Sithlord337
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Posts posted by Sithlord337
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2 hours ago, DustyTrooper said:
I’ve been a big Stormtrooper fan ever since I’d seen Star Wars as a young boy. Even back then I can remember obsessing over the armor, blasters, and other accessories the Stormtroopers carried. I remember really wanting that grappling hook Luke used during his escape from the Death Star, and dreaming of the day I could collect all the parts to build a E-11 Blaster replica.
Of course one of the more mysterious items I wanted to know more about was the Sandtrooper Pack! I actually recognized some parts on it myself such as the Tupperware Lid, and the Canteen, but the rest of the pack was a complete mystery to me growing up. Then one youthful day while surfing the early internet(on dial-up 56k modem connection I might add) I came across the old ‘Parts of Star Wars’ website, which is still active to this day! This was a wealth of valuable information to me back then, it actually identified all the parts I needed to build the E-11 Blaster I’d been dreaming of. This also began my search of trying to find out what parts were used on the Sandtrooper Pack. I came across the 501st Sandtrooper Detachment Forums at MEPD.net and found that many of the parts had been identified, but not all of them. In particular one of the mystery parts appeared to be an obscure AM/FM Radio of some kind. I scoured the internet for information endlessly for years until someone eventually discovered and identified the radio used on screen. This was huge news!; It was a “Sonix Victory 75” radio, unfortunately the Sonix company turned out to be an obscure one indeed! Very little information is known about the company to this day.
Then in 2011 a Canadian version of this radio was found in Nova Scotia under the brand name “North Star”. This got me very excited being a Canadian and my mind wandered with dreams of finding one of these vintage radios in the back of some pawn shop, or under a pile of old audio equipment in some thrift store. Well it’s been another eleven years since then, several more radios have been found both under the Sonix and the North Star brand names. But unfortunately, none of those radios were found by me. Alas, I never gave up my search and eventually I did end up finding one of these radios for myself. Not only that, but I also discovered a third previously unknown brand variant! This was only made possible due to the discovery of the Canadian variant 11 years prior. When that North Star radio was found, another was found not to long after that. One of these Canadian radios had a sticker with a model number on the back which read “Model: MT-1809”, this is what ultimately led to my discovery of the Solar brand variant. One day while searching eBay for the query “Vintage Radio MT-1809” this Solar radio just popped up for sale. $45.99 plus shipping, and the best part; it still works! I don’t think I’ve ever clicked Buy Now so fast in my life. My hands were literally shaking as I was checking out, as I’ve had hot ticket items like this literally sell out from under my nose before I had a chance to finish checking out. Thankfully this purchase went smoothly and it showed up at my door fairly quick. It was found on October 20th, 2022 in Bath Township, Michigan which is about a two and a half hour drive from where I live in Sarnia, Ontario Canada. The seller informed me it from an estate sale. The reason I want to share my find is that these kinds of discoveries tend to have a cascade effect, and I’m hoping more of these radios will be found yet in the future. I can tell you this version is from an American company that produced radios in the 60’s and 70’s (more of that later) which was a great time for the electronics industry so I’m hoping there were higher import numbers for this version of the radio though all these companies that made this model definitely seem to be obscure.
And so without further adieu I give you the Solar model: MT-1809
Congratulations on an amazing, stunning discovery. Well deserved with the effort you put in.
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On 11/13/2022 at 8:32 PM, oztrooper said:
I built a capacitor rack following dustytrooper's photos and a lot of research I did on my own...So this rack of 5 capacitors and resistors was fairly common across amps in the 60s and 70s and as technology progressed, so did their look. The base of this rack is cardboard found that was from the mid 1970s, the capacitors are vintage from Ebay that came with ringmounts that I cut down and secured with small machine screws underneath. They made the same version without the ring mounts that can also be sourced from Ebay. The resistors are also vintage 70s from Ebay and the solder points are small rivets that I just carefully removed the shaft from. Mounted on the pack it looks almost EXACT. I spent a lot of time going over measurements and I feel this size capacitor best fits...and it also is wrapped in black paper which makes for less painting..lol.
