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Reward a fix.

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granddad

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Back in the 1980's I sat on a 'Technical Assistance ' desk, taking calls from service engineers. Ken, Tom and I did our best to help with repairs and information trying to keep up with the rapidly changing technology in the field. We published a little news sheet but getting FE's to share fixes was an uphill task, One month I offered the country's (UK) techies a free RS electro screwdriver for any useful info they gave us .... think I sent out about 50... I still have mine, it may have seen better days... please ignore the glue the bashed handle and the un-flat end. Anyone else got any cherished old tools.. or is it just me
sd1980.jpg
!
 
My day from hell at Copenhagen airport.

A few years ago I was on a business trip, the first leg of which was from Aberdeen to Copenhagen.
When a got to Copenhagen, looked at the information screen to see the magic words:
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
You get the idea, JimB was going nowhere. SAS Cabin Crew were all on strike.

To cut a long story short, I spent all day in various queues trying to get out of the place, when I did finally get a flight in the general direction of my destination, on going through security, the guy found a small screwdriver similar* to the one shown by granddad in the bottom of my briefcase (one of these big multi-compartment things with wheels and an extending handle).
I did not even know that it was there, better still it had been in the case for who knows how long and had been through security in who knows how many other airports.
Sad to say the little screwdriver had to go into the big bin of confiscated items.

*My screwdriver was the same style, but with the shorter blade and the handle was black.

So cherished old tool lost.

JimB
 
I have a wire wrap tool which I bought in 1979 and am still using, like **broken link removed**. I got it to replace another that had been destroyed by my wife, who mistook it for a nail-set punch. A few years later she became my ex-wife.
 
cherished old tools
I have this tube radio. It tunes 45mhz through 220mhz. Meter measures uVolts. Just the thing for a broadcast engineer (me).
It has both FM=audio and AM=video outputs.
(1975+/-)I found that the cable company's new pay for movies service added two new channels between 6 and 7. It took me 5 minutes to change my TV so it would not get the news and weather channels but would get the movie channels. Then the cable company added "jamming" and that took 30 minutes to add a extra filter to my IF section. (I broke a number of jamming systems on cable.)
"Old tool" I don't know how old but it was last calibrated in 1957.
upload_2017-1-27_16-27-44.png

upload_2017-1-27_16-28-8.png
 
Wow, I can't imagine doing wire wrap with a tool like that! Back in the day when I did do wire wrap, our tool was motorized. I think it stripped and cut all at same time.
 
My day from hell at Copenhagen airport.

A few years ago I was on a business trip, the first leg of which was from Aberdeen to Copenhagen.
When a got to Copenhagen, looked at the information screen to see the magic words:
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
CANCELLED
You get the idea, JimB was going nowhere. SAS Cabin Crew were all on strike.

To cut a long story short, I spent all day in various queues trying to get out of the place, when I did finally get a flight in the general direction of my destination, on going through security, the guy found a small screwdriver similar* to the one shown by granddad in the bottom of my briefcase (one of these big multi-compartment things with wheels and an extending handle).
I did not even know that it was there, better still it had been in the case for who knows how long and had been through security in who knows how many other airports.
Sad to say the little screwdriver had to go into the big bin of confiscated items.

*My screwdriver was the same style, but with the shorter blade and the handle was black.

So cherished old tool lost.

JimB

Two years ago, my 5-meters metric tape went to the bin too when taking a plane in Bahía Blanca.
 
Well not specifically airport, but my daughter (while at University in York) went shopping, in a 'Pound Shop' type of place, where pretty well everything costs a pound.

She wanted two items, a big kitchen knife - so a seriously dangerous weapon, capable of killing loads of people - and a pair of nail clippers. They happily sold her the knife, but asked for ID to sell her the nail clippers - but while she was 20/21 years old she hadn't got her ID as she didn't expect to need it.

So how come nail clippers are more dangerous than a razor sharp 9 inch bladed knife?.

As for the airport theme, her nail clippers (when she eventually managed to buy some) were confiscated at the airport.
 
Some years ago in Johannesburg, my small side cutters and pliers went into the confiscate bin.
The security guy said they could be used as a weapon.
What a scam.
E
 
The only tool I wish I never lost was a pair of Bernard pliers... They were parallel pliers with the wire cutter on top... I reckon the best pliers in the world..... Can't get them now, only on fleabay and they are usually worse for wear..
 
In the past, in our flag, it was quite common that the cook carried with him his own set of cutlery for the daily work. I would like to see what could happen nowadays if such a thing was found in the luggage. :nailbiting: :woot: :stop:

BTW, a sharp pencil is all what you need...
 
We have this theory speaking of nonsensical airport bans.....

A frozen fruitcake, being one of the densest materials know to man, and a bunch of surgical tubing used to build a slingshot between setbacks in first class could be used to pummel the cockpit door open.

Hope I never see this on the news <g>


Where I used to work, we had a Christmas gift exchange. everyone would take a gift and pass them around the table. When the music stopped, whatever was in your hand, you got to keep. One if the gifts was a round cylinder, 6" across, 3" tall and very heavy. The music stopped and I was stuck with the stupid fruitcake. Ah crap. I ripped off the wrapping paper and was pleasantly surprised to see it was a roll of duct tape! At least that would be good for something.
 
A frozen fruitcake, being one of the densest materials know to man, and a bunch of surgical tubing used to build a slingshot between setbacks in first class could be used to pummel the cockpit door open.

Hope I never see this on the news

I think that these guys:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanwings_Flight_9525
wished that they had a frozen fruitcake and some rubber tubing.:(

JimB
 
Oh wow, I had forgotten about that flight.

Maybe my idea could have been used for good.
 
Before the days when they blocked visitors from going to the gates, I had one of these Swiss+Tech tools on my keyring. Tiny pliers with a wire-cutter section, a Phillips and a straight-bladed screwdriver. Nothing else. No mini knife blades or anything else.

They wouldn't let me through security with it! What could I have done with this tool? Given someone a nasty blood blister?

tmp_21053-images(7)-309150434.jpg
 
I have a pair of Sargent ones.... Not a patch on the originals... The original were nice to hold / use.. They could be completely stripped down... Very durable..

I have several of both, but they are all older models. Have never had seen any difference in them, other than the name stamped on them. Don't know about the newer ones though.
 
I have a pair of very fine needle nose pliers, they were my dad's when he was an apprentice electrician in the ship yards, not sure why he had such delicate tools when he was usually re-furbishing the wiring on old ships. Eventually I managed to get my hands on them along with a few more of his tools as I slowly got into electronics.

I've got mainly new tools now, but the ones I use the most are usually my really old ones from the 80s. I like my old wire wrap tools to, especially a dedicated un-wrapper that does a much nicer job than the other end of the tool!

On the subject of airports I remember the first time I went on a plane, my dad got stopped in the metal detector as he had a multi-tool with a 3 inch knife on it, but it wasn't confiscated as at the time it wasn't classed as an offensive weapon. This was 2 months before 9/11, really makes you think.
 
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