teuton7

Getting my Mercury 115 ready for the boat. First startup and test run after repairs. It smokes a lot because I ran it with a higher oil mix for the break in period (about 25 : 1). Next test will be on the boat, then I can make the final adjustments. For now it runs well and idles smooth.

Repairing the broken steering / swivel mechanism on my Honda BF50. I was able to find a good used swivel unit and a main gear case on eBay for a decent price. The motor is now back together and ready for a new owner. After all the repairs I've done to it I'm sure it will last for many years to come. Thank you for watching.

I finally decided to perform the 10 meter mod on my old Kenwood TL-922A Amplifier. I watched some YouTube videos on how to do it. The one thing that scared me was to take out the band selector switch. I'm not going into the details of it but it surely isn't all that easy. So I decided to just go by the instructions by kenwood themselves. There's no mention about taking the whole switch out, according to Kenwood. So I thought I just go with the instructions from the manufacturer. They simply state to turn the Load knob all the way counter clockwise to expose the contacts on the switch. And they were correct. The only parts I had to order was 2 120pF Silver Dipped Mica capacitors. They are for the 2 of the band filter barrels. Again I just followed Kenwoods instruction sheet and this also was very easy. I did had a little problem with the soldering, for once my hands aren't all that steady anymore and I only had a real old soldering iron. I attend any beauty pageant with my soldering job but at least I got the job done and the amp works now on 10 meter (12 meter as well). For those who insist the band selector switch has to come out, well, go to Burger King and have it your way, LOL

I'm having problems with my Honda BF40 motor. I have it mounted on a small 14 foot boat and it doesn't go over 25 MPH. I've done everything I could think of to this motor. I think the problem is with the carbs / fuel delivery. It seems like it's not getting enough fuel under load. If there's anyone with the same issue and has a solution, please leave comments. Thank you

My friend recently purchased this MFJ-1846 Hex Beam. When we opened the box we noticed several nuts and bolts and other small parts scattered loose in the box. The plastic bag that was supposed to contain all the small parts was torn. It took us some time to sort it all out. Most the small parts were in individual labeled bags, but no all of them. Next we discovered that on some of the wires the ring terminals were loose in the bags, never been crimped / soldered to the ends. it wasn't that big of a deal, just very sloppy to send it out like that. The wires for the 20 meter band were too long (the 2 active wires), and the reflector wire was too short. We managed by cutting the 2 active wires to the correct length and attached new ring terminals to the ends. The reflector wire is still to short and won't go all the way up to the end of the spreader rods. My friend called MFJ and ask to send the correct wires, but they were unwilling to correct their mistake on their dime. Great customer satisfaction policy by this company ! The wires are also extremely thin, it won't take much for them to break. It's very clear that the only goal for this product is to maximize profit, even if it means to loose a customer for good. Maybe their motto is to get everyone at least once and business is booming.

I recently found out that my Kenwood TS-590S only produces around 75 watts output power on all bands, CW dead key or SSB. There are many posts on the internet with others having the same issue. I'm looking for advise to fix this. Thank you, KY4XV 73

I had problems with high SWR on my Optibeam OB9. Turned out a made a small mistake when I assembled the antenna. After a few days scratching my head I finally figured it out and the antenna is working as it should. It's back on the tower, around 70 feet from the ground. On top I installed a small Yagi for 2 meter / 70 cm. Thank you for watching, 73 KY4XV

