What Did You Do Today (2016)

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What Did You Do Today (2016)

Home Forums The Tea Room What Did You Do Today (2016)

Viewing 25 posts - 1,276 through 1,300 (of 2,143 total)
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  • #252200
    Muzzer
    Participant
      @muzzer

      We had racoons, bears and coyotes to contend with. Our neighbours had bears in the swimming pool and kitchen on different occasions and they would ransack bins if you left the garage door open. The racoons would eat cats and apparently only leave the tails, so it was lucky we'd left our old boy back in Blighty.

      The coyotes and skunks were very tame, especially in built-up areas. We never saw a cougar but there were often warnings at the school when they had been spotted, as they can be dangerous apparently, esp to small children. The skunks were a new experience to me certainly and once we had the sliding doors sprayed – presumably the dogs surprised one out on its rounds. Took weeks for the pong to go. My favourite was the humming birds. My wife thought I'd imagined them until she finally saw / heard one several months later. Very territorial!

      Just returned from a week in Iceland where there are NO dangerous animals – or many animals for that matter. And we only saw 1 dog during our whole time there. Quite a contrast!

      Murray

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      #252204
      Another JohnS
      Participant
        @anotherjohns

        Hey Murray – off topic, but:

        1) Cougars will take down adults. Dangerous beasts. And, their range is expanding. Coyotes and wolves have interbred in eastern Canada, and now coyotes can take down deer. Nature at its' finest. I did chase some coyotes one day cycling on the way to work, and interrupted a hunt for a deer. They were not impressed at me doing that, neither was my wife. Debate at work as to whether they were coyotes or the resident wolf pack. After that debate, I wasn't too impressed at myself either!

        2) I did have an aunt and uncle who lived in Iceland, and had to get special government permission to have their dog with them – it was certainly different for the dog. I really enjoyed visiting my aunt and uncle there – beautiful country and really nice people, and it's the last place I played golf – how can you beat starting a round at 22:00 hours at night, and finishing before the sun set?

        #252214
        Neil Wyatt
        Moderator
          @neilwyatt
          Posted by Muzzer on 25/08/2016 14:15:42:

          We had racoons, bears and coyotes to contend with. Our neighbours had bears in the swimming pool and kitchen on different occasions and they would ransack bins if you left the garage door open. The racoons would eat cats and apparently only leave the tails, so it was lucky we'd left our old boy back in Blighty.

          A couple of weeks ago our cat had a mysterious small wound appear in the middle of a bald patch.

          I will never know exactly what caused it but a day later i looked into the garden and a buzzard flew up from right behind the back fence.

          Neil

          #252215
          JasonB
          Moderator
            @jasonb
            Posted by Muzzer on 25/08/2016 14:15:42:

            We never saw a cougar but there were often warnings at the school when they had been spotted, as they can be dangerous apparently

            Muzzer can you define what type of cougar you are refering to embarrassed

            #252228
            Muzzer
            Participant
              @muzzer

              It's basically a leopard AFAIK, although I never saw one myself (you probably rarely do, as they are ambushers!).

              Recent school notice.

              #252237
              SillyOldDuffer
              Moderator
                @sillyoldduffer
                Posted by Muzzer on 25/08/2016 17:54:22:

                It's basically a leopard AFAIK, although I never saw one myself (you probably rarely do, as they are ambushers!).

                Recent school notice.

                And there was me hoping to be hunted down by one of those older ladies who find us younger duffers so irresistible!

                #252455
                Danny M2Z
                Participant
                  @dannym2z

                  I looked out the kitchen window and saw a couple of parrots poking around, just had time to take a photo when they squawked and took off in a hurry.

                  parrots in the garden - 1s.jpg

                  Then I saw that this had arrived, sitting on the clothes line.

                  They are game enough to kill snakes.

                  kookaburra - 1.jpg

                  * Danny M *

                  #252461
                  Ed Duffner
                  Participant
                    @edduffner79357

                    Found a series of old BBC videos on youtube related to railways. "Railway Roundabout" Link

                    Ed.

                    #252477
                    Robbo
                    Participant
                      @robbo

                      There is (was?) a set of 4 DVDs of all the episodes of Railway Roundabout from 1958 to 1962 on 2 discs and a further 2 discs of extras.

                      Total 11 hours! I've never managed to watch it all.

                      #252507
                      Bazyle
                      Participant
                        @bazyle

                        Just noticed an odd effect. When on this page the list of 'latest forum posts' on the right is not the same as when in the 'latest posts' page.

                        #252704
                        russell
                        Participant
                          @russell

                          a productive weekend…smiley

                          set up an arduino mega to read remote codes for my aircon (to build a control system to put aircon in econ mode when house is running offgrid on batteries. (which are almost installed…)

                          removed a tree that fell on a fence last decemberface 8

                          started building a demo wind turbine for daughters school project on energy and sustainability

                          repaired '4 way' paper cutter for LOML.heart

                          finally (i hope!) found leak in dishwasher – the impeller had somehow come loose, leaving the rear seal, well, not sealing. Now need to find a 3" by 1/8" o ring seal – i think the current one is not as firm as i would expect. its such a paint to get the dw out, i want to be sure its fixed this time (attempt #4, although the original fault was a motor overcurrent alarm. i'm hoping it was related to the impeller and not something else, everytime i put it back together i was getting a different fault.)

