Freedom Boot modifications

The Ledbury Freedom Boot has now been gigged twice and two weaknesses have been exposed.

Firstly, the beading pins that affix the bottle caps to the stick are too dainty by far. Whilst they have not yet shed their load, they do bend easily and corrective action is frequently required mid-set.

Action: The puny beading pins are to be replaced with 6 x 1.5" black laquered dome-headed screws.

Secondly, the googly eyes fell off the toe-cap, demonstrating that "Sellotape Self Adhesive Sticky Fixers" are not as effective as the blurb on the pack would have you believe. Oh yes, the adhesive facing is aggressive and sticks to almost anything. The problem lies with the foam pad between the adhesive faces, which, like unto a marshmallow, has barely any cohesive qualities at all.

Action: The eyes are not to be replaced as they contributed little to the overall musical impact anyway.

All will be well for Acoustic Roots Linton 2010. Bought your ticket yet?

Freedom Boot

Missed my July posting deadline - Bah! No projects posted in July because I was too busy festival-going, gigging and suchlike. I never imagined how stressful semi-retirement would be. Never a minute to oneself.

Anyway, the July project (now the August project) is the Ledbury Freedom Boot - that's the working name, not the final production name. It will probably end up being called something sinister like Cthulhu or Betty.

The Freedom Boot (aka Ugly Stick, Zob Stick or Lagerphone) is a linear array of percussive elements with a stomp-activated mode of deployment. I am tired of thinking up ways to avoid admitting that it is basically a boot on a stick adorned with beer bottle caps. You don't need a scholarship from the Royal Northern to learn how to play the Freedom Boot.

Our band, The Fylthe, is enviably well endowed kit-wise, so why a Freedom Boot? It's all Tom Waits's fault. Our Great Hairy Leader insists that our cover of Waits's "Underground" should be as dirty and noisy as possible, hence the Freedom Boot. Can you hear it yet, in your head?

Rattle BISH BASH BOSH
in the BISH BASH BOSH
there's a rumblin' groan
down below, etc...

Also, Waits is notoriously litigious and fiercely protective of his property, so having a big steel-toe-capped Doc Marten on a stick could come in handy in a pre-courtroom scenario.

Ready for Acoustic Roots Linton! Couldn't get the whole instrument in shot - sorry.

Re: cycling

Scraping the barrel this month - only just made it with a last minute project for June. It's not so much of a project really - more of a handy tip.

After many seasons of exposure to the elements, certain types of rubber bicycle handlebar grips begin to decompose. In the heat of summer they become a sticky mess. If they are part of an integrated "grip-shift" system, replacement is moderately expensive and definitely a pain in the bum.

Spotting an old inner tube in my spares box, I wondered if I might re-clad the grips using sections of the tube. I thought it might be difficult to install the cladding but no - a bit of decisive tugging and the job was done. They feel better than new and I saved myself a few quid.

Not exactly the "Work of Genius" expected from the Secret Laboratory but definitely a lesson in how not to give up on busted shit.

Make your own jumping bean

Hacking the Jackhammer, part two

I am delighted to report that Marshall were only too pleased to supply me with the components I needed to restore the Jackhammer to its former glory. It is great to interact with a company that does not subscribe to the "No User Serviceable Parts Inside" philosophy - a company that does not ask to see my "Level Umpteen Soldering-Iron" qualification or "Registered Safe Screwdriver User" certificate before accepting my order.

The Jackhammer is now in full working order. The remaining question is: What is the Jackhammer actually for? OK, it's a distortion pedal but we're already quite distorted over here in Ledbury band land...

Hacking the Jackhammer

"Oh, you mend things don't you? Would you mind taking a look at..."

My heart always sinks when this question is asked. Often I arrive to be confronted with a heap of '30s-'50s electrical junk with that tell-tale patina of flaking varnish and oxidised metal, only the protective film of sticky kitchen grease having secured its survival into the 21st century. There's a smell about that junk as well. It's the smell that says "Plug me in and you're dead".

What a delight then to discover this little gem amongst a heap of junk:

A classic musical effects pedal, all that is wrong with this baby is that two of the spindles are bent and the knobs are missing. Rated 9v, I ain't gonna die through messin'.

The strawberries are safe - for now...

Further to a previous posting this month, it was a nervous moment when we modded the Davis Vantage Pro 2 environmental data logger last week. It's always a nervous moment when you try to mod a largely surface-mount motherboard with a clunky old soldering iron better suited to soldering cables to plugs. So many tiny, delicate components, so close to the heat source...

Battling with what surgeons call "intention tremor", we successfully removed the integrated antenna and replaced it with a socket, enabling Dr. Alcock to experiment freely in his role as Time Domain Reflectometrist for the Strawberry Farm.

Plugging a new (external) aerial into the socket, the first thing we noticed was a marked improvement on signal strength, the device pulling in data from the three remote stations with no problems. Davis note: you should be supplying these devices with an aerial socket instead of relying upon some c**t with a soldering iron to do the job for you!

Notice the signal strength from one of the remote stations - 42 (ringed red). That was previously about 30 with the suppled integrated aerial. Now we have a socket, Dr. Alcock will be experimenting with new aerial designs to drive that figure even higher.

The Secret Laboratory - not just about dicking about in sheds. More news soon...