That is a pretty neat story.  Too bad the rest of them left hi hi.  


 
-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Butch Bussen
Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2008 12:20 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: one of my experiences

Well, this isn't exactly a ham radio experience, but it does involve
electronics.  First, a little background might be in order.  I had just
gotten married and my wife had two kids, a daughter 7 and a boy ten.  The
daughter and I hit it off right from the start and we're still close today.
Anyhow, the county I lived in only had a population of about 2000 people,
and I had lived there all of my life, so everyone knew me and certainly
should have known my capabilities.  But, you know most sighted people think
we're incredibly stupid and helpless.

The movie theater was in a town about ten miles away, and an aunt and uncle
came by and picked us all up to go to a movie.  The movie didn't start, and
after a long wait, I asked what the problem was.  They said they couldn't
get the sound to work so they were going to cancel the show. 
I said I'd be glad to take a look, but was told there wasn't any need as
they already had 3 or 4 people take a look at the amp, including the guy who
use to run the theater.  I was told, "if they couldn't fix the problem,
there is no way you can."  My daughter said, "my dad will fix it, just wait
and see.  They reluctantly took me up to the balcony where the projector and
amp was.  Now, this was an old tube amp, which I knew as I'd been up there
before.  I don't recall the number, but most of these tubes were the old 8
pin jobs with a grid cap on top.  I started touching grid caps and when I
found one that didn't make a hum in the speaker, I said, "give me this one."
The guy said, "it isn't a tube, we checked all of them in a tube tester."  I
insisted, and as soon as I plugged in the new tube, we had sound.  The guy
never said a word.  When we walked back down stairs, my daughter said, "See,
I told you my dad could fix it!"  One of those moments fun to remember.

They had already sent everyone else home, there were just the six of us. 
The guy asked if we wanted to see the movie, and I said we certainly did, so
they ran the show.