                          despatched, with assistance from a couple of new mouse traps, a number of uninvited house guests.

                          and earlier in the week repaired a watch band for LOML

                          russ (from Oz)

                          Edited By russell on 28/08/2016 12:53:11

                          #252737
                          Neil Wyatt
                          Moderator
                            @neilwyatt

                            I need to make a bunch of 0.7 mod gear so I went looking for the dimensions to make a 'rack style' cutter to try this method of gear generation.

                            Lo and behold – I found Tony Jefree's page detailing how he took JS's advice…

                            Gashing the cutter I ended up using one of JS's hex ER25 blocks and one of his sharpened endmills – I get the feeling he's looking over my shoulder.

                            A couple of the gashes on my cutter (3/4" silver steel) are 'angled' due to the carbide cutter walking out of the ER25 collet. I discovered you need them done up very tight when taking a roughly 3/8" deep side cuts with a 1/4" end mill in silver steel – I was flat out and using power feed too surprise

                            At least it proves you don't need to stick to 10-thou cuts ion a X2

                            Neil

                            #252797
                            Ed Duffner
                            Participant
                              @edduffner79357

                              I actually did this yesteray. Had a go at making a replacement motor-drive terminal cap for my film camera (Nikon FA). It turned out a bit rough so I will have another go, it was good practice though and a bit of a challenge.

                              mdcap1.jpg mdcap2.jpg mdcap3.jpg

                              The thread is M12 x 0.5, single point threaded by hand-turning the chuck. Part of the tool I used to cut the coin slot didn't have enough clearance ground into it and rubbed a bit of one side of the coin slot.

                              It would be nice to give the next one a media blast texture of some type and anodize it to make it a bit more durable and to match the exisiting finish.

                              Ed.

                              #252931
                              Nicholas Farr
                              Participant
                                @nicholasfarr14254

                                Hi my Canon EFS 17-85mm lens has had the zoom stuck at the 17mm position now for three or four years, the lens still took photos OK, which was all well and good for wide angle or macro shots. I had enquired quite a while ago about having it fixed by Canon, but the estimated price was a bit high, although not as high as a new lens. So today I went for broke and decided to have a bit of a look inside, so off came the front lens, but nothing was to be seen. Next came off the front part of the zoom tube and the zooming ring, but still nothing to see. So next the lens mount had to come off along with part of the body.img_0104 (1024x768).jpg

                                So now I was heading for scary territory, so should I quit now before I mess it up altogether, but no, I just couldn't resist the challenge and made a cup of tea and had a little study of what to do next. The printed circuit board just had to come out of the way, which revelled a few more screws to undo.

                                img_0107 (1024x768).jpg

                                Five of these screws released the next piece of plastic, but there was still nothing to see, so I took the back lens off, which was held on by the three black screws with a drop of glue sticking them to the tube that held the lens.

                                img_0109 (1024x768).jpg

                                This still didn't show any cause for the jam up, so after a good long study, the last three screws were removed and this released the whole zooming mechanism from the body. I had to handle the mechanism with a bit of caution, as it had a lens in both ends that I did not want to remove.

                                img_0110 (1024x768).jpg

                                Finally it was revelled that the screw that can be seen in the photo above, is one of three, which had all came loose, once these were retighten, the zooming mechanism work just as it should. When I was satisfied that all was OK, I cleaned round these three screws and put a spot of hot glue on them and waited for them to cool down and trimmed off the excess glue with a surgical knife and proceeded to reassemble the whole of the lens.

                                Regards Nick.

                                Edited By Nicholas Farr on 29/08/2016 20:43:56

                                #252934
                                Nicholas Farr
                                Participant
                                  @nicholasfarr14254

                                  Hi, to follow up, when I got my lens back together, I thought I'd better try it out

                                  img_1370 (1024x683).jpg

                                  This is as close a shot I could get with it on macro, which was within specs and the next photo was at full zoom.

                                  img_1372b (683x1024).jpg

                                  And then I spotted this little chap, again taken at full zoom.

                                  img_1374 (1024x683).jpg

                                  So it seems to be working OK.

                                  Taking the lens apart, gave a good opportunity to clean the insides of the lenses, which had become a little dirty at the edges.

                                  Regards Nick.

                                  P.S. I found the blue bottle in my little bit of the woods, while looking for something interesting to photograph, came up well with a quick wash and with the afternoon sun behind it.

                                  Edited By Nicholas Farr on 29/08/2016 20:37:40

                                  #252939
                                  nigel jones 5
                                  Participant
                                    @nigeljones5

                                    Spent a sunny day (rare in itself in the North of UK) at South Lakes Safari – it will be a shame if it has to close soon!

