This is now moving from a radio blog to a Landrover modding blog I fear.

Two deliveries today. One from Matt Savage which had the air reservoir





I have an ARB compressor in the truck but that doesn’t have enough reserve to pump the mast up. So I am adding 2 gallon Vair tank. That goes under the drivers side.



The pump feeds the tank and I have moved the pressure switch to the tank from the pump.



The tank also has a drain valve and a pressure release valve as well

Here is the pump with the plastic pressure hose going off to the tank



Now the pump is not that great a capacity and takes a couple of minutes to fill the reservoir so we will see tomorrow how it works with the mast.

The tank feeds another outlet, this time regulated, at the rear



Then the steel came for the supports to stop the truck rocking so much.



the idea being that it pins to the tow bar thing and has a couple of bars that go into the jacking points



Its being painted overnight so hopefully tomorrow we can test it all together and decide if another higher volume pump is needed.

I have added a thank you bar on the right ————————>

to offer thanks for those who are helping out with radio stuff. So far there’s Justin for the aerials, Middx Dx for letting me use MP (mind you I have promised to help out on the DX days as well) and of course BBRC, without whom we would not be here (and be a lot richer).

If you think you something that needs a test and feel like sponsoring something then get in touch we, me, BBRC will be very happy to hear from you.

My 991 is in for repairs again at MLS

The ALC display has stopped working which I use to set the mic gain for each band.

Hopefully it will be resolved soon as this is the second time it has been in for this issue.

The new Secret Weapon was tested today after all the welding. and it seems to work.



The compressor was a bit iffy but the mast seals seem to be bedding in.



operating position is a “little” cramped



Results were pretty good the little bit of extra height makes a bit of a difference. Not that much though compared to last month.

I thought I had better finish my birthday present to myself in time for tomorrow.

I had homework to do this morning but the bolts have arrived for the roof bars and I could get on this afternoon.

It needs some finishing bits, like a lock to stop it falling off the back if you accelerate too fast and i need to get somewhere to sort out the guys for it.

The balance point is just about right and you can easily get to the top of it to put the antenna and rotator on.

The stabiliser bar I have made needs re doing so I have to get some more steel for that. But progress is definitely happening.







I recon that is sure to get the police out when I turn up at Stokenchurch next time.

It’s been a long job but once the bolts for the roof rack arrive it can be tested.



Here is the principle mocked up in wood.



I looked at getting the mountain plate for the bottom and the top mount from TMS and Clark. TMS don’t do them and Clark were going to cost more than the mast.
So I turned up the top one in walnut. You are not relying on the wood to hold it all together there are some stainless rods for that



The rest is welded up in stainless 25mm box sections with some 30x30 angle for the sliding rail things.

Not doing much welding it amazes me how much to all moves when you weld it. Hence the sliding bit, at the moment, is not sliding as well as it might.





Now to find some stabilisers to stop the car rocking from side to side

Ok we have the mast here and have tested it. there are some leaks so i have stripped it to get the sand from Afghanistan out.

The seals look pretty good actually but there is some pitting in one of the tubes. Not enough to stop it going up but enough to make it not stay up. That should not be a problem with the fantastic over centre clamps.

So I have cleaned and re greased it and we will see how it performs.

If there is still an issue with the pitting then i am going to have a go at filling the pitting with epoxy, which might work?









I then need to set about the roof mounting system which I have mocked up in some softwood.

I have some stainless tube in the shed so that is going to be used for the supporting frame and then the sliding base will be made from some angle.





Oh and here is today’s interference artwork…..Nice