gordon s

I have checked mine Andrew and they are 3.81mm pitch, not 5.08mm.

Hi Gareth, having worked for several connector manufacturers over the years (including Molex) this became a bit of a challenge for me. so it was fun revisiting all those manufacturers. Having looked at my Lenz connectors there are no tell tale marks or codes, but I suspect they are made by Phoenix Contact. Found these in the RS/Farnell catalogues. See what you think....They look the part to me. Phoenix Contact - RS Phoenix Contact - Farnell

Morning all.... Forgot to say I saw black squirrels in Canada when I was over there. Not seen one of them before. I wonder what joys today has in store....

We get Red Kite's here as well Jack. They started off around Stokenchurch, roughly between Junction 4-6 of the M40 and you will see them at any time of the day. The breeding programme has clearly been successful as they have be seen over our way and we are probably 15 miles away as the Kite flies.....

Morning all.....The heavens just opened up and it bucketed down for 10 minutes or so. Glad to hear about your weekend exploits. Some great pics Don. Always pleased to see youngsters getting involved in our hobby. West Wittering is about 50-60 miles from here. Sorry to be so vague. It takes 75 minutes in the car.... I've been building my first control panel as a test for the much larger terminus panel, so been playing around with LED's and resistors. Been very much a learning experience for me, but most enjoyable trying something new. I'll post a pic once I have finished. Typical Tottenham. 2-0 up and then let them back in. Not to mention missing a penalty in the dying seconds... Just had a chuckle. Mrs S called me to look out the window. So much for squirrel proof bird feeders.....

Morning all.....Mrs S has gone off to West Witering with the dogs, so got the house to myself. Whoopee! Currently doing battle with LED's and a control panel. Getting there but learning new skills by the minute. Spurs on TV this afternoon so no doubt a few beers may be downed. What more could you want....

Morning all.....Could have been worse. USA, Algeria and Slovenia. That'll do for me. Glad to see you were all in good form yesterday. Very quiet on the weather front here this morning. Clear sky, no wind, no rain.

Missed our few days in Inverness this year as our friends went off to North America. I envy you the cold crisp mornings...and the beautiful scenery of course. Good to hear the possibility of good news Mick. Fingers crossed.. Mind that sunshine Don.

Morning all.....Just been woken by a clap of thunder and pouring rain. Could be another wet one today, but I'm not worried as I shall be sitting at the kitchen table, wiring up a small control panel. As I'm close to my limited knowledge of electronics, I'll be elated if all the lights come on or pretty miffed if they don't....

How many more minutes and seconds will this go on? I'm starting to feel one degree under...

No problem Tony. This 4mm is great stuff. Took up your suggestion and wired a small cooker to the bus. Means I can make tea and cook my lunch without having to go downstairs.... Edit: Oops, Monday is St Andrews Day? It's also my wedding anniversary....Thanks Mike.

Happy Friday one and all..... Thought I'd seen and heard it all until this morning. News footage showed that some idiots had removed the barriers across the closed damaged bridge in Workington and were driving across to save having to make the long detour..... I despair sometimes.... Nutters Have a good day, whatever you're doing. The weekend is just around the corner.

I preferred The Dandy if I'm honest.....

Strange. I never had a problem. Just look for the pointy bits on the front....

Good grief, perhaps you ought to get out more. Girls are good for taking your mind of such things.... Edit: Layout wise Don, I have been rewiring the lower levels to increase the bus from 1.5mm to 4mm and adding droppers to every piece of track. I want to make sure there are no issues at all once the next level goes in place. Normally I would wire each board before it's put in place and then simply link them together electrically. Because this is a rework exercise, I've spent hours on my knees or on my back underneath the boards. It's a long slog and my knees and back are knackered, so you can only do a couple of hours each day. I'll get there.....

Morning campers.....Congrats on a good result Dom. What's next on the agenda for you? Still dark but the wind has dropped. Otherwise all is quiet. I must lead a boring life.......

Good luck Dom. Hope it goes really well for you. Forecast for Cumbria is not good with another 100mm of rain expected today. Staggering to see the damage, particularly in Workington, which has become two towns with no bridges to cross. Watch out for that sun, Don......A cold beer normally helps.

The perfect weekend. Arsenal lose 1-0 and my boys stuff Wigan 9-1......Yes, NINE..

What a great weekend.... Sunderland beat Arsenal 1-0 and just heard Spurs beat Wigan 9-1......Yes NINE...

Good win for your boys yesterday BoD... Just had a tipper load of logs delivered, or should I say dumped in the drive. Guess what I'll be doing later....

The hidden spiral and traverser is Tillig which I rescued from an earlier layout attempt. All the visible plain track is SMP. The pointwork is all hand built from Templot templates and C & L components, Code 75 bullhead rail and pcb sleeper construction. Ballast is Woodlands scenic.

Hi Bob, good to hear from you. The walls and pillars are fairly straightforward to make. Whilst I can do woodwork, track and electrics, I have never done any scenic work at all, so this was a first attempt. I'm pleased with the overall result and believe me, if I can do it, then most should be able to get an acceptable result without too much effort. The pillar is a piece of 18mm ply with a strip of 6mm mdf added to form the step as per the pic. The card is Slaters embossed card #415 7MM Dressed Stone. After a few tries, I found the best result was doing the face that is going to be seen, last, so would stick the card on both sides flush with the front face. Once set, cut a piece of Plasticard wider than the pillar for the front face, so it that it overlaps the sides. You will need to make sure the courses line up, but that's pretty straightforward. Stick it in place and once set, turn the pillar over and trim the excess from the front face with a scalpel. I use No Nails as an adhesive. Looking from the sides you will see there are gaps from the embossed card, which I fill with No Nails using the good old fashioned finger. Fairly simple painting covers the filler and a multitude of sins...

.....and whilst all that is going on, you read things like this. Is it me? The world's gone mad... Freak Show

Morning all....You weren't imagining it BoD, it was down for a while yesterday evening. Can't be precise, but I guess it was around 9pm. Just been watching the flood reports on the news. Staggered to hear over a foot of rain fell in 24 hours. Two bridges have been washed away and a policeman is missing. My thoughts are with all involved.

Anyone see the "Ratner" moment this morning on the news? The CEO of a company that services retirement homes and had been accused of increasing charges, shot himself in the foot by saying letters of complaint were from "a few serial complainers and not dribbling geriatrics"......Classic.