How great is lockdown?

[Trevor Wilson]

Really great.
For me.

I've been cleaning out the store-room (aka: The garage). Look at what I
found:

https://imgur.com/dfEQnOh

My very first power transistor (if you don't count the AC128 that came
with my Philips Electronic Engineer kit). The mighty 2N301. It was given
to me by the brother of a mate (who probably pinched it from PMG, where
he worked) sometime around 1965. I used it in a number of projects and I
just checked it on the meter. Damned thing still works. HFE - 77.
Leakage 1.8ma.

Anyway, I'm about 1/3rd of the way through the cleanup. Roll on next
weekend. I wonder what treasures I will find.

I did find some honkin' big AlNiCo magnets, salvaged from a monster
computer hard drive and some others from a Japanese 1960s vintage
medical chart recorder. I was hopeful that AlNiCo might be worth something.

https://imgur.com/FtZy56Q

https://imgur.com/ol35ojz

https://imgur.com/PDwMbFA

The last two from a Winchester drive. HUGE throw. Around 80mm. Might
make a good subwoofer motor.

[Phil Allison]

Trevor Wilson wrote:
================

>
> I've been cleaning out the store-room (aka: The garage). Look at what I
> found:
>
> https://imgur.com/dfEQnOh
>
> My very first power transistor (if you don't count the AC128 that came
> with my Philips Electronic Engineer kit). The mighty 2N301.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** Remember them well, every 60s pushbutton car radio had one - operating in class A with a choke load and a 16 ohm speaker.
Usually mounted on a black anodised Al heatsink with no insulators.

One I worked on had special 12V supply valves in the RF stages.


..... Phil

[Trevor Wilson]

**More treasures:

* An RF Wattmeter. Can anyone make use of it? No use to me. Yours for
the cost of freight.

https://imgur.com/J7LXpqK


*John Fluke Model 301E Voltage calibrator. No idea what I will do with
that thing.

https://imgur.com/zoS6O8Y


http://bee.mif.pg.gda.pl/ciasteczkowypotwor/Fluke/Fluke_1967_Instrument_Catalogue.pdf

*My stash of magnet wire. Plenty of value in the 50kgs of copper, but
it's worth much more for someone who can use it.

https://imgur.com/mlEsJPP

Mostly very fine gauge stuff.

More to come, including:

* A fully valved function generator (sine, triangle and square wave).
Big sucker. Never been used.

* A twin valve, high Voltage, regulated power supply, with filament
supplies. One high Voltage supply is on the fritz. Used very
infrequently since I acquired it in the early 1970s.

Except for the 2N301, if anyone is interested in anything, let me know.

[Trevor Wilson]

**I found some OC28 transistors (mounted on a heat sink), some AD149
transistors and some those ancient, Pommy, black painted glass
transistors (OC71, et al).

Loving the lockdown.

FWIW: My first car (a 1959, FC Holden) was fitted with an Astor (Diamond
Dot) transistor car radio. I can't recall what the output transistor was
(prolly an AD149), but that thing had the sweetest AM radio I've ever
had in a car. Excellent sound quality and good range too. Sold the car
for $50.00. Shoulda kept it. Prolly worth North of 50 Grand today.

[Rheilly Phoull]

Yup. join the club !!

[Computer Nerd Kev]

Trevor Wilson <tre...@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
>
> * A twin valve, high Voltage, regulated power supply, with filament
> supplies. One high Voltage supply is on the fritz. Used very
> infrequently since I acquired it in the early 1970s.

I'd be interested in that if postage is possible.

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _#

[Trevor Wilson]

**Sure. It's not a freebie though. Way too useful for someone mucking
about with valve stuff. It's also a big, heavy sucker. 500mm X 500mm X
350mm and weighs in at around 30kgs+. I can freight it. It's a twin,
250VDC (as I recall) power supply. One supply is on the fritz and I
doubt schematics are available, but since the two supplies are
identical, trouble-shooting should not present a massive problem. I'll
get some photos up in a few days.

[Chris Jones]

I have a single HV supply, valve, with filament supplies, that I'd be
willing to sell to someone who'd use it.

Here are some photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/37778900@N06/albums/72157719515048627

It is nicely built, though purists won't like the modern electrolytics
that I put in it when the old ones failed (after I took the photos).

