mjt

Anyone wanting to run a domestic TV that has a separate 12V regulated power unit might be interested in this unit that I use with mine. It works very well and has a good claimed efficiency, better than an running a mains unit via an inverter because inverters only reach optimum efficiency at or near full load.

Strowager, I'm reet jealous of your bootiful clean engine bay! Mine's all horrible dirty and black from my leaky old Perkins.

Don't put ideas in people's heads Clive.

In general I'd prefer not to rely on Microsoft for internet security because I can't rid myself of the suspicion that they surreptitiously gather data about my system and usage but I got so fed up with Avast that I didn't feel I had any choice. Apart from the fact that I thought their strategy for installing Chrome was totally unethical I felt that their A-V program was becoming too 'naggy' as well. The more recent versions kept sandboxing software that I'd used for years so I was forever having to set up overrides for them. Then all those overrides seemed to get reset at the next program update. It was all getting just too annoying. The one thing about MSE that I'm not really happy about is the lack of feedback from it. I had Avast set to notify me when virus database updates were available which occurred on a daily basis, sometimes more than once. MSE doesn't have that option. I just took a look at the Windows firewall advanced settings and there's a whole heap of outgoing rules available but I haven't a clue what they are. I wonder if it's possible to set it up to block the same sets of outgoing access requests as Zone Alarm. Any thoughts (I'm running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit)? I have the Disconnect plug-in on my Firefox browser to block tracking.

Strowager, I'd be wary of Avast. I and many others have stopped using it because the installer now also silently installs the Google Chrome browser. Ok I suppose if you already use it but a pain in the neck if you don't want it. By 'silently' I mean it doesn't inform you of the install or give you the option not to have it so your only recourse is then to un-install it afterwards and as we all know the Windows un-installer leaves a lot of redundant junk on your hard drive, not least in the registry. I've now switched to MSE. I also used to use Zone Alarm but gave up on that some time ago as I'd started to have problems with certain applications (I can't now remember what they were due to senility setting in ).

Hi Alan, Yes, I remember Eddy Shah and Wapping. He was first and the other nationals followed soon after. The URL is www.ecn.co.uk which must have been the Eastern Counties Newspapers group now known as Archant. From the bit of Googling I've been doing it looks as if the web started to take off in the early nineties, around 1993, so it's been around twenty years or so. I must admit I hadn't realised it was that long ago even though I was using it very early on at my workplace.

Look again - it's 1997. What caught my eye was the web address printed at the bottom and I've been trying to work out when the www first started to come into general use. Also it's printed in colour and I can't remember when that first became commonplace either.

That's the one Jill. Lovely to see it again. It was always notable due to the shape of the portholes. I'd be interested to know if it survives but I guess probably not.

Not with 2-core or 3-core mains cable as the fields generated by the currents in Line & Neutral cancel.

It brought back memories for me too. Most years in the fifties and sixties we would travel to visit relatives in Gorleston during the summer holidays. After traversing the Southern ring road we would come out through Thorpe and I remember there was always a very large white cruiser with portholes all down the side moored on the far bank. I wonder if anyone else remembers it or knows any more about it.

I agree with Strowager. I've always used that method. However plain water may not get rid of fingermarks that are greasy from natural oil in the skin. In that case I apply a bit of handwash to the damp paper towel, dry off with a second one then wipe over with a plain damp one finishing off with a final dry one.

True, though unfortunately due to a lack of teaching rigour in recent decades there is now a body of genuine employees throughout industry and the media who cannot spell and have little understanding of grammar. Even so bad spelling and grammar can be a useful give-away. My apologies if I've offended any teachers on the Forum but that opinion has been formed from my own observations over recent years.

Like the new layout. Very slick One thing that's always puzzled me : why is there a sub-forum to Technical Questions & Answers with the same name? LorI - the emoticons are in a line below the reply window. There's a link 'Show All' (a bit small, actually,) to display them in a pop-up windows with their names.

Maybe a better material would be a dab of silicone compound - heat-resistant and flexible.

I must admit that thought occurred to me after I'd posted. I guess you're right, should be ok as long as the wires are routed to keep clear of the metalwork. You could try putting a little epoxy round them.

They may do. It all depends how carefully they were manufactured. What can happen is that if the insulation is not stripped cleanly it can get stretched slightly. Then, over time and possibly from heat, it shrinks back. I can't see from the photo whether the connections are crimped or welded. If welded it might have shrunk back a bit due to the heat from that.

The one circled looks a bit suspect. I'd suggest a bit of shrink sleeving would make both of the exposed sections safer.

You could also take along a small fan heater which can be used to boost the temperature on cold evenings when shore power is available. We don't use our boat over winter as it's lifted out but we keep one on board for when we're overnighting in our marina and we get chilly nights in spring or autumn.

Dave, have you tried swapping the pickups over to see if one is a bit 'iffy'? and/or swapping the dials to see if one of those is not responding properly to the signal?

It was also used a lot in clocks and watches.

It's called "Engine Turned".

You're a smug git Dave! Ever since we bought our boat we've talked about moving to the Broads but since it has, until now, been somewhat of a restoration project we've needed it within reach. In the past we have hired on the Northern Broads and absolutely loved it but I wouldn't want to be up North during the holiday periods. I wouldn't mind being based down South though, but for various reasons the Broads probably isn't practical for us now.

We're having the same problems on the Gt. Ouse. After heavy rainfall we get a surge of water coming down from Bedford. The EA chains open the vee gates and controls the flow using the guillotine gates so the whole system down to the tidal stretch at Earith is closed to navigation and the flows are too strong to even navigate between locks. It's been one SSA after another this year. We're beginning to wish we'd moved to a marina on the Old West river which is free of locks and protected from the surge.

Tried to edit my last post but it had obviously timed out on me. It would be nice to have a bit longer to make edits. I was going to ask if this was the product you meant? Last year I bought a polishing kit from CleanYourCar.co.uk. It came with a dual-action polisher and a selection of Sonus liquids and pads. This spring I tried machine-polishing our badly oxidised and stained deckhead using the scratch remover, which is the most agressive of the liquids, and the results were astonishing - the shiniest and cleanest I've ever managed to get it. I finished it off with Starbrite wax. Obviously this isn't something one should do too often as it will eventually go right through the gelcoat (that's already starting to happen on our 40-year-old boat) so it's vital to keep refreshing the wax to delay the oxidation as far as possible.

Conjures up a lovely picture of a well-polished customer being hosed down.