Point Five Ambo Build

[eporter]

Hey, cool build. I've been looking into some Whelen 900 LED replacement ideas. Haven't built anything, but figured I'd start another thread here, just for those lights.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...r-Scene-lighting-to-LED?p=1880250#post1880250

 

[patoz]

Thanks eporter, I'll be sure to check out that thread also.


On a different note, I just had a delivery from FedEx (just some cat litter from Amazon) and the guy looked at my rig sitting in the driveway and said, "I know this ambulance, I saw it on the forum!"

Apparently, he had been doing a random search for 'diesel ambulances' and came accross this thread. Thanks to the internet, it's a much smaller world than you think.

 

[tgreening]

Tom, it was good meeting you yesterday!

I hope you enjoyed your stay, and be safe during your travels as you work your way back home. :smiley_drive:

Nice meeting you too. Always nice to put a face to a name. Stay was ok. Didnt do much but watch the kids splash around. Was supposed to stop in the Tallahassee area but put the hammer down, skipped it, and beat feet to St Petersburg a day early. Been hanging out in the Clearwater area. BIG mistake. The wife is all set to move. Actually, other than being overrun with lousy tourists (I've decided I dont count), its a pretty nice place. We'll be here till monday and then bug out for Fort Wilderness. I enjoy the snot out of that place, as pricey as it is. Gonna hang out there for about 2 weeks then make way to Washington so the kids/wife can check out some of the monuments. A few days of that mess and I'm sure I'll be ready for the run up to Maine and piggin out on some crab and lobster! Ayuh. By the time we get home I probably wont remember why I bought an ambulance.

 

[patoz]

Tom, I guess you survived the gnats then, huh? It sounds like you still have a lot to do and see before you get back, but from what you told me I'm sure Mrs. Tom has your schedule all planned out for you.

Edit on Saturday 7/11/15: If you had hung around for this weekend, you could have gone to Pensacola Beach to see the Blue Angel Air Show.




There were a few folks that came out to see the show...




The parking lots were all full by 6:30 am this morning.




According to our Sheriff's Department, this is the biggest crowd ever for a Blue Angels show at Pensacola Beach.




Showtime for the Blues was at 2:00 pm, but there was a little delay. They got hung up in traffic at the toll booth going onto the beach.




But, they made up for it with some pretty good action.




Blue Angel #5, who was a little heavy on fuel, does a fly by and sends tents flying into the air!

 

[patoz]

After a Hard Day of Shopping...I bought a Ham Radio!

After a hard day of shopping on the 'Big Amazon Sale' yesterday, all I bought was one item. Most of what I saw on the 'big sale' was clothes, jewelry, baby stuff, games, and household items, with very little electronics, outdoor, or automobile stuff. It was more like the worlds biggest yard sale! The sale lasted until 3 am this morning, but it seemed like the items got even more junkier as it progressed.

However, I did come across one item I looked at a couple of days ago. I had narrowed it down to one of two models, but had not decided which one yet. When an even newer 2015 version of one model was offered at half price, it became a no-brainer.

When I was a kid, my dad was a Ham Radio operator. He gave me one of his old receivers (minus the microphone) so I could listen, and I got interested in it for a while. Ever since I retired, I've been thinking about getting my Technician's License and getting back into it for real. Considering everything that's going on in the world these days, it could be a handy thing to have.

Anyway, here's what I bought. It's just an entry/intermediate level Dual Band (VHF/UHF) Analog Portable Two-Way Radio.

BaoFeng UV-82HP High Power Dual Band Radio: 136-174mhz (VHF) 400-520mhz (UHF) Amateur (Ham) Portable Two-Way





It has 128 memory channels that can be programed directly or with your computer using an interface cable. It also has the regular FM band on it, so you can get news and weather updates during storms, etc. or just listen to music while you're hiking up to the mountains when the Zombie Apocalypse happens. And, you can get just about any kind of accessory you might need for it, including mics, chargers, battery eliminators and adaptors, etc.

