melmerby

The good thing about the circuit (I'm pretty sure we're talking the same one) was it wasn't fussy on components. I built my first ones with BC147 lockfit trannies (remember them?) and 1S920 diodes on 0.1" veroboard. The later ones used BC109 or BC182 with 1N4148 diodes on a home produced PCB and the performance was identical. I remember the cogging of the XO4 as that was the motor I used to test it with. I did away with the bulb in practice and used an electro-mecahnical current cut-out instead. I believe some people reported commutator pitting in extreme circumstances but I never noticed any. Keith

Is that the one called "better control of small DC motors" or something similar? It had the option of an accelerate/decelerate control or a variable potentiometer and a feedback adjustment trim. If so I still have a couple of those lying around. If I remember correctly it was recommended to put a lamp in series with the output as overload control. It's a good circuit but I wouldn't say it gives any better control than a modern DCC chip though. Keith

As mentioned earlier in this topic there are two photos in Russells GWR Coach Appendix Vol.2 showing full face and threequarter views of No. 546 (as modelled by Hornby) in ex-works GWR condition and the painting of the preserved example does not match it as regards end colour, some of the iron work and position of roundel. Therefore the preserved example should not have been used as a guide unless Hornby are showing it in preservation! AFAIK 546 is not preserved. Keith

The problem with Tatlow's NPCS volume is that there is no N16 diagram, no N16 picture (apart from a little of 641) and the number sequence is incomplete! Not a good starting point for a reference I would have thought. Also the restored example in the link: http://www.gwsr.com/gwr-175/on-the-running-line/gwr-rolling-stock.aspx does not match the photos in Russell as regards painting detail. (GWR condition only!) Keith

I still use Office 2000 (I also have Lotus Smartsuite for Windows XP as well!) After paying out lots of dosh I don't fancy repeating the process for Microsoft's benefit every couple of years! Keith

Problem is these days the kids have all the rights but no responsibilities and some of them know that and take advantage. Even the parents of said brats defend them to the hilt even when they are clearly in the wrong. Try telling them off for wrong doing and you are likely to get abused or worse by the parent. A while back my wife and myself were about to leave a coffee shop and as we got from the table up a woman with two in tow dived in and she told the kids to sit down. We hadn't completely left the table and my wife still had a bag on the floor which one of the brats stood all over. My wife was concerned about the bag as it contained a piece of crystal glass she had just paid £275 for and instinctively shouted to the kid "don't stand on that bag" to which she instantly got a tirade of abuse from the mother who told her "How dare you tell off my child" There then followed a tirade of abuse towards me when I tried to intervene, pointing out what the child had done. The woman looked quite respectable, not from one of the sink estates so we were rather shocked by what happened. It seems the current batch of brats are completely untouchable. Keith

Hi all. Next Wednesday on BBC1 at 19:30 there is the start of a new series called "National Treasures Live" hosted by Dan Snow and Sîan Williams. One of the experts on the series is the delightful Dr Lucy Worsley. Keith

Much of the pre-amble seems to have been lifted wholesale from RCTS, with the 2-8-0 being quoted as 28xx rather than 47xx as in RCTS! Keith

The main difference between Halls & Modified Halls were the frame extension at the front, different front bogie and crankpin* on driving wheel position. Plus 3 row superheater No. 1 boilers. As long as you stay with the 'mods' you should be OK. RCTS doesn't note any substantial variations apart from a a few experiments with the early ones 6959/65/67. 6974 was the first with a Hawksworth tender. However some 'mods' received earlier boilers after changes which had 2 row superheaters. EDIT *this mod started before Modified Halls! Keith

It seems the main relevance of FENSA is to self approve window installations, therefore removing the burden from planning authorities for what (many consider) is minor building work. As long as the installers work within certain guidelines and use approved materials/construction methods they can fit without recourse. Unfortunately, as you mention, it seems to be a one way street, they win you lose! There appears to be similar (dis)regulation in the general building trade where certain 'approved' outfits can do some works without referal to the authorities. Keith

A full survey was carried out. It was cash purchase so the surveyor (which we knew from a previous occasion) did a pretty thorough job. Following the survey the vendor had to have some drainage work done a new DPC and pay for liability insurance on a roof which had been changed without getting planning approval. The fault with the windows only shows up when you come to use them everyday. The solicitor (as I mentioned) checked for all relevant documentation. It was the fact that the FENSA "guarantee" on faulty workmanship does not work if the installer is a] gone bust or b] not a member anymore. These are the occasions when you want some recompense and can't get it. So what's the point? Keith