I don't think I am willing to post it - couriers would almost certainly
drop it and destroy it. It is in Canberra, so perhaps someone patient
could exchange contact details with me now, and buy it later on when
you'd be allowed to and find it convenient to collect it.

I think I'd want more than the scrap metal value for it and a good
explanation of what you want it for, because in the past I've given nice
stuff away and found out afterwards that it was sold for scrap metal
which wasn't my wish.

[Chris Jones]

I might be interested in some or all of the magnet wire, if it
complements what is in my existing hoard. If you happen to be able to
list the diameters / gauges and general insulation type (formvar /
solderable etc), that would help me decide.

By the way I too have some enormous AlNiCo magnets that are in (working)
galvanometers from old Texas Instruments chart recorders - (before
people started putting servo feedback on the mechanism to drive the
pens, so not really competitive with later chart recorders I think). The
magnets are about 15cm across IIRC and certainly very heavy. If someone
has an interesting use for these, let me know, as I haven't used them
after several decades.

[Clocky]

On 6/07/2021 2:17 pm, Trevor Wilson wrote:

Any Holden with a chrome bumper... hell even some of the the plastic
bumpered models are starting to slowly move in an upward trajectory.

[Computer Nerd Kev]

Trevor Wilson <tre...@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
> On 6/07/2021 7:36 pm, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
>> Trevor Wilson <tre...@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
>>>
>>> * A twin valve, high Voltage, regulated power supply, with filament
>>> supplies. One high Voltage supply is on the fritz. Used very
>>> infrequently since I acquired it in the early 1970s.
>>
>> I'd be interested in that if postage is possible.
>>
>
> **Sure. It's not a freebie though. Way too useful for someone mucking
> about with valve stuff. It's also a big, heavy sucker. 500mm X 500mm X
> 350mm and weighs in at around 30kgs+. I can freight it.

Quite a beast, 30Kg is going to be over the limit of what Aus Post
will carry. If it's going to be a three-figure courier charge
to get it to me in rural Vic, before we even talk about what you
want for it, then I think I'll leave it. Thanks anyway.

[Computer Nerd Kev]

Chris Jones <lugn...@spam.yahoo.com> wrote:
> On 06/07/2021 19:36, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
>> Trevor Wilson <tre...@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
>>>
>>> * A twin valve, high Voltage, regulated power supply, with filament
>>> supplies. One high Voltage supply is on the fritz. Used very
>>> infrequently since I acquired it in the early 1970s.
>>
>> I'd be interested in that if postage is possible.
>>
>
> I have a single HV supply, valve, with filament supplies, that I'd be
> willing to sell to someone who'd use it.
>
> Here are some photos:
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/37778900@N06/albums/72157719515048627
>
> It is nicely built, though purists won't like the modern electrolytics
> that I put in it when the old ones failed (after I took the photos).
>
> I don't think I am willing to post it - couriers would almost certainly
> drop it and destroy it. It is in Canberra, so perhaps someone patient
> could exchange contact details with me now, and buy it later on when
> you'd be allowed to and find it convenient to collect it.

Thanks, but I don't imagine myself around Canberra with the
capacity for picking up stuff like that short of a dedicated trip,
which would be a bit much.

[Chris Jones]

If you're patient enough, it's possible I'll drive to Vic again one day,
but no idea when. Sometimes I've been known to go there for work though
usually I fly which would be no good. Remove the "spam" from my email
address on this posting if interested.

[Xeno]

Probably not. You are making one huge assumption here. You imagine the
car would still be in reasonable nick. The reality is that you would
more likely; have worn it out: smashed it up: left it outside to
weather: ETC. Any number of ghastly fates would likely have befallen
that FC. FWIW, it takes quite some effort to keep and maintain a car in
good condition for some 60+ years. Most people would only bother with a
car that had some cachet *from new*, some rare factor, some novel
feature, that ensured it would appreciate in value over time. Sadly, the
venerable FC Holden had none of that.

That said, a former work colleague has a 60s Mustang that he's had
almost from new as well as a Sunbeam Alpine. The Mustang has been
restored once already, I watched his progress on it back in the 90s. The
Alpine, I'm told, is out in the weather and suffering from exposure.
Both those cars have some cachet.

