PupCam

I have no experience of AEG or Neff so can't comment. My now ageing Bosch dishwasher is still operational (touching wood now) after I had to repair the main controller board. It has a fundamental design flaw in that one of the PCB tracks is not man enough for the job and likes to pretend it is a fuse. The official repair practice at the time was, of course, to replace the controller board with an identical one and oh yes, make sure you get a fully approved Bosch chap to fit it. The price of the board all those years ago was ~£90 IIRC and that didn't include the services of "Extra special Bosch Man"! The more pragmatic, unofficial repair suggested by many "practical trades people" on the interweb was to replace the burnt out track with a suitable piece of tinned copper wire. Puppers has tinned copper wire, the requisite soldering iron and solder and the skill and knowledge to use it. Total cost excluding labour costs of "Extra special Puppers Man"! of £0. Bear knows Puppers well enough to know which option I plumped for! Latter that same decade the Puppers household required a new washing machine. Rather foolishly Puppers selected a what looked suitable Bosch machine. 13 months after purchasing this (thus out of guarantee, you couldn't make this up) Mrs Puppers alerted me to the fact that in essence the door had fallen off. To be more precise the top pin of the door hinge, cast from the very poorest quality Monkey Metal (Mazak) money can buy, had dropped off. Puppers swung into action on the old interweb and found literally hundreds of door hinges of different shapes and sizes to suit (if the Ebay listings were anything to go by) thousands of different washing machine models but try as I might there was no sign of the specific model found loitering in our kitchen. In desperation I phoned Bosch and the very nice customer services lady informed that the hinge was not available separately for my machine but they'd be only too pleased to sell me a whole new door assembly for about £120 which of course did not include the cost of "Extra special Bosch Man"! coming round to fit it. I of course, declined their extremely generous offer. On investigating the door it soon became obvious as to why you had to buy a complete new assembly - the front and back mouldings that trap the glass window and the hinge are held together with "Thermo-plastic Rivets" (They melt the ends of rods projecting from the front moulding through holes in the rear moulding) so a one-shot assembly. Puppers also has a drill ... The "rivets" on the hinge side were drilled out and the broken hinge prised out. A hole was bored in the hinge and a new hinge pin from finest B&Q 6mm brass rod was epoxied in place. The bottom hinge was sawn off and similarly treated. The hinge was then wrestled back into the door and the drilled out "rivets" were replaced with suitable self-tapping screws. As Puppers already had the brass rod he's claiming that the material cost for this repair was also £0 but boy the labour costs of "Extra special Puppers Man"! were something else. You maybe surprised to learn that Puppers no longer holds Bosch products in the high esteem that he once did. Now, where's my barge pole ......

GPS distance should be pretty good unless you happen to be walking around in a tunnel, particularly mountainous areas with limited satellite visibility or one of these areas .... https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/information/gps-jamming-exercises Are you sure it's using GPS and not actually just inaccurately measuring steps (clues's in the name) with the phone's IMU? GPS based mapping apps on phones generally make a pretty good job of determining path and track lengths (as will an Arduino Nano and a little GPS Module). Of course a really intelligent app would fuse data from all of the available sensors to get the most accurate/appropriate result. Alan

Oh if you could please! Then, if I ask ever so nicely, could I have a go in it please? I worked on the fatigue test of the nose and "full aircraft" specimens back in the 80's just before and after the prototype's maiden flight and I'd love to have a go in one but sadly it's never happened. As both specimens were pressurised during testing they were conducted in big tanks of water. A legacy of the unfortunate accidents that befell the early DH Comets. FYI - Puppers is not present in this photograph

Is it so that the weight of the lamp is not borne by the lamp bracket, it merely keeps the lamp in the correct place? (I know nothing of the GWR, completely the wrong shade of green for me!) Alan

Ah! The traffic becomes a source of targets! Double Whammy benefits then! Free targets for our friends in the Army An overall reduction in traffic volume (once the smouldering wrecks have been removed)

Oh dear, sorry to hear that. Anyone I know? Ah a positive benefit I would have thought! (I hate auto stop/start, thank heavens I no longer have to drive hire cars OCS!)

That's good news BUT presupposes that you could get anywhere near a GP or even a telephone appointment to get it prescribed in the first instance. If Pupper's recent experience is anything to go by that might be a big ask!

Afternoon Awl. Just to finally put this one to bed ..... Puppers was recently very fortunate to be given a long lost box of family treasures including family photographs from the last 100+ years and various artefacts which happened to include a copy of the official souvenir programme for the Queen's Coronation. I think it's fair to assume that they got the spelling of HRH Prince Philip (ie Philip Mountbatten) correct in said publication ..... Looks like your theory was correct! Time to put the spade down now ....

Would there not also have been a cost imperative in maintaining a complete extra set of valve gear in good condition? I'm sure there would, although of course the unanswered question (and probably unanswerable at this point) is which was the most significant?

