(30-Aug-2017, 01:17 PM)RENOV8R Wrote: It's a PDD - Pizza Delivery Drone

You are all so wrong.

But I think that I did work on the X wing in the early days without knowing it.  

KK

(30-Aug-2017, 03:19 PM)Keyboard Kid Wrote: But I think that I did work on the X wing in the early days without knowing it.  

KK

I knew you were a legend, but now you are heading towards Deity status!!

(30-Aug-2017, 03:52 PM)Tom BD Bad Wrote: I knew you were a legend, but now you are heading towards Deity status!!

Diety??

I cannot be sure about that project as it was tangled up in confidentiality agreements and smoke and mirrors.

My main fear at that time was that I was working for terrorists. I could never get a straight answer on anything.

It was that sort of project and I had been caught like that before on three separate occasions over the years.

On one such occasion we were accused in an anonymous letter to the NSW anti-terrorist squad of planning to bomb the Sydney Olympics using a UAV.

There really are some weird people out there.

Anyway instead of "Deity" how about we settle on another promotion?

"Now knows more stuff about other stuff, but needs to know other stuff about more stuff?"     

KK

Let me give you an example of what can happen when dealing with bad guys.

Back in the early 1960s when I was new to Silvertone and making valve single channel and ten channel reed transmitters and receivers, two blokes came to me asking me to make them a "fish sting". They said they wanted to drop it into the water and stun fish so they could scoop them out of the water.

I simply pointed out that I did not make such a device and they went on their way and I promptly pushed  the affair out of my mind.

The next thing I knew was when detectives walked into my shop with a single Channel Silvertone transmitter in their hands and asking "Is this one of yours?" What could I say except "Yes".


It turned out that those two blokes wanted the "fish sting" to sting race horses not fish.

So the story as told by the detectives goes like this;

These fellows broke into the stable the night before the races and installed the sting and my receiver into a saddle, hired a vacant flat which overlooked the racecourse and set themselves up in the flat waiting for the race. By the way, the RX/TX was purchased from a hobby store in the Sydney CBD, one of my agents.

Now what these blokes did not know was the jockey must prepare himself and I suppose the horse in some manner before the sting is applied. In this case however the jockey had absolutely no idea that the horse was about to be stung so was completely unprepared for what happened next.

The Villians pushed the button on the TX, my RX responded beautifully as it was designed to do and the horse jumped sideways away from the sting it felt, crashing into the track rail, crushing the leg of the jockey. There was from memory a fall and the result was pandemonium. The bad guys dropped the TX and fled from the flat leaving the TX behind.

I believe they were caught and dealt with but it left an indelible imprint on memory and taught me a valuable lesson. So valuable that in the era of terrorism I was hyper alert to being used by bad guys. So much so that my web site on UAVs was prefaced with a warning that if customers did not want me asking questions about what they want me to do and the use the UAV was to be put to, then they had better go find another supplier.

So when I had a customer who would not even show his driver's licence to the local club when we went to have lunch (A must do in NSW) is it any wonder that I started to worry about what that customer was up to? Such was the case in the project I suspect was the prelude to the X wing project, or at least something similar. I never did find out what that project was about. 

In another incident where an overseas villian (a very big one) was involved, ASIO came to help me and I became very friendly with some of the staff. Long after the incident was resolved the girls from ASIO used to pay me an occasional visit to check that all was well and they always came with boxes of chocolates or baskets of biscuits. (They knew me well)

One day I said to one of the girls (It was a different girl each visit) "Tell me, is my file marked THIS MAN IS DANGEROUS. DO NOT APPROACH WITHOUT CHOCOLATES IN HAND". She just smiled and said "Something like that".

Let me tell you life at Silvertone Electronics was a laugh a minute.    

KK

KK, have you written a memoir? (You have a certain knack...)

(01-Sep-2017, 07:37 AM)sloscotty Wrote: KK, have you written a memoir?  (You have a certain knack...)

Slo, I started writing one many years ago but got sidetracked by some project or other.

From memory it was to be called "Growing up in Australia 1937 - 20XX."

I have written 10,000 words so far and I am up to my age 5. 

I will finish it one day.

KK.

(01-Sep-2017, 07:37 AM)sloscotty Wrote: KK, have you written a memoir?  (You have a certain knack...)

I agree, you do have a very engaging writing style, some really interesting stories and experiences too, I'd read it! 

(I'd pay actual money too, if there were some sketches of the X-wing project in there!) 

I just told Mrs Thrifty-ass about the possibility of you having a hand in designing the X-wing, she said -
"I don't even know what that is!"



How many times have I made her sit through all (7 and counting...) of those movies!!!!

(01-Sep-2017, 08:36 AM)Keyboard Kid Wrote: Slo, I started writing one many years ago but got sidetracked by some project or other.
...
I will finish it one day.

I completely understand.  Why write about your life, when you are not done living it?  The best parts may be yet to come....

(01-Sep-2017, 11:26 AM)sloscotty Wrote: I completely understand.  Why write about your life, when you are not done living it?  The best parts may be yet to come....

Slo, they will have to be good to beat what has gone before!

   
Listen, thanks everybody.

Let me tell you, I am thoroughly enjoying my time on this forum.


Normally I cannot stand forums but this one has been very different.

I also enjoy writing about my past and drip feeding you lot with my old tales of daring do.

I hope you all realise I have virtually written my memoirs on this forum.

Except that is for my days as a gynmast, NSW State trampoline champion (1961 and 1962), gymnastic and trampoline instructor, my family life, my life in politics and the times (four in all) I ran for government, my days writing papers about Pythagoras, history, electronics.

The Electronics magazine (Silicon Chip) editor said exactly what you fellows said. I have an interesting writing style. Chatty he called it. In all I probably wrote about 120 articles for that magazine over a period of 15 or more years.

I could go on but that is enough. Eighty years is a long time and when you cram  it in you can do a lot of stuff. But as I said earlier, my ranking now is to learn more stuff. Such is the nature of my life.    

KK.

PS See if you can guess which one is me in that pyramid.

You're an inspiration!

Your thirst for knowledge, the scope of your achievements and your disarming humility never fails to make me smile when I log in and see new posts from you.

I reckon you're number 13 in the photo.

(01-Sep-2017, 01:14 PM)unseen Wrote: You're an inspiration!

Your thirst for knowledge, the scope of your achievements and your disarming humility never fails to make me smile when I log in and see new posts from you.

I reckon you're number 13 in the photo.

Thanks Unseen.

Now what makes you say 13?

Anybody else?

BTW, where do you live?

I was thinking #3...

I'd say number 3 or number 5, either providing the foundation upon which we all now stand, or at the top showing us the heights that can be achieved!

I just realized who you are!