A friend here bought one of the last Ford XR8s. There were 750 in the
last batch and each was individually numbered.

https://www.widelands.org/wlmedia/wlimages/20161115trainingsgebaeude-retouche.png

His is not even one of the rare ones as it is in common old Winter
White. I guess he's hoping it will appreciate as he isn't driving it -
he has an XR6 for a daily driver. The XR8 just sits taking up space in
his 2 car garage.

--

Xeno


Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
(with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

[Trevor Wilson]

**Correct. I plucked a figure out of the air, based on what other cars
can fetch. Clearly, the FC (wagon) is not as valuable as I assumed. I
know that my brother's 253 V8, VH Commodore is prolly worth around $20k.
'Cause I checked. And I was surprised.

You imagine the
> car would still be in reasonable nick. The reality is that you would
> more likely; have worn it out: smashed it up: left it outside to
> weather: ETC. Any number of ghastly fates would likely have befallen
> that FC.

**Yep. Which would be sad. It had no rust! In fact, when I was offered
$50.00 for it, I thought I would put into a demolition derby and have
some fun.

FWIW, it takes quite some effort to keep and maintain a car in
> good condition for some 60+ years. Most people would only bother with a
> car that had some cachet *from new*, some rare factor, some novel
> feature, that ensured it would appreciate in value over time. Sadly, the
> venerable FC Holden had none of that.

**True enough.

[Anecdote] One of my clients is a (recently retired) financial advisor.
He would typically visit me in a shitbox Merc SL450. Then, one day, he
piqued my interest, when he rolled up in an Aston Martin DB5 (British
Racing Green - of course). He bought it back in 1970 for bugger-all. It
was a bit tired, but in good nick overall. He spent $75k doing it up. I
checked the value on thing and told him:

"I betcha that DB5 has outperformed any investment you've ever made or
advised your clients to make."

He agreed.

He sold the Merc and his daily drive is a new Mustang. Urk.

>
> That said, a former work colleague has a 60s Mustang that he's had
> almost from new as well as a Sunbeam Alpine. The Mustang has been
> restored once already, I watched his progress on it back in the 90s. The
> Alpine, I'm told, is out in the weather and suffering from exposure.
> Both those cars have some cachet.

**Indeed. My mechanic drives a '67 Mustang.

>
> A friend here bought one of the last Ford XR8s. There were 750 in the
> last batch and each was individually numbered.
>
> https://www.widelands.org/wlmedia/wlimages/20161115trainingsgebaeude-retouche.png
>
>
> His is not even one of the rare ones as it is in common old Winter
> White. I guess he's hoping it will appreciate as he isn't driving it -
> he has an XR6 for a daily driver. The XR8 just sits taking up space in
> his 2 car garage.

**Hard to know which cars are going to appreciate.

[keithr0]

On 7/07/2021 8:31 am, Trevor Wilson wrote:

> [Anecdote] One of my clients is a (recently retired) financial advisor.
> He would typically visit me in a shitbox Merc SL450. Then, one day, he
> piqued my interest, when he rolled up in an Aston Martin DB5 (British
> Racing Green - of course). He bought it back in 1970 for bugger-all. It
> was a bit tired, but in good nick overall. He spent $75k doing it up. I
> checked the value on thing and told him:
>
> "I betcha that DB5 has outperformed any investment you've ever made or
> advised your clients to make."
>
> He agreed.

The drummer from Pink Floyd bought a Ferrari 250GTO for 25K ponds with
some of his earnings from "Dark side of the moon". Probably worth 1000
times that now.

[Daniel65]

keithr0 wrote on 7/7/21 4:38 pm:

Yes, "Dark side of the Moon" was/is a great album!! ;-P
--
Daniel

[Sylvia Else]

Rate things are going, and with the gov'ment unwilling to impose greater
restrictions, we'll be enjoying this lockdown indefinitely.

I'll continue to hide inside my house until at least a couple of weeks
after I get my second AZ jab in August.

One thing - my forthcoming delivery of booze turns out to require me to
show id which somewhat defeats the non-contact nature of online ordering.

Sylvia.

[Trevor Wilson]

**They're idiots. Shoulda locked down a week earlier. The half-arsed
lockdown is just dumb.

>
> I'll continue to hide inside my house until at least a couple of weeks
> after I get my second AZ jab in August.

**Snap! Mine is due on the 11th Aug.

> One thing - my forthcoming delivery of booze turns out to require me to
> show id which somewhat defeats the non-contact nature of online ordering.

