To those who know Frankenmuth, MI, it is generally as “Little Bavaria,” the German-themed vacation town of quaint houses and shops; of cheese, wurst, beer, Christmas ornaments, and Oom Pa Pa bands. I know it in a slightly different way as the only town to get your helium leak detector repaired. There are at least three shops in Frankenmuth that repair helium leak detectors (or make new specialty versions), and this is the source of the reference leaks that most qualified shops use. So I was here yesterday and today, both for the World-class snow sculpture contest, and to get my helium leak detector looked at. It was acting funny; it turns out there was a leak in the leak detector plus a bad potentiometer on a switchover circuit. The leak is already fixed, and I should have it back in my shop next week (Wednesday).

Snow-sculpting in Frankenmuth 2013; I was there to have my helium leak detector fixed.