What Did You Do Today (2017)

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Get rid of the pretty look and give it a good dose of oil – linseed if you like. Plenty of tools are kept in wooden boxes, the grimer and oiler the better (Are there such words?).
BobH

[russellParticipant @russell]

Andrew, my current frames are alleged to be titanium, purchased for ~AUD30 from the great PRC. Normally get them as a package deal from my local optician at a much higher price, but this time round he said, sorry, that style is out of style and wasn't able to find any. So, off to ebay. In fact, the first pair they sent were not what i ordered and almost identical to my last pair, and would have been about 10% of what i paid 2 years ago. They then simply sent the correct ones. My optician was quite happy to install the lenses to them. So, perhaps an option if yours aren't repairable.

-russ

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Took little car in for MOT and walked home. It used to take me an hour but tectonic plate movement seems to have added 500ft to the previous 500ft or so elevation of the trudge home. Still nice and sunny, real English bluebells and some friendly Shetland ponies on route.

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 20/05/2017 11:16:50:

Posted by JA on 19/05/2017 23:48:14:

I am sorry to ask this, but do you really need the money?

There are many things I'll pontificate about, but I have no intention of discussing my finances on this forum with you, or anybody else.

Andrew – in my experience, it is a "code term" for something else.

Dec 23 2015, I went to my Doctor with chest pains. He talked to me for an hour (!!) and said "do you really need the money? If you are as good a you say you are, quit, contract, and you'll make twice as much with less pain".

Not what I expected, let me tell you!

So, I quit. I make twice the money, no pain. Client really happy with produced results. My commute has gone; I do go to the odd meeting but 9 days out of 10, I work from home, or take my laptop somewhere, like into a park or coffee shop or wherever my bicycle takes me.

The only downside is that I now like my work so much, my workshop is being neglected.

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

Another enjoyable time yesterday at Elvington Top Speed Records it was good to see organiser Trevor after his rest in hospital.

Talked to friends from the the Pendine Records.

Sand Queen Helen and her husband Andy would have loved to have seen them making sand castles with there bikes they had offered to take me but health still iffy.

**LINK**

Becci today had a technical problem but her team got her back on the track.

**LINK**

Was a nice Honda 6 outside the Staightliners van reminded of my friend Dave’s that he restored he is now riding bikes in Heaven.

A little Greaves having a blast it’s rider had his four leg mechanic keeping it on form.

Also found out about a fault with Miss Albatross that was at Coniston records last November seems the fuel pump was the culprit on the Gem Turbine.

**LINK**

Better get home and do some work on various projects now.

 

 

[Jon GibbsParticipant @jongibbs59756]

I just finished my fixed and travelling steadies courtesy of HH's brilliant website **LINK**.

Thanks Harold if you're reading this.

Jon

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

Got my 1931 Austin Seven Box Saloon running again at last after a check over ready for the summer. Incredibly, there were TWO faults impeding progress,

1) The Viton 'O' rings that I used in place of corks in the petrol tap had been nibbled by passing over the holes for normal and reserve supplies. Pieces of rubber had gotten into the carburettor despite the filter and had partially clogged the holes in the jets.

2) At the same time the condenser in the distributor had gone open circuit.

Ah well, the joys of working on old cars.

Brian

Edited By Brian Hutchings on 22/05/2017 20:18:37

[matt merchantParticipant @mattmerchant42413]

Ah well, the joys of working on old cars.

Brian

at least old cars don't need a laptop to service them

Matt

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by matt merchant on 22/05/2017 20:55:20:

Ah well, the joys of working on old cars.

Brian

at least old cars don't need a laptop to service them

Matt

Except that if you have a laptop and the right ODB reader/software you can save a packet

Doesn't work on wheel bearings though, so I'll be swapping a front hub soon

Neil

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

… Today, a nice chap from BT replaced the telephone cable 'twixt the pole and my house.

Following a week of spasmodic broadband connectivity, and a very noisy telephone line, it went completely dead on Saturday

He plugged a test unit into the socket indoors and promptly announced that the fault was 32m away [i.e. at the telegraph pole] … For my education; can anyone tell me how that test works?

MichaelG.

[Anonymous]

Posted by russell on 22/05/2017 12:07:31:

…………………..My optician was quite happy to install the lenses to them. So, perhaps an option if yours aren't repairable.

Definitely an option. My mum took the broken glasses in to the optician yesterday. They thought they could be repaired, but it might take up to a fortnight. Since they are titanium they need vacuum brazing. That's expensive so they wait until they have four or more repairs to do. Watch this space!

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 23/05/2017 11:17:53:

He plugged a test unit into the socket indoors and promptly announced that the fault was 32m away [i.e. at the telegraph pole] … For my education; can anyone tell me how that test works?

Probably a time domain reflectometer – Andrew

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 23/05/2017 11:21:41:

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 23/05/2017 11:17:53:

He plugged a test unit into the socket indoors and promptly announced that the fault was 32m away [i.e. at the telegraph pole] … For my education; can anyone tell me how that test works?

'Probably a time domain reflectometer' – Andrew

​Was the BT chap wearing a long scarf… secretly a time lord… there wasn't a van outside that was disguised as a blue police box was there?

​George.

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

If you still don't understand how it works, tie a longish bit of rope to your gate post. Hold it so that it is off the ground but with a little slack. Now give it a single sharp horizontal twitch. You should see a wave travel down the rope to the gate post and get reflected back to you. If you know the transmission velocity and you time the input to the received reflected wave you can calculate how far down the rope the gatepost is.

Not a complete model but enough to give you the idea.

