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Seems the weather has taken it's toll on my outdoor icicle lights. Before they got totally trashed by the high winds I've been out earlier and taken them down (fortunately living in a bungalow has it's advantages). When I initially put them up only 2 of the bulbs out of the 360 weren't working, but seems like 10 or possible more (wasn't prepared to count them in the gales and rain) have now gone out.
The box says that the bulbs are non replaceable, but knowing how to handle a soldering iron and heat shrink tubing I'm sure they can. I just now need somewhere to source replacements bulbs from.
They are described as "rice bulbs" and are of the rating 1.5Volts, 0.105Watts. A quick google didn't throw much up. It was suggested by a neighbour to try a model shop that sells stuff like train sets and scalextric. Failing that, I might take a trip into town over the weekend and see if there are any ½ price offrers left on xmas lights and buy a small set to cannibalise for next years festivities. Unless someone has some other suggestions?
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>>I might take a trip into town over the weekend and see if there are any ½ price offrers left on xmas lights and buy a small set to cannibalise for next years festivities.
>>
I raided Homebase a few days before Christmas where there was a large variety ( of plug in bulbs) in their sale.
I bought several packs @ 49p a pack instead of £2.49 so I am well prepared for next year.
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Hi DD,
ive just had a quick google using the words "icicle lights rice bulbs" (minus quotes) and got quite a few pages of hits, as i'm not entirely sure what your looking for i'll let you browse and see if theres anything that interests you.
Another idea, you could purchase another identicle string for next year, and keep you existing string for chopping up as the spares! :-)
HTH
Billy
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Model shop would be a good place to try for those bulbs.
Got similar type of bulbs but 12 volt for Peugeot electric window switches before from my local model shop, about 40 pence each.
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Thanks folks. Plugged them back in this afternoon, led out on the living room carpet, and it appears only 3 bulbs are out - only one more than when I first put them up a couple of weeks ago. Strange really when the box says something like there are 15 separate circuits each comprising 24 bulbs connected in series. Should one bulb go out, to prevent damage all the other bulbs in that circuit will go out as well. Obviously not the case!
Will try Wilko's tomorrow (that's where I got them from last year in the sale) for a smaller set to cannibalise. Failing that either a model shop, or will email the company and try and persuade them to let me have some bulbs.
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These bulbs are made so that when the filament fails the wires supporting the filament short together hence keeping the series circuit good. However once several bulbs in the chain go short circuit the voltage applied to others will start to cause a domino effect. Need I say more? They get brighter and brighter and finally....... something somewhere will melt. Probably one of the bulbs before the wire.
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pmh (was peter)
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On grounds of taste, the high winds have some benefits. [/curmudgeonly old fool]
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"I just now need somewhere to source replacements bulbs from"
Nick them off an elderly neighbour's house
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What I would like to be able to do is to plan walks using detailed maps on a PC (Landranger 1:50000 level of detail or better), and transfer the routes to a handheld GPS capable of displaying the route on a map.
Memory-Map maps look fine for planning, but as I understand it all the GPS units capable of displaying maps only work with 'their' maps, which looking at the samples are not sufficiently detailed to plan the walks reliably.
What's the best compromise? Just transfer the route and waypoints to the GPS and forget the map display (I can buy a cheaper GPS then) or is there a reasonably affordable way to do what I want.
TIA - I can't believe the combined knowledge of the BR hasn't solved this one?
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Manatee - I only use a Geko 201 myself, which is fairly limited, but I think you are right in your assumption - most mapping GPSr's have fairly limited mapping capability by UK standards, but then again the OS (and i'm no great fan) set a standard that few others come anywhere close.
The solution, and I've seen it work quite impressively, is some form of PDA with a gps device and memory map installed. The issues are cost, battery life and ruggedness - I'm sure the more technically minded will be along to point out how to and where.
I find downloading routes and carrying an OS map more than adequate, with the bonus that still have the OS map if the batteries run out on the GPS.
feel free to email me at address in profile if yuo think I can help further
--
Go on, get out of the car...
www.mikes-walks.co.uk
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I second your opinion Borasport.
I have Memory Map and download to a PDA. Don't have a problem when I have used it with battery life. My Navman BT GPS unit lasts for ages on a new set of AAA rechargeables and the PDA and it not usually always on. and you can print out your subset of OS map to take as the backup.
One thing I find Memory Map great for is planning walks in the first place including looking at profile/elevation and for curiosity the 3d-fly through which can be more accurate than you'd imagine.
And you can get waterproof cases for PDAs not that I have but don't walk in terrential rain either.
There is an OS mapping application for Symbian smartphones plus BT GPS. Downloaded demo and not as good as Memory Map on my PDA but an option.
