Indian Tadpole

[fasteddy]

Parts have been coming in. I show them and and where I got them from.

The six battery holders arrived and I checked each one using the light. One of them was warm but not as hot as the one I replaced. The six cost me $12.48 Canadian.

Steve.

1.26US $ 14% OFF|DIY 18650 battery Power Bank 18650 Holder Case Clip Storage BOX USB Output 5V 1A Power Container Box Store Charger for Phone MP4|Battery Storage Boxes| - AliExpress

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[fasteddy]

I bought two different cables to wire into what every I needed . The first ones are 90 degree angled. This is in case the battery is in close quarters like the headlights and there is no room for the cable to go straight up.

They have an end on them which I will cut off.

Steve.

0.52US $ 6% OFF|UP Down left Right angled 90 Degree USB Male to Female Extension Cable USB macho hembra Type A M/F Adaptor Cord short 10cm 20cm|Computer Cables & Connectors| - AliExpress

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[fasteddy]

The cables above were 68 cents each x6. Shipping was probably the same. I bought 6 cables where
the cable came out of the battery straight with a 39" or one meter cable. They were $2.04 each and shipping may have been close to the same, Canadian dollars. Inexpensive compared to what they wanted here.

Steve.

1.02US $ 20% OFF|5v Usb 2.0 2 Pin 2 Wire Diy Usb Male Jack Connector Cable Power Charge Extension Cable Cord 0.3m/1m/2m Connector Adapter - Connectors - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

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[fasteddy]

The switches on the lamp were terrible as I said. Wiring pulled off one side very quickly. I'll include a photo. I purchased the replacement switches from Amazon. Bit large for the job but they will work and in keeping with the vintage look. I'm going to try and get them installed tomorrow

They were $20 Canadian for five..

Steve.

Creative Hobbies 5 Pack of Rotary On/Off Switches, Single Circuit, 3A-120V, Brass Finish, Metal Bushing with 6 Inch Wire Leads Stripped Ends : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

Creative Hobbies 5 Pack of Rotary On/Off Switches, Single Circuit, 3A-120V, Brass Finish, Metal Bushing with 6 Inch Wire Leads Stripped Ends : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

www.amazon.ca

 

[fasteddy]

I forgot to add the supplied headlight mounting brackets. No instructions of course but how would you mount these on handle bars?

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

I forgot to add the supplied headlight mounting brackets. No instructions of course but how would you mount these on handle bars?

Steve.

Good question, Steve.
SB

 

[Tom from Rubicon]

#3645 Possible use with garden Gnomes?

 

[fasteddy]

I have the new switches in the headlights. They take up a lot more space than the originals and the battery fits at a slight angle. They work perfectly. There is no room for anything else.

Steve.

 

[Tom from Rubicon]

Blinded By The Light - YouTube

Tom

 

[fasteddy]

I used to see Manfred Mann's cousin from time to time when I was younger. He was a friend of one of my friends. Loved to hear his fathers stories about the war from the German side.

He was an ME109 pilot for the entire war until the surrender.

Steve.

 

[Tom from Rubicon]

"Loved to hear his father's stories about the war from the German side.
He was an ME109 pilot for the entire war until the surrender."

Was more than luck got him alive at the end of hostility's

Tom

 

[fasteddy]

Tom,
He said he was sick of the killing long before the war was finished. His description of attacking the bombers was interesting. He said it was like attacking a porcupine with your sock feet. He bailed out four times after his aircraft was destroyed.

The ironic part is that Manfred Mann was Jewish and used the name on stage. He said that branch of the family lived in South Africa so they escaped war time Germany. He was able to re establish contact with them after the war was over.

Just one of those chance meetings that happen through life.

Steve.

 

[Tom from Rubicon]

You make it sound so simple Steve. Meeting real players in WWII, Fighter pilots especially being one tenth of one percent of the active combat forces. I had two uncles in WWII. One was a Navy cook and the other a Army Air Corp ground crew man.

Are you making any progress recovering photos from the bucket? You having one of if not the longest running threads need if able, get the photos archived on a stable platform. It would be a pity to lose the Bike Camp history.

Tom

 

[PeteMcP]

Steve, those brass switches on the AliExpress brass/copper lamps fit the bill way more perfectly than the crappy plastic originals. Don't blame you for retro fitting them. Lamps will look the dogs danglers on your tadpole - if you can come up with a solution for mounting brackets..

 

[fasteddy]

Hi tom,
I met and worked with German WW2 soldiers and sailors. Some of them hinted that they were SS. I also met many victims of the Nazis as well and worked with them and heard their stories.

I've gotten used to over the years to people just talking to me about their lives never having seen them before. Probably the best example is when I was in out local tool store. I'm looking at table saws and a chap starts talking about which one is best saying he's a carpenter.

Within 5 minutes he's telling me about losing his father on the Russian front and how it affected he and his mother and what war time Germany was like. Very interesting conversation and when we parted I had no idea who he was but he seemed to feel good about talking about it and I'm always an avid listener.

Canada having such a small civilian population and a large POW population during the war and giving the prisoners a chance to get an advanced education while in the camps through local universities and they formed friendships through the farm families they worked with a large majority didn't want to return to Germany after the war and couldn't wait to return when it was allowed in the early 1950's. They told their friends and families as well so we had a large population boost in the 1950's and 60's.

If bike camp does come together this summer we will have some interesting chats I'm sure.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Tom, I'm waiting for my nephew to have some free time to help me or they may all disappear into cyberspace. He has been promoted to Corporal in the R.C.M.P. and with the added work load and having classes to take because of, his free time at the moment is thin.

Also his partner has been diagnosed with pancreas problems that could be pre cancerous. She will be going to surgery some time soon, so if he doesn't have the time over the next couple of months I'll have a computer shop do it for me.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Hi Pete,
Thank you. I was pleased with the way the switches came out. I'm trying to come up with some nice looking brackets for the headlights. I'm looking at early Tri Cars to see what they used and there aren't many and some of those are home made without any effort to look presentable.

It's a good thing we all enjoy a challenge or these bikes would never get built.

Steve.

 

[Tom from Rubicon]

Best wishes for your nephew's partner. Those ailments rarely have a good out come.

There was a Blacksmith in Ontario, Wisconsin, Matt Schmidt that I knew. My Grand Dad was a frequent customer. Matt used to give me free range of his smithy. It still affects me.
Matt was a WW1 POW. In the second war, he used to scandalize to town kids by telling them.
" I used t shoot at Americans ".

Steve, if you never are able to flesh out the early Tadpole history, it is not your fault.
I am waiting what next happens with the pox amongst us. Bike Camp is a want to.

Tom

 

[Mr.B.]

Interesting topic (as usual).

I have 3 uncles who served during WWII~

Eddy who was a Army medic and in the Battle of the Bulge,
Larry who was an B-17 Pilot with the Army Air Corp
And Elmo, an AAC P-47 Pilot shot down in Belgium.

Larry made a career of it and went on to also serve in Korea and Vietnam, retired a full bird Colonel.

And about 20 years ago our family received a real nice thank you letter from an elderly Belgium man who since the war had continuously tended the graves of the US troops buried outside his small village...

 

[fasteddy]

Sorry to hear about your uncle, Mr. B. One of the men who gave all he had. Can't imagine being in a bomber. I remember seeing an interview with a man who was a B17 pilot. He was marvelling that they let a 20 year old kid fly an aircraft worth that much money when he'd never had a drivers license.

Being a Medic in the battle of the Bulge. The horrible things he saw over and over again.

Steve.