The Night Mail

[Chris Snowdon]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

If I had my way, the talentless oaf (PMcG) would be consigned to the foundations of a tunnel somewhere along the route of HS2.

 

(Or am I turning soft in my old age?) 

No, you're just showing your age (or general historical awareness) by recalling that theory about Jimmy Hoffa.

[Chris Snowdon]

17 hours ago, AndyID said:

Turns out it's fairly simple. You can determine the total resistance of the circuit by injecting a small increment in the current supplied through a known resistor in the circuit. That produces a small change in the voltage across the resistor and a much bigger change across the resistance of the motor. The ratio of the differences determines the resistance of the circuit at that point in time.

Took me a while, but I managed to find that concentric diagram showing Ohm's law, and power, in one of my textbooks.  It only has 16 segments.  I can't find the next one up (can't remember, is it 24 or 32 segments? It's not the same as electron-shells, that much I can remember).  Either way, I'm still useless (possibly dangerous) when it comes to anything "physics".

[Chris Snowdon]

12 hours ago, Hroth said:

The Daily Star often contains semi-factual material, especially splashed across the front page.  It can be guaranteed to cheer you up when all the other papers are full of doom and axe-grinding.

 

I don't buy it, I only view the front page reviews on the BBC News.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgd9n2lqz5o

 

 

 

Hroth - You read the BBC News website through a different filter to the one I use: I thought my morning was depressing enough, but... What a horrible way to start your day.  Am not surprised you check the Daily Star.  I would probably do so as well, but I don't take a newspaper (money is tight) and the last time I checked, both The Beano and Viz were both on the top shelf (which my little self can't reach, and buying both would be a luxury anyway).  AT the time, I mentioned this to a friend, who asked whether Viz had been "tamed".  I answered that I could not tell (due to being little) but I also wondered whether perhaps The Beano had gone a bit grown-up instead?

[Northmoor]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I went to the opticians for a DVLA eye test. It didn't happen because the local branch of Spec savers were expecting me for an ordinary eye test.  Someone at online bookings had neglected to read the small essay I wrote in their comments section: ie I need a DVLA test.  Here is the unique reference number etc.

 

I went to the Modelling for Heroes model group this afternoon, but that had been cancelled due to a cock up as to who should be running the community centre. 

Maybe I'm becoming curmudgeonly in middle age, but incompetence and sloppiness seems more and more prevalent (and tolerated) in the UK workforce these days. 

[PhilJ W]

14 minutes ago, Chris Snowdon said:

Hroth - You read the BBC News website through a different filter to the one I use: I thought my morning was depressing enough, but... What a horrible way to start your day.  Am not surprised you check the Daily Star.  I would probably do so as well, but I don't take a newspaper (money is tight) and the last time I checked, both The Beano and Viz were both on the top shelf (which my little self can't reach, and buying both would be a luxury anyway).  AT the time, I mentioned this to a friend, who asked whether Viz had been "tamed".  I answered that I could not tell (due to being little) but I also wondered whether perhaps The Beano had gone a bit grown-up instead?

When I next see a copy of the Beano I'll have to check page three. (Minnie the Minx topless!).

[J. S. Bach]

Oh, I first read that as "Minnie the Moocher".

[SM42]

It's been one of those days here. 

 

The motor is back in tne garage. Its not been right since they updated  the sat nav last week. 

 

The fuel economy has dropped by about 25%  and I've gone through two DPF recycles in 200 miles ( it's challenging to recycle a DPF in city traffic with an average speed camera monitored 30mph. Drove in second a lot and 2000 rpm on when waiting at the lights)

 

Anyway on the way to the garage it started  to recycle again. Hadn't done 15 miles since the last 

 

One suspects it may be running a bit rich, but they are changing the DPF at their expense anyway, and they did give me a lift home. 

 

My attempts to fix a leaking tap had mixed success. 

I ground the seat a little but that didn't work but did improve things. 

Pushing the valve stem inward stopped the drip  but it sprang back and the drip started again. 

 

Currently  it's not dripping but I don't know why it suddenly started to behave.

 

I also actually tried some modelling today. Nothing else to do really  being without a car. 

 

I made a handrail and drilled the holes for it, but I suspect I need some slightly heftier wire to match the others.

The new one just doesn't look quite right,  although close,  but I only have 0.45mm and 30 thou in stock

The 30 thou looks too big and I'm undecided on the 0.45mm. 

 

( I was adding the lower side rail  on an 0 gauge Slaters MR brake van I made some years ago. It's owner wants to change its identity, so it need the extra handrail  adding)

 

Of course the superglue has gone off so a walk to the shops was in order for some more. 

 

During all this I found the class 37 detailing kit I'd lost.

Having bought a replacement at Stafford, I now have two kits and one loco. 

 

Ho hum. 

 

Andy

[J. S. Bach]

Superdetail it?

