Tigerstrike Report

Al Sayre · April 04, 2009, 10:30:53 PM

As promised, here is the report on the Tigerstrike unit. Jim Henson came over from Alabama with a unit this morning. Unfortunately, it appears the unit was damaged in shipping. As was stated on the other thread, it is a hand built unit and the ergonimcs seemed quite well designed, and it looked quite professionally made. I would like to see a set of auxiliary antennas that could be vehicle mounted as an option, like the L-Per to extend the range.

Unfortunately it appears some of the solder joints or internal connections came loose in transit, and the unit would not operate properly. It would start working when tapped, and then quit, and the signal strength indications were erratic. I attribute this to the hand built nature of the unit coupled with shipping damage, and not a faulty design. They are supposed to be sending us another unit shortly to try out and I will report those results in a fair and unbiased manner. Let's keep the bashing to a minimum until the next unit arrives.

SE_Tigerstrike · April 05, 2009, 01:51:25 AM

Thanks for that, Al...

I think I was more upset than you guys were, but then you didn't drive 9 hours to get there and back. I think Richard is really looking forward to having one for a few days to play with out in the woods instead of having me standing there watching him while he tinkers with it.

I am putting in Richard's request for one as soon as I save this message, then I need to pack up the damaged one and ship it out to the factory so they can crack the whip on the techs and get them to find their mistake...I'll be a lot happier when the robots start making them instead of techs squinting over the SMT circuit boards.

Major Lord · May 12, 2009, 07:41:43 PM

Any word on the Tigerstrike evaluation? Did the Sq that purchased one ever receive a unit?

Major Lord

SE_Tigerstrike · May 12, 2009, 08:41:32 PM

Hello again, Major Lord.

Found out what went wrong with the demo in Mississippi. The TigerStrike I had was a prototype, so it's not the milspec final product... It was built in Arizona. I had it in Mississippi, the morning after storms rolled through. Arizona has humidity of about .02. Mississippi, on a Saturday morning out on an airfield with lots of grass the day after thunderstorms has a humidity level of about 1000%. You can cut the air down here it's so thick...

Underneath 2 of the chips on the motherboard there were through holes, and a ground point. Condensation formed under the chips, and grounded them out. Once the Tigerstrike was back in Arizona the tech took it out of the box, tried it out, and couldn't get it to work at all (same responses I had in Mississippi). He set it on the bench and went home, puzzled as to why it wouldn't work. He came back the next morning, picked it back up to see if he could figure it out, and it worked just fine.

Sitting in a workshop in Arizona dried it out.

So, board redesign, no more little condensation points under chips, and a few more tweaks added. Al Sayre should be getting one to evaluate once the new boards are all done and tested.

On another note, Major Lord, there was a TigerStrike on that big rescue right down the road from you recently. Was out there for about a week. Murray looked for you a few times, but no one out there had seen you on the rescue. He was planning to let you take a look at the TigerStrike, but maybe next time. His being out there on that rescue for so long kinda slowed things down a bit, he tends to be the one cracking the whip in the company.

There's more info in the TigerStrike Blog every now and then. Link is in my signature now, for anyone that's interested.

Major Lord · May 12, 2009, 09:24:16 PM

I am sorry I missed the opportunity to see Murray and the unit. I assume that since there was no ELT going off, there was not too much to do with the TS.....pity. I am inactive in CAP-ES, since bugs ate holes in my intestines while I spent about a year on the ground post-Katrina. (Don't drink the water!) Will you be sending a unit back to Al Sayre for eval?

Major Lord

SE_Tigerstrike · May 13, 2009, 01:39:36 AM

Yes, once the boards are finished and fully tested so we don't have a repeat of the problem we had when I ran out there the first time. I actually spoke to him on the phone today and let him know what was going on with it.

And no, the TigerStrike wasn't a lot of use without the ELT, but Murray still stayed and helped with the search, he was out of touch for a week while he was out there searching.

Major Lord · May 13, 2009, 03:53:41 PM

Was there anyone here who got a chance to see this elusive Tigerstrike beast on the CAWG mission out there?

SE_Tigerstrike · May 13, 2009, 09:05:15 PM

Yes, everyone that was around when he was trying to use it. He did answer some questions about it, but it wasn't a demo, it was a search and rescue, and he was more interested in trying to rescue the guy missing. Once it was apparent there was nothing to hear, he put it up and went on with the rescue effort.

But, I am sure plenty of people out there around you got a look at it, since I understand this was right in your own backyard, wasn't it?