Puppers takes the same view. No system is perfect but, I think the current Sovereign has done an outstanding job, aided and supported, as is so often said, by HRH Prince Philip. Given his great age it is inevitable but still sad - RIP Now that is something I can wait for! If they could just hold off for say 30 years that will suit Puppers fine. Alan

I'm afraid Chris we'll have to agree to differ on this. Personally, I can't see that an overseas holiday is actually that essential just at the moment as we attempt to extract ourselves from the grip of this evil pandemic (unless of course you run an airline or hotel in wherever ...) and, bearing in mind that the country (and the world) has just about been bankrupted by it, I think that the cost of a test imposed by a self-inflicted trip away is not actually that unreasonable. Yes we all need/want a change of scene and a holiday to cheers us up but overseas at this precise moment? Really? I need to get out on my bike for some relaxing change of scenery to help my sanity, perhaps the country should pay for my petrol and a new tyre ......

Blue cheese is very nice. It might work for LDC .......

As I know the area well even though "it's the wrong railway" I thoroughly enjoyed that book when I received it as a birthday gift a few years ago.

I don't know the real answer to that question Tony but logic would suggest that the very simplicity (relatively speaking) of the design of the conjugated gear results in fewer moving parts and bearings compared with a complete additional set of Walschaerts gear and the fact that those bearings could be relatively big would result in a more robust result whilst well maintained and in good condition. I think the main drawback is the fact that as the motion of the third valve is derived from the other two any play / lost motion that develops will have an amplified effect on the events of the third valve and so once the motion has been abused by over-work and inadequate maintenance over a long period (i.e. the war) the results would seem very poor. But wouldn't the basic simplicity of the design mean the performance could easily be restored by the simple expedient of providing new bearings ....... ? Perhaps we need to speak to the venerable Mr Townend to get the real answer from someone with real experience who knows!

In my experience I'd say that was spot-on. I would also add that a good chunk of that 70% was stating the blindingly obvious (we always used to be reminded of the story about the King's New Clothes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HykF5KX4STA ) I also noticed (after the fifth or sixth initiative) they would never come in and tell a company exactly how to do what ever they were saying but would make suggestions and provide ideas on how it might be done. Then, in a year or so's time after the plan had been implemented and almost inevitably failed, they could not be blamed as it was clearly the implementation that failed not the principle. I feared for my children's education when I heard a member of the cabinet spouting the same nonsense advice on the radio concerning how the Government of the day was going to over-haul the education system. I should by rights have been the Head of the Cynicism Department but ironically, as I expected, my promotion seemed to get lost in the post. Anyway, railway modelling is far a more productive and rewarding activity .....

Ah, if only there was clever and cunning way in which that third set of Walchaerts gear could be done away with* completely ....... * Of course, it might necessitate changing the relative position and design of some key components but, in the words of the management consultants; "No idea is a bad idea"** ** Time has of course proven that this statement is in fact false but not in this particular case

Encourages one doesn't it! Looks like I'll have to have another crack at a DIY update for my and Mrs Puppers (I like to think) simple affairs. Must fill in those official LPA forms as well and get them registered.

Whilst my eight Ikea floor to ceiling bookcases may not quite match your document count they are well stuffed with an assortment of mainly railway (full-size and modelling), aircraft (full-size and modelling), classic motorcycle, photography, history and general interest publications. Pleased to spot a copy of the excellent "Architectural Modelling" by Dave Rowe peaking out on one of your shelves although I must deduct one mark for "Neatness on parade" of the aforementioned publication as it is not standing perfectly vertical and is, for want of a better expression, poking out a bit I'm still wondering, do I need a Union Flag alongside my bookcases? They seem to be de rigueur these days in the media .... Alan

Good morning Tony, Thanks for your thoughts. Indeed it does, which is why I suppose their are relatively few people who can actually make a living as professional model builders as even at quite modest hourly rates the total cost of a model soon exceeds the majorities available budget and that's before that essential of any business, profit is taken into consideration. Indeed in another context (and without going into any details here) I used to have to continuously remind people at my former place of work that we could not possibly achieve the same results as "shed engineers" who invested hundreds of hours of in projects for fun at an hourly rate of £0/hr because our engineering rate was not £0/hr (even though it may have seemed like it when I checked my salary note). Yes, put like that if I remember back to when David and I were rather more active as (novice) S4 modellers (that'll be 25+ years ago then) a new Portescap was perhaps £25-£30 and you just bought them because that seemed to be the thing to do. Anyway, in the true spirit of your thread you may be pleased to hear that I have actually built a railway related model for the first time in decades albeit as befits my increasing years and failing eyesight a 7mm 16T mineral wagon. I thought I'd have a go at the "heavily weathered look and followed one of methods Martin Welch described in his book the Art of Weathering. I don't know whether (sorry) I've pulled it off or not but, I have to say I enjoyed getting my railway modelling hands dirty once more which I think is one of your underlying themes. Hopefully when your initial surge of post-lockdown visitors has passed the Mimram Modellers might be able to make a return visit to LB? Alan

It's enough to make you start scratch building! Even though the price of raw material has gone up you could get a lot of J50 bodies out of a modest amount of material. Now where did I put my Guy Williams books ..... Being completely out of touch with the price of most things in the hobby these days but those gearboxes that were mentioned sound particularly expensive. Are they really good value for money? Alan

