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Forum Index : Other Stuff : Mac’s Perspective On Retirement
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MacGyver Guru  Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Crew I'm recently retired and was thinking about everything. It seems to me we start out as kids, with little or no responsibilities, all the time in the world and life is just one fun adventure after another. Then something chemical (?) happens and life gets really serious. We grow hair in funny places, our interests change and we do crazy stuff like make poor dicisions and generally mess up our lives. Next up is retirement and it's back to being a kid again. I think retirement is merely an extension of being a kid; it's what brings us full-circle. To that end, I shot a video of myself playing with my "Big Kid Toy" and posted it HERE on Youtube. For those with narrow bandwidth, this video is about a 349 Mb download. Enjoy! . . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
I liked that Mac. You can put a sketch (and photos) here about it (it was also much interesting when we had a close-up then, the movie ended), as one for hydroponic garden... It can be a nice toy for a lot of kids (no age barrier). Vasi Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
vasi You bet, Vasi. Remember back in the day when you came to my rescue the day my computer backlight failed? I owe you this much: 
This is my little R/C sail car from the top view. 
This shot shows how I "stepped" the mast. It's a pin hooked to a bent piece of aluminum plate, which is in turn screwed to another plate that holds the two outboard rails together. The mast is a 3 or 4 foot section of aluminum tubing slipped over that pin on the deck. The outhaull holds everything down when underway. 
I chose a wheel from a child's "Razor" scooter as both running as well as steering wheels. I made a pin on my lathe that slips into the front "axle" and makes up the front of the car. I "pinned" the axle pin to the alum. tubing with a threaded screw. 
A friend who is a professional sail maker stitched me up a sail made out of Dacron-polyester material. This is the "outhaul" where the sail is tied down. 
Here is more of that professional stitching. The sail slips onto the mast using a pocket sewed into the front of the sail. 
Using a threaded eye, I untwisted the eye and attached the threaded end to the rear deck with a nut on each side to hold it firmly. The piece of nylon shock cord (from a parachute) has a key ring attached. When I want to run closer to the wind, I put my finger through that key ring and wind up the outhaul, making it effectively shorter. It's like pulling in the main sheet on a real boat. Then I let the opened eye hold the key ring and cord and we're sailing! 
This is the electronics package attached to the stern deck with double- sided tape. This one uses 4 "AA" cells. The other two black boxes are a standard "servo" and the ON - OFF switch. 
Here's a better shot. That little itty-bitty box is an ON - OFF switch. 
The single standard servo is mounted upside-down on the stern deck. The working arm passes through a hole in the deck and is attached with a model airplane's threaded toggle. The toggle has a little pin that is held in place inside the hole in the servo's working arm by tension in the clip's metal. The other end of the threaded rod attaches to another pin and a piece of aluminum angle onto which the rear "steering" wheel is attached. I tried making this the front of the thing when I first put it together years ago, but it would topple end for end in a high-speed turn! 
Here's a tight shot of the front end from underneath. I made (turned) my own axle bearing on the lathe and used a bolt with a long shoulder as my stearing pin. It works like a champ and is so robust, even a 360* spin on asphault doesn't screw it up! 
The steerage wheel (like a rudder on a boat) is mounted in a slot so I can adjust its height as the wheel wears. 
Here we see the front deck, which holds the side rails as well as the front axle rail and mast mount. I just cut holes and threaded them to accept store-bought screws. 
Here's a picture showing how I "pinned" the axles to the frame tubes. 
This is the top side of the steering wheel mount. It's just a simple turning. 
Here's that on and off switch. You MUST have a way to turn things off or the batteries will be done in while you're walking to the playground or parking lot. 
I "borrowed" this receiver out of one of my R/C gliders. This is the kind of receiver that must be "paired" with the transmitter. My transmitter has a 50-plane memory. I guess that means I have permission to build 48 more planes, eh? :O) 
This is how I ran the two receiver antenna wires. They're not supposed to be close to metal, but when the entire craft is metal, that's not on the to-do list. That's about it my friend. Thanks for all your help with my Mac. I wasnt going to let this out of the bag until the build is finished, but this next picture is the R/C "plane" I'm working on now. When it's flying stable, I'll post the build and some in-flight videos. The plan is to make it entirely of Coroflute with bright white LED lights embedded inside and three "bomb" servos, which will drop round, red and green bio-luminescent "flares" as I fly this thing at night over an unsuspecting public! It should create quite a stir. If you hear reports of a UFO over Carlsbad, CA, no worries; it's only me! Oh, by the way, my plane will have NO tricycle gear and the bottom will be flat. It will be a round Clark "Y" when I'm done with it. I hope it flies! 
. . . . . Mac Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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Clueless Newbie  Joined: 11/09/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 9 |
Mac Here's a quote from my Dad, he has been retired for about 10 years now. Though it was great when I heard it. Somebody asked him if he ever got bored and missed work. He looked them in the eye and said that We are so busy now that he doesn't know how he ever found time to go to work. 
I think he is 74 and he and my mother are still making the most of everything. Hmm, AAh, Doh! |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Thank you very much Mac for the very detailed presentation, I appreciate! Best regards, Vasi Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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