**I don't drink much anymore.

[Sylvia Else]

On 09-Jul-21 12:34 pm, Trevor Wilson wrote:
> On 9/07/2021 11:31 am, Sylvia Else wrote:
>
> **I don't drink much anymore.

I use it mainly as a sleep aid, since the bleedin' hearts took away my
Xanax to protect my health.

Sylvia.

[Trevor Wilson]

**Try meditation instead. Healthier and cheaper.

[Sylvia Else]

Might have to - said booze didn't show. The courier claimed "receiver
unavailable" which I think is code for "didn't want to get out of his
truck in the rain and dark."

Since I paid almost $10 for a next day delivery which didn't happen, I'm
quite miffed. The email demanding a refund has already been sent.

Sylvia.

[Trevor Wilson]

**This guy is quite a good way to start:

https://www.headspace.com/meditation/meditation-for-beginners

MUCH cheaper and far less mystical than TM*. First few lessons are
free, but then you pay. Costs are, IMO, reasonable, but you may find
good results with your local Buddhist temple:

https://www.nantien.org.au/en/retreats

Personally, I prefer my meditation without the religious claptrap. That
said, the people at the Nantien temple are very nice, if not deluded
(like all religious people).

* Transcendental Meditation. HUGE rip-off.

[R Souls]

I had one of those. It was a Motorola.and it worked a treat. Can't
remember where I found it but I fitted it into my Austin Maxi in the
1980s. It was made for a positive earth system so I had to insullate
the whole thing form the car chassis. My mates couldn't understand why
it took half a minute to warm up.

I got 35 quid for it on ebay a few years back. A bloke wanted it for
his 1959 Hillman Minx he'd restored..
>
>
>..... Phil
>
>
>

[Trevor Wilson]

**"Warm up"? Must have been a valve model. ALL SS ones are instant on.
Except for the latest ones that are fitted with 15 microprocessors.

You think I'm joking? I flattened the battery in my 2018 Subaru and, due
to a fuck-up with jump starting the thing, I managed to shut down all
the safety systems. I took it to my mechanic, who placed his OBD-II
machine on the car. It reported the prescence of 27 microprocessors. BY
my reckoning my Suby has about a billion times more computing power than
a space shuttle.

[Computer Nerd Kev]

Trevor Wilson <tre...@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:
>
> Except for the latest ones that are fitted with 15 microprocessors.
>
> You think I'm joking? I flattened the battery in my 2018 Subaru and, due
> to a fuck-up with jump starting the thing, I managed to shut down all
> the safety systems. I took it to my mechanic, who placed his OBD-II
> machine on the car. It reported the prescence of 27 microprocessors. BY
> my reckoning my Suby has about a billion times more computing power than
> a space shuttle.

They now often have multiple processors in the same chip, probably
adding up to more than that system reports. Eg. the BCM2835 SoC
used for the original Raspberry Pi includes the CPU, but also a
secondary "videocore" processor (VPU), as well as "quad" processors
(QPUs) which are used for 3D acceleration processing.

On the models that include a chip for Bluetooth/WiFi, that chip
has one ARM-based processor for Bluetooth and another for WiFi.
The CPU is actually booted by the VPU, then the CPU boots up the
BT/WiFi processors.

[Sylvia Else]

I note that NSW Health is now recommending that people get their second
jab sooner in the light of the current outbreak. I've managed to book it
for today.

Sylvia.

[Trevor Wilson]

**Yep.

[Trevor Wilson]

**You're lucky. My quack can't fit me in until next Wednesday. That
gives me 8 weeks between jabs.

[Sylvia Else]

My own doctor's offering was 4th August, so I mentally said "bugger
that" and looked around for on-line booking options.

Depends on the area, of course, and your mileage may vary.

The main issue, to my mind, is what the situation might be when I had to
expose myself to potential infection in order to get the jab. I'm on the
north shore, which at present seems a small risk. A month from now,
which is about when I was due, the situation could be a hell of a lot
worse. Or the problem could have been solved. One has to make a call on
that.

Sylvia.

[Trevor Wilson]

**Good thinking.

[keithr0]

On 12/07/2021 9:09 am, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

The sub $10 ESP32 chip has 2 32 bit processors, an ultra low power
processor, and another to handle WiFi.