What do you say Andrew.?

regards Martin

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

But how does the reflector know the fault is at the pole, is it intellegent enough to know the difference between a bad joint and the resistance of a good joint? I'm assuming there would be some change at the joint rather than the reflectors signal going all the way to the exchange before being bounced back.

Or did he have a sneaky shin up the pole before ringing the door bell?

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

Posted by JasonB on 23/05/2017 12:00:01:

But how does the reflector know the fault is at the pole, is it intellegent enough to know the difference between a bad joint and the resistance of a good joint? I'm assuming there would be some change at the joint rather than the reflectors signal going all the way to the exchange before being bounced back.

Or did he have a sneaky shin up the pole before ringing the door bell?

The TDR knows how far along the cable the fault is by detecting a change in impedance. In a properly terminated cable with no faults, splices etc the signal transmitted from the TDR will travel all the way to the end of the cable and the signal will be absorbed by the termination at the end. IF there is a break, bad splice or other fault which changes the characteristic of the cable so it is not properly terminated with the correct impedance, the signal will be reflected, allowing the TDR to calculate the distance to the fault (this is a much simplified explanation,) So in answer to your question, yes the TDR is 'intelligent' enough to show the difference between a good and bad joint but interpretation of the display also comes with experience.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 23/05/2017 11:18:23:

Posted by russell on 22/05/2017 12:07:31:

…………………..My optician was quite happy to install the lenses to them. So, perhaps an option if yours aren't repairable.

Definitely an option. My mum took the broken glasses in to the optician yesterday. They thought they could be repaired, but it might take up to a fortnight. Since they are titanium they need vacuum brazing. That's expensive so they wait until they have four or more repairs to do. Watch this space!

Well I had no problem silver soldering my old titanium frames

Picked up my new specs, hooray for having an intermediate pair again – ideal for computer and workshop. My typing may even improve as I can now see the letters on the keyboard and the screen! Mind you if it makes me type faster things will get even worse.

Neil

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Thanks Graeme

It does open up another question though, if the fault was at the pole why replace the length of cable rather than just remake the faulty joint at the pole?

 

Edited By JasonB on 23/05/2017 12:26:34

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by JasonB on 23/05/2017 12:25:29:

Thanks Graeme

It does open up another question though, if the fault was at the pole why replace the length of cable rather than just remake the faulty joint at the pole?

Edited By JasonB on 23/05/2017 12:26:34

Overhead cables have a hard life. They're exposed to wind, rain and sunshine. Insulation perishes and the metal develops fatigue cracks and corrosion. Eventually the cable isn't worth fixing so they replace it. It's cheaper to fit a new cable than to repair an unreliable old one.

Anyone else call overhead cables 'catenarys'?

Dave

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by JasonB on 23/05/2017 12:25:29:

Thanks Graeme

It does open up another question though, if the fault was at the pole why replace the length of cable rather than just remake the faulty joint at the pole?

.

Thanks for the education, folks

[roughly what I imagined, but I didn't know the terminology]

.

The fault was actually caused by fretting between the mechanical 'strain relief' and the cable [so at the pole, but not at its connector]

… it was probably a 40 year old installation, with figure-of-eight cable, and strain relief was by twisting the cable and a steel wire together … like a pair of mating corkscrews

MichaelG.

[Anonymous]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 23/05/2017 12:59:50:

Anyone else call overhead cables 'catenarys'?

No. A catenary is the curve given by the hyperbolic cosine. A chain or cable only has this shape if it is free hanging. If there is tension applied the shape is no longer purely catenary. So not all overhead cables are catenary.

Andrew

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 23/05/2017 12:59:50:

Anyone else call overhead cables 'catenarys'?

I'd call a wire supporting a cable a catenary as in railway overhead lines, but not he cable itself.

Spent the morning cleaning the carb of my new lawnmower to no effect. Symptom: dies after 3 seconds should have been a fuel problem. Turns out the vibration caused the 'kill' switch contacts to short after a bit of use had stretched the Bowden cable from the safety handle thingy they all have now.
Off to cut the cricket pitch in a minute so hope the Fergie behaves better.

[Sam Longley 1Participant @samlongley1]

Posted by Andrew Johnston on 23/05/2017 13:18:32:

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 23/05/2017 12:59:50:

Anyone else call overhead cables 'catenarys'?

No. A catenary is the curve given by the hyperbolic cosine. A chain or cable only has this shape if it is free hanging. If there is tension applied the shape is no longer purely catenary. So not all overhead cables are catenary.

Andrew

If it was free hanging it would be vertical & fixed one end only. By virtue of the fact it is between 2 points it is under tension due to the forces of gravity, so i cannot completely agree with your theory as any cable/chain/rope/wire between 2 points will be under tension even if a varying degree of slack is allowed

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 23/05/2017 13:32:19

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I think I'm with Andrew, if it were free to hang but supported at each end it would give the curve described. but if tensioned with sideways force would tend to be like teh exagerated sketch on the left

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Hyperbolic cosine as in Y = cosh(x).

There has to be a sideways force holding the ends apart otherwise the ends would come together and the result would be a vertical line!

If you have a chain, there's no way to make it adopt the shape on the left. I'm not aware of any way to avoid tension in the chain / cable, so don't understand the perceived distinction.

Perhaps if the cable has appreciable "stiffness", it may be non-catenary. As I said, difficult to do that with a chain. Perhaps with a short cable.

Applying a twist to a chain is rather like trying to "push" a belt. But that doesn't stop the Germans claiming they have done it. I'd love to hear one of them try to explain it to me….

Murray

[Author]

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