hayfield

Mark That sounds strange, about two weeks ago I went to one of my sold listings, pressed sell similar and was able to create a completely new listing by editing the old one, something I always do Have you got any stored templates, this may also be an alternative

I have both owned and driven worse back in the late 70's and 80's

I dip in and out of this thread mainly to cheer up. Looks like a barn find to me, but then what do I know (not much!!) Dry dust rather than grime that outside items grow Saab's not been made for years, a collectors item

Its a great pity that firstly we have to endure in my opinion miss/lazy reporting, then people fail to read it,and make their own opinion on the facts, Taking the second report first Nearly 3 million people with faulty meters, of that under 3 million units 2.750,000 were turned off, all that means is they were not in smart mode, not faulty !!! When my smart tv is turned off its not faulty but just turned off !! Less than 250,000 meters were faulty, which I guess when there are probably 20 million in operation is not a bad ratio. But then how many of these smart meters have a fault on the smart box or are they just faulty meters ?, I have been told the same meters are used for smart and non smart installations, which explains why so many are turned off The first report is very disturbing, and when you read the report fully it has nothing to do about the smart meter ( which when checked, all meters were working correctly) but it highlights that in this country need energy advice. The report would be much better if the title had it highlighted this, which when reading the article fully was seemingly the real issue, especially as reported the meter was working correctly When smart meters are used properly, they could (and should) have shown up the issue long before a major problem was caused. Firstly in June last year, when she received a bill of £600 despite the warm weather something is clearly wrong, why was the bill so high was the question which should have been explored. This should have set the alarm bells ringing. Secondly look at the date on the bill which is shown to be January!!! and much lower than the summer bill. This is one of the highest cost months of the year so everyone should expect high usage, Looking at the bill Gas usage, it looks very low (when it should be high), where as electricity looks very high *. Sadly the report misses the real issue of why the July bill was so high !!, which was the catalyst that started the sad state of affairs Then reading on the lady was using electricity to heat the room rather than gas (which is four times less expensive) unfortunately this was compounding the issue . The problem was not the smart meter but the energy provider not understanding what the customer was asking (Why is my bill so high in June, and presumably after) Clearly the lady spotted the issue in June, but when did she contact here provider, elderly people should be treated with an additional duty of care as they are with financial products. There is a lot more to this case than is reported and it seems, she would benefit with some advice about using energy. This a reminder to all of us in an advanced age (myself included) if we are concerned about anything ASK. The worst thing to do is do nothing Octopus Energy said although both Mrs Bowen’s old and new meters "have been working correctly", they would do additional testing on the device. So it was clearly not a faulty smart meter, plus we have wiped her £305 account debt *(I had the opposite issue and it took me ages to get British Gas to check my gas meter, as it happened the smart feature was working correctly but the dumb part was faulty) Thank you for allowing me to use my brain actively this morning, which apparently is good for my brains health

On the other hand it might be a blessing in disguise for others, many search out for such listings in the hope other will not bid and leading to a possible super bargain for others. This is where the skill (or perhaps luck) of the bargain hunter steps in. The lazy seller misses out, as reported many times items listed as not working, seem to spring into life in the hands of a modeler (sometimes without any work). Does AI stand for added interest? of buyer beware ? I do agree with you, sometimes the old way is best, especially when the seller knows what they are selling and has a few communication skills.

As you say much better than 2023, but a lot less than 2022, but in retrospect that March was a very sunny month. We more than doubled this years production with 265 kwh, More importantly my energy usage amounted to be just under £17 in value for the week, but the net cost just under £7. So the increase in solar generation is starting to ramp up, I am still surprised that Octopus is paying 15p per kwh exported. It is getting very noticeable that solar production is starting to grow week by week from the dismal winter performance

Brian Prior to Templot Plug track I would have made an offer, having said that the Scale Seven Soc sell these quite cheaply

Could it be foe either code 100 (as stated) or even code 125 ? As you are aware the rail should be a snug fit. Looking at the photo the slots are clearly deeper and wider making me think its a 7mm filing jig. If the slot is just under 3mm its possibly code 125

Sorry to pickup on this one a bit late. Southeastern Finecast do two etched chassis for this loco. The FC 200 & 202 are direct replacements for the Triang Jinty chassis. These will be an easy retro fit into the Wills / SEF early kits However they now do a bespoke etched chassis FC185 for the loco

Captain Kernow Very nicely weathered, I think these kits are one of the same with K's kits being absorbed into the NuCast range. The 57xx from K's could be ordered with the earlier (flat) cab and round windows, I think I have a couple stashed away

Firstly I was talking about new systems, then some people cannot connect to the system, thirdly off the grid has no metering I was referring to be able to get the best rates, plus I believe all meters now being fitted are smart meters, whether they are connected or not Re Renewable Heat Incentive, Politics gone mad.