Finally, having a moving map on a pda with (optional) direction indicator for next waypoint, speed indicator, tracking where you've been and how fast etc. is pretty impressive.
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Some good friends have taken on a pub in Yorkshire, turned it into a gastropub, and it´s going really well - so well in fact that they are talking about fitting a conservatory on the back.
I pointed out to them that the flank of the pub they want to extend on faces pretty much due south.
As they want to serve food in relative comfort, are there any options to reduce the greenhouse effect of the south-facing roof, or should they just can the idea?
Many thanks,
Barchettaman
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A good conservatory company should be able to advise on the subject, but also see:
www.diy-conservatories-uk.co.uk/glazing.htm
www.vogueconservatories.co.uk/conservaglass.html
tinyurl.com/ybcduy
www.conservatoriesonline.com/climate-control-in-co...m
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VERY warm salads. Some conservatory's in this position can be an absolute nightmare. Early evening may be a reasonable proposition, but mid summer lunch probably = NO NO.
I have also known two landlords who had very 'nice' businessess and who made a good living and paid their bills etc. They both thought that the business and therefore the profit stream would show a linear increase if they expanded, but it was apparent to me that it would not be the case and of course it wasn't. They both spent ££ heading towards 70 - 80 each and failed quite miserably, one within months. Sometimes it is to do with no more than the change. Owner thinks is is blinking marvellous and nothing has changed, but punter knows different. Reverse gear is then NOT available. Bigger mortgage....smaller income...panic sets in and hey ho...the party is over.................And to be honest, they both ruined lovely country pubs. For all but the few it usually ends in tears. Tell them caution.
Best................................MD.
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Malt Shovel ?
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That´s the one, and at the risk of a shame-faced plug, it´s pretty sensational - ate there on the 27th, all lovely stuff.
Cheers all for your replies, which I´ll forward to them! Happy New Year
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I live about 2 miles away. Although I havent been in since it went gastro although I have heard very good reports. Presumably they are only thinking of doing the bit where the benches were ? Any bigger and they would lose car park.
I used to use it when walking the dogs, but I suspect that muddy spaniels are no longer permitted ?
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I have a south-facing conservatory and it's just about acceptable in full sun. Make the roof as high as possible, fit plenty of roof vents and opening windows and fit blinds. Lots of roof vents make all the difference. Definitely fit a glass roof, argon-filled with a big air gap (or should that be argon gap) and heatsave glass. I have aircon but rarely use it for cooling but on a lot of the time for heating in winter. A little bit of sun or even just a bright day in winter will make it pleasantly warm.
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Possibly one for Hugo, or another cornwall dweller...
A bizarre thing happened on our walk today (apart from nearly being blown over - it was certainly fresh!). As we walked from West Pentire, we were stunned by the the arrival of a procession of at least ten old tractors over the dunes and down through Trago Mill (the actual mill on our walk, not the Cornish superstore). They looked like they might be on some kind of annual new year rally or something, but it was extremely surreal to see them appearing out of the mists and driving down past us, each one giving us a wave as they passed. I don?t know who thought who was more odd - us for walking in such awful weather or them for just being randomly in the sand dunes in their Massey Fergusons!
Any idea what this might have been all about? Oh and why is there a herd of cows on Polly Joke? Do they paddle in the sea when nobody is looking?
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We have similar oldish tractors going down through the sand dunes where I live (on the coast between Liverpool and Preston); they are shrimpers and going to collect their trailers used in their work.
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Sounds like it may have been the "Cornwall Tractor Club" on a Xmas run out. Not a member myself but I seem to remember they have various meets during the year as well as attending vintage rallies etc. I've seen the cows (bullocks?) at Porth Joke several times and wondered what emetts make of them.
Happy new year, Steve.
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SteveinCornwall... I hasten to add I'm not an emmet, but I think that clears it up nicely, thank you. The fact that you can get an answer to anything and everything in this place will never cease to amaze me!
Regarding the cows, I was a bit worried that they might be bulls, as I was wearing a bright red waterproof, but when the big scary looking one stood up, it confirmed that they were just cows. I still upped the pace a bit to get to the bridge though!
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PG, just some sort of old tractor outing. We had 50+ go along the lane last year just after Christmas. None this year sorry to say but then it was darned cold last year and maybe the consensus was that open tractor plus cold = let's do it on August bank holiday next time?
JH
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I would agree with Steve.
I do see them once every few months. I'm not a signed up member myself but I know there are several tractor ralleys per year. An ex colleague of mine had a collection of MFs etc. He used to strip them down and refurb them. He also took part in ploughing matches - yes these guys actually have ploughing matches!
My friend has a lorry large enough to take 2 tractors. He visits plouging matches all over the devon cornwall area
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My son has purchased a Sony 20" LCD-TV for bedroom use. It incorporates Freeview.
