Max Armstrong on RFDTV

I've listened to Max Armstrong on WGN in Chicago for many years, along with Orion Samuelson. I got to meet Max one time at a show. He grew up on a big farm near Princeton, Indiana. He's about the most down-to-earth person you ever met. He has a beautiful H Farmall that's been in his family since it was new. He takes it to shows once in a while. He lives in suburban Chicago, but he keeps in in his garage like many people do. As for his broadcast voice, I think he learned that from Orion Samuelson. I think most people in the midwest find it to be sort of melodic.

The double tractors is something that was popular for a little while in the early sixties. I was just a little feller then, but I remember reading about it in the farm magazines. They were actually built to be operated by one man from the front tractor. I don't think it was ever more than a fad. Probably caused a few extra funerals. I hate to think what could happen if the throttle linkage or hand clutch to the rear tractor broke. I hope they had a kill switch. Jim.

If they are going to allocate an hour to showing tractors- let us hear the engines, watch folks get them started, hear stories about their restoration, learn about the evolution of a particular brand- etc.

Some producer thinks that they need to slick up antique tractors. Anybody who is going to take the time to watch an hour of old tractors driving around would be interested in more details- not just a passing glance of another Farmall M as it whizzes by.

One of the recent shows had a really strange double JD tractor- it looks like a farmer joined two huge machines (630's maybe?) into one that pivoted in the middle. Details on this would provide a great deal of interesting programming, but we just got to watch it drive by and that was it.

Still, my little boys are always bugging me to see the tractor show on tv!

As far as learning more about the tractors and their history, check out the Talkin' Tractors show. They cover 3 or 4 tractors in an episode and the owner drives up, shuts her down and talks about the tractor and all of it's history and restoration.

The double tractor is an 830. That could make at least half an hour of an episode. I would pay good money to see and hear that machine with a big plow or disc. It is probably a very annoying machine to hear when it is working. Two different two-cylinder tractors working hard in close proximity to each other are tuff to take. Their sound gets out of sync and whichever tractor you are further away from sounds like it has a bad miss.

Nobody knows but it's still there. Seems the older one gets the crankier they get. Can remember the days when I had to have the radio blaring. Mounted speakers outside so I could hear it in the yard. (Course I guess I annoyed the neighbors with it.) Guess it's somebody else's turn.

Mark