The Night Mail

[simontaylor484]

How about a Polo pony a water polo pony

[Dave Hunt]

4 hours ago, SM42 said:

It normally comes randomly during a conversation 

 

Occasionally it starts with " Oh I forgot to tell you " followed by a pronouncement that includes "tomorrow"

 

Written instructions are rare so plausible deniability can come into play. 

 

In our house the indication that modelling is off the agenda for an unspecified period is often the casually delivered chilling remark, "When you've got a few minutes........"

 

Dave 

[Dave Hunt]

42 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Nyda had finished the ironing so there would have been nothing for Jill to do....

 

Apart from eat yet more LDC:  I'll bet she's sick of the sight of it after your obviously riotous weekend.

 

Jill wasn't with me at the weekend; if she had been I wouldn't have been allowed to scoff the amount of LDC that I did.

 

Dave

[New Haven Neil]

Green loco warning.

 

I'm looking for a copy of the Prairie Papers 3, if anyone has a copy for sale - the usual places don't have one I can find.

 

And now back to the programme.

 

[pH]

5 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Green loco warning.

 

I'm looking for a copy of the Prairie Papers 3, if anyone has a copy for sale - the usual places don't have one I can find.

 

And now back to the programme.

 

One here:

 

https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Prairie-Papers-No.3-Small-Prairies-4400-4410/31156835121/bd

 

(Excuse the US money and postage. It defaults to that and I use Abebooks so seldom I can’t be bothered changing.)

[New Haven Neil]

18 minutes ago, pH said:

One here:

 

https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Prairie-Papers-No.3-Small-Prairies-4400-4410/31156835121/bd

 

(Excuse the US money and postage. It defaults to that and I use Abebooks so seldom I can’t be bothered changing.)

 

Errr thanks, but.....$23.64 dollars postage?  For what is little more than a magazine?  Sheesh. 

 

EEjit edit - sorry it's the other way around - let me investigate! 

 

Eejit edit 2:  Bought - direct from Bott, not via Abe which I couldn't get to work.  Thanks @pH

Edited August 22, 2022 by New Haven Neil

[simontaylor484]

18 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Green loco warning.

 

I'm looking for a copy of the Prairie Papers 3, if anyone has a copy for sale - the usual places don't have one I can find.

 

And now back to the programme.

 

Sounds like a local paper for somewhere in the American Mid West

[New Haven Neil]

4 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

Sounds like a local paper for somewhere in the American Mid West

 

According to Dave its the wild west!

[pH]

16 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Errr thanks, but.....$23.64 dollars postage?  For what is little more than a magazine?  Sheesh. 

 

EEjit edit - sorry it's the other way around - let me investigate! 

I make it 18GBP for the book and 3GBP for postage within the UK.

Edited August 22, 2022 by pH

[New Haven Neil]

18 minutes ago, pH said:

I make it 18GBP for the book and 3GBP for postage within the UK.

 

See my comments above!  I initially read it as being from the US to the UK. D'oh.

[jjb1970]

6 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Do you remember the green pen to paint on the rim of CD's to 'stop light scatter' - had to be green - (some) snakes are green so the oil is green....🤣

 

I know people who are still convinced it makes a night and day difference to sound quality 😯 I have a friend in Japan who is incredibly switched on in most things and has a doctoral degree in engineering, yet he paid $$$$$$$$$$s to have his own dedicated transformer pole for the electrical supply to his house and re-wired half his home with snake oil wire as he is convinced it lifts a veil and all the other nonsense (my favourite is 'my wife could hear the difference from the kitchen'). However, he has impeccable taste in music (and food) so I give him a pass. A few years ago as a joke I once suggested developing a n audiophile rotary converter, the crazy thing was people took it seriously (a rotary converter is something used on ships to provide a clean electrical supply to certain circuits, it's just a motor driving a generator but it gives isolation from the main system).

[AndyID]

Many moons ago I bought a second-hand Ferrograph tape deck and built a circuit in Practical Electronics for record and playback using new-fangled integrated circuits. It sort of worked but it was also excellent at picking up AM radio. Might have been the Light Program but I can't remember. I never did find out how to stop it 😀

[jamie92208]

5 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

 

I know people who are still convinced it makes a night and day difference to sound quality 😯 I have a friend in Japan who is incredibly switched on in most things and has a doctoral degree in engineering, yet he paid $$$$$$$$$$s to have his own dedicated transformer pole for the electrical supply to his house and re-wired half his home with snake oil wire as he is convinced it lifts a veil and all the other nonsense (my favourite is 'my wife could hear the difference from the kitchen'). However, he has impeccable taste in music (and food) so I give him a pass. A few years ago as a joke I once suggested developing a n audiophile rotary converter, the crazy thing was people took it seriously (a rotary converter is something used on ships to provide a clean electrical supply to certain circuits, it's just a motor driving a generator but it gives isolation from the main system).