[keithr0]

Got in early here in Qld, had the second jab 3 weeks ago with the full
12 week interval.

[Sylvia Else]

All those people who were saying there was no hurry, and they'd wait and
see, must be hating themselves now.

Sylvia.

[Clocky]

That's a low number by todays standards but that's unsurprising for a
Subaru. When I did the Holden Vectra training around 2003 or so that
model already had around that many.

BY
> my reckoning my Suby has about a billion times more computing power than
> a space shuttle.
>

Not really. Each module contains it's own "computer" and they
communicate over the CAN-BUS. Many of these are typically pretty low
power in terms of computing power. There is one for pretty much
everything these days.

[Trevor Wilson]

**Really. That surprises me. I had the in-laws' 2001 Vectra here for a
bit, as they wanted it sold. It was less sophisticated than my VP
Commodore (admittedly, optioned to Calais level). Unless, of course,
they did a radical re-fit of the Vectra by 2003.

>
> BY
>> my reckoning my Suby has about a billion times more computing power
>> than a space shuttle.
>>
>
> Not really. Each module contains it's own "computer" and they
> communicate over the CAN-BUS. Many of these are typically pretty low
> power in terms of computing power. There is one for pretty much
> everything these days.

**True enough. Bloody things are everywhere. They're so cheap and so
powerful, manufacturers can't help themselves. When I built an
intermittant wiper attachment for my Escort, I needed a small handful of
discrete components (A UJT, an SCR, a potentiometer, a couple of caps
and half a dozen resistors). Even back then it cost less than $15.00 to
build. I betcha manufacturers use a dedicated micro for the job.

[Clifford Heath]

It's cheaper to run power and a data bus everywhere than to run
dedicated feeds to everything. Saves copper, saves complexity, reduces
interconnects. Plus it allows monitoring. Send a message telling the LH
indicators to run, and if you don't get acknowledgement from each one
you can report a lighting fault. Etc.

CH

[Xeno]

Most likely use PAL chips.

>
Back when I did a Chrysler dealer course on the Voyager and the
Wrangler, pre 2000, they had 15+ computers in each of them then. That
number will only have increased since then.

[Clocky]

The ZC Vectra was a very different beast. It had all the fruit (TCS,
ESC, SRS, ABS etc etc) but it also had things like modules for each tail
light, headlight, door lock etc. The VP had bugger all computing power,
just an ECM and BCM basically. There were different BCM "levels" (for
instance high or low) depending on the luxury level of the vehicle but
in terms of computing power it had bugger all.

>>
>> BY
>>> my reckoning my Suby has about a billion times more computing power
>>> than a space shuttle.
>>>
>>
>> Not really. Each module contains it's own "computer" and they
>> communicate over the CAN-BUS. Many of these are typically pretty low
>> power in terms of computing power. There is one for pretty much
>> everything these days.
>
> **True enough. Bloody things are everywhere. They're so cheap and so
> powerful, manufacturers can't help themselves. When I built an
> intermittant wiper attachment for my Escort, I needed a small handful of
> discrete components (A UJT, an SCR, a potentiometer, a couple of caps
> and half a dozen resistors). Even back then it cost less than $15.00 to
> build. I betcha manufacturers use a dedicated micro for the job.

They do and with it comes issues. Like the bloke who attempted to wire
up some spot lights on his NP300 Navara and destroyed the IPDM - $300
module from Nissan plus labour...

[~misfit~]

Nick Mason's got quite a few collectable cars. His dad raced a big Bently (which Nick still has I
believe) so it's in his blood.
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy little classification
in the DSM"
David Melville

This is not an email and hasn't been checked for viruses by any half-arsed self-promoting software.

[keithr0]

I hear that the Army is less than pleased with their Mercedes 4WDs. The
old Land Rovers could be fixed in the field with a set of spanners and a
hammer, the Mercs have to be towed back to base, and are bastards to fix
with all the electronics.

