The Night Mail

[newbryford]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

As far as steam locomotive sound is concerned, I have yet to hear a model that sounds realistic. One of the main faults is that whereas a real steam locomotive doesn't 'chuff' when coasting all the DCC sound chips do, which is particularly annoying when  an engine is running round its train, slowing down into a station 

 

There are a few sound projects out there that do coast 

My 8F coasts when the speed is knocked down by one step. It is a Locoman/DC Kits project

[polybear]

10 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

I must confess that there are times when I wonder if the several thousand hours I spent sitting about five or six feet behind powerful radars (yes, I know they were pointing the other way but there are such things as side lobes and back scatter) as well as other aircraft often being only a short distance away with me in their scan coverage, may come to haunt me one day. So far so good though....

 

Dave

 

Bear spent much of his working life playing with Radar as well - on Larry the Lynx mostly.  I do ponder sometimes.....

[AndyID]

5 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Bear spent much of his working life playing with Radar as well - on Larry the Lynx mostly.  I do ponder sometimes.....

 

The outfit with the Tempest effort developed TDM (time division multiplexer) units for companies to send data and voice over T1 lines leased from the phone carriers. The frame format they used was proprietary so you had to have a unit at each end of the line to do anything useful with it. Except that a guv agency in Virginia would buy single units. I can't imagine why 😄 (Well I can actually but I'll leave it at that.)

[PupCam]

Stumbled on this on Faceache .....

 

 

I wonder if we are like to get our own private demonstration on here?

 

Alan

[AndyID]

On 03/07/2023 at 10:24, polybear said:

 

Yes please....

 

 

Here's the servo optoisolator circuit.

 

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Finally got all the preparation for painting done in the kitchen today so there's  just the fairly simple job of applying the paint to do. Not having Polish Andy available is a bit of a blow but I'm sure we'll manage somehow. I'm starting to think that there may be a chance of some time in the shed next week.

 

Oops, incoming from WB......

 

Dave 

 

Its alright your name is already on the list so I'll just put an asterix against it.

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I don’t think many people on the cruises we go on could kneel on the floor like that. 

 

Oh I don't know. Now if it was the getting up afterwards that would be another thing.

[AndyID]

This is the servo hack (I didn't say it was pretty  😄)

 

 

 

As shown both sides of the motor are connected to positive. When the direction switch is flipped the motor receives power until the microswitch drops into the cam's recess. Then it stops because both sides of the motor are now negative. It reverses again when the switch is flipped.

 

It relies on hysteresis in the microswitch. Cheaper ones usually have more which makes it easier to set its position.

 

I printed the cam but anything round with a notch cut in it for one limit and a bump attached at the other limit works too.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by AndyID
Oops! I messed up the schematic :)

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

Stumbled on this on Faceache .....

 

 

I wonder if we are like to get our own private demonstration on here?

 

Alan

 

I see it ran for a year at the Lyric. With Robert Morley and Wilfrid Hyde White it must have been hilarious.

https://theatricalia.com/play/44k/hippo-dancing/production/113n

[AndyID]

2 hours ago, PupCam said:

Stumbled on this on Faceache .....

 

 

I wonder if we are like to get our own private demonstration on here?

 

Alan

 

Can you identify the cars?

 

My guess left to right:

 

Ford Consul/Zephyr

Austin Devon

Ford Popular

 

[AndyID]

3 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

There are a few sound projects out there that do coast 

My 8F coasts when the speed is knocked down by one step. It is a Locoman/DC Kits project

 

 Do they simulate the Doppler effect of an approaching/departing train whistle 😀

[BR60103]

19 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

With the number of times WB has noted TNMers names, do you think he is the grandson of Otto Flick?

 

"Sergeant were getting tired of taking Sam's name;

He were thinking of cutting a stencil."

 

(Stanley Holloway, somewhere. Can't find my book.)

[jamie92208]

Might end up in the shed today.

 

Jamie

[Hroth]

12 hours ago, PupCam said:

Stumbled on this on Faceache .....

 

 

I wonder if we are like to get our own private demonstration on here?

 

Alan

 

The illustrator is over-optimistic abpout how bright the headlights on a 40s Ford Anglia were.  They didn't have Xenon/LED lights back then, the best you could expect would be a bright yellow glow!

 

And Old Bill would be stopping the bus and the car in front (Austin Somerset?) for not having lights on after lighting-up time.,.

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by Hroth
typo

[Happy Hippo]

8 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

The illustrator is over-optimistic abput how bright the headlights on a 40s Ford Anglia were.  They didn't have Xenon/LED lights back then, the best you could expect would be a bright yellow glow!

