The suit is nearing completion now, I assembled the whole thing in IV configuration and checked airflow to the helmet and the cooling shirt I made. Using a thermal underwear shirt and about 10 meters of 3/16 inch plastic tubing. And some very careful stitching. It looks like a plumbers nightmare, but it really helps. I have a small pump used to cool a computer from my Mac modding days, a 750ml water container filled with cold H20. The water is pumped around the torso and down each arm then back to the container in a closed loop.
The air flow is provided by a blower pushing through a can filter then into the suit. The duct runs down under the left arm then up the back to the neckring where it meets the headrest/air duct on the helmet. There is a secondary duct in the front of the neckring that leads down and out the blue gas connector on the right side.
The suit is so insulating, in the past every time I would put the helmet on it would quickly fogg up. The cooling has really helped.
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I’ve been doing some assembly. Finished attaching the LS connectors. Added some additional material in the shoulders to round them out a bit. Added the upper PLSS bracket and cinch strap. And decided it was time to test the fit of everything again. So the photos show the end result.
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I have felt better these last few days and have been working off and on on the suit. As the pictures show, I have the aluminum neckring painted and installed. And the helmet visor on the LEVA is done.
I have also started installing the LS gas connectors, and have the glove disconnects in place.
And I have the UDC valve in place:
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Sorry there has been little progress this week. It seems I picked up a rather nasty bug at work that has kept me under the weather this week.
I am starting to feel a little better, and actualy did a little work on a new ITMG cover for my LEVA. I was not happy with the fit of the first one I made. If I make any real progress I’ll put up some pictures.
So in the mean time, here is a photo of my last suit:
Update:
The promised pictures of the LEVA in its current state:
And for Johan, my Hasselbladski:
Until next time, remember if the caution light will not clear; just tap around it with your flashlight. Its probably just a ball of solder.
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You will probably notice there are no progress pictures on todays post. Well, if you read yesterdays column you might guess that I had to got into work. You would be correct. Eight hours of driving a snow plow. Then I got stuck going up the hill in my driveway in my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Me, stuck in the Jeep… I didn’t think it could happen!
I spent most of today shoveling and clearing with my tractor, my 650 foot (198.12 meters) long driveway. The official snow total for my aera was 20 inches or 50.8 centimeters of wet packed snow.
Perhaps after a little rest and dinner I’ll work a little bit… If so I’ll post pictures of whatever I do.
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Here in Ohio we are in the beginnings of what promises to be the worst winter storm this year. So I am looking forward to having lots of time to work on the suit this weekend. Only one small problem could arise; I work for a small city near Columbus. And after 18 or so hours they run out of street department employees to drive the snow plows and start looking to other departments.
Now I am far enough up the food chain that this is not usually a problem. But if the need for snowplowing last for more than say 36 hours, I may have to go to work.
So today I have sewn the zipper flap to the suit and added the abrasion patch. And attached the velcro and snaps. I would hate to have to get out of one of these in a hurry. Two zippers, snaps and all that velcro… no wonder they wear diapers.
After the flap and patch, I moved on to the last part of the ITMG sleeve. The short tapered piece at the glove disconnects. This tapers from around 21 to 14 inches.
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I started work on the zipper cover and the abrasion patch. After I get the velcro and snaps on the suit I will sew everything together.
I also fired up my welder and made a lower PLSS bracket and attached it. Not as nice and clean as ILC’s version. But I not a pro welder.
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The photos show the sequence of the zipper attachment. I am using a number 10 white zipper that is 36 inches long. It is the largest and strongest zipper I could locate.
First I placed the ITMG on the inner suit, lined everything up, and pined the zipper in place down both sides of the ITMG. I checked for any binding or sticking and made adjustments. Then removed the ITMG layer from the inner suit.
Set up the sewing machine for zipper operation, and let the thread fly…so to speak.
The next photos are of the patches I made. They are graphics found on the internet. Printed by bubble-jet printer on the same fabric. They reproduce the original Beta-Cloth style patches pretty well I think.
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