I finally found a good deal on a used Hy-Gain Tailtwister Antenna Rotator. I mounted the rotator low in the antenna tower so it's easier to work on if necessary. I used old chain link fence top rails linked together running from the antenna down to the rotator. The tower is about 70 feet tall and the rotator is mounted about 12 feet from the ground. The down pipes are self supportive, I fabricated a ball bearing support that carries the weight of the antenna and the pipes. I used a pedal crank from an old bicycle that I just simply welded to the top of the antenna tower. It's not fancy but it was cheap and works well. The down pipes are also supported by several centering braces to there isn't any flapping around when I turn the antenna. With all that the rotator does not carry any weight from the pipes or antenna. The only work it has to do is to turn the antenna. I was able to turn the antenna by hand to make sure nothing was binding up. The only downside to this setup when it's windy the antenna will swing a few degrees to either direction. That's because every joint between the several pipes has a little play and there's also somewhat of a twist due to the length of the pipes. It doesn't have any effect on the performance of the antenna and it maybe even a good thing since it provides somewhat of a cushioning effect to the rotator brake. But we'll see, only time will tell. For now this works and I finally can dial the antenna in more than just one direction. Thank you for watching, 73 KY4XV

Nothing dramatic is happening in this video. My friend and I just having a relaxing day on the Weeki Watchee river. Filmed with a GoPro 7 in 4k. Besides stitching the clips together I didn't do any further editing. It's just as the camera recorded it. I muted most of the audio to keep it calm. If you like some music play whatever you like. Everyone's taste is different anyways, For those of you who must complain and ad negative comments, please do so and go fuck yourself !!! Everyone else enjoy the show and thank you for watching.

I decided to dig out my 1973 Baja (14 foot) open hull speed boat. The boat was just laying around on my property for over 20 years. Originally I bought it in 1997 with a Mercury 80HP motor. The 80HP was the rated max size for the boat. That off course wasn't enough since the boat was still too controllable. I got a hold of a 150HP Mercury, the notorious "Tower of Power". Strapped it to the boat, installed a 24 pitch performance prop and the boat was doomed. It lasted about a year till the motor blew up and the transom was completely destroyed. I did have lots of fun keeping the boat more airborne than actually in the water. I made a few attempts to rebuilt boat and motor but eventually just gave up and got into different projects. For the past 15 years I focused on sailboats and had very little interest in power boats. Yet I do miss getting out on the water for some quick fun. Besides, my Alberg 37 is getting closer to be back in the water and I do need a shuttle boat in the future. So instead of buying another persons problem boat I just fix up what I already have. And I know this little Baja can do very well. I decided to go with a 40HP Honda 4 stroke. Got a good deal on the motor. This gives me a much better fuel economy and it won't destroy the boat again. Well, I can still put on a bigger motor later on if the 40HP is too boring. So for now it's lots of cleaning and Fiberglass work. But compare to what I have already done on my sailboat and still have to do, this little boat should be a walk in the park.

I built a jig to hold the propeller shaft in place. This made is easier to see how far I was off with the engine. I also made adjusters for the 2 rear engine brackets. That helped a lot with the fine adjustments. I'm satisfied with the way it came out and leave it like that.

After aligning the propeller shaft flange with the transmission flange I still have some wobble at the stuffing box. Some of it is due to the engines vibration at idle (1000 rpm) but I think this is still too much. I used a feeler gauge to get the gap right. I'm certain I have to get this to a closer tolerance. For now I'm posting this clip and hopefully get some feedback. So please leave comments if you think this is ok or needs to be adjusted better. Thank you for watching.

Installing my engine back into place without the need to change the engine mount brackets. Turned out I was able to press the propeller shaft further into the flange and then simply cut the excess part off. And yes, I drilled new dimples for the 2 set screws into the shaft. Just in case someone is wondering about that. The flange and propeller shaft were brand new and therefore very tight. Without the help of my shop press it would not have been possible to get the shaft off or on the flange. So either way I had to pull the engine out, or at least up to clear the propeller shaft. The only way to get the shaft out is by pulling it towards the engine, after the propeller is removed, of course.

I had to remove my engine again because the propeller shaft sticks too far out from the cutlass bearing. This causes the propeller to ht the rudder when steering far left or right. Initially I thought I have to built new engine mount brackets but I realized that I can just push the propeller shaft further into the flange. Hope that will work and I get my propeller to the correct position.