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Chris Snowdon]

On 13/10/2024 at 17:39, bbishop said:

Apropos previous correspondence I am presently en route to the South Bank to a concert of Bruckner 5.  As I am a sarth lunnoner, I don't count as a luvvie. 

If going to a performance of Bruckner 5, as a "sarth lunnoner" rather than a "sarf" one...  ?  Just never forget that the South Bank Centre was built for you (well, for your parents and then you).  I'm not familiar with 5, but I do have a copy of 8, which I am told is "an easy one".  Nice chap, sometimes difficult music.  I like Wagner's work but so did Bruckner.

[Chris Snowdon]

27 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

When I next see a copy of the Beano I'll have to check page three. (Minnie the Minx topless!).

Just make sure that you find out how to make sure that Her Editor is able to provide her with the necessary "materiel" to deal with Rat-Boy...  (Apparently, there was a face-off between Viz and DC Thompson over "The Jocks and The Geordies").

 

According to something which I heard recently, and which I do not believe, Minnie was/is supposed to be a wayward Glaswegian public-school girl, based upon St. Trinian's and Boadicea, hence the Tam'o Shanter, red hair, etc, and definitely not the inspiration for any former politician. If you like the blue-painted Braveheart idea, then so be it.  Am not sure myself.  Was also told that (staying topless) "Little Plum" was The Dandy's attempt at something positive about "Other People" within what was left of The EmPyre, just as Deperate Dan was really a Canadian - so, I do wonder whether The Dandy of 1954 was a bit more culturally-diverse, and accepting, than just about all news sources of today...  

 

I refer again to the "Rat-boy" strip in Viz.

[Tony_S]

36 minutes ago, SM42 said:

Its not been right since they updated  the sat nav last week. 

If sat nav updates make diesels misbehave I am glad I have a petrol engined car now. My neighbours had a terrible time with the dpf and excessive ad blue consumption. The garage tried to say it was how they drove. Turned out to be a faulty metering valve and sensor. The two diesels I had had dpf but not ad blue. Never had a DPF warning. 

[SM42]

5 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

If sat nav updates make diesels misbehave I am glad I have a petrol engined car now. My neighbours had a terrible time with the dpf and excessive ad blue consumption. The garage tried to say it was how they drove. Turned out to be a faulty metering valve and sensor. The two diesels I had had dpf but not ad blue. Never had a DPF warning. 

 

Same here. 

 

Three DPF  fitted cars

Only one DPF regen in 60,000.miles, just as I arrived at work, so it had to wait till the way home. 

Last car, not a peep in 135,000 miles

 

It look like the previous owner bought a diesel for all the wrong reasons, short trips. 

 

I think they did more than a sat nav update, I have highlighted all the issues started after that. 

 

I was getting 42 - 46 mpg commuting in rush hour traffic on at least one leg to and from work without trying. 

Now, I've had to really try hard to get 35mpg.

 

What ever update they did, I've suggested  they undo it. 

They could be spending £1,600 for nothing. 

 

 

At some point tomorrow they are bringing the car back.

 

I hope they have sorted it. 

 

To be fair, they have been very helpful and have picked up the tab throughout.  

 

Andy

[PhilJ W]

It was a DPF fitted vehicle that caused the Luton Airport car park fire. It had only been used on short journeys such as the school run and then it was used on a long run.

[SM42]

17 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

It was a DPF fitted vehicle that caused the Luton Airport car park fire. It had only been used on short journeys such as the school run and then it was used on a long run.

 

My understanding, from someone who makes them, was that the battery part of a hybrid was the cause. 

 

Andy

[Chris Snowdon]

55 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

It was a DPF fitted vehicle that caused the Luton Airport car park fire. It had only been used on short journeys such as the school run and then it was used on a long run.

Sounds about right.  Sudden "extreme use" even within design parameters can cause a sudden deep-discharge of the battery, rather than the continuous drain demanded by subsidiary systems.  I once had to advise on this for use of Li-Ions as UPS on aircraft (and shall stop here and now).

I also once tried to explain DPFs to Dad.  We weren't sure whether Mam's car had one (probably not, as a petrol car).  Anyway, when I gave my (probably ill-informed) explanation about the centrifugal action clearing itself out with a good high-revs HP blow-through on the dual carriageway, Dad's response was something about "and that's what shiny-4r53d suits think of the countryside".  When I saw one blow smoke all over Hammersmith, I had to call him to tell him that because he was right, he was wrong.  Or the other way around.  We still don't discuss any further.

I still regret not buying that R3500.  Or the Granada.  Neither of which had DPFs or Cats.  But we live and learn.

 

EDIT - Sorry, this was meant to capture the bit about "un"usual use of the battery (from the battery's perspective), not just about the DPF.  Either could be a problem under "unusual" (for it) use, particularly due to temporary overheating, even if within design parameters.  A tired battery (lead-acid or Li-Ion), a skanked-up DPF, an exhaust with loose baffling, none are the driver's friend.