Question......Could he operate this on an indoor aerial and if so, is there anyone in the BR who could advise as to which one he should obtain to pull in those freebee programmes?
He is well located in relation to TV transmitting mast.
TIA.
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You can use any aerial you want, its all about the neccessary strength of signal. You'd need to be within 5 miles or so of the transmitter without a whole bunch of buildings in the way for a cheap set-top aerial to work.
What has been using utnil now, if anything ? To begin with try any old aerial and see what you get.
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>>You can use any aerial you want,>>
Not strictly true as, in many/most areas, you need a wideband aerial to receive all the Freeview transmissions.
Biggest problem at the moment is that the ITV stations and their related offspring are using a different method of transmission, which has resulted in many people being unable to watch programmes due to freezing displays or crackling sound.
It affects set top boxes and certain IDTV TVs (and sometimes PCI TV/ USB stick cards) using a Philips chipset and the Dutch company is working hard to cure the problem as ITV is, it's claimed, refusing to match BBC and others' transmissions technology.
My best mate, who owns an independent audio/visual/appliances outlet, is constantly having to placate irate customers unable to watch these affected stations - the only advice he can give at present is to use analogue transmissions for ITV.
However, if you have an older ON/ITVDigital set top box these are not affected due to a different chipset.
If you just want to try out a cheap aerial, this review of a £9.99 portable model might prove interesting:
tinyurl.com/y8u6z5
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Some useful info:
www.radioandtelly.co.uk/reception.html#groups
The ITV transmissions use 64 QAM technology, noted for breakup problems.
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I paid for an installer to erect a new aerial for Freeview reception for one end of the house - it cost over £200, and all he did was was erect a new, higher pole and connect the antenna he supplied to the existing co-ax. More recently I had my chimney and kitchen redone, so while the scaffolding was up I erected a new aerial on the chimney and ran the co-ax into the kitchen before it was plastered.
I bought the components from www.tlc-direct.co.uk for about £30.00 total. I didnlt have a meter to measure the aerial's signal, so I got out the OS map and worked out the bearing to the transmitter and set the aerial up on that. It works fine. The transmitter is about 18-20 miles away, with near line of sight I'd guess. Some trees and a low hill in the way, but no more.
I do wonder where the other £170 goes though. The guy was only here for about 45 mins.
How close is your son to the transmitter?
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What really annoys me is the appalingly low bit rate that is now being used. BBC 1 & 2 are mostly ok, but all the other channels are using variable or fixed low rates. The resulting picture quality is frankly appaling at times, with large blocky pixels and resulting lack of sharpness. The quality is worse than Analogue. Far too many channels showing complete rubbish and eating up multiplexor bandwidth.
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We bought our first Digibox years ago at the start of Freeview and just plugged it into the existing 20yr old aerial... received about half the channels with a fair bit of weather related dropping out on some. Spoke to the local TV shop who said about £250 for a worthwhile aerial upgrade on the existing mast. Told me we were at the very limit of reception so needed a big aerial, masthead amp, pre-set amp, high grade co-ax etc etc.
I went to Wickes and bought their £27.99 high gain wideband aerial kit inc decent co-ax etc. Installed it myself on the rear of the house just below the gutter and we now get all channels and almost never any dropping out. Use the old chimney aerial for analogue upstairs TVs.
Funnily enough we have just been given an old Thompson Digibox for the kid's bedroom and using the old aerial feed that just gets the BBC based channels.... with a stunning picture on them though. Another trip to Wickes needed I reckon.
M.M
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Thank-you all for your helpful comments. My son is following them up, especially the links to relevant web sites. As the crow flies, he is about ten miles from Holme Moss.
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Thank-you all for your helpful comments. My son is following them up, especially the links to relevant web sites. As the crow flies, he is about ten miles from Holme Moss.
I'm ready to be corrected again, but I don't think Holme Moss transmits TV these days:
it was a 405 line transmitter when I were a lad.... I could hear the line whistle from outside the back door.
Try Elmley Moor, or if you're over on the Lancashire side of the Pennines you might need to try Winter Hill.
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www.aerialsandtv.com/holmemosstx.html
It doesn't transmit telly signals any more but is the daddy of all FM Transmitters.
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When I had to have a wideband aerial erected (to be able to pick up the then middle number channels on ONDigital), the cost was £51 and a few pence and included new coaxial cable.
Mind you we are only about 15 miles from the transmitter and can see it by walking half-a-mile down the road.
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I bought an aerial from screwfix for under tenner, it works fine but I am in direct line of sight to the transmitter (belmont) about 20 miles away.
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We had an aerial in the loft which gave a dodgy picture on 4 terrestial channels, no C5.
