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Jim, To tell you a bit about myself...I work at the U.S. Postal Service as an electronics technician in Jackson, Tn. but reside some 19 miles south on I-45 just outside of Henderson, Tennessee. I am married and have been for 21 years. I am presently raising two boys Paul (12) and Cameron (7) after having raised two other children who are grown. I am 48 years old. I served aboard the ballistic missile submarine U.S.S. Kamehameha (SSBN 642B) and did thirteen deterent patrols aboard that ship as a sonar technician. At the time, I would have loved to have been anywhere but there, but now I would give anything to go back. Being a crewman aboard that ship was a much simpler time for me. I really did not get paid that much then, but I had money. Now, I make good money but with lifes constant demands, I have little to waste. One day while surfing the web out of nothing to do, I happened upon the PSUB web site. I stayed in the background and just listened to the chatter. When I learned that these gents were going underwater with no means of hearing what was going on on the surface, I decided to try to aid them in making the sport of personal submarines more safe. I had already built many versions of the amplifier needed to make my passive sonar work, what was needed was the hydrophone. Unable to find anything that appealed to me, I placed the amplifier on a shelf where it gathered dust for some twelve years. Then, the internet entered the picture and away I was again on this quest to build this sonar. It was also about this time that I found the web site PSUB.ORG. I have no submarine at present. What I have is a 500 gallon propane tank that is in great shape and being preserved until my kids are a bit older and more on there own. My wife has ailments such that she uses a walker and stairchair and powered wheelchair. For the time being, my dealings with this club is a passion that I use to escape from the humdrum stresses this life places upon me. I am serious about completing a submarine, but I see the need to first aid others in enjoying the friuts of the many hours of hard work that is needed to build one, besides, I have have already been there before. The passive sonar array I have constructed can be seen in the special projects section of the web site and I have had a ton of help from many individuals who also want this thing to work for everyone. It has been a wonderful trip. Later this month, I will deploy this six hydrophone array onto the side of a bass boat and venture into a large lake full of boat traffic to see how well it will perform for real. It should be awesome! All of the individuals who have contributed time to this project have agreed to share all finding and construction tips with anyone who shows an interest free of any charges or expense. A single modified hydrophone capable of very deep deployment will be installed aboard Dan's submarine "persistence" up in Pa. and tested for real. He feels a single hydrophone should do the job for smaller boats. I just like training around without changing course.( A throwback to my days in the Navy) My address is: David Bartsch 2625 Highway 45 South Henderson, Tn. 38340-7016 I will help you in any way I can in your dream of submarine ownership, so ask away...is a passive sonar something you would like to have aboard your boat?
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