Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

29 minutes ago, PupCam said:

There are many types of semiconductor based products and devices where it is perfectly acceptable and possible and even desirable for suitably skilled and knowledgable people, professional or amateur, to repair those devices rather than chuck them away and replace with something else.

Desirable? Certainly! Practical? It depends. Modern packaging and surface mount technology do not lend themselves to replacement by someone armed with a soldering iron. There's no way an enthusiast can reattach a large ball grid array to a multilayer board with buried and blind vias. The connection points are simply not reachable. The world has long moved on from dual-in line packages (DIP) with through-hole vias and sockets.

 

Maintaining spares for subassemblies is of course possible, but very expensive. Who would pay for this?

 

29 minutes ago, PupCam said:

Aging effects are probably a minor consideration in the overall scheme of things I would have thought.   The major source of obsolescence in semiconductor based devices, planned or otherwise, is the actual availability of replacement key complex and particularly programmed devices.

Aging is very real. It is less evident with older, larger transistor geometries. My old Sharp calculator from the 1980s still runs just fine (or did the last time I tried to use it). What will the lifespan of a fast processor with billions of transistors, made in a contemporary <10nm foundry and intended for say an autonomous vehicle actually be?  Of course these are built with safety considerations, but conceptually it only takes one failed transistor for a chip to no longer function.

 

The problem of maintaining the foundries used to produce components from decades ago (or today's components for decades hence) remains. It's hit or miss. Some old fab lines are kept around for a long time but most of them are decommissioned and scrapped. Most of the companies that manufactured semiconductors as recently as ten years ago no longer do so, even if the company is still in business.

 

29 minutes ago, PupCam said:

And even that doesn't guarantee  long-term reliability of military equipment - go speak to the Army, Navy and Air Force!    

Of course not. Maintaining electronics inventory for 25 years or more is very problematic - in terms of physics and logistics.

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Ozexpatriate

[PeterBB]

BT digital - so far working well (probably won't now) and in fact our current cost is a slight reduction for what, hopefully, is a better service.  The Mac on which ER issuing read just cannot keep up with it so it must be working faster.

 

The CCTV - agree 'only OK for councils etc but not individuals'. - bet they are now 'good' neighbours - but ideally settings should only be for own premises these days - previously I understand they could not be 'properly' set.

 

Gwiwer - I too have trying etc, qualifications and hated some of the training sessions that had to be attended particularly when they considered that 'a long dinner break' was needed - for me the shorter the break the better ( just in case know about 5 hours etc.).

 

Antivaxers at schools  -ID 'treason' sounds good and also like the suggestion that they be charged.  Note that Covid infections are rising at all ages.  Also noted that latest research suggests that 'LFT' is 90% correct (but with the proviso that they must be taken correctly).

 

Printers - avoid HP like the plague if you need to print a lot - they do not accept  other cheaper inks.  There must be something wrong when ,generally apart from red, the cheaper versions work well at a fraction of the cost.  Have to admit that currently am using genuine company inks from a tank.

 

Simon what can one say  - what on earth are the doctors doing to help - and noted IDs dissertation 

[Barry O]

16 hours ago, JohnDMJ said:

 

 

I have deleted your joker and quote:

 

"The Institution of Engineering and Technology is a multidisciplinary professional engineering institution. The IET was formed in 2006 from two separate institutions: the Institution of Electrical Engineers, dating back to 1871, and the Institution of Incorporated Engineers dating back to 1884."

 

They are professional bodies of academically qualified members.

 

For example, the Institute of Advanced Motorists  is an amateur organisation.

 

I will also point out for reference (and will go no further on this soap box) that in all cases above, the word 'Engineer' is capitalised. Heating, refrigeration, plumbing and electrical (et alia) ""engineers"" who present to fix your household appliances are excluded! Hence the 'need' for salutations like 'Dipl Ing' and (IIRC) Eur Ing which have been introduced to trump CEng to reflect the academic status.

 

Only in america was Casey Jones an engineer!

Well I never did! And there is me .. a lowly CEng MIET not being allowed to make a small joke out of some of the Engineering Institutions.. to get to be a CEng MIET you had  to have (in my case) at least an accredited  Batchelor of Science Degree with Honours plus typically 5 years of Professional experience post graduation. (You now need an Accredited MSc). When I passed my hour long Appointments Board interview I achieved my new Professional Status which actually, in employment terms, gained me nothing but the need to pay an annual fee and to receive a lot of magazines which now seem to be proving that you can re_invent the wheel on a 10 yearly cycle).