Put in a set top box and was prepared to spend £50+ on a new aerial - however the picture from digital is superb and took a bout 5 minutes for it to tune in. It stalls occasionally but a unplug/plug of the power supply fixes it.
My son has a Freeview TV in his home (Aberdeen) a lot less bother than the HDTV from Sky - 4 boxes in 3 months and about 12 visits from Sky in 3 years for various problems.
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I'd like to put a tracking device on my cat, the sort they use in African safari parks. Any ideas on how to do this?
I do already have a radio frequency locator it may not be accurate enough for such short range work. It is shaped like a car speed trap gun, it has a frequncy adjust knob (not sure of the range) and it has a compass on it so take a directional reading - not important with the cat because it will be just me walking to where the cat is based on the direction I'm pointing the thing. So I will need something on the cat to outout radio signal - any ideas?
Or do you have any other methods I could use?
Thanks
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www.loc8tor.co.uk/?gclid=CN_NwcG0v4kCFQhREgodDzp1Uw
and you can fit an led flasher on your cats collar.
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Thanks Holmes, nice suggestion. I wonder if those tags are always emitting a signal? Then I might be able to find them using my existing finder.
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The two year old house in to which we moved last summer suffers from what appears (look and taste) to be salt "weeping" from the garden wall and garage brickwork. In the case of the garden wall the white stain is always worse when the wall dries after prolonged heavy rain but is easy to rinse off with hose and thumb over the end; it then dries "clean" and stays so for some weeks.
In the case of the garage though, the salt is a pain; as some BRers will recall, I have sealed and painted the garage internal walls up to the height of the rafters. Above this level, all the way to the apex, is bare brick now showing large areas of salt. This salt falls off and collects on the floor. Fine. No problem. It sweeps up or washes away whenever I periodically clean the garage floor.
The problem is that the salt was obviously falling from close to Day One and has impregnated the concrete floor.
How do I know?
Because despite very careful preparation, my carefully sealed and painted floor is now bubbling up in some (only some) of the very places along the edges where the salt falls. Everywhere else has solid, firmly anchored, unlifting, paint.
a) Any idea how long the salt will typically weep from brickwork for?
b) short of chipping it up with a cold chisel and mallet before relaying, what can I do to draw salt from the concrete prior to resealing and painting?
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Salt is not "weeping" per say, its leeching. The only thing that makes salt leech from bricks is moisture and damp. The bricks are soaking up water, then when they dry the salt is leeched at the surface.
Almost certainly the garden wall does not have a DPC and is soaking up ground water (give away here is the salt is at the bottom half of the wall). I would hope the garage wall has a DPC (the DPC could be bridged and hence rendered useless by the garden wall if it abuts the garage wall).
If the salt is a long way up the wall, then your bricks are porous and need to be sealed (thomsons water seal)
Needs to be done at the end of a dry spell.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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a) Any idea how long the salt will typically weep from brickwork for?
It will do it for ever unless you fix the damp issue.
b) salt can not impregnate a concrete garage floor, you have the same issue here as the bricks. Its damp causing the paint to bubble - Its probably getting its damp from the same place as the bricks.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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The posh name for it on brickwork is Efflorescence. IMO the best way to get rid of it would be to brush it off when dry with a stiff brush, and sweep it well away from the area. If you rinse it with a hose, some or most of the surface salt will dissolve in the water and be washed back into the pores in the brickwork, to return again. If you sweep it away dry then with time it should reduce until there are no soluble salts left in the masonry.
With the concrete I would think it best to leave it for the time being, or remove the paint where it is bubbling, to let the salts out and regularly sweep away when dry. The following website suggests using a penetrating sealer, but to use it when the efflorescence has all but ceased, and I dont know how effective these are myself. The website deals with precast paving rather than insitu cast concrete. I think it is less common on insitu concrete than on precast, but yours may have been exacerbated by the salts falling fron the wall above. www.pavingexpert.com/eff01.htm
Is there a chance that moisture is tracking through the wall at slab level and getting under the paint?
Rich.
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Thanks, both.
Garden Wall
Indeed the garden wall has no DPC, though the efflorescence (ta!) is apparent in patches throughout all of its six foot height. Seems it's a good job I don't mind living with the problem then. (For info, I have found a section of house wall with efflorescence, though indeed only up to the level of the DPC, which confirms the dampness explanation, thanks).
Garage
I'm 99% sure the problem is salt from above, not damp from below; the only affected areas are short strips about two inches out from the edge of the floor / base of wall, and about an inch wide. Each such strip is in an area that "collects" salt if I lay a piece of clean timber down to check for a few days; after said few days it looks like a bad case of dandruff. The garden wall does not touch the (free standing separate building) garage, and there is no evidence of efflorescence on the outer walls at any level; only the inner walls above the painted level. When we have had some warm, dry, weather, I will chip out some concrete, fill with new, set, seal (like the whole floor has already been done with Thomsons sealer), repaint, and watch!