Check it out here...

Amazon.com : BaoFeng UV-82HP High Power Dual Band Radio: 136-174mhz (VHF) 400-520mhz (UHF) Amateur (Ham) Portable Two-Way : Car Electronics

https://baofengtech.com/uv-82hp

Yes, it's made in China but it has very good reviews, and since I only paid $50.00 for a $100.00 radio, I'm not out much even if it falls apart. However, it does have tech support and a 1 Year Warranty Provided through "BaoFeng Tech", which is located in Arlington, South Dakota, so it doesn't have to go back to China to be repaired if need be.

This is just something to learn and get my license with. If I stay with it I'll get something better, possibly a base station.

 

[Abitibi]

Good buy, get your licence and until you get a real radio get a magnet antenna which will help a lot. I'm sure there's quite a few of us here already Ham operator. I'm VA7 PIG

 

[rlrenz]

I'm doing the same thing - studying for my Technician license. After all, my ambulance has 4 (or is it 5??) rooftop antenna mounts, and it came with a box of assorted antennas as well. I'll probably run some new antenna leads when I get more into this all.

By the way - I picked up some white paint for the new bits and pieces I'll be adding to the beast - WOW - has auto paint gotten pricey over the last few few (40...) years. I remember when $100 would buy the paint for your car, complete with the tape, the primer, the reducer, and a case of beer, but not anymore. I wound up with a PPG product - OMNI, and it's a urethane enamel that can be clearcoated if I want to. Since there are pages of white colored paint, I bought it from a dealer who had been around for years. The PPG color library wasn't a lot of help, but he had an older color book that listed a "Braun Ambulance white", and that's what I used. He told me that it wasn't a pure white, but it had a tiny bit of black tint in it to take the glare out of it, and that it was nearly a "fleet white". I'm not going to worry about being any more precise than that.

The weather here has cooled off, but the humidity is still hanging in there. Probably tomorrow I'll be able to install the new electrical cabinet, then I can start adding the receptacles for the battery chargers, etc. I have all the materials for building up the 30 amp inlet - the inlet itself, 10/3 marine cable, convoluted tubing, seal-tite electrical conduit, boxes, and all the rest of the fun stuff. I decided to use marine cable since it has fine stranding, it's tinned (for corrosion resistance), it's rated to 300 volts, and it's rated to 125 Centigrade. I ordered 25 ft of it from West Marine so I'd have enough for the power inlet, and also for the ONAN generator output (I'd sooner have 5 ft too much, than have a chunk that's 5 ft short).

UPDATE: I just tracked down a 2005 Medic Master spec, and I found out that the default color is the same as the truck is painted. I checked with the auto body supply shop, and they will re-tint the white to match Freightliner white at no extra charge. So, progress, kinda.

 

[patoz]

Good buy, get your licence and until you get a real radio get a magnet antenna which will help a lot. I'm sure there's quite a few of us here already Ham operator. I'm VA7 PIG

My first operator contact, and my radio doesn't even get here until tomorrow! I wonder if I'll be able to reach you in Canada from Florida with my 7 watts?

Yeah, I'll pick up a magnetic antenna to use in my tow vehicle, and my ambo/camper is going to have several kinds of radios, so there will be a few antennas mounted on top of it also.

 

[patoz]

Bob, It's been in the upper 90's here when it's not raining, with a heat index around 106°, so it's pretty much too hot to work outside. Therefore, I've been working on much smaller items and components inside in the AC.

Right now, I'm putting together my first aid kit and my bug out/get home bag. Amazon is either my friend or my worst enemy, I'm just not sure which. It's not much, but it's progress.

I was really wanting more of a gear bag of some sort rather than a backpack (I'm not hiking anywhere unless it's the absolute last resort), but I bought this backpack (in black) anyway because it is extremely well organized with 28 pockets/slots to securely stow your EDC and get-home essentials. The design, stitching, and craftsmanship is unsurpassed also. Once it's full, it will live on the backseat floorboard of my F250, covered with a navy blue nylon pack cover to prevent fading from the sun, and to keep prying eyes off of it. The backpack will be here Saturday.