                                    #252941
                                    Anonymous

                                      Apart from modifying the keyways in my engine flywheels nothing of note in the workshop this weekend. I had to modify the keyways as I hadn't realised the keyway was supposed to be tapered to match the key when I originally cut them. embarrassed Mind you new neighbours moved in on Friday, so angle grinding and riveting may not have been wise on a Bank holiday weekend.

                                      The rest of the weekend I've been slogging away working, trying to track down, and fix, an RFI problem; set up here:

                                      blurred_me.jpg

                                      The electronics are blurred to protect the guilty. Note the engine casting to the far left. thumbs up The spectrum analyser is showing, as best it can, the signal from my mobile 'phone at 911MHz. As well as the RF problem I measured voltage and current transients on a buck converter on the PCB, as the supplier of one of the sensors is blaming our PSU for erratic operation of said sensor. It's a load of old bull, but we need to present real 'scope traces and data. At least it gave me a chance to use my new (to me) Tektronix current probes. Lovely bit of kit, two probes, both 15A and 50MHz bandwidth. It's always a pleasure to use quality kit.

                                      I was offered the big glider at lunchtime today, but the weather wasn't great, and if my syndicate partner is turning it down that says something. Also it was a 'Womens Day' at the gliding club today, and last time I looked I didn't qualify. smile o

                                      In memorium for a 'lost' weekend I'm now indulging in a couple of beers.

                                      Andrew

                                      #252955
                                      Neil Wyatt
                                      Moderator
                                        @neilwyatt

                                        Well done Nick!

                                        I made 2 off 80, 60 & 45T adept changewheels, plus a 30T, that's 11 so far. I have the greatest respect for the poor sod who made a full set of steel & brass changewheels for his Adept by using it as a shaper and taking 1-thou cuts…

                                        Neil

                                        Edited By Neil Wyatt on 29/08/2016 23:03:36

                                        #253106
                                        john carruthers
                                        Participant
                                          @johncarruthers46255

                                          Today I was most fortunate to receive a toolbox from my wife's Uncle Bern. He has passed various bits to me in the past but this exceeded his usual generousity.
                                          The box contains most of his old fitters and electrical tools, mostly SnapOn and some Draper.
                                          3 socket sets with various ratchets and bars, 3 sets of spanners (ring, open and combi). Assorted pliers, snips and shears. A very nice 150mm vernier caliper. Vehicle electrical test equipment and another bag I haven't unpacked yet.
                                          They must have cost many hundreds of pounds over the years, and, as with all his kit, in excellent condition.

                                          I shall raise a glass to Bern this evening.
                                          beer

                                          #253113
                                          Michael Gilligan
                                          Participant
                                            @michaelgilligan61133

                                            Brave Man, Nick

                                            … And a ggreat result !!

                                            MichaelG.

                                            #253119
                                            Muzzer
                                            Participant
                                              @muzzer
                                              Posted by Andrew Johnston on 29/08/2016 21:09:17:

                                              The spectrum analyser is showing, as best it can, the signal from my mobile 'phone at 911MHz.

                                              Fine looking piece of kit. Fit in your pocket, 2.7GHz and costs just over a grand. Gone are the days when a rectum analyser would cost more than your house, it seems. And just sneezing next to them would require many thousands of tokens to repair.

                                              #253120
                                              steamdave
                                              Participant
                                                @steamdave

                                                Posted by Nicholas Farr on 29/08/2016 20:32:56:

                                                Hi, to follow up, when I got my lens back together, I thought I'd better try it out

                                                img_1372b (683x1024).jpg

                                                Regards Nick.

                                                P.S. I found the blue bottle in my little bit of the woods, while looking for something interesting to photograph, came up well with a quick wash and with the afternoon sun behind it.

                                                Ah, yes. Milk of Magnesia. Was given a few doses of that in my much younger days by Mother Nurse!

                                                Dave
                                                The Emerald Isle

                                                #253123
                                                HOWARDT
                                                Participant
                                                  @howardt

                                                  Reference the other day to Railway Roundabout, found my annual nearly all steam just on photo of diesel railcar and what looks like a bus on rails. No date in the book but it was 6/6d.

                                                  Howard

                                                  #253129
                                                  Anonymous
                                                    Posted by Muzzer on 30/08/2016 20:18:52:

                                                    Fine looking piece of kit. Fit in your pocket, 2.7GHz and costs just over a grand. Gone are the days when a rectum analyser would cost more than your house, it seems.

                                                    Yep, in the distant past I've used HP spectrum analysers, complete with a YIG oscillator and a hefty price tag, around £50k. Of course mine isn't as sensitive, or vesatile, but it does a good job within its limitations. And it's a darn sight cheaper and lighter.

                                                    Andrew

                                                    #253147
                                                    Roderick Jenkins
                                                    Participant
                                                      @roderickjenkins93242
                                                      Posted by Muzzer on 30/08/2016 20:18:52:

                                                      …Gone are the days when a rectum analyser would cost more than your house….

                                                      There has to be joke in there somewhere but I just can't seem to bottom it out…

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