I have just realized that I am as old as my radios. I can't pick up 100
pound transmitters any more. How do you move them around the shack from
work bench to work station for repair and operation, by yourself?
Thanks,
Ed

Ed, Although I can still move many of my vintage BA's via "personal
mobility", I have a flat-top work cart that's a bit more than desk
height. I transfer to the cart, then to the bench. Beats the heck out
of trying to horse an R-390A around. Similar carts are available from
Harbor Freight. Look for one without the raised sides, though.. that's
the key.


Ed wrote:

I have just realized that I am as old as my radios. I can't pick up 100
pound transmitters any more. How do you move them around the shack from
work bench to work station for repair and operation, by yourself?
Thanks,
Ed

"K3HVG" wrote in message
...
Ed, Although I can still move many of my vintage BA's via "personal
mobility", I have a flat-top work cart that's a bit more than desk height.
I transfer to the cart, then to the bench. Beats the heck out of trying to
horse an R-390A around. Similar carts are available from Harbor Freight.
Look for one without the raised sides, though.. that's the key.


Ed wrote:

I have just realized that I am as old as my radios. I can't pick up 100
pound transmitters any more. How do you move them around the shack from
work bench to work station for repair and operation, by yourself?
Thanks,
Ed


It also helps to use a "slide-sheet", like the nurses do in a hospital. I
use an old anti-static mat; it's nice to have on my bench when I venture out
of the BA realm. But it's also thick, big and tough enough to let me slide a
BA on it from a cart to my bench. And if you don't care about the
anti-static ability, then just use a piece on outdoor carpet or a heavy
piece of linoleum. Once the BA is one the mat on my bench, it's also a lot
easier to rotate too.

At work where I often encounter modern BA's (so what if a three-foot rack is
full of solid-state and microwave plumbing, it's still BA heavy!), we use
cheap Harbor Freight hydraulic engine hoists and a few scissors-jack wheeled
platforms. Pick up the rack off of a shipping pallet, drop it onto a
scissors-jack cart, pump it to a convenient working height, spin it around
so you can sit in one place and work on it, and, if it needs to go to a
specific bench work station, roll it there and transfer it with the engine
hoist. (I suppose I should point out that modern military rack design calls
for integrated lift points for hooks and cables.)

With a similar inspiration, you can work with the biggest BA's in your
garage. (Appliance dolly wheels are good if the rack is moderately tall,
maybe too tall to put on a cart.) And if you are seriously into BA's, then
your shack has roll-in access, right? And you also should own a pickup
truck, or at minimum, have your car equipped with a decent hitch so you can
rent one of those open "garden" trailers so you can fetch the real prize
BA's.

Another Ed:
--
Ed
WB6WSN
El Cajon, CA USA

K3HVG wrote:

Ed, Although I can still move many of my vintage BA's via "personal
mobility", I have a flat-top work cart that's a bit more than desk
height. I transfer to the cart, then to the bench. Beats the heck out
of trying to horse an R-390A around. Similar carts are available from
Harbor Freight. Look for one without the raised sides, though.. that's
the key.


Just turn the top tray upside down, or make a plywood cap that drops
over the tray.
That way you can use the same cart for different jobs. I cut 1/2"
plywood and drop it into the bottom of the tray and add a thin piece of
industrial carpet to protect the finish on things that spend a lot of
time on the bottom tray.

--
http://home.earthlink.net/~computersforvets/

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Ed wrote:
I have just realized that I am as old as my radios. I can't pick up 100
pound transmitters any more. How do you move them around the shack from
work bench to work station for repair and operation, by yourself?
Thanks,
Ed


I get my wife to help me - 6 feet tall, 185 pounds.

John Mackesy VK3XAO

On Mon, 4 Jul 2005 03:07:15 -0500, "Ed" none@this-time wrote:

I have just realized that I am as old as my radios. I can't pick up 100
pound transmitters any more. How do you move them around the shack from
work bench to work station for repair and operation, by yourself?
Thanks,
Ed

Simple - use a sky hook...

I never work on a bench ,I work on a roll around table about same
height as work bench..you can drag the BA`s from work cart to table
etc.It is a big help in getting the BA from my vehicle into the shop
also..Pick up one corner of BA and spin it around to load and un
load..No strain...Harold W4PQW

Ed wrote:
I have just realized that I am as old as my radios. I can't pick up 100
pound transmitters any more.

Even in my younger days, since most of my radios weigh as much as I do -
(since I'm around 100 pounds myself) this has always been an issue.
While he's often a PITA; that's one of the main reasons I keep Randy
around: he's still useful as "gorilla" - ah - er "crane"! ;).

Seriously - a sturdy cart about the right height to "slide" 390s, AR88s,
RAO-6's, ART13s and such to and from tables, the work bench, etc. is a
must. Equally seriously - recruiting help when moving the big ones goes
from being a convenience - to a necessity.
--
Sherry

Randy or Sherry Guttery wrote:

Ed wrote:
I have just realized that I am as old as my radios. I can't pick up 100
pound transmitters any more.

Even in my younger days, since most of my radios weigh as much as I do -
(since I'm around 100 pounds myself) this has always been an issue.
While he's often a PITA; that's one of the main reasons I keep Randy
around: he's still useful as "gorilla" - ah - er "crane"! ;).

Seriously - a sturdy cart about the right height to "slide" 390s, AR88s,
RAO-6's, ART13s and such to and from tables, the work bench, etc. is a
must. Equally seriously - recruiting help when moving the big ones goes
from being a convenience - to a necessity.
--
Sherry


Be careful Sherry, you know he reads this newsgroup, too. ;-)

--
http://home.earthlink.net/~computersforvets/

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Isn't that why we have kids? My son is 6'4" 200lbs and an electronic
engineering major so he knows about delicate equipement. 73 Mike KF6KXG