BoD

Those tension lock couplings stick out like a sore thumb.

Would you like to borrow my copy of ‘Grasses’ by Hubbard (the penguin version)? I could never work them out either.

Start em young… Grandson (aged 1yr ) earlier today. As you can probably guess he has us wrapped round his little finger.

I bet that hertz

Personally I wouldn’t want to crash on anything. I have only ever flown once. Actually, it was twice because I came back too. That’s not for any particular reason, I just don’t think it’s in my nature to be an international globe trotter.

Both have been members here at various times in the past.

They produce a number of useful devices targeted specifically at model railways. I use a distribution board where the individual terminals are switched. I use it to switch different locations/types of lighting across the layout. I may get round to automating it via Arduino but it does the job so equally I may well not bother. I have seen/heard their sound project (again quite expensive) in use. It is very effective. Other’s opinions may differ of course.

This company refers to them as power distribution boards, as you suggest. https://www.bclstore.co.uk/product-page/power-distribution-board-18-way-screw-terminal-connection Not cheap but definitely good quality. No connection, satisfied customer etc.

Has HH been practising his dancing again? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-61636678

Can you easily remove one of the tortoises and check that it works on a test bench. This would rule out any problem with the installation. Tortoises are fairly forgiving but need to be aligned and centred correctly and the screws need to be similarly tensioned so the motor is ‘level’ under the baseboard.

Is there still a ‘cafe’ at the far end?

The increase in card use is, to a certain extent, an inevitable result of recent events. Only a few years ago I was in a pub and found it, to me, incredulous that someone would pay for a pint using card. I personally wouldn’t have dreamt of using it for everyday small purchases. Now I find I do the same. In some cases, as you say, there’s no choice but sometimes it is indeed easier. On a recent visit to The Lake District it was noticeable that all parking payment and even toilets had been adapted to accept card payments. Regarding the charity requests, an imposition I guess, but I can see where the charities are coming from. I suspect that they made quite a lot from the buckets at the end of checkout where people would put that loose change rather than back in their pockets. Not much different to rounding up. Downside is though, you don’t really know which charities benefit and they are probably no longer smaller local ones. I sincerely hope that there isn’t an admin fee for doing this. Sorry about that - RMweb thread drift at its best.

I hope it’s not needed but if it is I am sure you will be able to get a good stick that matches the boots and tie.

Ah, but could you get the world famous CalMac curry and chips?

Afternoon all. I’m still using the tradesman's entrance.* Hope all are well. If not, get well soon. Positive thoughts to those who need them. Cataract op seems to have gone well and it only took a day or two for eye to settle. Having had the other one done a few years ago, I no longer need to wear spectacles. I still find myself trying to adjust them or push them up my nose even though they are not there. Having worn them for over fifty years it is hardly surprising. Downside is I will need reading glasses and you are advised to wait six weeks before having a test. Tried some light muddling earlier and it was a no go. Close vision is blurred. I have to read at nearly arms length too * I suppose tradesman is no longer pc. It has to be tradesperson or trader I suppose. I hate the term batter now in use in cricket. I guess Baz is just grateful that the term is umpire rather than umpsman or he would now be known to one and all as an umper.

…. And your pile of dried tea leaves.

Didn’t they sub your normal bill with a much larger one?

Afternoon all Managed to creep in via the back door again. The number of pages full of erudite, insightful, deeply meaningful and sometimes witty posts since I last visited never ceases to amaze. I sit reading this through blurred vision, or just one eye, as I had a cataract op earlier this afternoon. I have nothing but praise for how efficient and caring everyone involved was. It will take a few days for the eye to settle but other than feeling a bit gritty, which is normal, and uncomfortable because it is still dilated everything feels fine. I hope that when everything settles I can use three link couplings. I never could before.

And on that subject… What do the initials DNA stand for? The National Dyslexic Association. I know, Sorry.

Why did I think of some here when I saw this?

Thank you for your response Andrew (and others). I will send it in next day or two.

It is a while since I have used my Sprog3 and when I tried to use it yesterday it seems to have developed a fault. Hopefully someone here may have seen similar and be able to help or, at worst, may be able to tell me that the Sprog is definitely totally goosed. The Sprog is connected to a short length of programming track. This has not changed and I have used a multimeter to check all connections and for shorts. When I reconnected the Sprog the Coms port had changed from the last time I used it from COM3 to COM6. It showed up in the computer's device manager and was using a generic microsoft USB driver. Is this correct or does it need its own drivers? I access the Sprog using Decoder Pro and changed the COM setting in preferences to match. I made no other changes and my roster and other details were all there as they were the last time I used the Sprog. However ... When I tried to use the sprog to identify a loco I was getting the message no loco detected (Error 301 as per screen shot). There was no 'pulsing' of the loco. I tried this with two different locos that both worked ok on the main layout. Strangely, when I connected power to the Sprog using the power supply purchased with it, I got this message This happened only when the power supply was on and even if there was nothing connected to the track terminals on the Sprog - and as I have said I have checked continuity to the program track and for shorts. Is there something that I have missed or does it look like my Sprog has suffered something terminal?

Morning all. I am still having trouble accessing some topics. I only managed to get in here this morning because it appeared on the home page as the result of a recent posting. I must post on the site fault forum and see if there is a solution. I hope this finds everyone well. If not, my thoughts are with you. Last weekend we took our grandson to Chester zoo. I wasn’t sure about this as I’m not a fan if zoos but they have set the zoo up in such a way that whist, yes the animals are still in captivity, they have large spaces that seem quite natural. The downside is I walked about 8 miles seeing it all. The furthest I have walked since the dreaded lurgy and I felt it. I understand the zoo does an awful lot for conservation and research too so it was on balance an enjoyable experience. Until the next time …..

Evening all I am having a problem with RMweb at the moment. When I try to go to certain forums, wheeltappers included, the screen goes grey and the whole thing hangs. This means that I can only get into ERs and other favourite topics elsewhere if I catch it when they appear as the most recent entry on the main page. This doesn’t happen on my phone but does on my iPad. I can’t easily follow RMweb on my phone. It’s an eyesight thing. I’m not deliberately ignoring you.