Thanks again for the explanations.
(BTW - I'll accept "leech" rather than "weep", so "per se", please TVM! ;-)
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SJB,
Is if a detached garage? Reckon its will be moisture soaking through the walls following heavy rain, water ingress, we moved into a new house a few years ago, one wall of the double garage suffered from a lot of water ingress, the bricks are porus and once saturated allowed water to run in rivulets down the inside and pooling on the floor. Eventually!!!!!!!!!!!! the builder sealed and internally rendered the problematic wall (the rear wall thus full height and also facing the prevaling weather), I have applied two coats of Thompsons Water Seal to this wall externally as further insurance. The "salt" is the mineral content of the water being deposited as the water evaporates.
Regards.
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Thanks, cheddar; your garage guess is correct. Detached, and the wall in question is single brick thickness so I'll buy moisture getting through. As it happens, on going in to the garage early this morning directly after heavy and prolonged rain that itself follows a wet spell, there was a puddle of water on the otherwise bone dry painted floor close to where the salt collects... Trickling water from a watering can confirmed that it can't have collected from when the car was parked as the incline is the wrong way as expected.
I reckon I too will be getting my tin of Thompson's Water Seal out.
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Re our garage:
I got NHBC involved, the guy ruled that although the wall leaked like a sieve in heavy rain it had been built "to standard" and the builder was not obliged to do anything. However while on site he measured the level of the garage floor, determined that its was sloping incorrectly, ruled that the builder should address the floor thus giving us something to hold over the builder. The builder then agreed to attend to the problematic wall in lieu of the floor by sealing it and internally rendering it. I have subsequently applied a couple of coats of TWS externally myself.
Regards.
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Some info here on rain penertration through brickwork. Garages are normally non-habitable spaces so they do not come under building regulations, and are therefore usually built with single leaf walls for cheapness. There could be just as much water running down the inside of your house walls in driving rain conditions, but hopefully your walls have a cavity to prevent water reaching the inside face.
www.ibstock.com/technical-support.asp - Click on '7. Rain penetration...'
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That's why we have cavity walls - to prevent the rain penetrating all the way through the walls. Once you insulate your cavity - by filling it with polystyrene beads - then the driving rain has an easy way to be carried across the cavity to the inner skin, and thus to penetrate through into the house. Grrrrreat. Perversely, it then becomes much harder for water vapour to leave your house through the walls. Grrrreater still!
Don't have your cavity walls insulated if you liv in an exposed spot.
Beware using waterproofing products on all your walls. You will waterproof the building so that it cannot breathe.
Beware also waterproofing the outside AND the inside of a wall, then any water that gets in (it will) cannot ever get out again, and your bricks will, eventually, fail.
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What could it be for? Click on it to enlarge if you wish.
img80.imageshack.us/img80/9905/chambertc7.jpg
There is no further information other than in the picture.
Thank you for all suggestions
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Is it a particle accelerator like a Cyclotron? Just a wild guess but I am assuming something related to nuclear physics.
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I just found out what it is
grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001242.html
A variable density wind tunnel
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I've been looking around after toying with the idea of buying a TV. Seems that they are virtually all flat panel types now, lcd or plasma or whatever. Thing is, some say HD ready and some don't. What exactly is high definition TV, is it worth it and will any TV receive it? I won't be going for satellite pay-TV by the way.
Incidentally, these flat panel TVs all seem to consume around double the amount of electricity used by an 'ordinary' set. This must be a major environmental issue, mustn't it? Am I the only one to have noticed?
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Have a study of the benefits etc of LCD and Plasma and HD at:
www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/12/08/hd_tv_uk_guide_up.../
You require a service such as Sky's HD service (and box) for high definition TV but, believe me, the results are breathtaking.
You will need to ensure that you buy a set that incorporates Freeview, otherwise you will require Sky/cable or at the least a set top box to receive digital transmissions when the analogue transmitters are closed down by 2012.
Most manufacturers have ceased producing CRT sets as virtually everyone wants LCD or plasma these days - if you still prefer a CRT set then, again, it will almost certainly require a set top box to continue viewing after the switchover (a Freeview set top box converts the digital transmissions to analogue form so that programmes can be viewed).
You've probably noted that the small 14in and 15in CRT sets so popular for bedrooms are quite rare these days because of the need for each analogue TV to have a STB in the near future.