I belueve that rotary converters were used in the arly days as the equivalent of tranformers for DC and also as rectifiers for DC to Ac and vuce versa. Some were installed in 1907 to give electrical back up on the Lancaster electrification. A big lead acid traction battery at the power station suppled 25 Hz ac at 6.25 Kv via a set when demand was high.  

 

Jamie

[jjb1970]

These days with solid state conversion and transformers rotary convertors are a bit of a niche. The reason they still have a small niche at sea is there are some ships which need very clean supplies for specialized equipment (mainly military and scientific research vessels). Normal power conditioning lowers the level of variation, harmonics etc to acceptable levels for most equipment, but if not then for all that they are antiquated technology rotary convertors are a very cheap and effective option. 

On conventional ships they were commonly used as part of Ward-Leonard variable speed drives for mooring winches and such like as an alternative to hydraulic drives, but once variable speed AC drives became as cheap as chips there was no reason to go with a much heavier and more expensive alternative (the Ward-Leonard arrangement on ships was AC motor - DC generator - DC motor).

[New Haven Neil]

@jjb1970 Ward-Leonard sets, that takes me back!  I have never seen so many contactors!  And all to remove, clean and replace when working with the lecky.

 

re Rotary converters, the sets at NCB Westoe in South Shields were there until the end as stand-bys to the mercury arc rectifiers, used once a month to keep them dry.

 

[Winslow Boy]

I have no idea what you lot are jabbering on about - rotary arc converters?- mercury baths? I just throw the switch and if it doesn't work say buggerit and go and check the fuse box.

 

I take a really, really, really long extension lead won't work then.

[New Haven Neil]

51 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

I have no idea what you lot are jabbering on about - rotary arc converters?- mercury baths? I just throw the switch and if it doesn't work say buggerit and go and check the fuse box.

 

I take a really, really, really long extension lead won't work then.

 

No.....

 

[Dave Hunt]

The common way among aircrew of describing how various complicated electronic items worked was that it was on the FM principle, FM standing for flipping magic (except the actual word wasn't flipping). One day a group of us were visiting Ferranti to discuss some radar upgrades, the main details of which were being explained by a very earnest young man with lots of gravitas. He got to a particularly esoteric bit that he was explaining rather badly and resulted in several questions that he also answered without really casting any light on the matter. Eventually one of our group said somewhat frustratedly, "OK guys, let's just accept that it's on the FM principle and move on shall we?" The young man looked anxious. "Oh, no," he said, "It's nothing to do with FM, it's quite different," and went on to repeat some of his previous (opaque) explanation until we said, "Yes, OK, we get that," which was, of course completely untrue but avoided being there until hell froze over.

 

Dave

[jjb1970]

The funny thing about Ward-Leonard variable speed motors was that despite the complexity and all the contactors and electro-mechanical control systems (often with a lot of relays) which you might expect to be a recipe for endless headaches they were normally pretty much bomb proof. Big, heavy and crude but very reliable (albeit with quite a bit of routine preventative maintenance). It was always a good deck job in the tropics and nice weather to go up to do PM work on the winches.

[pH]

27 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

The common way among aircrew of describing how various complicated electronic items worked was that it was on the FM principle, FM standing for flipping magic (except the actual word wasn't flipping).

The ‘black box’ principle in programming. At a certain level, you know the required inputs to a process and the outputs it produces. You have no need at all to know what the process does internally with those inputs to produce those outputs. Sometimes a very difficult concept to get inexperienced but keen programmers to accept!

[Happy Hippo]

5 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

pretty much bomb proof. Big, heavy and crude 

I hadn't realised we'd met!

[Northmoor]

10 minutes ago, pH said:

The ‘black box’ principle in programming. At a certain level, you know the required inputs to a process and the outputs it produces. You have no need at all to know what the process does internally with those inputs to produce those outputs. Sometimes a very difficult concept to get inexperienced but keen programmers to accept!