On BBC1's "Cowboy Trap" a property with badly fitted double glazing, amongst other woes, was featured and the presenter sais that to avoid problems with poorly fitted double glazing always use a FENSA registered installer. What tosh! My property, purchased 2008, had some recently fitted double glazing (previous 12 months before purchase) but after moving in I found that the double glazing had not been correctly installed, leaving a gap around the window when closed. My solicitor had ensured that we had copies of the FENSA certifictes at purchase. So I contacted them with the numbers and they said they couldn't find them. Further investigation revealed that the glazer had ceased trading shortly after the windows were installed. I recontacted them with the name of the installer and they said the membership had been terminated. I said what about the guarantee and the reply was "There isn't one". I was told that the only way I could have any recourse was if the owner had taken out seperate insurance, which they hadn't. Keith

You'll make a good president then! Keith

I wish all websites were made non browser dependent. By default IE will still have to be on most computers. I use Firefox and 95 times out 100 it is fine, unfortunately the other 5 times the website requires IE. EDIT: Just added Safari to my desktop - thought I would give it a try. Keith

I notice that an IE user group is threatening to sue to AptiQuant that did the survey. However Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University's Statistical Laboratory is quoted as saying that they (AptiQuant) have IE6 users with an IQ of 80 which is bordering on the level where they would be barely able to cope with the adult world. See full BBC report: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14370878 Keith

Easily missed. Interestingly it shows the weight (with cast metal figures) as on normal coaching stock. Keith

Appendix 2 fig 504 does. Keith

Yes, It seems a pretty fundamental error by Hornby on what otherwise seems is a pretty good job. The photo of 546 (I assume that's where they got the inspiration from) is there for all to see. I thought my Lima version looked OK, but the Hornby (Reworking?) is a few steps up from that. Keith

Exactly what will require 6mm SWA cable? You are talking 50+ amps e.g. more than 11.5kW. Keith

That was my solution. As the path needed relaying anyway I got the builder to dig the trench for the cable which was laid at the reqired depth and then backfilled before the hardcore etc to lay the slabs on. No chance of accidental dig-up as it all covered by 500-600mm material then slabs! We drilled a hole through the concrete slab and fitted the cable up through that and into the cavity of the building (wooden double skin and insulated) before feeding through to a consumer unit. Nowhere is it exposed to accidental damage. Keith

Depends on total current consumption and distance covered. I have 4mm 3 core (3 core only because the wholesaler didn't do 2 core) and with a maximum of about 25 metres the max allowable load is 32A It has to be buried a minimum of 500mm with a sand layer and a tape "caution buried cable" or similar covering it before back filling else it don't meet the specs. Best to check the actual regulations from a qualified sparks. EDIT: I ended up doing it all myself whilst the builder was relaying the path and slab for railway room as the electricians I tried weren't interested in the job! Keith

I didn't know the Australians made drinkable beer! PS why can't I get any emoticons? Keith

Their service department which used to be called "Mastercare" (is it still?) were notorious at not repairing items. I had a portable tape machine with a detachable speaker which I bought from Curry's and it went faulty. The right hand channel had stopped working. It took three attempts to get it repaired. The first time they said they couldn't understand what I meant by RH channel not working. The second attempt it came back with No fault found (but RH channel was still not working)! After showing the service dept that the RH channel didn't work they eventually fixed it. Talk about dumb. On another occasion a friend at work, who was not the pushy type, took a colour TV back when it went faulty and it had several returns as the set was still not working when it came back, eventually he gave up (he should have gone to trading standards) and brought the set into work for our department to look at (we were electronics service). What a mess, the PCB looked like it had been attacked with a blowlamp rather than a soldering iron and there were lifted tracks everywhere. Needless to say the TV was a write off. Another (un)satisfied Curry's customer. I believe Mastercare were featured on a TV watchdog type program because of their appalling service record. Keith

Like "new" computers that have other peoples software on the hard drive. Keith

I went with SWMBO some time ago when the country we were supposed to be going to (middle east) suddenly became out of bounds due to war. Some trepidation as we hadn't been to US before and it was very much the only place we could find to go to at short notice. We had a week in NY and two in Florida, enjoyed every minute, thought Epcot was good and didn't think it expensive at all considering how much there is to see for the ticket price. As well as yhe usual places mentioned we also went to Silver Springs, which few seem to visit which is quite some drive North from International Drive/Kissimee area. Keith