I spoke with Marcus the local GL rep and he confirmed that it's radium in the gauges that they are worried about (he brought it up, not me). He said something like, there's widespread belief around the company that it's a bogus fear, and that it could be cleared up quickly. He wasn't yet sure what the process was going to be but said he would make some calls and get back to me. He was not aware that customers had been notified (in Friday's e-mail).
Tell them to give me $200 per truck, plus travel expenses, and I will travel to wherever the suspected trucks are and survey them for radium... I can have it done in a week. I'll even remove the offending gauges, but only from trucks that haven't yet made it into the customer's hands... I don't want to get murdered just yet.
I spoke with Marcus the local GL rep and he confirmed that it's radium in the gauges that they are worried about (he brought it up, not me). He said something like, there's widespread belief around the company that it's a bogus fear, and that it could be cleared up quickly. He wasn't yet sure what the process was going to be but said he would make some calls and get back to me. He was not aware that customers had been notified (in Friday's e-mail).
Good to hear more confirmation that this is the issue.
Look for one of these possible solutions-
A: They get DRMO to screen them for radioactivity before trabsferring to GL, only "hot" gauges get removed.
B: DRMO screens, but DRMO employees being typical government employees they yank the entire dash panel for one offending guage and just cut all the wires to get it out fast, so there is no gauge panel at all.
C: All gauge panels just get yanked because DRMO doesn't have a radiac meter and is too lazy to arrange somebody to come in with one.
Look for a combination of all three to be the most likely outcome, with C occuring at "remote" locations where there is not real DRMO just GL selling stuff.
Because he doesn't know just like everybody else. Military orders come down from the top often without explanation and he has to follow them. Probably he got the call and when he asked for an explanation, the secretary who was told to call him really did not have much interest in the topic and heard something about a gauge or something.........
Ok. It is my understanding that each class of material on DRMS has a manager responsible for deciding what the Demil classification for the material should be. When asked, the manager for the M44 trucks said that the trucks were on hold so that the meters could be Demil'd. Surely he would know why, since he was part of the decision.
The DRMS has done this dance many, many times before. They did it with watches, aircraft instruments, radio knobs and meters, aircraft circuit breakers, vacuum tubes, clocks.... PDR-27 geiger counters.... Over and over again.
The gauges in the deuce are in the same standard sizes and configurations as those used in aircraft. In aircraft, they are/were radium dial. Somehow they got the idea that there were radium dials in this series of deuces. Perhaps due to a shortage of the correct gauges, some voltmeters meant for aircraft use made it into some of these deuces?
If anybody has one on the list and wants to bring it to MD, I will check it for them, and we will know about that deuce.
If DRMS needs an inspector, I am willing to check all of the deuces on the list for $200 each plus travel expenses. I can
have it done in a week.
-Chuck
Last edited by stumps; 11-02-2009 at 12:08.
Reason: grammar
At least we are getting some info now! I had a call from GL a few minutes ago. They wanted to know why I wasn't at my appt. this morning to pick up my Deuce in N.J.
It was Kathy, she's very nice, she wasn't aware of the hold! Crap, I could have had my truck. I forwarded her my e-mail, and she was aware of a hold, but didn't realize it applied to trucks already sold and approved! She's supposed to check on it for me, and see if she can find anything out.
I did tell her it sure wasn't my idea, and I would have gladly been there, and to give my apologies to Chris at Bordentown. I wasn't able to call and cancel because by the time I received the e-mail Friday, everyone at Bordentown was gone.
Now more waiting...
Jim
__________________
1962 M35A2, LDS 427, 11.00-20 Goodyear radials, For Sale
1971(?) M35A2, NDTs, may get bobbed
1 M105A2, rough, work trailer
Tell them to give me $200 per truck, plus travel expenses, and I will travel to wherever the suspected trucks are and survey them for radium... I can have it done in a week. I'll even remove the offending gauges, but only from trucks that haven't yet made it into the customer's hands... I don't want to get murdered just yet.
At least we are getting some info now! I had a call from GL a few minutes ago. They wanted to know why I wasn't at my appt. this morning to pick up my Deuce in N.J.
It was Kathy, she's very nice, she wasn't aware of the hold! Crap, I could have had my truck. I forwarded her my e-mail, and she was aware of a hold, but didn't realize it applied to trucks already sold and approved! She's supposed to check on it for me, and see if she can find anything out.
I did tell her it sure wasn't my idea, and I would have gladly been there, and to give my apologies to Chris at Bordentown. I wasn't able to call and cancel because by the time I received the e-mail Friday, everyone at Bordentown was gone.
Now more waiting...
Jim
Should have just printed out the invoice and picked it up.
Should have just printed out the invoice and picked it up.
Trust me, if I'd known it would have been O.K., I would have been there! Its around 450 miles from me, so not exactly something I was able to take a run down to the base just to see if I could get my truck on just a chance.
Jim
__________________
1962 M35A2, LDS 427, 11.00-20 Goodyear radials, For Sale
1971(?) M35A2, NDTs, may get bobbed
1 M105A2, rough, work trailer