 

Baz

 

 

Edited October 15, 2021 by Barry O

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Went to a 'live' talk this evening, the first such talk for 19 months. We (SEERS) rent the meeting room at the Friends Meeting House (Quakers). As you are all probably aware they (the friends) are very much anti-drink. So it was a surprise that the hand sanitiser that they provided was whisky scented! I suppose its possible that as teetotallers they would not recognise the smell of whiskey.

[J. S. Bach]

55 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

You get a lot more thunderstorms than I do (and I suspect are in a slightly less populated area). How many times has it kicked in since you installed it and for how long?

Once for about five+ hours when a car took out a pole just up the road and another time for about two or three hours, but I do not know why for that one. There may have been a couple of other times but I have not kept track .

 

The main reason that I got the thing is for heat in the winter to keep the pipes from freezing, water as I am on a well, and to keep food in the icebox from going bad.

 

When I lived in south Florida, I was once without power for three weeks after Mrs. Wilma kindly paid us a visit. My neighbor had a generator and I would drop off my ups in the morning on the way to work and pick it up when I got home. I had my computer, light, and a small fan in the bedroom. Plenty of canned food kept me going and some ice brought home from work helped in the beverage department.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[laurenceb]

The end of a sad day.

Night awl

[Dave John]

I don't normally wander into wheeltappers, but I saw BarryO s quote and read up. I have almost the same letters as you, but mine is a B.Eng. I'd agree, nobody much has a clue about what it means and its all kinda pricey for a magazine which these days veers towards the philosophical rather than the practical. I liked it with MIEE, I do feel I fit better as a hands on engineer.  Whether that is an engineer or an Engineer matters not a jot, I potter on doing a bit of real engineering, mainly involving historic buildings. 

 

So , here is one I did earlier. Design and install, all on my own.  800 m + of armour . 

 

 

 

 

Sorry , late night post, but sometimes it gets like that. 

 

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl inner Temple Hare,

4 hours sleep so far, I'll try for more shortly.

 

At one point I was working towards letters after my name but the increasing level of qualifications needed for them just made it impossible. It was noticeable for maybe the first 25- 50years of such institutions there were no qualifications needed because they didn't exist.

Later those making the requirement for the ever increasing qualifications generally didn't have them, and were trying to turn them into smaller private clubs.

 

A bit like who taught the first teacher..

 

I'm sceptical about many of the qualifications required for some jobs. But on the other hand, I'd like a legal description of what for instance is an engineer, and other grades. Many are given over inflated titles for what they do and have training for.

 

At one point I bought a generator 3kw, enough to keep essential services going. As we got maybe half a dozen power cuts each winter.... Manual start, turn off mains input, open the garage door start generator.. 

Whereupon they replaced many electricity poles in the area, and replaced all the bare triple power lines with triple twisted insulated cables.. Since then hardly a power failure.. and the Genny hasn't run for some time...

 

Somewhere I've got a ups, mains power in, socket on the output. Power fails computer stays on for a half hour.. However the batteries inside have long since failed, and the ups is sat in a cupboard.

 

GEC and the company I currently work for, have done a lot of work on keeping things supported for at least ten years after last production, it's a military requirement as well as good business. For PCBs  it's generally a stock of spares as many are unrepairable even for us.

Sometimes a routine commercially available spare that they thought stocks of spares would not be needed for, goes suddenly unavailable, and a new board using  replacement part gets rapidly designed.

This happened to one of they high accuracy thermometers I calibrate, the main A to D chip became unavailable. So they had to design a complete new thermometer, and offer it at a substantial discount to those who bought the old one . 

 

Time for more sleep..

 

 

 

Edited October 15, 2021 by TheQ

[pH]

I put the winter tires on the car this afternoon and we drove to the supermarket this evening. The sound of the tires on the road was quite different with the winter tires.

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, pH said:

I put the winter tires on the car this afternoon ...

Weather-wise, it feels like we skipped October and went straight to November. Instead of highs closer to 20°C, it's been more like 10°C. La Niña is here. It's nice to see snow on the mountain. We need the rain, but I miss the crisp sunny days.

 

I assume it is similar for you.

[chrisf]

Greetings

 

This evening Grace Petrie is in concert at The Stables.  It could be a late night, which could present difficulties in regaining consciousness in the morning in time to head for Uckfield.  Prompted by Stewart, I have worked out the travel timings and look forward to my first breakfast in 'Spoons, at St Pancras, for quite a while.  The line to Uckfield is an island of diesel power in an electric ocean and will make a pleasant change.  Before all that I need to garner essential supplies.  This will not take long if I do it early enough.  At the time of writing that is a big 'if'.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[pH]

6 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Weather-wise, it feels like we skipped October and went straight to November. Instead of highs closer to 20°C, it's been more like 10°C. La Niña is here. It's nice to see snow on the mountain. We need the rain, but I miss the crisp sunny days.