There's an explanation by Scott Adams (of Dilbert cartoon fame) of the difference between engineers and non-engineers.  It's something along the lines of, "A non-engineer doesn't care how a TV remote works just so long as it does".  There's another stating that non-engineers have rhythm.

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

These days with solid state conversion and transformers rotary convertors are a bit of a niche. The reason they still have a small niche at sea is there are some ships which need very clean supplies for specialized equipment (mainly military and scientific research vessels). Normal power conditioning lowers the level of variation, harmonics etc to acceptable levels for most equipment, but if not then for all that they are antiquated technology rotary convertors are a very cheap and effective option. 

On conventional ships they were commonly used as part of Ward-Leonard variable speed drives for mooring winches and such like as an alternative to hydraulic drives, but once variable speed AC drives became as cheap as chips there was no reason to go with a much heavier and more expensive alternative (the Ward-Leonard arrangement on ships was AC motor - DC generator - DC motor).

The first solid state rectifiers were trialled at Lancaster in I think, 1958. The ex LNWR DC sets that were used under the 50 Hz equipment in 55 had mercury arc re tifiers in cast iron tanks. Apparently  on co,d wet morni gs when they wouldn't spark up after a night sitting at Morcambe, they would take an inspection cover off and throw in a lighted paraffin rag to stimulate ionisation.

 

Jamie

[polybear]

39 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

One day a group of us were visiting Ferranti to discuss some radar upgrades, the main details of which were being explained by a very earnest young man with lots of gravitas.

 

A certain young Bear once (correctly) pointed out to Ferranti (though I think they'd progressed sorry, regressed to BAeS by then 🤣) that there was a rather significant flaw with their latest Radar System.  I've a feeling they weren't very happy - and had to sort it.  Come to think about it, I've done that twice.  At least.

 

39 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

He got to a particularly esoteric bit that he was explaining rather badly and resulted in several questions that he also answered without really casting any light on the matter. Eventually one of our group said somewhat frustratedly, "OK guys, let's just accept that it's on the FM principle and move on shall we?" The young man looked anxious. "Oh, no," he said, "It's nothing to do with FM, it's quite different," and went on to repeat some of his previous (opaque) explanation until we said, "Yes, OK, we get that," which was, of course completely untrue but avoided being there until hell froze over.

 

Dave

 

Bear's Boss was once asked to babysit various smart young things when they went to give a presentation to Tornado Aircrew (at Coningsby - or was it Marham?).  It seems they'd come up with this spiffingly wonderful idea for a "Musical BITE** Check" for a certain bittakit that goes whoosh at the touch of a button.  So that'll be different musical tones played thru' a Fast Jet Jockey's Headset.  (At this point Bear suspects that a certain lover of all things Midland has just wet his pants laughing...).

So all the Aircrew sat there very politely listening to all the cr@p they were spouting: 

"Hark, is that Middle C I hear?" says Flt. Lt. Jones to his Nav.

"I do believe it is" says Jones to his Driver...

"That'll mean it's failed the Electronics Pack Check.  Oh Dear."

 

At the end of all this the smart young things asked for feedback.  So the Sqn. Ldr. stands up, thanks the smart young things for taking the trouble etc. etc. and then politely (actually, I don't think it was politely) tells TSYT's to take their musical BITE Check and poke it up their ar5es.  "All we want is a green light for go, a red for no-go and maybe an amber light for it might work or it might not; you can keep the rest cos' we really don't care why it failed".

 

Apparently it was one of the Bosses' more entertaining days out, and he could see it coming a mile off.  Of course he could've warned TSYT's, but (a) they were always right, and (b) he would've missed out on a bundle of fun.

 

(**BITE = Built In Test Equipment)

[polybear]

Incidentally, what every retired Tornado Fast Jet Pilot needs:

 

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/492965762/sofa-made-from-raf-tornado-drop-tank?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_uk_en_gb_a-home_and_living-furniture-living_room_furniture-sofas_and_loveseats&utm_custom1=_k_EAIaIQobChMIia3O89Tc-QIVmulRCh3lHglyEAQYAyABEgKsSvD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_325950048_52194624470_230118587400_pla-306107311569_c__492965762engb_102858184&utm_custom2=325950048&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIia3O89Tc-QIVmulRCh3lHglyEAQYAyABEgKsSvD_BwE

 

Not exactly sure how you open the door though - or how you manage to "sell" the idea to SWMBO....