My thoughts on this set up after mounting this : The original cardboard mount on the real rack was too wide so they but the back down so it would be small enough to fit the tray side. Doing this meant cutting the solder points and rear wire from the capacitors causing no real support. Also , it appears that the 5 capacitors were pushed forward so they were more centered and pushed over the top of the 2 resistors. Screws from underneath the mounting plate were screwed through and into the middle of each capacitor, which on screen you can see from Dustytroopers previous pics and does explain how they are all angled differently, but rotated from a Centerpoint. I chose not to cut the back wires off, but easily could, I folded them under so you really don't even notice them. I haven't painted it black, what you see is straight vintage parts. If this was all painted black it would make it very hard to unlock all these details...I feel this is it and I'm very happy with how it looks on the pack.
https://imgur.com/gallery/RzAczHT
Looks good, what are the dimensions of each capacitor? Thanks
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Great work Pete. Much improved and gives options for different seed tray makers
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Have we established that the exhaust port has 4 feet or have we just assumed? These parts and similar all seem to have just 2 fixing points
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Onto another part which might be very close. The exhaust port. Doing a bit of digging and although not the correct year and certainly not quite the right shape, I think I may have stumbled onto something
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Great eye Dustytrooper! I think you are definitely right on the money with this. When you look at some of the clearer pictures, you can also make out similar rivet mount points and the side wiring. I think mystery solved
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It seems you can buy a digital version of this edition of the magazine through their app or online. Might be worth it to get a high res version of the image
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3 hours ago, bigwam said:
New pics online ...
Where?
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On 7/11/2021 at 7:32 AM, Marv said:
If they didn't say what vehicle did they say what it is?
Apologies, haven't been on the forum for a long time. No details at all which is very frustrating! Most people are happy to share their discoveries and help but not this individual it seems.
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No, I was directly uploading them but they are fairly small. I may try the server approach. Thanks
Sent from my YAL-L21 using Tapatalk -
So I'm preparing to build as accurate a backpack as possible to replace my old SWAT approved one which is somewhat dated now.
Using the references, I think I have scaled most sizes within a certain tolerance. I used the known sizes of the radio and the syphon as comparisons.
If anyone sees any major discrepancies from what I think, please let me know your views.
FRAME:
Top to bend: 260mm
Bottom to bend: 220mm
BREXTON BOX:
Height: 240mm
TOP BOTTLE:
126mm showing below mushroom cap
MORTAR TUBE:
687mm Long with hole 45mm below top
EXHAUST PORT (main body):
120mm at longest point, slopes to 111mm
60mm wide
I think the rest is fairly self explanatory but if anyone wants to chip in with other dimensions, feel free
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Hi, I wish to post some very interesting pictures of a potential found part, but the forum is informing me that I have reached my size limit.
I have only posted a few pics before so can't see how this is the case. A list comes up of unposted pictures which were ready for upload, but I can't seem to delete anything from there.
Any advise?
Thanks
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Do any of the packs use this part though? I've only ever seen the jug lids which are different
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Literally a strip of steel from any hardware store, bent to suit.
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Why have you taken the texture off? I have never heard of or seen that before?
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Unless they are referring to the leather surround and it is a typo i.e leather strap/ leather strip. Have you got a picture of your radio?
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Lovely work. What did you use for the bottom bottle? Looks a good size etc
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Can anyone identify the exact bottles that Gino used? Really like the square bottom and the dimensions look spot on
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Left to right. 2xUP90. 4x UP100.
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I have several variants now and will post some pictures for reference as these are very hard to find now.
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Hi, I apologise if there is already a discussion thread that this should be part of. I have been doing some digging around to find the elusive real world parts for the shotgun shell elements. I have always seen the rounded edges and have long thought that they may well be radio valves like noxie tubes. The issue is the seemingly metallic look of the shells, beyond being painted. I came across this picture which is part of a page on valves etc. What do we think?
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It is brand new, unused. However it is a grey one. I really ought to swap it for my original UP100 on my backpack as my pack is the same as yours
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I have an original UP90 that might be surplus to requirements. What is the going rate for them now do we think? I was hoping to use the funds to get a DLT-19
Comprehensive Radio Comparison & Brief History
in Field Backpack
Posted
As always, thoroughly researched. Lots of interesting details. Thanks for sharing