I've not read a report on the Luton Airport fire yet so mustn't comment on that.

Edited 10 hours ago by Chris Snowdon
Correcting myself when quoting.

[SM42]

Ambulances, being vehicles that, spend a lot of time waiting and having occupants who like to stay warm, reportedly have lots of DPF issues ( hours idling, with bursts of hard driving) but don't burst into flames on a regular basis. 

 

Andy

[AndyID]

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

When I next see a copy of the Beano I'll have to check page three. (Minnie the Minx topless!).

 

They don't put trashy stuff like that in the Dandy.

[AndyID]

3 hours ago, Chris Snowdon said:

Took me a while, but I managed to find that concentric diagram showing Ohm's law, and power, in one of my textbooks.  It only has 16 segments.  I can't find the next one up (can't remember, is it 24 or 32 segments? It's not the same as electron-shells, that much I can remember).  Either way, I'm still useless (possibly dangerous) when it comes to anything "physics".

 

Nothing more than good ol' Ohm for this one. (V=iR)

 

The trick is that the current delta has to be brief otherwise the motor will speed-up and its back EMF will reduce the voltage drop across the motor's internal resistance.

 

This isn't all that different from what DCC receivers do. They sense the motor's back EMF (and therefore speed) but the only way to get an accurate EMF reading is to block any current flowing through the motor which means that the motor is being turned off and on. That produces heat.

 

This method is a lot kinder on the motors and it doesn't need all that expensive electronic kit in the locos 😄

[jamie92208]

10 hours ago, Chris Snowdon said:

No, you're just showing your age (or general historical awareness) by recalling that theory about Jimmy Hoffa.

Or certain London villains residing in various structures on the M1. 

8 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

It was a DPF fitted vehicle that caused the Luton Airport car park fire. It had only been used on short journeys such as the school run and then it was used on a long run.

I don't think that my 2004 Volvo V70 with at least 214,000 on the clocked clock, has a DPF, fortunately.  However I do get 51 to the gallon cruising at 68 mph.

 

Jamie

Edited 2 hours ago by jamie92208

[Happy Hippo]

I have come to the conclusion that cars are too clever for their own good.

 

The other thing that bothers me is the ever increasing technology in 'driver assist'.

 

Better to call it an enhancing driver complacency system, as I'm sure it actually erodes your driving skills.

[jjb1970]

9 hours ago, Chris Snowdon said:

If going to a performance of Bruckner 5, as a "sarth lunnoner" rather than a "sarf" one...  ?  Just never forget that the South Bank Centre was built for you (well, for your parents and then you).  I'm not familiar with 5, but I do have a copy of 8, which I am told is "an easy one".  Nice chap, sometimes difficult music.  I like Wagner's work but so did Bruckner.

 

The test for a true Brucknerite is what they think of Celibidache's famous recording of the 8th with the Munich PO, which went on a full half hour longer than other recordings and might be described as an alternative or none-conventional interpretation. Those who like it consider it an essential recording with near magical qualities, those who don't consider it painful dirge strangling one of the great symphonies. I must admit I consider it indispensable and still listen to it regularly. He was a conductor who seemed to veer between brilliance and dreadful but very rarely average or forgettable, I really rather like that.

[jjb1970]

On diesel engine DPFs, I found switching to Shell V Power Plus did wonders for the DPF regeneration performance of a VW-Audi 2.0TDi engine. At the time it was a gas-to-liquid fuel, the claimed engine performance improvement might be charitably described as 'optimistic' in my experience (any fuel use reduction I got was far outweighed by the higher cost of fuel to start with) but it did eliminate an issue we had that my wife's use case meant she was having regular issues with DPF warning lights as it wasn't going through its recycle along with short start/stop journeys. The local Audi centre said there wasn't much they could do as it was her use case after moving home and a couple of other things that was the problem but that V Power Plus was worth a go as it was much cleaner burning and in fairness they were right.

[jjb1970]

9 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Maybe I'm becoming curmudgeonly in middle age, but incompetence and sloppiness seems more and more prevalent (and tolerated) in the UK workforce these days. 

 

I had something of an epiphany in the early 90's. I had previously worked on ships built in Germany which had faults years and decades after delivery because of poor design or construction. I was then sent to Japan to stand by some ships building in Japan. The first ones were not fault free but it was notable that whenever a fault was identified they did a full analysis of what the fault was and why it had occurred and fed that back into the design and build processes. By hull three or four they were being floated out (on time), doing sea trials and going straight into service with no problems. The idea that you can't build something big and complicated like a ship without having teething problems is alien to Japanese and Korean people, if anything the Korean's took it up a step from Japan.

[iL Dottore]

One of our regular TNM posters got a loan car and complained most bitterly about how complicated the latest technology was.

 

I have now found, in Tokyo, something more appropriate for our fellow TNM

 

 

Although you do need a Smartphone App