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Date:         Wed, 29 May 2002 11:25:42 -0700
Reply-To:     luke sponsler <spons23@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         luke sponsler <spons23@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: not a gear-head (yet)
Comments: To: techrat@VM.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Brian, Great post. I think there are many "how to" descriptions on the web, but they are scattered amoung dozen of different websites. I think a website that lists all these links in a plain and simple way would be of great helpful. If you get some free time to set up a page like that I'm sure listers could send you dozens of links.

cheers, luke 88-westy-zorbus

----Original Message Follows---- From: Brian Cirulnick <techrat@VM.COM> Reply-To: Brian Cirulnick <techrat@VM.COM> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: List smaller, Vanagon sightings, not a gear-head (yet) Date: Wed, 29 May 2002 14:05:08 -0400

For the folks that think that the list is getting smaller, I can tell you from the archives I've been keeping, the traffic on the list has been steadily rising, although I cannot tell if that means more users, or just the same number of users, but more noisy!

There are probably many like me who are on the list but don't have the time to read and post regularly (some of us *work* for a living!), and/or have more than one "hobby", and the Vanagon is but one in a bunch of projects.

I think the people who think the list is smaller are the same as the people who have few "on the road" sightings. Perhaps it's just because I live in a densely packed part of the country (the NYC Metro area -- never will you find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy), but I see at least one Vanagon per day that isn't mine. Now, I admit that when I lived in Queens NY, I saw very few, and when I moved to Jersey City, the place was packed with 'em, so even in a 50 mile radius, your location can have a great effect on "sightings".

Also, in Manhattan itself, I get to see lots of various Westfalias -- being a spot on the globe to attract tourists, I see everything from classic Splitties to a nice-looking Grey-Silver 87 or 88 that passed by me on 42nd Street, heading East just a few days ago. I waved, but I don't think the driver saw me, he was too busy trying to avoid being hit by cabs. I see them parked in front of restaurants, I see them when I'm on the road (in my Vanagon) or when I'm commuting in by bus. At least one sighting per day.

And now, my request to the list: I'm not yet a gear-head, but I have a burning desire to become one. I'm a computer tech. And another hobby I'm involved in is modifications to computers, i.e., adding extra cooling, overclocking, and making the case more interesting (case mods). Now, this little hobby has spawned a vast number of "how to" websites, complete with pictures taken during the course of the modification. An example would be my own little contribution at http://www.obsolyte.com/sun_ipx/ulti_fan_hack/ where I show how to add a fan in a SPARCstation IPX where you don't really need one.

Do similar "How To's" exist for the Vanagon/Type II crowd? For example, I was just reading about the "add a relay to the headlight switch for improved brightness" mod, and I really want to do this myself, but it would be very helpful if there was a website that explained the whole process in detail so *before* I rip out all my wiring, I could see how it's done. Diagrams and photos can help very much for non-gear-heads like me.

I've got the electrical skill because of my computer background, so I know I'm ready to tackle the project, but I want to see something "out there" that shows the project in such a way that a relative novice can perform it without sweating bullets that he's going to destroy his only means of transportation!

Now, if no such "How To" sites exist yet, I'm offering to start putting them together. I've got space on my webserver, and right now, the only things I'm missing is the free-time to actually put together the webpages.

And if websites do exist, can we start mirroring them so all the stuff is in one place, and/or at least have a complete list of links so, someone with a Sunday afternoon to waste can get a start at modifying/improving his vehicle?

Okay, Sorry, this was a mighty long post. Well, it makes up for all the time I wasn't saying anything on the list and people thought the list was getting smaller. So there. Nyah!

TTYL Brian Cirulnick ----------------------------------------------------------------------- E-mail: techrat@vm.com URL: http://www.vm.com http://www.obsolyte.com -- where the antique is elYte!!

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