You are on an old system designed to get people in the early years of home solar energy to take up the system. Feed in tariffs have not been available for years and became less valuable income wise as the cost of installation has dropped dramatically. Smart systems thankfully are here to stay, and the cartoon shows how stupid some are by starting machines as the tariff goes up, amusing yes, accurate no

John Quite a lot of folk think the cheap giveaway display box is the smart meter, being cheap their life span is limited and not replaced by the energy companies, mine has been trying to die but it still relays correct data Something like 4 years ago we had both meters changed and a smart system fitted, about a year later I noticed we were not using much gas despite being mid winter. It took me a while to get them to send someone out, and at the beginning the engineer said all was working fine, half an hour later seeing how hard our central heating was working he changed his tune The smart meter was working correctly sending data every 15 mins, it was the dumb system and agents that did not realize more often than not it was sending zero readings, despite me telling them my central heating was working full blast, when challenged they said I had a very efficient boiler. The culprit was the gas meter itself, sending intermittent readings. The smart part was doing its job. I have to have a smart metering system as we have solar panels, glad to say its doing its job. We also have a smart thermostat (Tado) Saves us quite a lot of money each year , this year we have invested in making it even smarter. Had the system 7 years and a great asset Most of us have cars with smart systems and sensors all over the place, I guess somethings are less smart than others, some may even be quite dumb. My phone satnav even remembers I go to Colchester on Tuesdays, agreed many things smart gadgets are easy to do but make life much easier, in fact our smart phones are much better at remembering phone numbers than we are

Just out of interest I got an email from Octopus suggesting I increase my DDI (despite being in credit) and stating if I wanted to change it back they gave a link back to my accounts DDI section to alter it back. Sadly it would not change, so I phoned and they apologized and reset it immediately. In my case my DDI payment is 3 days after the billing event, plus their algorithm certainly does not include my solar panel exports and perhaps the radical decrease in usage in the spring, autumn and summer months. So far this week I only have to pay for a third of my energy usage (plus standing charges) so when the sun shines it makes a lot of difference to me and my system is quite small!! But it has kept my payments the same for 4 years

I think if they fail to turn up you are due compensation (my son in law got paid by BT for a missed appointment) Complain to OFGEM

Thanks but not in June, still its all part of the holiday and last year we found a super tapas restaurant around the corner

Paul The scaremongering about the cost of cooking is quite outrageous* and only relates to electricity, its designed to stop people using high energy using machines at peak times. The problem is now to cover peak times it costs a fortune for that extra bit of the peak, the point is that those of us who can change our habits will reduce the cost to all users My son in law is considering buying a power bank (Battery system) to buy electricity when its cheap, to use (and resell) when its dear During a phone in someone claimed it cost them £5 to cook a chicken, well if you calculate how long you would have to leave an oven on to use £5 worth of kwh the chicken would come out as ash. The worst thing was the presenter accepting this false fact

I have had a bit of a brake on loco building the past two weeks for various reasons, today I have received an email from Springside that my order for the outstanding parts are/will be on their way to me Secondly after meeting a friend demonstrating a layout at Alley Pally I have agreed to print some Templot EM gauge plug track turnouts and chairs using a plan he drew up using Templot. This threw up a slight redesign to make it plug track compliant (printable) The easier part is printing the track bases, once I have edited the plan and printed the bases, I then have to learn how to set up the chair files then learn how to print them in resin Martin Wynn challenged me to test out plug track in 7mm scale whilst learning/confirming how to do the alterations needed to the EM gauge track plan. Given the size of the print bed the turnout needs to be printed in 3 sections. The start of the FDM printing ( base of the turnout) Nearing the end of the first print Two of the 3 sections waiting to be spliced together Plug track is in development and is exceptionally good, primarily being developed in 4mm scale, though useable in most scales in various formats. developments are in TT, 2mm and S scale that we know of . For instance in 2mm scale its all resin printed, larger scales use either FDM printed or laser cut bases and resin printed chairs. Turnouts only fully covered at the moment whilst obtuse chairs are designed, but there are a few work arounds in some cases for diamonds and slips, for those unwilling to wait. The FDM turnout base will cost about £2 to print In 4 mm scale the chairs cost about the same as a turnout base, so perhaps £2 per turnout in 7mm scale, plus 2 and a bit meters of rail. Also I can print off reusable filing jigs to the exact size and or angle required for the Vee and switch rails, Other than finishing off the turnout base I will not be printing chairs for at least 2 weeks

Unless banking rules have changed DDI's are controlled by the receiving organization * (my bank has told me this every time I phoned to change the details) Standing orders are controlled by the customer * I have the ultimate control as with my interned banking I can cancel any DDI or standing order. Plus I always reminded the bank staff who owned the account !!