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In simple terms. I bought a Hitachi 32" Plasma Screen some time ago. It was flagged as HD ready. It has DVI (computer like) socketry so in reality won't take HD pictures from a Sky/Freeview box so future proof it isn't. First class picture on the normal Sky+ box though. There was much debate here on the merits of Plasma v. LCD at the time. I have just replaced this telly with a 37 inch LCD which is also HD ready in having 2xHDMi sockets and will take Sky HD boxes and a HD DVD player. The plasma has been relegated to a sitting room whilst the LCD lives in the lounge as the "main" telly. The LCD is a Toshiba brand and has had excellent write ups. The LCD has a superb picture - the Plasma has the edge though in my taste being "warmer" colour wise. It will be interesting to see the difference when we finally upgrade to HD. Both TVs give a cracking picture with very little to choose between them. If it came to the push I'd be struggling to choose. A matter of taste now between the two.
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>Thing is, some say HD ready and some don't. What exactly is high definition TV, is it worth it and will any TV receive it? I won't be going for satellite pay-TV by the way.
Everybody who asks me gets the same answer - do not spend ANY money on getting an "HD-Ready" TV at this time. Not only are they not always what they seem, the final common standard has yet to emerge - perhaps 1080p, we shall see.
I find that the follwoing issued by Ofcom in their annual report gives as good and easy to understand explanation as any. As an aside if you can get hold of a copy of Ofcom's annual report it makes fascinating reading. Well, it does to me at least, but I think people outside the industry would be interested as well.
Copied from the Ofcom annual report....(owned by them their copyright, etc. etc.) although all the typos are my own....
High definition TV (HDTV) is hte generic term that is used to describe any television signal that has a higher resolution than the standard TV signal that has been broadcast for nearly 40years. The term HDTV actually covers a range of different standards.
A standard UK television signal comprises 625 lines of information from the top of the screen to the bottom (just 576 of these lines can be seen by the viewer), and 768 lines from left to right. This means that the finer details - especially on newer large-screen TVs - tend to become blurred. HDTV increases the number of lines of information, either to 720x1280 or to 1080x1920. This means that finer details can be represented within the picture.
HDTV can also differ from a standard television broadcast by the way in which the lines of information are refreshed (updated) on the screen. In the standard TV, and in the current 1080x1920 format, the horizontal lines of the picture are renewed alternately - i.e, lines 1,3,5,7...etc. are refreshed to the bottom of the screen, then lines 2,4,6,8.. etc are refreshed. Since UK TV pictures are broadcast at 50hz, this means that every line of the picture only changes at half that rate - 25 times per second. This system is known as interlacing and is usually depicted by the suffix "i".
The alternative system is calle dprogressive scanning, and entails updating each line of the picture in sequence. This means that the whole picture refreshes 50 times per second - double the rate of interlacing. Progressive scanning can give the viewer the perception of higher resolution than an interlaced picture. Progressive scan formats have the suffix "p".
Currently, Sky's HD broadcasts use the 720x1280 progressive scan system (known as (720p), whereas the BBC's HD output is at 1080x1920 interlaced (1080i).
In important factor for HD viewers is that most "HD-ready" TVs can only support 720 line signals (most LCD and plasma TVs currently have 768 lines top-to-bottom). Indeed, the "HD-ready" logo can be applied to any TV that has a minimum of 720 horizontal lines. The small number of plasma TVs that support 1080x1920 are currently priced at the high end of the market, although prices may fall as production increases. Viewers with 768x1024 TVs can still view 1080i HD pictures, but some of the lines of information need to be combined in order to display the picture.
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Been in Tesco tonight and some large flat screen CRT sets with Freeview are on offer for around £300 - of the LCD and plasma models, the most impressive (surprisingly to me at least) was a 32in £400 Techsonic, which had an excellent display that was equally good from much wider viewing angles than some of the Philips, Sony, Bush and other sets on show.
However, as the sets were clearly showing demo DVD pictures, it was not as reliable as watching proper TV transmissions.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Reading between the lines (intentional pun) about HD trials etc I'd be surprised if the majority of programming was HD standard within five years. That's about the planned life of a TV these days....
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"five years. That's about the planned life of a TV these days...."
or less hopefully, my Tosh came with a free 5 year guarantee !
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>>my Tosh came with a free 5 year guarantee !>>
My first Nicam TV was a £499.99 21in 2163 Toshiba back in September 1990 (made in the UK) - it was virtually never off and still doing sterling duty for the youngest offspring (the set has twice had to have a fuse renewed).
When I bought it there was a voucher offer to match the £500 if I bought another Toshiba TV or audio/visual product of that price or more after six years.
When September 1996 came round I decided to buy the then replacement (2173), only to find the price was down to £379.99, so I added a mono Toshiba set and paid the small difference over the £500.