Major Lord · May 13, 2009, 09:38:15 PM

I am in Napa, which is pretty far from the search ( even further from the crash!) but I was hoping someone on this page might have had a chance to see it in person, since there are lots of active ES people here. Maybe Major Keilholtz had a chance to see it, I will give him a call.

Major Lord

SE_Tigerstrike · May 20, 2009, 03:10:13 AM

Sorry for the delay in responding Al, the wife just had surgery and was recovering, I've been hopping around taking care of her and the grandkids. She's back at work now, so I should be able to get back to work too.

Remember, I am all the way over in Alabama, so wherever Napa is, if you're in the same state as the rescue, it's in your backyard compared to me.

I know quite a few people got to look it over before he put it away and they moved on to other ways to search, but I don't know who they might have been. Ask around though, someone you know is bound to have seen it by now.

That, or just do as suggested and call the company and arrange a demo for yourself and your friends. They'll be more than happy to come out and show you what it's all about.

Major Lord · May 20, 2009, 01:14:14 PM

Jim,

No problem, I have been out of town in beautiful Dayton Ohio exhibiting my products at the 2009 Hamvention, and was not checking e-mail anyway. I hope your wife is okay. FYI, California is about the size of Iraq, but there are more people that hate America here.....

No joy on finding someone who saw the unit, so I will see if I can arrange a demo. My offer to host a demo on Travis AFB still stands if you have someone this far north.

I like Alabama! I just have a few questions though: How many catfish constitute a "mess" of catfish? Can they make low-carb, avocado flavored grits for Californians? Can I order just one grit to try it? What exactly is a crawfish pie?

Best regards,

Major Lord

SE_Tigerstrike · May 20, 2009, 03:10:13 PM

Call the 1-888 number in my signature and they'll be more than happy to travel to you to do a demo. I think Bob Miller is the one Murray kept telling you to talk to about it, he'll set it up for you.

A mess of catfish would be a little less than a whole passel of catfish. Mix some avocado into your grits and presto, there ya go, grits go with everything. Grits are cheap enough, you can order a serving and eat just one grit if you want to. A crawfish pie would be like a beef pot pie, but made with crawfish instead.

calguy · May 22, 2009, 04:14:59 AM

I talked to Major Keilholtz and he advised me that he still has never seen the unit or been offered one. Is Tigerstrike afraid of something???

SE_Tigerstrike · May 22, 2009, 01:33:41 PM

Knock it off. Don't be so obvious in your attempts to have this thread shut down like the last one.

Anyone can call the number below and request a demo. California is the most heavily represented state for the TigerStrike, seeing one is as easy as picking up a phone and asking to. Anyone that fails to see one, simply doesn't want to see it.

Major Lord · May 23, 2009, 11:12:32 PM

CAWG is going to have a GSAR concurrent with Encampment. That would be an excellent opportunity to demo the unit for our SAR players. I will call next week and see if we can set that up with your people.

Major Lord

SE_Tigerstrike · May 24, 2009, 01:24:59 AM

Shouldn't even have to wait until next week, just call, and if you don't get anyone, leave a voicemail.

SARPilotNY · June 01, 2009, 07:55:54 PM

I am in California for the month. I would love to see the unit in action. Better yet, I would like to see Capt. Keilholtz test the unit during a feild exercise. I think he has more experience than anyone else. Can Lt. Col. Butts or Major Craig or Miller get a unit to him and have him report back to us? Has he ever seen the unit?

SarDragon · June 01, 2009, 09:57:08 PM

[OT]
BTW, FYI, it's Major Keilholtz now.
[/OT]

a2capt · June 01, 2009, 11:59:22 PM

For some reason.. it certainly appears the Keilholtz has no interest in this thing .. because you'd think with how far and wide he gets around, he'd have seen it, been talking about it, etc.

So, no tests, no takers, and no working unit delivered east of the Mississippi yet?

What a bunch of bunk.

SE_Tigerstrike · June 02, 2009, 12:51:50 AM

Call the number in my signature and request a demo. Major Keilholtz can do the same.

As far as east of Mississippi, last time I talked to the president of the company, Bob Miller, he said he'd fly out and do the next demo for the Mississippi guys. I'll drive over to meet with him when he does.

I'm currently waiting to get one of the next generation units myself, have a demo to do next week here in Alabama, but for the Project Lifesaver, not the CAP capabilities of it.

As for the "what a bunch of bunk" comment. It is not up to me to hunt down someone all the way out there in California and force them to look over the TigerStrike. If he wants to see one, he can pick up the phone just like anyone else.

Everyone, call the number below and request a demo if you want one. Otherwise, quit your griping. Feel free to give my name if you feel like it, or not if you don't.

Makes little difference to me.