Need help getting Upshur plans please?

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Cogsy

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I've contacted the lady who sells the Upshur farm engine plans and she tells me that I need to pay either by cash or international money order (I live in Australia). The money order is a ridiculous price and requires me to get her bank details, which I don't want to ask for (seems a bit dodgy to me).

So I'm willing to take the risk and just post some concealed money to her, but I need U.S. currency. I can't seem to source it here without changing a minimum of $200 U.S. and I only require $18.

What I'm hoping is that some kind U.S. member who has a Paypal account, will allow me to send ~$25 U.S. to them via Paypal, then put $18 cash in an envelope with the relevant details and chuck it into the post to the lady.

My apologies if I'm asking too much, I just really want a copy of these plans. Any other suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks guys!
 
Thanks to the kindness of Chuck, this matter is now resolved.

What a wonderful community HMEM is! Thanks for the help!
 
Hi Guys,

My name is Andy, and my Grandfather was Hamilton Upshur, or Pop-pop as I called him. I have recently begun working on redesigning and revamping the Upshur Engine Works website, http://hamiltonupshur.tripod.com/

I have noticed you guys on this forum are big supporters of my grandfather's engine plans and so I have decided to register and get some feedback.

I am still in the early design phases but I want to let you know that...
1) The engine plans ARE still available from my Aunt whose information is on the current site
2) We are working to allow online ordering , possible electronic versions of the plans for easy purchasing and immediate availability, allowing for use on Ipads and tablets, and making international purchases easier.
3) I am looking for suggestions and your input and will most likely post a seperate post for this, but all input is greatly appreciated and can be directed to [email protected]

Thank you all. It is truly wonderful to see my Pop-pop's work being so appreciated.
-Andy
 
Hi Andy,

My plans are still in transit but I'm sure they'll be worth the wait.

Online ordering with Paypal would allow anyone in the world to make a purchase instantly and would remove the problem of getting U.S. currency. Obviously it would also speed up delivery of the plans.

As for electronic supply of the plans, while it would be handy to purchase and receive the plans virtually instantly, you may run into issues with pirating of the material. It's extremely easy to share an electronic copy and it only takes 1 unscrupulous person to upload the files to a file sharing site.

If I was selling them, I'd continue supplying physical plans but make the change to electronic payment.

And thank you to you and your Aunt for continuing to make the plans available.
 
G'day Andy and welcome to the forum. The PayPal account would be really great and I'm sure would increase sales of these great plans. But as Cogsy mentioned take care to avoid piracy.
 
Thanks guys for the input,

I understand the piracy risks, and I am currently in the air about it. You are absolutely right that it makes the plans easier to pirate, but the physical plans could be scanned or even photo-copied then resold or shared for free with only slightly more effort. I am trying to weigh the pro of instant delivery method with online ordering (as well as the ease of use with tablets and computers), against the con of an increased chance of piracy.
If we decide to make the plans digitally available I will be able to set up anti-piracy measures and encourage people to purchase the plans as the cost is minimal and the money goes to a very good cause.
Personally, I believe in the good of people and can't imagine anyone would try to distribute my Pop-pop's plans illegally, however my Aunt and I are still figuring it out.

Thanks again for the input, keep it up and I will keep you all informed. Thanks

-Andy
 
First of all welcome to the forum. second of all thanks you for working on keeping your grandfathers plans available. I never had the pleasure of meeting him but never heard anything bad said about him.

the pros and cons of digital format. IMHO if you are going digital get e redraw done. Anyone up for a team redraw ??
the pros and con to me are obvious.
e-mail is faster no postage. and the con is you risk pirates.
you could do what fignoggle did with his plan set. place the purchasers e-mail address in the tittle block of each drawing sheet. if someone does copy and share you know who done it. but adds time to the distribution
Tin .
 
just an update for everyone. The URL for Upshur Engine Works has changed from hamiltonupshur.tripod.com to UpshurEngineWorks.com

This change should be reflected anywhere the site is linked. If you know of a place where the old address is still referenced please ask them to change it or notify me and I will do so. THanks

-Andy
[email protected]
 
Thanks guys for the input,

I understand the piracy risks, and I am currently in the air about it. You are absolutely right that it makes the plans easier to pirate, but the physical plans could be scanned or even photo-copied then resold or shared for free with only slightly more effort. I am trying to weigh the pro of instant delivery method with online ordering (as well as the ease of use with tablets and computers), against the con of an increased chance of piracy.
If we decide to make the plans digitally available I will be able to set up anti-piracy measures and encourage people to purchase the plans as the cost is minimal and the money goes to a very good cause.
Personally, I believe in the good of people and can't imagine anyone would try to distribute my Pop-pop's plans illegally, however my Aunt and I are still figuring it out.

Thanks again for the input, keep it up and I will keep you all informed. Thanks

-Andy

Hi Andy,

Nice to see you on the forums, i'm in the same boat as Cogsy, being from OZ it's considerably more difficult to obtain the plans. I'd love the idea of paypal as I could go mad on these plans, even add the surcharge to the total if you want. So far as piracy goes, I think the modelling communities are a fairly tight knit bunch, and well respect others hard work and effort. Not to say it wouldn't happen, but i'd think the people most likely to build the models, are also most likely to want to buy the plans, even just to "own" their legit set. Despite what you hear from the media industry about piracy, piracy does not necessarily mean an equivalent loss of income or revenue.

cheers,
Ian
 
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