The 2173 is still our main TV set and the display and sound remain first class - it's also fed by a Freeview set top box, Mitsubishi Nicam VCR and a Kiss DVD Player. The mono set is still performing faultlessly.
Incidentally the 2173 and subsequent equivalent models have gradually come down in price and are now around £129.99...:-)
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Pugugly:
www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tvcables/HDMI-DVI-Adapt...l
Will need a separate cable for sound though.
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Thanks David, have considered this, the Hitachi is an odd thing,it has a separate "tuner" box which runs a DVI to DVI and an "AVC" cable to the telly. The box has three SCART sockets and Component cable connections on it. Without this box the TV is simply a Monitor and will run a PC either from the DVI sockets or the dedicated PC inputs. There are separate audio controls on the set (duplicated on the "box")
so I wonder if I ditched the "box" and ran a HD Sky box (for instance) with the DVI/HDMI conversion socket,,,,,,,,,??? The Tosh has no separate box everything is built in.
There was mention of Tosh's quality above, whilst the new telly seems well built (in the UK) it doesn't have the same feel as the Hitachi (Japanese build) this being better finished and feels like a piece of kit that will last for a long time. The Plasma has replaced a very large 9 year old Tosh (which has moved ou to the extended family) this was a cracking CRT telly of some bulk but with very advanced features and served us well for the time we had it.......no reason to think it won't last another 10 years.
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Why do some people raise the pitch of their voice at the end of a sentence and make a statement sound like a question when it's not a question? Where did this custom originate from, and why does it proliferate from one person to another? I can only assume that some people copy it deliberately, but goodness knows why.
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L\'escargot.
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blame aussie soaps. It is an australian thing.
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Is it not called a "rising inflection" ?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I first heard that when I went to Uni. A couple of people from the Norfolk area spoke like that. Very weird!. Took a little bit of getting used to, as did my Northern accent to all the southerners. ;o)
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A couple of people from the Norfolk area spoke like that. Very weird!. Took a little bit of getting used to, as did my Northern accent to all the southerners.
I don't think it's an accent thing. I think it's deliberate. Is it perhaps the latest "cool" (!) thing to do? Am I being "uncool" by not doing it?
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L\'escargot.
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I don't think it's an accent thing. I think it's deliberate. Is it perhaps the latest "cool" (!) thing to do? Am I being "uncool" by not doing it?
Well I started Uni (actually Polytechnic) in 1991 so its not a recent thing, in that area anyway. And I wouldnt have thought its a 'cool' thing, but I wouldnt know. Where have you heard people speaking like this?
Actually now I remember a mate who went to Uni in Gloucester, and he started doing it a bit, so he must have picked it up from someone there.
;o)
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"A couple of people from the Norfolk area spoke like that. Very weird!"
Probably because their parents were brother and sister. Did they have webbed hands?
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"A couple of people from the Norfolk area spoke like that. Very weird!" Probably because their parents were brother and sister. Did they have webbed hands?
:oP
There was one bloke whose parents had christened him Richard but always called him Basil (after Basil Fawlty), thats not normal is it?
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He said Norfolk, not Lincolnshire.......................
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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He said Norfolk, not Lincolnshire.......................
Watch what you're saying TVM! ;-)
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L\'escargot.
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Is it not called a "rising inflection" ?
Rising inflection, that's the term I was searching my brain for, but the best I could come up with was increasing pitch.
But why do people do it? What purpose does it serve?
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L\'escargot.
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I think it's a new politeness thing, used especially in (loosely) sales situations as it gives the impression that you are offering choices when you are not. For some people it may also be a lack of confidence thing since it turns a statement of opinion into something less decisive. Neighbours in the 1980s is to blame.
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It might also be due to TV and radio newsreaders and reporters raising the emphasis on every word which they feel is important in a sentence - as a result their speech volume level rises and falls akin to being on a roller coaster ride.
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But why do people do it? What purpose does it serve? --
evolving language. Same as the meanings of the words "gay" and "wicked" have changed.
BTW, natives of north Bristol have AQI, whereas South Bristolians don't. Plus they have the terminal L. Whereas Bathonians drop the "L" from words like "cold", "told" etc.
Plus la difference!
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I think it's called AQI (Australian Questioning Inflection). It's truly awful. One of the things Stephen Fry put into Room 101 a few years back.
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Terry
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And another thing (apart from starting a sentence with a preposition) why do some people:-
Pronounce the letter "H" as "Haytch" instead of "aitch"/
Call mobile phones "cell Phones" - I know it's an American thing, but why do it?
Say "skedule" instead of "schedule"
Say "somethink" - there is no such word! Could they possibly mean "something"
Ooh! I feel better already.
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> Call mobile phones "cell Phones" - I know it's an American thing, but why do it?
