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The Whatziss, continued.

By The Armorer on May 25, 2007 | | Comments (27)

To get caught up, go here. Mind you, you should follow that link for Rivrdog's comment alone!

Okay, this Whatziss is like the Indian legend about the six blind men and the elephant, except in this case, you *all* get to see the clues out of context together and compare notes as you are going along, vice each getting a unique piece. I haven't figured out how to torture you that way...

Okay, next snapshot up for bids -

Here's a view from the side of the same area.

This will actually be a great example of a "forest for the trees" kind of thing - once we get far enough away from the object - it will become perfectly clear for most of you.

Yesterday's shot *was* of a component of a guidance/aiming system, albeit *not* a gyro as posited.

'rrRRp! Oops. Excuse me. (If that doesn't make sense, then you didn't pay attention to the second sentence of this post... so it's your fault you're confused.)

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27 Comments

By MajMike on May 25, 2007 8:11 AM
have i sat in an air conditioned room with binoculars whilst this device was being employed?
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 25, 2007 8:25 AM
Mebbe. Depends.
 
By Justthisguy on May 25, 2007 10:47 AM
I'm thinkng it is part of a fine Ford product. Ford Instrument, that is. An angle transducer, maybe.
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 25, 2007 11:09 AM
Nope. Wrong path, JTG. It has nothing to do with this.
 
By MajMike on May 25, 2007 11:37 AM
TSFO
 
By NevadaDailySteve on May 25, 2007 12:06 PM
Here's my shot in the dark for today: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M242 It's either that or a real big juicer. I've sat through too many meetings lately. My butt is numb and I can't think. Maybe my wife is right about where my brain is located.
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 25, 2007 12:37 PM
Heh. That's a fair bit 'o bakelite for a TSFO (Training Set, Fire Observation for the, um, er, *average citizens* in the crowd) or a Bushmaster. Nope, and nope. MajMike - I thought you might be angling for this... but since it could have been other items as well, I gave you the "mebbe". This is an artifact *in* the posession of the Armorer and Arsenal. As yet (note, I said, "yet") we've not scored a TSFO or UCOFT, for that matter. Though wouldn't a functional UCOFT be fun (Unit Conduct Of Fire Trainer)?
 
By HomefrontSix on May 25, 2007 1:56 PM
Rivrdog ~ how, exactly, does one direct arty fire from the seat of one's pants? Do you have diagrams of such? I'll be with Maggie over at the bar. But she can keep the squids ;) Not my taste. Bartender? Whiskey old fashioned please?
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 25, 2007 2:40 PM
Here ya go, ma'am. Yeah, IIRC, you're into rotorheads... or rather he's into... oh, never mind.
 
By HomefrontSix on May 25, 2007 3:42 PM
I guess you could say we both are into rotorheads. heh. And thank you kindly for the drink.
 
By MajMike on May 25, 2007 3:44 PM
my initial thoughts were along the lines of some kind of rate sensor for a traversing gear box, but then you kinda gave a nod towards "component of a training aid", so between that and "not TSFO or UCOFT", i am reduced to flailing away at SIMNET, (for which we didn't particularly replicate turret motion of much else), so now i'm right back to being completely confused (having traversed the Great Circle route to get there).
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 25, 2007 4:01 PM
And yer gonna be grumpy with me when you realize how disingenous I was being. Yes, a version/simulacrum of this could have been involved in sim training you have conducted, whether live, virtual, or constructive. The object in question is used to train the users of the object.
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 25, 2007 4:05 PM
HFS - yes, I take your point. MacGyver, like you, does have more than an academic interest in rotorheads, too. Though his manipulation of the cyclic is different (one hopes rather strenuously so) from yours, though the net achievement is the same - achieving great heights with safe landings.
 
By Maggie on May 25, 2007 4:52 PM
HFS - That's one of the reasons you are always welcome to the barstool next to mine! I don't share well. Guys, you lucked out that she asked for a whiskey old-fashioned. Heaven's forfend she ask for one of those foolish Mojito things. You need to go out to the Castle Garden near the moat and get mint. Then you need a mortar and pestle. I don't know if she needs a bartender or an alchemist!
 
By HomefrontSix on May 25, 2007 5:04 PM
John ~ great heights are good. Safe landings are better. I'm sure there are others here who can attest to that as well. The acrobatics can be fun as well *wink* And yes, I'm much more gentle with the cyclic than he is. Maggie ~ I don't share well either, having been raised an only child. And this week has not been one for mojitos. It was almost a week for shots of whiskey and nothing more.
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 25, 2007 7:28 PM
Okay - [yank, tug, pull] let's get this thread back on track! Though I do like a mojito. And the mint does grow out by the curtain walls. Truly.
 
By HomefrontSix on May 25, 2007 7:52 PM
See, Maggie. Not as difficult as that bartender made it seem. Helps when you have a lime tree in the backyard to go along with the mint. All this talk of mojitos and I might just have to go make one. Raspberry this time. John ~ no, no, no. You're not supposed to yank on it. A gentle touch usually gets you further...
 
By Maggie on May 25, 2007 10:24 PM
OHHHHH! She shoots! She scores!
 
By bad cat robot on May 25, 2007 10:51 PM
[PG-17C whines in its power-save sleep] Cyclic stress-testing involves bakelite? Who knew? (goes off to study the diagrams again ....)
 
By HomefrontSix on May 25, 2007 11:07 PM
BCR ~ hee hee. I'm doing my best to toe the line on the PG-17 rater. I needed a good chuckle today though. As for the item in question, I think I see piston-return springs...
 
By Richard on May 25, 2007 11:46 PM
maggie.......MAGGIE???? Bell -47....no ahhhhhhh BARTENDER!!!!
 
By Justthisguy on May 26, 2007 2:44 AM
Umm, even I know, and thought everybody knew, that the minumum necessary gentlest touch on the stick is always best for the smooth maneuvers and a long-lasting good time. I mean, one can yank it about violently, but surely that's only necessarily if one doesn't understand his machine and is operating by rote and mindless drill.
 
By Justthisguy on May 26, 2007 2:59 AM
I wonder what goes in that hole, right in the middle of that picture. Now that we're down in the gutter, and all. Surely the AF has set its Websense controls to allow gear porn?
 
By HomefrontSix on May 26, 2007 4:11 AM
I wonder what goes in that hole, right in the middle of that picture.
I don't know but it appears to have a guide of some sort leading TO the hole so even the most inexperienced of us all can get it right. Or so I would hope.
 
By MajMike on May 26, 2007 4:37 AM
since my first round was off, but i carefully observed it, my next xmsn would be.. "adjust fire, over" "drop 'ward'" "add '/controller'"
 
By MajMike on May 26, 2007 4:41 AM
"FFE" ..and then i watch with my binoculars from my air conditioned room to see if that particular xmsn sends YOU scurrying around. (and trust me when i say that the last thing i ever wanted to see was you and/or yours driving over to visit my air conditioned room)
 
By John of Argghhh! on May 26, 2007 7:12 AM
Heh. HFS - as some are wont to say, "That hole is *exit* only!" Time to shut down this thread and redirect you guys to the next clue, methinks!