I'm doing the same thing - studying for my Technician license.

What book are you using? I found several on Amazon, but have not bought one yet. I'm also wondering if there are any online courses you can take?

My F250's color is 'Ford Oxford White', so determining what shade to paint my ambo/camper has already been done. I just wonder how much it will cost to paint the entire module?

I decided to use marine cable since it has fine stranding, it's tinned (for corrosion resistance), it's rated to 300 volts, and it's rated to 125 Centigrade. I ordered 25 ft of it from West Marine...

You do know Amazon sells that for $1.56 per foot, but they are out of the amounts smaller than 100'.

 

[rlrenz]

Re: 10-3 cable - and that's why I buy it from West Marine by the foot. I really don't want 75 ft of leftovers, at $1.56 per foot...

The book is the good old ARRL technician class study manual, from Amazon, naturally. Paperback so I can let Post-It notes stick out everywhere.

View attachment 295347

Last year, I realized that I owned an entire ambulance that didn't even have a Band-Aid on board, so I bought an EMT kit from EBAY. It doesn't have any Band-Aids, but I have 4x4, 4x8, 4x11 Tefla bandages, roll bandages, and all the rest. I added my own collection - blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, and a body bag I bought for a display my wife did last Halloween. As soon as I find a short shovel, it will be complete... All joking aside, I used to work at 3M (about 15 years ago), and anything returned for any reason would wind up in the company store, so I stocked up on 3M medical supplies at rock bottom prices -a Littman cardio stethoscope cost me $ 20.00.

About a year ago, I was cleaning out the garage, and I found a set of about 5 MIL cases for some sort of test equipment. Sealed, gasketted, molded from yellow fiberglass cases, kinda like oversize attache cases. I still have one left, so it will find some sort of home somewhere in the module.

 

[patoz]

Bob,

I can't open the attachment, but these are the two books I have sitting in my Amazon Wish list. I just need to decide which one is the best.

1. http://www.amazon.com/Technician-Cl...rds=gordon+west+technician+class+study+manual

2. http://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radi...ie=UTF8&qid=1436774057&sr=8-48&keywords=Yaesu

When I worked at EMS I could get all of the supplies I needed for free, because everything is dated and when it gets rotated out, it gets thrown away. I never figured out how a roll of Cling or Kerlix gauze could go bad, but I had the best stocked kit on the block! However, pricing supplies on Amazon now is making me go into sticker shock. I may have to buy a Lifepak Defibrillator for myself and set it to 'Auto Shock' while I'm shopping.

My radio showed up about an hour ago, and my first impression when the postman handed it to me was, 'This box is way too small, so it can't be the radio', but it was.

This radio is small, much smaller that I thought it would be. No where in the specifications on their website does it give the actual dimensions, and come to think of it, every picture I had seen showed the radio against a white back ground of laying on a table, etc. with nothing for size comparison. I guess because it looks similar to the Motorola MTS2000 radios we used in the Fire Department before I retired, I just assumed it would be similar in size.

Nope, it's about half the size.



Second impression - It does appear to be well built, all the pieces and parts fit together and are aligned well, the battery charge was topped off in about an hour, and it has plenty of pretty clear volume. Here is a short video I found on YouTube as an example:



It's raining here again with thunderstorms forecasted for all afternoon so now is a good time to play with it, but I'm waiting on Fedex to get here with the programming cable. Lately, they have not been showing up until about 7 pm, so that will suck.

 

[rlrenz]

I have book #2 - the $26 book. It includes the questions used in the technician's exam, so you definitely have something to work from.

