireless internet im guessing :red:

ohh just my luck . Frank Burberry just replied to my enquiry and hes informed they no longer sell paint :cry:

Im thinking the £20 for 5 lts was a bit unrealistic but the guy assured me its true ? something JOHNSON in Rotherham ??? anyone ? how much did you pay Richard ? also have you had any joy with tyres , I recently scored 4 petlas 900 x 16 from withams , but they are a bit of a enigma because al;l the codes on them state 8 ply yet they are clearly embossed in a little panel 6 ply ??? they are the 120 kmh rated jobs so not agricultural trailer types ? slightly confusing

Confusing yes . Next to my rubber mounted tray thing (is this the tele printer mounting ?)is a frame bolted to the side of the pod thats has a label stating its the "field chest frame" ? . Where my radios are stacked up are the fixing frames for the clansman , 4 in total . when i bought my 353 i also aquired a pineapple base and 3 section antenna mast ? im guessing this isnt for vehicle use ? if so what vehicle antenna is used with a 353 radio and would it still require a TUUAM and ARFAT ? from looking around the pod and following the existing leads there was a lot of kit inside , even stuff under the bench seat bolted to the floor ? from what i can see it loks like at least 4 Tuuams were used as most the fittings still in situ ? would this be possible do you think ? my SA 80 is a airsoft jobby , that i stripped and sprayed silver , then black and carefully buffed through in places to make it look worn but mettallic , its ok for a prop , especially after i was quoted £4500 for a average looking but real deac at war and peace :shocked: , so my £30 replica and couple hrs work was a bargain . Richard 2 :cheesy:

I was about to buy a 5 lt can of nato green paint at the recent War and peace show when another trader told me about a company in Rotherham called AJ Johnson or something he couldntr remember the exact initials ? mthat sold military nato paint for £20 per 5 lts ? Is this true , does anybody know of a cheap quality supplier ? I haven't had any luck googling on the web so far ?

amazing stuff Richard , love the pics and thanks again everyone , would be great fun to chat live sometime on the radios , breaker breaker

guess she spent some time overseas ?

dunno why they left the SA 80 in there , wonder what went into the shorter rack though ? something Austrian or a GMPG maybe ??? and would the comms pod have a TUAAM in every corner ? for all 4 corner aerials ?? wish I had some pics of a original

some of this excess kit will be sold, when I know what I need

progress is slow ? Im still guessing what the layout was and what kit went where ? there seems more leads and plugs than space at the moment , also would love to find out what goes on the slide out rubber isolated mount ?

Positives though were , the vintage village , the tea rooms absolutely fantastic and also the roast carverys in the grandstand , good value , good service and great food . If the public camping area can be relocated closer to the traders and the main arena reworked , increased showers and toilets it could be a winner .

Mixed feelings about Westenhanger site . The main arena definetly doesn't work , did not get to see any of the re, enactments this year due to its location , they need football stadium style stands to help or something to raise the crowd close to the action . Also struggled like hell with getting purchased heavy goods back from the traders store to my camping location on the 2 mile away public camping drag strip , it was only through someone elses rule breaking on vehicle movements and a German dealers loan of his trolley that we got it back to our vehicles , still took 2 hrs out the day though . Have to say so far Beltring was better , and wasn't impressed with the toilets especially to hear about the ladies messing over the seats ? whats wrong with these people ?? . if it continues on this site I can see why more and more people bring motorhomes , caravans and porta loos due to poor layout and infrastructure . Beltring anyday sadly:shocked:

Cheers Iain

Can anyone help identify the ruggerised computer used for BATES ? and how its all set up inside a command vehicle and how the information was relayed please , also interested in any pictures of RB44 equipped with BATES for my restore .

it amazes me how this knowledge is obtained , and how much you guys know , Many Thanks indeed . unfortunately its like learning a foreign language for me , but im enjoying the lesson , just hope I don't fry myself in the process

Aha , excellent . many thanks ...Epay lol