Guest Q - I'm interested in hearing about the Moose Jaw angle on all of this - where did you pick up the signal? Was the music Canuck-centric? We didn't have Can-Con (Canadian Content) regulations back then as far as I know, but I think there was a fair amount of home-grown music on the Canadian prairies. I wonder how much of it hit the radio.

BTW, I saw the modern-day equivalent of your cast iron mortar today in Radio Shack. A kid was playing with a talking remote-control tank that fired plastic missiles. He took out a rack of phono-to-1/8" plugs and some coax cable before his dad bade him cease. Your version sounds infinitely more fun.