Chris replacing generator blades at the proposed webcam site with the village in the background.

The webcam will require more power, so larger batteries are needed to make better use of the available wind energy. Here they are on charge prior to going up the hill. Each six-volt unit is of 395 ampere-hours capacity and weighs 55 kg (121 lb.) The existing battery is only 70 AH capacity and charges right up very quickly, so a lot of good wind power is wasted.

The whisky bottle is for size comparison, not for topping up.

Guttered!

Staff and builders celebrate getting the gutter up along the front of the new shed a.k.a. the Mystery Pub, work carried out between showers. Any excuse!

The Noble Steed

Here we see the Argocat, the vehicle used for transport up and down to the site. These were originally developed for military use in the Canadian tundra. When I bought this one nearly 30 years ago, the brochure included ground-to-air missile launchers as an optional extra. I was told by the suppliers that this is the oldest one still on the hill in Scotland. Somehow it was discovered that despite the low ground clearance, these things were very good at climbing steep slopes. I have taken it up and down gradients exceeding 45 degrees, and frightened a parachutist with 700 jumps in his logbook to the extent that he baled out. Such slopes should be tackled head on, not with any sideways slope component.

This model has a single-cylinder Tecumseh petrol engine coupled to a DAF-type automatic transmission, with the celebrated rubber band. This in turn drives a differential, coupled by chains to the four wheels on each side which are all driven. The wheel axles are fixed, and steering is via two brake levers working disc brakes on either side of the differential. To turn left you pull the left lever, the left-hand wheels are braked, and it skids round. It is the same as driving a tank. There is no suspension, but the special nylon-based tyres are very soft: 3 - 5 pounds per square inch, which provides some cushioning and also a large surface in contact with the ground. At the correct pressure, you can push your fist into the tyres. There is so much grip that it will not turn on a tarmac surface at all, so cannot be used on the roads. Not that it would be possible to get it MoT'ed and insured for public road use!

The body is of very tough plastic; you can feel it flexing when you go over rough ground. The vehicle is amphibious, if you remember to put the drain plugs into the holes in the bottom. In water it will churn along propelled by the wheels spinning, but steering can be problematical when you brake the wheels on one side and the others go at twice the speed. This one has a bracket for an outboard motor. The rated payload is about half a ton, surprisingly. The low engine power is not an issue because of the low speeds involved. The only controls are the two brakes, a motor-cycle-type twist throttle, and a gear lever with reverse, low forward, and very low forward speeds. On the level, it will go as fast as 15 - 20 mph. Sometimes I take a short-cut along a beach, and the DAF transmission increases the gear ratio and suddenly you are hurtling along. After such excursions, it is essential to go through some fresh water to get the sea salt off - finding such water is rarely a problem in Mull.

The Argocat has now been supplemented by the Hillcat, a Scottish-made copy of the Argo. The old machine is still serviceable, but in its honourable retirement will be used only for gentle tasks such as taking the grandchildren for rides.

The Hillcat

Here the Hillcat is parked nose-up on the bank, to allow the rain water to drain out. This vehicle has a solid steel body and is not amphibious, having a drain-slot under the tail-board at the back. It has a cab offering some protection from the elements, and some other improvements. The engine is a 2-cylinder Kohler, and the transmission and chains are correspondingly beefed-up. Some Argocat models had a larger engine, with which it was possible to damage the transmission if excessive power was used. Also, the brakes are hydraulically-operated, so do not require continual adjustment as do those on the Argo when the brake pads wear down a bit. There is also a fan for cooling the brakes. I find that driving it is a bit too much like a car and it doesn't feel quite right taking it to the hill. You also fear that it might tip over, sensing that its centre of gravity is higher than that of the Argo. There is not the sensation of being in intimate contact with the ground, and not enough room to get your feet up and stand on the dashboard going downhill. Perhaps these things make us drive it more sensibly, and certainly the comfort of the cab is welcome.

A useful feature on the rear wheel, seen as a green disc, is a spindle which can be used as a winch. If you have a piece of rope, a fence stob, and a mallet, you can pull yourself out of trouble with it. One extra which I should have had on the Argo was an electric winch, but this would not have been much help if you ran the small battery down. One thing you have to watch with the Argo battery is that the lead to the positive terminal is black; this may be a Canadian thing. I had a piece of radio gear made in Canada where the mains live lead was black and the earth was red.

We hope that the Hillcat will give us as good service as has the dear old Argo.

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