 

I assume it is similar for you.

One of the weather forecasters said today (mainly jokingly) that, with La Niña here, the forecast is rain till February. There was 6 inches of snow on one of the more westerly highway summits over the weekend, and the first dusting of snow on the North Shore mountains across from Vancouver.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

An interesting meeting last night with some County Scoters Officers. A great group of very knowledgeable people.

 

I am trying to get an appointment for diabetic blood tests etc as well as a discussion on why my medication is giving me cramps .... the Marie Celeste sails serenely on with the phones unplugged... when I visited last week for my flu jab, two receptionists were on duty..neither were answering the phone calls coming in...

 

It costs a lot of money to be a member of an Institution. These continue, as @Dave John pointed out, to ramp up the educational entry requirements for new members. Strangely there are a lot of Academics in top level posts...I can be very cynical about the reasons why the education requirement continue to rise. 

 

and on to Friday. Should I have bacon and egg for breakfast? Should @chrisf find a moreasons to try their less substantial breakfast? Questions, questions...

 

Stay safe! Enjoy your day however you can!

 

baz

Drivelling on in the North West Leeds Highlands.

[iL Dottore]

Good Morning,

 

Friday awaits and I, for one, can’t wait for the weekend to begin.

 

Toddled into town yesterday with Mrs iD and the doggies to see our financial advisor (given that nearly all Swiss have private pensions in various forms, it is not unusual for a Swiss to use a Treuhand and a financial advisor). Apart from the “good” news that I’ll be working for another two - three years post-retirement (I should have retired this year!) there was also the news that cash savings aren’t a good idea right now - as inflation is foreseen for the near future: good for investments but not for the piggy bank - apparently

 

Inflation could be a problem for Switzerland as the Swiss are serious savers: the Swiss manage to save - on average - 17.47% of their household income (2nd in the world after Luxembourg at 18.09%). PostFinanz (the savings bank of the Swiss Post Office) alone has 124 billion Swiss Francs of customer savings.  (Captain Cynical is now wondering what to do with his £1.56 billion in small change…).

 

Like many of my generation I was taught to be thrifty (which is not the same as penny pinching or being mean with money) and consumables that are designed to fail and/or be unrepairable are a particular bug-bear of mine. A fairly well equipped workshop does help as does an old set of screwdrivers adapted to deal with security screws - but even so… What’s even worse is that the few local repairs shops that there are around here, charge an average flat fee of around SFr 150 (about £120) just to look at an item - repair work and spare parts extra.. So much for “recycling”, “upcycling” and “saving the planet” 

 

ID

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl , part 2,

Ben the I want out, I'm desperate Collie, got me off the sofa and disappeared off into the dark distance. It was some time before he returned.

 

It's very dark, very windy from the north, and chilly. It had obviously been raining, my paws are cold, must remember gloves next time.

 

Having just looked it up , la Nina's effects on the UK, cold and wet for the next 6 months, oh Joy...

 

I too get cramps as a diabetic, a daily banana reduces that, it is however not the most sugar free thing to eat.

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Very dull out and from what I can see it is very cloudy.  The forecast mentions patchy rain but none here at the moment and the skies should clear later leaving us with a dry and bright day.  Good Oh.

Usual early morning aches and pains in back and limbs which will hopefully ease when I get off my backside and move around a bit.  The ongoing lack of enthusiasm for decorating abounds but I better do something.

I'll be on my own today as The Boss is going to Nicki's for the day to help her with some housework as she still can't do anything very strenuous.  

Bin men didn't come yesterday,  seems like this is now going to be the norm for a while.

Tea needs to be offered to Herself so farewell for now.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

[New Haven Neil]

Morning from a 5c, dry, still and chilly rock, where 'People Management' magazine no longer darkens the doormat.  The high point of CIPD membership was seeing that same title parodied on 'Have I Got News For You'! (Edit:  IIRC Angus Deayton 'outed' his brother as a member!).

 

It had one page of interesting and professionally relevant case law, and many of job adverts and other fairly meaningless drivel, for which we had to pay a tidy sum each year for membership. Which of course I no longer do, therefore technically cannot use the letters after the handle.   I should like to point out to detractors though, that my HR practice was in the NHS, where we treated staff as valuable humans. I did spend a year as the Medical Staffing Officer, basically recruiting doctors, which gave me a hearty dislike of many of them though.  Oddly, recruiting Consultants, whom you would imagine to be the most difficult, generally were fine to deal with, it was the junior doctors who were a long way up their own......opinions. Oops, bit of a rant.

 

'Marine Engineers Review' had at least interesting articles about developments spread out between all the adverts.  I see it is now IMarEST, things have changed, but is still an Institute, as is the CIPD.

