Lady_Ava_Hay

This is almost certainly a speaker mounting issue rather than a fault in the sounds themselves. It is a fact that current sound models produced by manufacturers are a compromise between cost and effectiveness. Somehow I doubt that there will ever be any extra machining or dedicated space for a speaker as the RTR market is still dominated by DC and even in DCC, sound is a small percentage of sales.

I am currently under notice of demise from prostate cancer which has spread to my bones. My sole waking thoughts are about extending the time span by whatever methods at my disposal even if I have to thump a few desks and bang a few heads together plus supporting my wife as we contemplate being permanently apart after twenty years of real love and the bicker and humour laden bliss that goes with a successful marriage. There is a thread on my content about my progress to this state and I am only posting here to achieve a balance between losing someone close and actually having a death notice served on you personally which is considerably more terrifying than sad. This is out of respect to poor Jock whom I never knew and his family who I do not know. Just recall that grief comes post death and is wasted before that. Each and every sufferer of cancer faces there sometimes slow and ugly demise with stoicism and very much alone and knowing that the grief of those close to you will be severe.......but not permanent. Kind words are really lovely but if I thought that angry words would extend my lifespan by even a few days or make my own death any easier and quicker then bring it on!!

Indeed one wonders whether the ASD has developed over time because of other factors and thus was not really there to diagnose. My nephew is severely autistic and was definitely born with it and is now in constant care. I don't think that the passage of time or his environment has made the slightest difference in his case. I am no expert but I suppose we all are born with the 'ability' to develop these disorders and, for one reason or another, they are triggered by some internal imbalance probably chemical or neural.

I was filled with trepidation to take this test. As a sufferer of gender dysphoria ( self diagnosed but pretty obvious to any observer ) I felt sure that I might fall foul and be on some form of autistic spectrum or indeed an Aspberger's one. My score was 10. To be frank I think anyone with these syndromes involving liaison with or attitude to other members of the public will be fighting a far more private battle than I am with my dysphoria. I believe that the only public figure who has admitted to having mild Aspberger's is Gary Numan. Also self diagnosed as he readily admits. Nevertheless a very talented musician and songwriter. Perhaps mild aspbergers would be easier to live with and indeed use to make a good living which my dysphoria sadly doesn't. Also one wonders whether Aspberger's actually changes in effect from one situation to another unlike my dysphoria which can, at times, overwhelm me and those I am close to who don't share it.

I resurrected this topic as I was idly sitting in a restaurant at Gunwharf Quay in Portsmouth and this purely cosmetic dockyard crane caught my attention. How does the jib move? Those ties are rigid and the tower the jib is attached you doesn't appear to be a movable item.

I suppose this is right considering that the operating costs of this forum are sustained by paid advertising. It is a fine line between encouraging small suppliers who may not want to increase their costs just yet ( or ever, this is a hobby after all ) and allowing what amounts to free advertising. My own opinion and that is only valid on this forum, is that any mention of price or availability is pure advertising and is deleted. Anything else that could be considered as informative is allowed. There is no restriction on publishing videos of sound projects but any copyright issues brought to our attention will ( and has ) result in instant deletion. In your case I can see that announcement of a new, improved version of your product would be newsworthy even with detailed descriptions of what it does that is new but any mention of cost or 'buy here' would not be. At the same time the products mentioned on this sub forum have to be exclusively related to DCC sound.

I have not long returned from Oncology for the results of my scans. My cancer has spread and has found a home in one of my right upper ribs and the prostate is equally re-infected. I was also told that I would never be free of this cancer and that any further treatment would be finite in years and eventually the cancer would grow even though it had been denied testosterone. The period of five years was mentioned and ten was considered possibly unrealistic and only one patient in my oncologist's experience had survived 12 years with this same cancer. I feel absolutely marvellous and I am completely symptom free. So begins the longest party ever!!!

Well I made it to Taunton.

I think this has been mooted before. It is very different having a self posted forum topic to having a professional writer review a product in a magazine that will probably be read from cover to cover. That would be a luxury on a thread so how would you propse attracting viewers to your topic?

No offence taken. Laughter is the best medicine. I am back at work and planning outings for the summer both dressed and in drab. One of those is a foray to RMWeb Taunton and I would love to see any of you there. I will be dressed so hugs rather than handshakes are the order of the day.

Progress! I have spoken to an Oncology nurse today. I won't bore you with the content of the two conversations we had apart from the Urology surgeon's comment to her that an Orchidectomy is a simple operation under local anaesthetic, is a fair option for me and 'should give (me) a long period without cancer'. The usual cautious response but that 'long' and 'without cancer' are sooooooo attractive. Nevertheless the options will be discussed in greater detail after my scans which have been requested by Oncology. BTW just to lighten the mood a little, I went to this appointment fully dressed. Some of you may know that I am a transvestite. The look on their faces was a picture and I had a lot of fun even though the news was worrying. I also wanted to show them that the loss of masculinity caused by the prostate cancer and its treatment was not a psychological problem for me; in fact a lot of the side effects were a dresser's wet dream! Every cloud has a silver lining.

The best laid plans of mice and men........... I finished my hormone therapy in December and was feeling absolutely fine. L1b1do returned and part function of the dangly bits. I went for my first Oncology appointment last Tuesday 21st March and the results of my PSA blood test was a reading of 9.6. Last September it was 1.2. Oh dear! Oncology are near certain that my prostate cancer has returned. I am now starting a raft of tests to see what has gone wrong and to decide on the best ongoing treatment. I must say that a lifetime on hormone therapy is unattractive and, in view of the current regression, possibly not really trusted in the long term. There is the option of orchidectomy and I am tempted although I will do more research into that option as it is so permanent and, if it fails to work for some reason, is a waste of time and effort and narrows the future options. I do know that the hormone therapy that I would be on if I choose that route or if it is recommended as the best alternative, might well put undue strain on my heart and advance the heart disease at an unacceptable rate with little chance of a surgical fix because of the cancer and its treatment. Rock and a hard place come to mind. Sorry to burden you all but if anyone has any experience of this scenario or knows a urological surgeon who has done the orchidectomy in relation to my specific diseases then a referral would be nice.