[keithr0]

On 13/07/2021 6:57 pm, ~misfit~ wrote:
> On 7/07/2021 6:38 pm, keithr0 wrote:
>> On 7/07/2021 8:31 am, Trevor Wilson wrote:
>>
>>> [Anecdote] One of my clients is a (recently retired) financial
>>> advisor. He would typically visit me in a shitbox Merc SL450. Then,
>>> one day, he piqued my interest, when he rolled up in an Aston Martin
>>> DB5 (British Racing Green - of course). He bought it back in 1970 for
>>> bugger-all. It was a bit tired, but in good nick overall. He spent
>>> $75k doing it up. I checked the value on thing and told him:
>>>
>>> "I betcha that DB5 has outperformed any investment you've ever made
>>> or advised your clients to make."
>>>
>>> He agreed.
>>
>> The drummer from Pink Floyd bought a Ferrari 250GTO for 25K ponds with
>> some of his earnings from "Dark side of the moon". Probably worth 1000
>> times that now.
>
> Nick Mason's got quite a few collectable cars. His dad raced a big
> Bently (which Nick still has I believe) so it's in his blood.

https://carwitter.com/visit-nick-masons-car-collection/

[Xeno]

Yeah, I wondered how that would turn out in the end. It's not like the
Australian Army had much choice in the matter. The old Defenders dated
from the early Defender days with the youngest being more than a decade
old. The Benz has more capabilities but, as you say, the electronic will
be problematical, especially so when they age.

[Computer Nerd Kev]

I heard that the G Wagons that the "department of name changes"
(DELWP, do firefighting in the Vic forrest areas) bought cut out
when their computer detects smoke. Which could be, umm,
inconvenient.

Among other problems:
https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/national/victorian-delwp-attacked-by-awu-over-mercedesbenz-g-wagons/news-story/e687df05bcdabb6f5df57fc04db7a174?nk=a94d6ad6f572cd443471d16fc4383a0f-1626306024

[Rheilly Phoull]

That was 4 years ago !! Also did you check the response from a user ??

[~misfit~]

As someone who calls himself a computer nerd you'd think you'd know what parts of URLs aren't
needed. In the above case it's the ?nk=a94d6ad6f572cd443471d16fc4383a0f-1626306024 on the end. Not
only unnecessary but can also be used to track where visitors got the link from. (Which is why I
remove it or anything similar from URLS before using them in a browser.)

<https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/national/victorian-delwp-attacked-by-awu-over-mercedesbenz-g-wagons/news-story/e687df05bcdabb6f5df57fc04db7a174>
gets you to the same page just fine.

[Computer Nerd Kev]

~misfit~ <shaun.at...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 15/07/2021 11:45 am, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:
>> Among other problems:
>> https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/national/victorian-delwp-attacked-by-awu-over-mercedesbenz-g-wagons/news-story/e687df05bcdabb6f5df57fc04db7a174?nk=a94d6ad6f572cd443471d16fc4383a0f-1626306024
>
> As someone who calls himself a computer nerd you'd think you'd
> know what parts of URLs aren't needed. In the above case it's the
> ?nk=a94d6ad6f572cd443471d16fc4383a0f-1626306024 on the end.

Alright alright, bitchy. I didn't see the "?" amongst the big long
hash that _is_ required for the URL to work, and frankly I don't
intend to study damn URLs like some obsessive just for the sake of
one quick post. Setting up an automatic process to always strip
anything after a "?" would obviously break other URLs.

> Not only unnecessary but can also be used to track where visitors
> got the link from. (Which is why I remove it or anything similar
> from URLS before using them in a browser.)

Well good for you. Make sure you also tell it to all the fools who
post long links to Ebay and the like, sometimes even using a URL
shortener service, without realising that they can be trimmed down
to.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/[item number]

_I_ don't because I accept that not everybody can figure it out or
just be bothered to do it. Buy if you're going to pick on me for
_that_ one tracking parameter in the middle of a big long string of
identical-looking noise, then I expect you to tell those other URL
posters to rot in hell!

And while we're being bitchy, you had nothing to say about the Merc
4x4s, so why quote all that stuff above the link?

[Computer Nerd Kev]

So what?

> Also did you check the response from a user ??

No, I don't even enable the Javascript required to show comments on
sites like that because I don't think they're worth much coming
from random readers. I've never driven one, so you believe who you
like. Personally I wouldn't like the idea of a vehicle deciding for
itself to cut out in the middle of a firefighting operation, where
it might be required to escape from a dangerous situation. If they
have to do that in order to protect the gearbox, then that just
suggests to me that the gearbox isn't up to the job. But I only
know what I hear and read.