I think this is a common occurrence from sellers incorrectly assuming what an item is, most of us if not selling but discussing models on this and other sites I brought a 7mm scale 14xx whitemetal loco and showed it on here, I called it a Springside model, which was totally incorrect, I was told it was a CCW loco and upon checking the chassis was either a Springside or one of a very similar type, certainly not a chassis which was available at the time the kit was available. For me as I visited the old CCW shop in the Bridal Path in Watford (very close to the Junction station) as a very wide eyed 7 year old. My parents could have never been able to buy me one of these this model) The model is of far more worth to me than the Springside kit I now have Clearly from the description I assume its a Wills or very early SEF kit, but without seeing the chassis I may be wrong

I am very sorry to hear about that, its my understanding that your bank and the company receiving the ddi must restore you bank account funds instantly, alter any adverse credit information and pay all out of pocket information. If this is not done you have recourse to take action via the ombudsman service. In my experience banks and credit card companies have acted promptly and seen to go out of the way to protect their customers. I still believe that with my energy providers regarding DDI's I am in control of my DDI payments and with Octopus since I have been with them (30 months) they have never altered my DDI. I decide what goes out !!

To a certain Keyser's were ahead of the game in many ways, even with the HP2M motor in its at least 3 variations I have seen, but these were designed and built 40 if not 50 years ago. And probably were the forerunners of the can and coreless motors we now love. I like the plastic 8ba bolts they once supplied for certain uses. Their complete metal kits at a budget price were models most of us cut our teeth on. Now thanks to the likes of HighLevel, Branchlines and Markits, decent motors and gearboxes are now available, its a very different world to the 70's & 80's Since the demise of Mashima motors from China have flooded the market, some are very good, others worse than useless, a whole new range of cheap weak motors are available

Its very difficult in this modern age to not have variable direct debits, from my mobile phone and land line/internet, to energy, rates car insurance etc all use variable DDI's As for incompantant energy companies, most if not all are quite competent all of the time, with Octopus whilst having a variable DDI. I AM THE ONE in charge of my payments, unless that is if I abuse the system. Requests/suggestions of increased DDI payments are what they say if you keep your account in order. And I must say that the three different energy providers I have used in the past have acted honorably and have been very competent. As for what's in my wallet, the amount of cash I carry around is very little Agreed from time to time things do either break down or go wrong, but said companies are duty bound to put things right and pay compensation. My daughter changed electricity providers and was owed a few hundred £'s, unfortunately she had to go to the ombudsman twice before the electricity provider had not only had to pay in full but handsomely compensate them for the trouble they caused. But generally these cases are the exception. I use Octopus and have been treated much better from them than I have been by SSE and British gas in the past, however neither of these two companies caused me any problems. Thankfully I have never had any issues for many years with funds being taken in error from my account, but years ago years ago an error from my bank was quickly resolved, and my credit card company helped me out with a case of faulty goods with a furniture company

It looks like variable pricing will be with us sooner than later (we have variable pricing now with economy 7). not having a smart meter will not make you immune to it but you will be on a composite rate, which will no doubt favor the supplier than the user !!

I think all energy companies overestimate the size of the payment just in case. I am with Octopus and I decide how much I pay via DDI, I also have the ability to set my own level of payment and if in credit withdraw my overpayments With the exception of a two/three month period when I slightly increased my payments then reduced them I have paid the same amount per month (give or take £2) for the last 4 years. My overpayments (£500 this past year) in the summer build up sufficient funds to cover my winter use. Its down to £63 this morning but will be back up to £170+ in a few days time, and very soon my usage will be below my payments. The system you are on may be either be or seem stupid, however if you fully get to understand the systems your company offers and it does not suite you, simply move providers. I use Octopus and I have a tariff that suits my needs. The main reason for my payments remaining the same was a timely investment into Solar Panels when discounts were available due to covid/no one spending money at that time (30 months ago) As from quarter 2 & 3 energy rates are nearly back down to pre energy crisis prices. Electricity prices in Autumn were 18p per kwh, projected to be down to 20p in the autumn