Jim in Idaho

Be advised that some aftermarket coils will do this, and also some SL's don't readily take to increased battery pack voltage. Juast sayin'. Jim

You're right, as usual, Steve. The frequency thing actually started with flight, and radios. The engineers knew that the laminations in transformers were extremely heavy, and figured out they could get the same performance with much smaller transformers by simply raising the frequency they operated at. The new digital welders take advantage of the same principle, as do the inverter generators.....same results in smaller, lighter packages. Before solid state, the aircraft radios operated at 400hz, rather than the 60 hz of ground-based radios. Jim

I'm thinking, Gil, that a switch for the hi-gain might be a nice feature. Jim

Both D20 and 21 are three-lead diodes. The jumper only goes across 2 of the 3 connections on diode D21. It goes across the bottom 2 connections in the pic, as shown. Also, everybody interested in this mod should understand these are very tiny components. They require a magnifying light, and good soldering skills, with a decent quality soldering station. At least IMHO...LOL I was a radar tech in the Air Force, and doing this mod taxed my skills. I've done 2 of Reg's mods to my 2013 unit, and I recommend them. At some point in then future I'm going to do the jumper across Test Points 2 and 31, too. I wasn't aware of that until Gilbert's post, so a shoutout to him, and a thumbs-up Jim

Bear in mind that on SL's made since 2015 have D20, and D21 removed, and the jumper across the correct 2 legs of D21. This was a factory mod. if you want to perfor4m this mod on your pre-2015 model here's a pic showing which legs the jumper goes across on D21. It also shows D20, and C56, which can be removed. Jim

Many thanks, Carl. I'm not going to get into it that deep. I thought of raising the wattage of R9 because I've a read a complaint that it was getting hot with the raised battery voltage. I haven't seen it in mine, but thought it might start showing up if I went to 21 volts, as in a 5-cell pack. Jim

Carl, I've run mine as high as 16.8 without problems, but now limit the voltage to 16.0, just to be safe. But, I've been thinking of a 5 cell battery pack limited to 20v. Might have to raise the wattage of R9 to dissipate any additional heat. Jim

Boosted packs help, but everybody should be aware that Carl, the TDI SL designer, has stated that the SL will tolerate voltages to 22 volts, but if you're running above 20, you should swap some capacitors for higher voltage-rated caps. The SL does tolerate higher voltages than the standard TDI series, however. Jim

I made a 24" coil for my TDI SL. Works great! Jim

I've never been stranded, in the more than 50 years I've spent in the outdoors. Closest I came was a 3/4 ton Ford 4x4 that had a rebuilt starter fail. I also made the rookie mistake of parking it facing uphill against a wall of brush...REALLY dumb! So, I rolled it backwards until the two track leveled out. Then I had to use the Rokon to pull it around and down to a sloped section of road. All this while alone, I might add. Then I had to use the Rokon to get it rolling, drop the Rokon, unhook the rope, and jump in the cab to get it in gear. Took several tries to sort it all out, but finally got the truck started, the Rokon loaded, and back to the camper. At 72, I doubt I could do that now....LOL

I don't have to worry about it. If the Dodge ever pukes, I'll spend my money finding, repairing, and driving another one of the same year. I will never own, or buy a new outdoor vehicle, unless the morons currently in charge force me to. Jim

Some of these new-fangled automobile electronics were NOT designed for outdoorsmen...LOL Jim

I didn't suggest leaving them in the vehicle....dohhh. But, hide them nearby. Jim

Yup...Carl doesn't owe anybody an apology. he's an extremely valuable resource for everybody in this hobby and industry. He's been a great value to me, for sure. Jim

Never, never, never carry your keys away from your vehicle. A basic rule for all serious outdoor people. The keys accomplish nothing without the vehicle, so why carry them away from it? Jim

No windmills I'm aware of, Scott. Haven't been up there this year, however. Leadore's pretty sleepy...LOL Most of the ranch land there is owned by Karl Tyler. He was raised there, but went into the auto business, and made several fortunes. Started out washing cars at a dealership. He's a good guy, and serious hunter. I think he still has the Chevy dealership at Missoula. He's really tried to help the Leadore area. I've got a friend with a gold operation just over Bannock Pass from Leadore. He's on Jeff Davis Creek. Jim

You get down in the Leadore area, Scott, I hope you'll let me know. I know that area pretty well, and spend some time there. Would enjoy meeting you. Jim

Whatever I use is going to require a pretty big reduction drive. I'm going to need some serious torque, because of the depth. Not too worried about speed. The ground I'd be drilling is pretty soft. Might try an auger drill, but using homemade core drills rather than an auger. The starter motor idea is pretty good...thanks! Will still need a reduction ring, and the frame to hold it all together. Just so happens I've got an old starter motor off my Massey diesel tractor. Probably won't get to the drill until late winter. Need to build the P.jig, and then I've got to remodel one bedroom on the house, and still have plans to head down to Winnemucca for some nugget hunting this fall...assuming the weather allows it.

Yup....I'm going to get back to that hunt next season. I got a little burned out and quit for awhile, but it's time to get back. I've got some pretty good ideas on the search, and tools for it. I'm drawing up a Pleitz jig right now that will be portable, and run on 12v. That'll reduce water use. I also went through my pics of what I call Little Valley, and noticed I'd identified a spot that I thought at the time was the remains of a kimberlite pipe near where I'm finding all the indicators. I need to build a 12v core drill so I can get down a few feet to investigate. Still, thinking on that. Jim

I spent several years prospecting for diamonds in the Green River basin in Wyoming. never have found one. Last time I was there I left a couple of 8" x 48" sluices in two dry washes. Went back to check them last week. They were completely covered by sand/mud/gravel, so no longer working as sluices...LOL. But I cleaned them out and reset them, and in one, in an area that has produced the most diamond-indicator minerals, produced some nice gem quality chrome diopside, including one 1.46 carat piece, which is pretty rare for Wyoming. Thought you gem-heads might enjoy the pics. Also a pic of some other diamond indicators that were in the sluice, including ilmenite, and spinel.

Looks like a piece of surf-tumbled basalt to me. Jim

If it is, it's definitely not gem quality. What's it look like dry? Jim

I wen through this a couple of years ago. Thought my outdoor life was finished. tried all the Youtube video fixes, stretches, and all that. Nothing helped. Finally got a pair of inserts to lift my arches, and problem was quickly solved. the strain, and pain is caused by your ankles tipping IN. By raising your arch, it causes the ankle to tip more outwardly, thus relieving the strain on the tendon. I'm completely cured of the problem. Took about a week after getting the arch supports. Jim

LOL...have at it. Hope it works for you! Jim

Didn't install a valve stem. Should be air tight anyway. Calculating the displacement, it would take 70+lbs to completely submerge it. All-up it probably weighs about 20 lbs. If it gets water in, I'll just drill a hole on the top side to drain it out. Not too worried about it. I'm trying to keep things simple....I have a reputation for over-thinking my designs....LOL... trying to get over that...Ha! Jim