Hi. I would suggest that you do a search in 'Members' at the top of the page and send a PM from there. There is only one Legomanbiffo AFAIK.

They have already closed many retail outlets as the online shopping grew. I think they have been a bit outdistanced by the growth and performance of courier chains. They have recently started offering a 'click and collect' service to private Ebay sellers for their buyers. I can't see that being a success unless they offer a return service as well but it seems to be a buyer option at Ebay check out so the seller is then required to post the item to an Argos central location by whatever means they intended using.

To be frank the railway modelling industry has come a long way from the models you have. Every now and again, a complete change of technology will rejuvenate a stagnant market and DCC plus the China manufacturing has done that for model railways. Sentimentality is better served by a visible display cabinet than actually running and handling these old models. Very often it is recommended that old models such as these are disposed of to collectors as if they are rare, in exceptional condition and originally boxed, they may be worth enough to pay for new DCC ready or even fitted stock. One of the basic precepts of us modellers is that we tend to accumulate locomotives and rolling stock that in all conscience we will never have enough time or layout space to actually run anyway. Disposal appears NOT to be a viable proposition in your case but, in any event, converting old stock will destroy any collectable value and gain very little in running terms plus cost money which has effectively been thrown away. You risk destroying the sentimentality to boot. I doubt that the Hornby family would recommend what you have in mind.

Note that it is now December and I can announce that I stopped taking the two chemo therapy pills yesterday, Sunday 27th. Strangely I am a bit apprehensive.......

Proportional movement of the hook in relation to the jib is acheivable with most cranes. I drove a Jones 38ton wheeled crane at a boatyard and was quickly used to the idea of jibbing out and hoisting in at the same time. Although the movement of the hook was present it was relatively inches within the range of the jib. Perhaps the luffing crane had other attributes that made it suitable for dockside use. For a start, it would be important to realise that the actual lifting capacity of these cranes was limited. I have heard that three tons was about the maximum but the saving in winding machinery to have independent jib movement would save time and money. My 38 tonner was designed to lift that weight more or less vertically but the numbers plummeted as the jib ( 70 feet ) went outwards.

Is that not said as LIDS?

I believe it is pronounced 'OOL'

Somewhere along the line your relationship with your child has disintegrated. It would be easy to suggest that the transgender issue was the sole cause. That might be a mistake. None of my family know about what I do. They don't need to. My relationship with both my kids disintegrated a long time ago and has been abandoned. Neither of them have the faintest idea that I dress as a woman and most likely, never will. At some time in a child's relationship with its parents, they have to cut the apron strings and go their own way. There also comes a time when they have to go that way regardless and that essential childish desire to please one's parents diminishes and sometimes quite dramatically and over a short period of time. Transitioning gender is quite the most dramatic thing that any human being can undertake and the whole path is strewn with rocks and hard places. I have watched some very good friends go this route and I truly believe that these people are quite unique. All of them have effectively torn up the blueprint that birth assigned gender gives. It is way beyond what I do and I have accepted that I will never follow this path. I imagine that your eldest might well be cutting those ties and might be feeling that she will return to you once she has completed her transition. This is not really rejection on either side but the wait might be painful for both of you. The name(s) we adopt when we are en femme ( in your child's case that is 24/7 ) are very important to us and the slightest suggestion that we are NOT that person can be deeply hurtful. You will see that some of my friends on here have actually asked how I would like to be addressed when I present as a woman and that is a mark of great respect and warms me. Even so I am so confident in my femme role that I can rise above mistaken gender addresses and frequently do. They are noticed though. Your nascent daughter will have picked up on it from you. There is no quick fix for this but I suspect that if you show your daughter this thread and let her read the posts, yours included, that will help immensely. If you need any help or clarification just let me know and I will do my best to explain things as I see ( and have seen ) them.

This was taken on the Wednesday 28th and I was there for the Steam Gala. Have you been driving the Brit all week?

Sometimes even trannies can have a blast playing on the railways The signalman is in counselling!

The only thing that worries me is......do diesel exhausts flame this much once started and warmed up? Love the idea though and very similar to firebox effect on the steam engine decoders usually linked into the sound of the firebox door opening and closing with an additional function to do the coal shovel sounds.

Variations on a theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan - Williams figures large on here and so it should as it can still move me when I listen to it. But then I thought, hang on, this guy Tallis was prolific enough to be noticed by Vaughan Williams. So what else did he compose. This led me to his Spem in Alium ( I think the actual title is much longer ). All music is remembered in some way and can have a great effect on you if played at the right moment. One of those moments lives with me today. It was before retirement and I was driving a 206 National Express coach service from Heathrow to Bournemouth and I am pretty sure it was a weekend as the coach was about 50% full and the roads were free of trucks. There is a hill at the country end of the M27 which leads the A31 up onto the New Forest which is mainly heathland. The sun was setting in a flaming orange ball and Spem in Alium came on Classic FM. At a steady 62.5 mph the piece lasted until the descent into Ringwood. I was transported to another place and so were many of the passengers. A coaching moment never forgotten and probably never will be, that is triggered by playing this piece.

My first reaction is to suggest that the wheels, pick ups and rails need a thorough clean using IPA or another cleaning agent. Slow deterioration in performance is rarely the way a decoder would behave.