[Rheilly Phoull]

So in 4 years there are always improvements made, so you say you are not
a random reader but an expert on vehicles ( which I notice you know shit
about 4wd vehicles). Don't judge from newsgroups, go and drive one, the
mercs are leaders in the game. The g wagon is the choice of the military.

[Rheilly Phoull]

Because wankers like you are a pain in the butt!!

[Computer Nerd Kev]

No I _am_ a random reader, which is exactly why I included a link
to an article from a respected source which claimed to represent
the opinion of people who did have real experience. That is the
basis for my own opinion, and not easily swayed by whatever some
random Merc fanatic might say in the comments.

> Don't judge from newsgroups, go and drive one, the mercs are
> leaders in the game.

I'm not that interested that I'd actually go and get a test-drive.
If there's an article that explains exactly why the claims of those
DELWP workers were false, I'd be interested to read it. Just "Mercs
are geat, I never have a problem with mine" sort of stuff doesn't
say much to me.

> The g wagon is the choice of the military.

Umm, yeah.

[Xeno]

The G Wagon is the choice only because Land Rover didn't submit a
tender. The Australian Army had no choice.

[keithr0]

What the Army wants is a vehicle that will reliably run under the worst
possible conditions. The G-Wagon may be nice to drive and comfortable,
but it doesn't appear to meet those conditions.

The other requirement would be to be fixable in the field, but probably
no current vehicle would meet that.

[Clocky]

The Mercedes X class is just a tarted up Nissan NP300. So yeah, I can
see that being a problem.

[Clocky]

I don't bother with comments from random people either, especially since
they are just as likely to be company stooges and not random at all ;-)
As for the G wagons cutting out when detecting smoke that could easily
be fixed with a firmware update.

[Pomegranate Bastard]

On Mon, 12 Jul 2021 04:50:57 +1000, Trevor Wilson
<tre...@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:

>On 12/07/2021 4:16 am, R Souls wrote:
>> On Mon, 5 Jul 2021 20:33:32 -0700 (PDT), Phil Allison
>> <palli...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Trevor Wilson wrote:
>>> ================
>>>>
>>>> I've been cleaning out the store-room (aka: The garage). Look at what I
>>>> found:
>>>>
>>>> https://imgur.com/dfEQnOh
>>>>
>>>> My very first power transistor (if you don't count the AC128 that came
>>>> with my Philips Electronic Engineer kit). The mighty 2N301.
>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> ** Remember them well, every 60s pushbutton car radio had one - operating in class A with a choke load and a 16 ohm speaker.
>>> Usually mounted on a black anodised Al heatsink with no insulators.
>>>
>>> One I worked on had special 12V supply valves in the RF stages.
>>
>> I had one of those. It was a Motorola.and it worked a treat. Can't
>> remember where I found it but I fitted it into my Austin Maxi in the
>> 1980s. It was made for a positive earth system so I had to insullate
>> the whole thing form the car chassis. My mates couldn't understand why
>> it took half a minute to warm up.
>>
>> I got 35 quid for it on ebay a few years back. A bloke wanted it for
>> his 1959 Hillman Minx he'd restored..
>
>**"Warm up"? Must have been a valve model.

Indeed it was.

The RF & IF sections had (I think) four B7G valves designed for a 12
volt HT supply and a separate class A audio output module using I
think a single OC28.

>ALL SS ones are instant on.
>Except for the latest ones that are fitted with 15 microprocessors.
>
>You think I'm joking? I flattened the battery in my 2018 Subaru and, due
>to a fuck-up with jump starting the thing, I managed to shut down all
>the safety systems. I took it to my mechanic, who placed his OBD-II

>machine on the car. It reported the prescence of 27 microprocessors. BY

[Phil Allison]

Pomegranate Bastard wrote:

=========================

>
> >**"Warm up"? Must have been a valve model.
> Indeed it was.
>
> The RF & IF sections had (I think) four B7G valves designed for a 12
> volt HT supply and a separate class A audio output module using I
> think a single OC28.

** B7G is the socket number.

The 12V valves were miniature 7 pin types - eg:

http://www.r-type.org/exhib/aaa1434.htm



..... Phil

[Pomegranate Bastard]

Looks about right. I didn't take the valves out to look at them but I
think they were all B7G style.

I remember it being really sensitive and stable, much better than the
transistor radio it replaced.