Regarding supplies - is it possible that you could talk nicely to someone in a FD and see if you can get some out of date Band-aids? Liability concerns might raise their ugly heads, but you don't know until you ask. Regardless, if you're like me, shelf life isn't a big concern, so once I have something on the shelf, it won't leave until it leaks or gets used. I've wound up with MIL surplus first aid supplies that were packed a long time ago that I'm going to save (and lets face it, if someone has a major leak, stopping the blood flow is a lot more critical than determining if the gauze is less than 6 months old...).

I've had the same problem with the new radio designs - they can't be that small, can they?? My scanner is half the size of what I used to have, and I have a pricey all-band receiver that could fit in my glove compartment with room left over - lots of room! The 20 meter band radio I'm lusting after is again smaller than I ever thought it would be. I grew up with base station equipment that had some gravity in their packages - Even mobile equipment had some vitamins to it. Back in those days, a standard hand held microphone was the size of a large bar of soap - now days, a hand heal microphone is the size of a hotel bar of soap. On the other hand, these days you don't nearly stall the vehicle when you decide to transmit.

I lucked out on my OOPS purchase of nearly the right color white paint - my supplier told me that since Freightliner white has more pigment than what I bought, he'll add more pigment to get to the right color at no extra charge. Normally, I'd go with PPG enamel, but he recommended the PPG OMNI brand. It isn't as versatile as regular PPG auto paint, but since it is a straight color, with no metallic or pearl pigment, and no adjustment needed to accommodate sun fading or slight color differences, there was no good reason to use the full blown PPG products. Plus, it's half the cost (still $36 per quart, though). The GOTTCHA on auto paint isn't the paint, it's all the misc supplies -- the catalyzed reducers, the epoxy primers, the hardeners, and all the rest. Even with the inventory I usually have here, the cost was over $100 for the paint, fresh epoxy primer, and hardener. Thankfully, my buggy is mostly white, with a blue reflective stripe - no way in creation would I want to spend the $$ to change colors!.

 

[patoz]

I have book #2 - the $26 book. It includes the questions used in the technician's exam, so you definitely have something to work from.

10-4 on the book, that's the one I will get also.

I grew up with base station equipment that had some gravity in their packages - Even mobile equipment had some vitamins to it. Back in those days, a standard hand held microphone was the size of a large bar of soap - now days, a hand heal microphone is the size of a hotel bar of soap. On the other hand, these days you don't nearly stall the vehicle when you decide to transmit.

Yep, that's the kind of stuff I grew up with also. Here is some of the equipment my dad had, that I recovered after he passed away. It had been sitting in a damp leaky garage for no telling how long, and I don't know if any of it still works, but I have it all. Maybe one day I check them out and see. The big gray one on the top shelf is the shortwave radio he gave me (minus the microphone) as a teenager so I could listen at night. It's made by Lafayette Radio.




The big round one to the right of it with the brass dial is a Silvertone (Sears) tube type receiver chassis, with the 'all knowing green eye' at the top. Here is a closeup of just the faceplate I found, and these things are worth some money. This is the chassis from a table radio that was housed in a nice wooden cabinet, and was manufactured in 1937. Before TV, this is what the families gathered around at night to get the news, listen to shows, etc.



I would love to get this thing operating again, but I think it's missing some tubes and a few other parts.

 

[rlrenz]

Tubes are available from Fair Radio, in Ohio. Plus, I have a friend who is a thriving TV repairman - he now specializes in CCTV security systems, with TV repair as it happens, and I know he has a stock of tubes as well. Unfortunately, though, the climate in FL is kinda electronics unfriendly, so tubes might be the least of your problems.

The weather here has held at hot & ugly for the last few days, so I've been working on indoor projects - always plenty of those to choose from. When the weather calms down, and my arthritis settles back down, then I'll get going on the new 30 amp power inlet.

 

[patoz]

Bob, It's been in the upper 90's here when it's not raining, with a heat index around 106°, so it's pretty much too hot to work outside. Therefore, I've been working on much smaller items and components inside in the AC.

Right now, I'm putting together my first aid kit and my bug-out/get-home bag. Amazon is either my friend or my worst enemy, I'm just not sure which. It's not much, but it's progress.

