JJGraphics

Apple Support will happily spend time going through various procedures BEFORE referring you for a repair of any kind. John

If you contact Apple Support, they will help you: https://getsupport.apple.com/?caller=psp&PRKEYS=PL133 John

Yes.

Sadly, the arrival the GDPR, being TPS-registered or ex-Directory will not stop these phone calls which use spoofed numbers, originate outside the UK and are virtually untraceable. The perpetrators use block-dialling techniques to call groups of numbers until they obtain a ringing tone. The call is then allocated to a person or a pre-recorded message. Once you answer the person starts talking or the message is played. Sometimes there may be a dwell before the call is allocated and that is the reason for silent phone calls. A few things you might like to bear in mind: 1. Calls from numbers beginning 00 are International and most of them are from scammers using spoofed Caller ID numbers. Don’t answer the call unless you know someone abroad. 2. NEVER RETURN A CALL to an unknown number and NEVER PRESS ANY NUMBERS if told to do so as in either case you may unknowingly be calling a Premium Rate or International number which will incur a very large charge on your bill. 3. NEVER give ANY information to an unknown caller, no matter however plausible they sound. 4. Block nuisance numbers on your phone. For a mobile, refer to the manufacturer's instructions for how to do this. For a landline, use a call-blocking phone or the call-blocking service if your provider offers one. 5. ANY CALL about computer problems, a problem with your broadband, router, viruses, hacked IP addresses, your phone line or broadband being cut off, offers of discounts, etc., IS ALWAYS A SCAM. NEVER INSTALL ANY SOFTWARE if asked to do so and NEVER allow anyone to access your computer in any way or they will steal your personal information or install a key logger that will allow then to see everything you type. DO NOT be intimidated by any of these callers. Despite the threats, they cannot "cancel your computer licence" or internet service. 6. If you receive ANY call, text or e-mail about your Bank Account, Debit Card or Credit Card, NEVER give ANY information or respond in any way however plausible it may seem. Immediately contact your provider using the details shown on your Statement or on the back of your Debit or Credit card. 7. The Telephone Preference Service is free and will NEVER call you so ANY call about a call blocking service is a scam. 8. Don’t waste your breath talking to these people. Put the phone down on them immediately or if you are so minded, tell them to **** off . . . John

I think it is an excellent piece of software. It is well thought-out and is intuitive and fairly easy to learn. Has a lot of features which are really useful, unlike one piece of software which I will not name which has become seriously expensive bloatware with monthly subscription. I have been using it on my Mac for some while and also have it on my iPad. A professional photographer colleague has it on her PC and also is very happy with it. You can download a free trial to try it. John

You would get a lot more replies if you post this the DCC section. John

Draw your own conclusion . . . A short while ago I was chatting with an acquaintance, a TV engineer, who works in a medium-sized company. She does both field and bench work and the subject of the reliability of the various makes came up. She mentioned that they see relatively few problems with Panasonic, Sony and LG TVs, the majority of their repair work being on Samsung, Toshiba, Sharp and other "no-make" TVs. John

We have not seen a police officer in our area for many years, on foot, on a bike or in a car. We also see (and hear!) the Thames Valley Police helicopter quite frequently as we live close to where the M4, A329M and other roads join and often see the blazing shaft of white light from the searchlight at night when they are looking for chavs who have abandoned their vehicles and run for it.

There is a space at the end of the link in the above post which prevents the file from loading. Gives a 404 Not Found. To view the file, copy the link and delete the space at the end. John

Draw your own conclusions . . . Regardless of the make of decoder, following advice I received a long time ago, I removed the capacitors from all the locos in my fleet as I fitted them with sound decoders and I have never experienced running issues with any of them. A number of acquaintances who fitted DCC sound decoders to their locos and did not remove the capacitors have bad experiences with some locos. One Hornby 8F in particular was a pig of a runner. The owner had tried Zimo and ESU sound decoders in it without success, but it became transformed in an instant when I removed the capacitors for him.

You need to do the usual trick with four thin bits of plastic. Insert them between the chassis and the body side and with a bit of gentle persuasion, the body shell will slide upwards leaving the chassis and the seating exposed. These coaches already have power collectors on the bogies. I created a "bus" between the two bogies to ensure the best possible power pick-up. John

You're having a Giraffe, of course!

The APT or a Pendolino or even an 8xx should be in this image not some ugly Japanese thing. John

I used to really enjoy visiting the NRM every couple of years, often at Easter in conjunction with the York show. However, my recent visit may well be my last visit ever. The gloomy atmosphere (even on a bright day), the scruffy, almost dirty feel about the place and the somewhat haphazard displays and lack of coherence really spoilt it for me. The bullying attitude of the staff at the entrance trying to force you to make a donation really annoyed me. Shildon, in my view is much better, has a real railway atmosphere and feels alive whereas the NRM now has a dead feel about it. The staff at Shildon also have a much more pleasant and helpful attitude than those at the NRM, making me feel willing to make a donation which I did. Shildon is most definitely worth a visit in my view. John

Absolutely agree! Rebranding is usually the result of some idiot marketing consultant trying to make their mark and quite often actually does more harm than good to the image of a business or place of interest. Does everyone remember the RoyalMail to Consignia and back to RoyalMail rebranding fiasco of a few years ago? What that must have cost is absolutely terrifying to contemplate! Lets hope than someone has the nuts to put a stop to this before it does some serious damage. John

Doesn't take much to confuse SSE. They are no smarter than their daft meters.

They certainly get their skates on when they pull away on the 'lecky!

Agreed . . . but the reality is that most home users have no idea about the use of Admin vs Non-Admin Users and plough on regardless.

Never press any numbers in response to a call. If you do so, you may be calling a Premium Rate or International number which will incur a large charge on your bill. It has happened to several people I know . . .

If you are asked, "Can you hear me?", or "Is that Mr X?", NEVER answer "Yes" or you may be caught up in the scam where they use your voice to say that you placed an order for something. Look up "Yes Scam" on the web.

In that case, "It's not my problem, guv" if your machine is compromised. Download and install Teamviewer or anything else on a personal machine if asked to do so in a phone call at your own risk. You will regret it!

Completely agree with that, but do remove the capacitors as well as they may often cause problems. All my DCC locos have had theirs removed and CV29 changed and so far I've never experienced a runaway on my own layout or when visiting anyone else's with my locos. John

The program in question is Teamviewer. Don't EVER let anyone get you to download this program (or any other) and access your computer. If you do, they will steal your personal information or install a keylogger which will allow them to see everything you type on your computer.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, with the right piece of kit the spammers can spoof any number they like. So TPS is useless against these calls.

Unfortunately virtually all these numbers are fake. It is possible with the right piece of kit to send any number you like to the Calling Line ID equipment at the company who is your supplier. This will of course show up on your caller ID and 1471-type services.