Action packed day for Puppers: M & S Hot Cross Buns for brecky, they really are very good and 8 for £2-50 doesn't seem unreasonable. A constitutional walk across the fields this morning followed by rootling around in the shed for some old Dexion in order to make some staging for the greenhouse at the request of Mrs Puppers. As luck would have it, a whole bunch of suitable material was found only requiring one piece to be cut in two along with a load of old pine bookcase shelves to provide a ready made greenhouse staging kit. I even managed to find an adequate number of matching Dexion nuts and bolts to complete the assembly. Brownie points collected and put into the account. And then this afternoon a 45 mile chug around the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire lanes on the old AJS in the sunshine - absolutely glorious! My route took me over the rather attractive Great Barford Bridge (it often does ) as seen in the video from a previous ride sometime ago. Note the happy patrons of The Anchor enjoying a relaxing drink on that occasion, no such activity today thanks to that evil virus that has reeked so much havoc over the last year. Anyway, it was marvellous to be out in the sunshine. https://youtu.be/p5VOnMEyjJc

We've just got into "Line of Duty" (yes I know very late to that party). Can't work out if they are a documentary or drama series Alan

Or could it be that there is a sizeable portion of the general population that are just as thick as s....? I favour that view and would suggest that every single person is sick of the dreaded virus, the impact and terrible toll it has had on us all - but then us "sensible" ones still don't go and say Sxd it let's all have a monster party! It's a great shame Darwin doesn't work on common sense - if it did it could usefully be relied on to "thin out" the undesirables (by virtue of their rank stupidity , nothing else) but unfortunately it doesn't and their behaviour comes with a huge amount of collateral damage just like the inconsiderate road users we discussed a little while ago (they appear to have no common sense either) Puppers admits to indulging in a bit of April Tom Foolery this year There was a post showing a 2 rear axle version of the classic Routemaster bus on FaceAche which had a number of bus "specialists" (strictly planes, trains and old bikes for Puppers) declaring that they'd never heard anything about such a thing before and how could this be. Anyway, with the aid of Paintshop Pro Puppers was able to bring news of the continued development of the theme with a 3 rear axle variant especially to cope with the increase in obesity of the "customers" (last time I went on a bus I was a passenger!) and the generally deteriorating road surfaces. I was able to reassure the audience that rumours of a tracked version of the Routemaster were unfounded. Later that same day with the aid of yet more PaintshopPro activity I was able to correct that last statement

I don't think so Mark as the photograph pre-dates the building of the Little Wymondley bypass (i.e. the A602 at this point). What caused the original doubt in my mind was I couldn't recall the depth of the cutting at the point of the photograph, however the reasonably contemporary OS Map from the period (attached) seems to imply a reasonable cutting there and the woods behind on "Spoil Bank". Looking at the candidate bridge now to compare with the photograph probably won't help as no doubt it was rebuilt and raised when the line was electrified in the 70's. Nevertheless it's good fun trying to be a Railway Detective! Belated apologies to your wife if she used to take horses down to or back from the lower field alongside the line if there was some bloke parked up in the way at the field entrance in a Mondeo eating his sandwiches 5 or 6 years ago Alan

Oh that's a shame but never mind! A model of Welwyn North and Welwyn Viaduct crossing the mighty River Mimram (PupCam being a founder member of the Mimram Modellers) would be quite a thing! I'm a firm believer that you usually get the best views of a model railway from the "Eye Level" position and thus it seems eminently sensible to arrange a static, home layout to suit the individual. Just look at the array of Tony's photographs of LB from this view point to confirm this. I do think though for purely practical purposes and fairness to the general public that exhibition layouts should be far more modest in the altitude department. Being short of stature myself I recall being frustrated that I couldn't see the beautiful Totness layout properly when we had it at St Albans years ago because the nominal baseboard edge was higher than my eye line Perhaps the most extreme example of this situation I remember was seeing Woolverstone somewhere (Scaleforum maybe?) and Ian Rice was actually standing on a plastic milk bottle crate or similar just so that he could see to operate it. Needless to say, Puppers has never really had the opportunity to study Woolverstone! Of course an individual can always bend down to get the eye level perspective whereas wearing stilts to visit an exhibition is generally frowned upon. Funny enough, having spent many years of my working life in Stevenage for a change of scene at lunchtimes I used to jump in the car and drive to a lay-by near the ECML in Little Wymondley to eat my sandwiches and watch the trains go by. That lay-by is just outside the top left corner of the Google Maps aerial photograph I posted in response to Tony's question. I remember years ago one Monday I was wondering that, if by chance, I'd be lucky enough to see SNG going home as it had worked a steam special to Kings Cross the previous day. I noticed a chap prowling around on the bridge with a camera (always a dead giveaway) and I thought I was definitely in with a chance. Anyway, a short time afterwards a strange yellow track maintenance type train went past in which he seemed particularly interested and after it had gone so did he! Needless to say there was absolutely no sign of SNG and then it was time to return to the daily grind Alan