 

And Old Bill would be stopping the bus and the car in front (Austin Somerset?) for not having lights on after lighting-up time.,.

 

Agreed, and no self respecting driver in those days would be driving along his nearside wheels  in the gutter rubbing against the kerb.

 

I'd suggest he original was some form of illustration, perhaps to be used for a jigsaw buzzle.

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Might end up in the shed today.

 

Jamie

 

Right your going to be let off with a warning this time but don't let me catch you again or your definitely be going in the large black book.

[AndyID]

18 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

The illustrator is over-optimistic abput how bright the headlights on a 40s Ford Anglia were.  They didn't have Xenon/LED lights back then, the best you could expect would be a bright yellow glow!

 

And Old Bill would be stopping the bus and the car in front (Austin Somerset?) for not having lights on after lighting-up time.,.

 

 

The bus does have its sidelights  which was legal but it looks a bit like the offside wheels are on pavement 😀

[PupCam]

17 minutes ago, Hroth said:

The illustrator is over-optimistic abput how bright the headlights on a 40s Ford Anglia were.  They didn't have Xenon/LED lights back then, the best you could expect would be a bright yellow glow!

 

They would have been "Lucas - Prince of Darkness"  units powered by smoke oil!        

 

 

One reason I don't go out on my old bikes after dark ......

[AndyID]

2 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 

They would have been "Lucas - Prince of Darkness"  units powered by smoke oil!        

 

 

One reason I don't go out on my old bikes after dark ......

 

I was driving into Glasgow in my '55 VW one morning and it started snowing, The wiper motor couldn't handle the load and it blew the fuse. I didn't have a spare fuse so I stuck a steel door trim clip in the fuse holder. That fixed it and off I went again, until smoke started pouring out of the dashboard 😄

[iL Dottore]

20 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Agreed, and no self respecting driver in those days would be driving along his nearside wheels  in the gutter rubbing against the kerb.

 

I'd suggest he original was some form of illustration, perhaps to be used for a jigsaw buzzle.

It looks like a modern montage that has been computer enhanced to me

[iL Dottore]

Hurrah, hurrah! I've joined the Exclusive Happy Hippo Digitally Challenged Club.

I went to on a woodworking course and managed to work very successfully without any problems whatsoever with a whole series of wood working tools – such as chisels, planes, routers and tablesaw  only to take off a bit off the top of my thumb with the belt sander (actually I didn't remove it I just detached the skin and a bit of the underlying  flesh,).  I bled like a stuck pig (fortunately - as that cleans out the wound) and dressed it with a couple of Band-Aids. Before leaving the workshop I re-dressed it, by which time the bleeding has stopped and it doesn't look  too bad. Back at the hotel again I re-dressed it using abundant amounts of disinfectant spray and cream. At the moment it's a stinging a bit but it's not too painful!

 

However, unlike HH my digital loss is only measured in mm not cm!

 

It could have been worse, I could have been building a shed instead of a Jewelry box!

[Winslow Boy]

44 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Hurrah, hurrah! I've joined the Exclusive Happy Hippo Digitally Challenged Club.

I went to on a woodworking course and managed to work very successfully without any problems whatsoever with a whole series of wood working tools – such as chisels, planes, routers and tablesaw  only to take off a bit off the top of my thumb with the belt sander (actually I didn't remove it I just detached the skin and a bit of the underlying  flesh,).  I bled like a stuck pig (fortunately - as that cleans out the wound) and dressed it with a couple of Band-Aids. Before leaving the workshop I re-dressed it, by which time the bleeding has stopped and it doesn't look  too bad. Back at the hotel again I re-dressed it using abundant amounts of disinfectant spray and cream. At the moment it's a stinging a bit but it's not too painful!

 

However, unlike HH my digital loss is only measured in mm not cm!

 

It could have been worse, I could have been building a shed instead of a Jewelry box!

 

Your on very thin ice there Herr Doktarre. Just in passing why, I might regret this but here goes, are you building a jewellery box whilst on holiday? Is it some kind of illicit tactic? Are you building d the box around your 'pressies to yourself' so that Mrs iD doesn't suspect when you present it to her on your return only to find it broken on the floor the following morning. 

[Happy Hippo]

I'll be sending Flavio his club membership applications this very morning.

 

he will be pleased to know that membership fees are on a sliding scale.  

 

The more you lose, the more you pay!

 

However, I suspect that sanding belt rash will be a lot more sore, than my finger tip reduction was.

[Happy Hippo]

On the subject of fingers, or the lack of their extremities, older readers will recall my 'horned viper' nails that started growing after the initial surgery and were subsequently removed  a few months back.

 

It would appear that they had friends, who have now decided to make a belated appearance!