I was really wanting more of a gear bag of some sort rather than a backpack (I'm not hiking anywhere unless it's the absolute last resort), but I bought this backpack (in black) anyway because it is extremely well organized with 28 pockets/slots to securely stow your EDC and get-home essentials. The design, stitching, and craftsmanship is unsurpassed also. Once it's full, it will live on the backseat floorboard of my F250, covered with a navy blue nylon pack cover to prevent fading from the sun, and to keep prying eyes off of it. The backpack will be here Saturday.

The high yesterday was 96°, with a heat index of 111°, then we had thunderstorms for about four hours. This is basically our forecast everyday, so I'm still working inside on these items. The pack arrived as scheduled, and it's everything it was advertised to be...one fine product that should last for a very long time!

Between what I already had from four other kits, and what I ordered (and still need to order), I have boxes of medical supplies and survival items sitting all over my office and dining area. The task right now is to go through and evaluate each item, and then refine the list down to what is absolutely necessary. In addition to the bug-out/get-home pack, I will also carry a full size Trauma Kit, like I had when I worked for EMS and the FD. This will also live on the backseat floorboard of my F250, but on the other side. This will be the main medical kit for everyday use or if I run up on a traffic accident, etc. No supplies will be used out of the pack except during a real emergency, or I'm forced to leave the vehicle for some reason. And lastly, there will be a small 'boo boo' kit in the ambo/camper itself. This will be just for minor cuts, splinters, upset stomachs, headaches, etc. Since the F250 tow vehicle will always be with the camper, I don't see any real need for duplicating a huge kit to go in there.

I will post some pictures once I get it all together and the final products assembled.

One other item I would like to mention, is a rather large knife I purchased to go with this kit. I have been following this tool since it's inception by it's inventor Andy Tran, back in 2013. It's called the 'Tahoma Field Knife', and is manufactured by TOPS Knives completely in the USA. No Chinese junk here!

TOPS Tahoma Field Knife
O/A Length : 13 15/16"
Top Edge : 2 3/4"
Actual Cutting Edge : 7 5/16"
Thickness : 3/16"
Steel : 1095 High Carbon Steel RC 56-58
Handle : Tan Canvas Micarta
Blade Finish : Black River Wash
Sheath : Ballistic Nylon
Weight : 1lb 2oz
Weight w/ Sheath : 1lb 8.3 oz







The TFK ships from TOPS Knives with their free generic black nylon sheath, which is OK for basic use, but nothing to write home about. Kydex sheaths are available on Andy's website for an additional cost. However, I contacted the guy who makes the Kydex sheaths for Andy, and I'm going to have him build one specifically for me because I want some custom features added of my own.

Here is a short overview video, which explains all of it's features.


When I started looking I asked myself, 'If I could only carry one tool larger than a pocket knife or multitool, what would it be?' After reviewing all of the possible scenarios, and based on my 40 plus years of camping, backpacking, rock climbing, kayak and canoeing experience, I decided on this knife. This is a fine piece of craftsmanship as well as an extremely durable tool that will probably outlast me if taken care of properly.

Before I purchased it, I watched this video which shows step by step how they are made. The blanks are cut out on CNC machines, and then all of the rest is done by hand, not mass produced. If you have a few minutes, it's pretty interesting to watch.


I haven't had a chance to actually test it in the woods yet, but I did manage to cut myself with it within 24 hours of owning it! Yeah, that baby is sharp! Actually, I was attempting to resheath it, and not being used to double sided blades, the top edge nicked my thumb as I was holding the straps out of the way. All the more reason for a custom made Kydex sheath.

Sources...

Inerbark Outdoors (Andy's website) - http://www.inner-bark.com/

TOPS Knives - https://www.topsknives.com/

Redfeather Custom Kydex Holsters and Sheaths - http://redfeathergear.com/

TFK on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/TOPS-Hunting-...sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1430934976&sr=1-62