Vibra-Tak...Old School Tachometer...GOT ME ONE !!!!!!!

So I find, arrived and waiting in my post box, my Vintage/Modern Vibra-Tak !!! Complete, as advertised, with leather holster and Life-Time Guarantee!

Yet another of my adolescent puzzles loses it's mystery. I might not be getting smarter, but I AM wondering about stuff less and less!!!

For this evening though, it shall reside in Nostalgic Splender next to my also-just-arrived Ebay Goldberg "Ranger 42".

And then, tomorrow, we shall Tak some vibrations!

Looking at these instructions alone is a nostalgia trip! How many here even know what a "Slide Rule" (also known as a "slip stick") was?, and how many could still read one? and aren't you glad you no longer have to!

Great Kim, tell us how it works and maybe a video!
(I means how well I works,, we all know it runs on imagination of course)

Man, you got all the neat stuff. How does it work on girls?

nitroairplane wrote:Great Kim, tell us how it works and maybe a video!
(I means how well I works,, we all know it runs on imagination of course)

It shall be done !!!!

Yep Andrew, I was one of those kids who never had a clue about slide-rules when they WERE the going thing. There have been times though, when I could get some good stuff going with it's circular cousin, my faithful E6-B !!!!!!!!

crankbndr wrote:Man, you got all the neat stuff. How does it work on girls?

The gadgets seldom draw the babes...generally it's better just go straight-forward with cash...

I knew how to work the E6-B but Ive forgotten it all in my old age. Very handy tool for flying.

crankbndr wrote:I knew how to work the E6-B but Ive forgotten it all in my old age. Very handy tool for flying.

Yeah, they've pretty much gone the way of all the rest of the mechanical calculators. I was fascinated AND intimidated by them as I flirted with learning to fly.

There was a stretch of time when I became possessed with them like a kid with a new video game. I couldn't put it down, and was constantly creating cross-country scenarios, making up flight conditions and using a chart to plan imaginary flights. This one is my second "Whiz-Wheel", I'd worn half of the info off the one I used for training.

The thing looks alien to me now, but if I messed with it a while, figure I could probably get it to talk to me. Old guys and their old stuff...

I logged about 50 hours in C-150 in the early 70s before I decided I did not have the "right stuff".
Give a kid an airplane? Man did I have fun.

crankbndr wrote:I logged about 50 hours in C-150 in the early 70s before I decided I did not have the "right stuff".
Give a kid an airplane? Man did I have fun.

Well, you know, they're still around! Might be fun to get yourself an "Intro Ride" and just get a little playtime! Every other year, I used to drive my van down to Seminole Gliderport, south of Clermont, and rent Grobe's and 2-33's from a guy named Knute who ran the the place. Think it's gone to a different owner now, but it might be worth checking. Maybe get yourself a Glider ride over the swamps there !

Kim wrote:
The gadgets seldom draw the babes...generally it's better just go straight-forward with cash...

Oh, I don't know, the E6-B is pretty enticing. But, here's the scenario: Hey, babe. Why don't you come on over to the house tonight. We'll have dinner, pop some popcorn, watch a movie, have a few glasses of wine, then we'll try out my new Vibra-Tak.

Guaranteed success.

So, right before having to leave for work, I suddenly decided that it was a priority for me to set-up an engine in a stand and run a test of my Fowler Vibra-Tach Slide-Rule Tachometer. The video is not the best (the oscillating wire of the tach is out of frame), but I DID get some interesting results!

Maybe, on a better day, with more time, I'll try a little better set-up to video another test.

Seems pretty good to me, a nice thing to have.

Thanks Indra, I just wanted a little better view of me adjusting the thing. Had a bit of a problem picking a spot where there was good, solid contact WITHOUT getting into that prop.

Turns out, it's pretty darn accurate.

Should be very accurate, I have a dial type for the lawnmower. It might be too bulky for the Cox engine. I need to try it and see.

Kim wrote:Thanks Indra, I just wanted a little better view of me adjusting the thing. Had a bit of a problem picking a spot where there was good, solid contact WITHOUT getting into that prop.

Turns out, it's pretty darn accurate.

Your not kidding!!!!! Almost spot on with the digital. Who'd a thunk it?

Cool! Thanks for that.

I guess it would HAVE to be fairly accurate to survive the decades, and STILL be manufactured, but with my near-zero engineering experience, I've got to admit some amazement that a piece of shaking wire can be made to accurately calculate the RPM of an engine. Makes me feel like a caveman, trying to get a grasp of fire !!

Also, I HAVE to wonder, how many of these things got away from their owner's grasp...to be instantly launched across the flying field by a high-revving prop ???!!!!! "The Flying Tach of Death" !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kim wrote:I guess it would HAVE to be fairly accurate to survive the decades, and STILL be manufactured, but with my near-zero engineering experience, I've got to admit some amazement that a piece of shaking wire can be made to accurately calculate the RPM of an engine. Makes me feel like a caveman, trying to get a grasp of fire !!

Also, I HAVE to wonder, how many of these things got away from their owner's grasp...to be instantly launched across the flying field by a high-revving prop ???!!!!! "The Flying Tach of Death" !!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's a funny mental picture. Wonder what one yells when a tach is sent sailing?

Probably something loud and extremely unfit for younger ears...both from the launcher AND launchee !!!!!

Can you imagine if it hit you on it's way, the questions at the hospital? "And how did you come to be impaled by this tachometer?"