Because they are cell phones. They are not "mobile" phones - mine does not have a method of propulsion
(unless you count me of course)
Oh and you spelt "somefink" wrong
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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...or people who use the expression: "I, myself, me, personally think that...." or "I think not" or state that something is "the first ever".
If it's the first, then anything else is superfluous.
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" Say "skedule" instead of "schedule" "
That's not what we were taught in skool.
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It is schedule in this country, not skedule. I have to admit though that before I looked it up during an office dissagreement over the pronounciation, I thought it was skedule.
from dictionary.reference.com/ :
[skej-ool, -ool, -oo-uhl; Brit. shed-yool, shej-ool]
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Mike Farrow
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Pronunciation.
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It iws indeed called AQI, but it stands for Ascending Questioning Intonation. It's not restricted to Aussies by any means. My company employs a number of Canadians and they ALL speak like that. It is completely down to a lack of confidence in what you're saying. Stephen Fry once did it for effect on Room 101 and it sounded hilarious from someone as secure in his opinions as him.
V
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It iws indeed called AQI, but it stands for Ascending Questioning Intonation.
Surely it should not be used when the sentence is a statement? But this is usually how it is currently used, and it makes me cringe every time I hear it.
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L\'escargot.
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I think it's wonderful that pedantry is alive, well and thriving on this forum. (Checks post to make sure that there are no obvious spelling or grammatical errors)i
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>>Call mobile phones "cell Phones" - I know it's an American thing, but why do it?
The term "Cell phone" is indicative of the network topology utilised rather than a description of the handset itself. If it were referrring to the handset, then how would it differentiate between that and a home-based cordless phone ?
Since a lot of us live/work in an international environment then a term which everybody stands a chance of knowing, and working out if they don't know, makes much more sense than some "UK only" term. And a term which is preserved only for jingoistic reasons is a nonsense, and a limiting one at that.
>Say "skedule" instead of "schedule"
Do you find it difficult to understand one or the other ? If not, why does it matter ? And how many words do you think we have in "proper" English which didn't exist 50 years ago ? And where do you think that English came from ? A single text book ? Its a growing and living language. If you want absolute adherence to rules then you may have to return to latin.
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>>>> Do you find it difficult to understand one or the other ? If not, why does it matter ? >>
Not at all.
The object of the exercise was pedantry - not practicality.
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> Call mobile phones "cell Phones" - I know it's an American thing, but why do it? Because they are cell phones. They are not "mobile" phones - mine does not have a method of propulsion
Yes, cell phone makes a lot of sense in that it describes the technology.
Interesting, the demise of the brand Cellnet and the introduction of T-Mobile, of by the state of the T-Mobile (cellular) network in the west country ones foot comes in quite useful in making the handset mobile in respect of it's trajectory from one's possesion to, a municipal tip, into a deep river, off the end of a pier, off a high roof, the other side of fence (delete as applicable).
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As a fully paid-up member of the Pedants' Revolt (leader Which Tyler), don't get me started on "For free"!
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Terry
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"don't get me started on "For free"!"
Or that "Free cash machine" ouside my bank. I was rather upset when the several hundred pounds I withdrew from it the other day was debitted to my account!
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Phil
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If you want absolute adherence to rulesthen you may have to return to latin.
Latin was a living language once. Silence is the final consequence of pedantry.
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Misuse of the word myself, yourself, goodself. "Can you send it to myself ?" complete with an AQI at the end is guaranteed to grind my nerves. Text talk in e-mails from otherwise intelligent people. When will it end ?
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Non illigitimum carborundum
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I have today though !
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"revert back" has been bugging me the last few weeks. You've not noticed it have you, but you will now!
JH
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>>Pronounce the letter "H" as "Haytch" instead of "aitch"/
I once read that in Northern Ireland the distinction is sectarian. Is anybody able to confirm this?
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>>Pronounce the letter "H" as "Haytch" instead of "aitch"/ I once read that in Northern Ireland the distinction is sectarian. Is anybody able to confirm this?
On the adverts for HB ice cream on TV (RTE) in the Republic of Ireland in the 1970s, they always said "Haytch Bee". For all I know, they still do.
I can't remember when this AQI thing started. I had, until now, always suspected that it was American. However I remember when my sister started doing it. a few years ago. Very spooky when it's someone in your own family!
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Did your sister watch that Neighbours abomination ? - note how my voice rasied a quaver towards the end of the question. This wasn't AQI it was horror.
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Did your sister watch that Neighbours abomination ?
Dunno. Not really the sort of thing I'd expect her to watch, but . . .
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tyro,
Should have added a smiley I'll do it now :-)
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PU,
Try some "water of life" in your preferred quantities, you sound as if you've earned it!
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