What I did today -instead- of Rocketry.

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I'm well familiar with the air supply units (ASU) used to supply the pneumatic systems on the trains I work with. The ASU consists of the compressor, an air dryer, and some controls and cooling fans and stuff.

The air dryer uses two desiccant canisters. At any given time, one is drying the cooled output of the compressor, while the other is being heated to drive moisture out of the desiccant pellets (highly porous alumina). About a quarter of the dry air from the first canister is directed through the other one to carry moisture off, with three quarters available to the train's systems. They switch back and forth every few minutes, one drying air while the other is baking out.

Eventually they become fouled with oil and have to be replaced.

EDIT: I just figured out you were saying no to baking out the zeolite, not no to baking out the desiccant. My bad.
 
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One of my stereo buddies brought back a 15" subwoofer that I had given him last year as he's not needing it now, so we had a good time talking stereo.
 
Found a small smashed up pumpkin on the walking trail this afternoon. Apparently someone thought it a good idea to feed to the deer and birds in the area. I wish they would have tossed it a bit off the trail though and not on it. Oh well, at least it will feed the animals and is an OK way to dispose of your carvings!
Actually, it resembled a couple of cheeseburgers as I approached it and I started to curse out whomever discarded their lunch but looked at it closer.

Tonight I went to the 65th Anniversary screening of "North by Northwest" in the theatre. Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint never looked better on the big screen. Everything about the movie was charming and exciting - one of my favourite movies of all time. And the innuendo conversations between the actors was delicious. Of course you know, the scene on Mt. Rushmore was all fake since they couldn't get permission to film on location so they faked it with their own set. And NO there is no house behind the Mt. - I've been there! :cool:
 
r.m.r was one of the first newsgroups, I think dating to 1982ish? Nothing like it on compu$erve at that time...

Great times!
Crap, I'm old! I still have my CompuServe and AOL coffee cups for pencil holders. Who remembers pencils, eh? As for r.m.r. I actually woke up one morning in a fog trying to sign in. That was embarrassing. Just a few months ago I typed in "Rocketry Planet" and sat there confused by the muscle memory. I wish Darrell was still around. I'll be in the corner drooling on myself. Just bring sandpaper.
 
Crap, I'm old! I still have my CompuServe and AOL coffee cups for pencil holders. Who remembers pencils, eh? As for r.m.r. I actually woke up one morning in a fog trying to sign in. That was embarrassing. Just a few months ago I typed in "Rocketry Planet" and sat there confused by the muscle memory. I wish Darrell was still around. I'll be in the corner drooling on myself. Just bring sandpaper.
r.m.r , yup, we're old. I remember getting in arguments with Bob Caplow about different things.
 
Forgot to show my welds from yesterday,
View attachment 675214
This one’s pretty good if I say so
View attachment 675215
Petty bad, someone was trying to use a MIG and failing so I was getting a lot of sparks in my hair and some got under my clothes, I almost lost the ark at those 2 bad spots.
Do you get a little zig-zag motion going, side to side, as you are laying the weld down? Sort of like zipping it together? Heat is applied to both sides of the weld, and if welding different thicknesses, or perhaps an edge vs the middle of a plate, the heat going into each piece can be individually controlled by how long you pause on each.
 
Today I put on my heights harness and went on the roof to mount a new TV antenna. Mast plate and mast mounted and sealed, penetration of flexible conduit sealed with a Dektite and butyl rubber tape, coax sealed to conduit with self-amalgamating tape, antenna mounted, F-type connector crimped on and plugged in.

Tomorrow I go inside the roof to hook the coax onto the TV antenna outlet. The builder provided the TV outlets, but no antenna.
 
Forgot to show my welds from yesterday,
View attachment 675214
This one’s pretty good if I say so
View attachment 675215
Petty bad, someone was trying to use a MIG and failing so I was getting a lot of sparks in my hair and some got under my clothes, I almost lost the ark at those 2 bad spots.
Practice, weedhopper. Most all my welds burned up in the atmosphere or are underwater in the Atlantic. One of my instructors gave me a hint to "pretend you are playing the violin and you need to just hold the note". Nah, still messed it up! Lol. Practice, practice, practice! You got this! Don't forget your PPE to include your lungs and eyes. You'll need those later to spend all the money you make from this skill. Don't laugh, welders are hard to find these days. Seems the software guys have trouble figuring out how to put on gloves.
 
Do you get a little zig-zag motion going, side to side, as you are laying the weld down? Sort of like zipping it together? Heat is applied to both sides of the weld, and if welding different thicknesses, or perhaps an edge vs the middle of a plate, the heat going into each piece can be individually controlled by how long you pause on each.
No but I will try that, I was going side to side but I just moved the line up a little.
 
Don't laugh, welders are hard to find these days. Seems the software guys have trouble figuring out how to put on gloves.
You’re telling me! The county champion welders in my class and he will have his choice of high paying job when he graduates! I on the other hand have 4 years of college to look forward to if I get into one that is.
 
Forgot to show my welds from yesterday,
View attachment 675214
This one’s pretty good if I say so
View attachment 675215
Petty bad, someone was trying to use a MIG and failing so I was getting a lot of sparks in my hair and some got under my clothes, I almost lost the ark at those 2 bad spots.
Like with almost every skill, the more you do it, the better you get.
 
You’re telling me! The county champion welders in my class and he will have his choice of high paying job when he graduates! I on the other hand have 4 years of college to look forward to if I get into one that is.
what are you going college for?...specialty wise
 
Aerospace Engineering.
I don't want to rain on your parade, but consider mechanical engineering as well. There are lots of jobs in the aerospace industry that use a mechanical engineering degree, and it gives you some flexibility with non-aerospace jobs as well. Looking from the outside, it appeared that there were more new grad applicants than jobs available when my son was trying to find work in the aerospace industry. When he applied at non-aerospace jobs, the first question (if he even got an interview) was "How do we know you'll stick around and not bail for [Blue Origin or SpaceX or whatever] if a job comes available?"
 
I don't want to rain on your parade, but consider mechanical engineering as well. There are lots of jobs in the aerospace industry that use a mechanical engineering degree, and it gives you some flexibility with non-aerospace jobs as well. Looking from the outside, it appeared that there were more new grad applicants than jobs available when my son was trying to find work in the aerospace industry. When he applied at non-aerospace jobs, the first question (if he even got an interview) was "How do we know you'll stick around and not bail for [Blue Origin or SpaceX or whatever] if a job comes available?"
True, and it’s definitely an option. It’s not set in stone or anything. Bio engineering is also on the list as well as nuclear engineering.
 
True, and it’s definitely an option. It’s not set in stone or anything. Bio engineering is also on the list as well as nuclear engineering.
Nuclear engineering is probably as close as you're going to get to a guaranteed lifetime job. Bioengineering may be more fun depending on what you like (also looking sideways at your avatar/username :D ).
 
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