Edited October 15, 2021 by New Haven Neil

[polybear]

9 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

And yes, he should have been more careful about how much of his neighbour's back yard was visible and ignorance of the law is no excuse, etc.

 

The following suggests that the Neighbour asked him to adjust the cameras on numerous occasions and he replied with "boll*x":

A series of disputes about the cameras followed, which resulted in Dr Fairhurst moving out of her home.

 

8 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Desirable? Certainly! Practical? It depends. Modern packaging and surface mount technology do not lend themselves to replacement by someone armed with a soldering iron. There's no way an enthusiast can reattach a large ball grid array to a multilayer board with buried and blind vias. The connection points are simply not reachable. The world has long moved on from dual-in line packages (DIP) with through-hole vias and sockets.

 

 

 

That's because manufacturers aren't designing for repairability.  Go back a step or two so that components can be changed (or at least a complete pcb can be purchased at a reasonable price) and a lot less will go into landfill, along with less precious metals, energy etc. being used making a replacement product.   And stop companies hiding behind the excuse of "Oooh, we mustn't let the consumer do that cos' it would be far too dangerous..."

 

8 hours ago, PeterBB said:

The CCTV - agree 'only OK for councils etc but not individuals'. - bet they are now 'good' neighbours - but ideally settings should only be for own premises these days - previously I understand they could not be 'properly' set.

 

 

A local PCSO used to work at a pharmaceuticals company on security; their cameras had to use software blanking so that only their premises were covered by the cameras and not the public land outside the fence.

[jamie92208]

8 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Went to a 'live' talk this evening, the first such talk for 19 months. We (SEERS) rent the meeting room at the Friends Meeting House (Quakers). As you are all probably aware they (the friends) are very much anti-drink. So it was a surprise that the hand sanitiser that they provided was whisky scented! I suppose its possible that as teetotallers they would not recognise the smell of whiskey.

My brother is a Quaker and is certainly  not teetotal.  AFAIK the Methodists in the UK actually banned alcohol in the premises and it used to be inserted as a covenant when redubdant chapels were sold. My Baptist Chapel didn't allow alcolhol on the premises but only by custom and practice. It wasn't in the constitution  or the original  trust deed from 1707.

 

Any good moaning to one and all.  No update on the fraud case today.  However i got some shed time yesterday and today am out to play. Model Railway group meeting at lunchtime then on to Tours for an evenings trainspotting. Hope4 the latter will be without incident or injury.

 

Jamie

[Nick Holliday]

53 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

Good morning all,

  

Bin men didn't come yesterday,  seems like this is now going to be the norm for a while.

 

 

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

Waiting for the bin men to take the paper recycling bin from outside the house, where it has been for the last two weeks! Oh the joys of living in Sutton! We are supposed to report missing bin collections within 24 hours, but also it seems reasonable to give them a day's grace - rather awkward when your collection day is a Friday, as the system doesn't seem to cope well with reporting on the Monday, as it thinks it's too late to be a valid complaint!

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Not too much trouble from Arthur Itis this morning, just the usual stiff joints that quickly eased up. Going to Uckfield tomorrow so I hope to see @chrisf there with a few other ER's. I will be going by car as there will be three of us and we can stay as long as we like without having to watch the clock.

12 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

My brother is a Quaker and is certainly  not teetotal.  AFAIK the Methodists in the UK actually banned alcohol in the premises and it used to be inserted as a covenant when redubdant chapels were sold. My Baptist Chapel didn't allow alcolhol on the premises but only by custom and practice. It wasn't in the constitution  or the original  trust deed from 1707.

Jamie

The FMH we use has a strict alcohol ban. The hand sanitiser smelt so much of whisky that if I was stopped by the police out would have come the breathalyser.

[Sir TophamHatt]

Morning all.

 

Not a great start to the day.

 

Mrs STH messaged saying the boiler was low on pressure again.  She thinks the boiler filter that was serviced nearly a month ago looks wet.  A couple of weeks ago, we figured this was a point of failure so they came back to fit the one and only replacement O ring.  Seems like it's still been leaking, which means everything below it is likely damp now.

But as they don't make that filter any more (apparently it was old when the installer put it in just two years ago), difficult to get parts for it, which means at lest £250 for a new filter (and having to move the fridge again for space), which I don't really have to spare right now.

It's more the hassle of it all rather than the cost.

 

I don't know if I should approach the original installer or try the manufacturer but it's just over the two years old of the guarantee as due to covid, the date the boiler got serviced was a few months different from when it was installed.  A local boiler servicing company was pretty good last year but this time, it seems like the guy was rushing a little.

 

Just don't want the hassle but also don't want to let it lie if the first service person has initially damaged it - worked fine up until then.