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Edited by Dynamic Dave on 27/11/2009 at 01:32
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I would appreciate an overview of using Ipods and Itunes. Both girls want them for Xmas and they are completely outside my experience.
When you download music to them can it only come via Itunes of will they load any mp3? When you buy a song on Itunes I assume it goes to the PC first and then to the Ipod? Once you have the song on your PC or Ipod can it be transferred elsewhere such as burning to a CD to play on the hi-fi or in the car? Are there different qualities of file available... I'm assuming the standard one is really too compressed for real hi-fi?
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Hello M.M. Here is my overview:
1. Itunes is just a music library software, with the added ability to allow you to purchase music from the Itunes Store from within the program.
2. Itunes is fully compatible with most music files (mp3, AAC etc)
3. You can download music from anywhere on the internet, and Itunes will add it to its library. You can also use Itunes to rip music from a CD, which it will then add to its library.
4. If you purchase music from the Itunes Store it can be hamstrung by copyright - e.g it will only let you copy it to a limited amount of PC's. Although I think this may have recently changed.
5. Itunes will let you burn any mp3/aac etc.. onto a CD to allow you to listen to it in the car/hifi. It will also allow you to make an 'mp3' CD which will work in a compatible CD player.
6. Some of the compression levels are very high on mp3/AAC etc, which are very noticable on a decent hifi set up, although you may be surprised at how good music compressed to a decent level can sound.
7. You cannot have music on your Ipod which is not on your PC.
8. Your ipod will only 'sync' with one PC - i.e you cant go round to a mates house and copy their music without losing the music already on your Ipod.
EDIT 9: You can have more than 1 Ipod syncing with 1 PC, but you cant have more than 1 PC syncing with 1 Ipod.
10: As you will have more than 1 Ipod, and your daughters may have different music tastes, if you only have 1 PC, it is possible to have 2 libraries. But if each duagher has their own PC, this wont be an issue
Edited by VR6 on 24/11/2009 at 11:05
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Two other places to get DRM (Digital Rights Management) MP3 files for less than the iTunes store are Tesco Digital and Amazon.
If the iPod to be purchased are the iPod touch then you can also buy music and applications directly from the iTunes store via a wireless network. When you next sync with the computer the purchased files are copied to the computer as well.
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Maybe worth noting that there are plenty of other music management programmes that you can use to transfer music to / from the iPod, such as MediaMonkey and WinAmp. Depends really; if you're happy with the way iTunes does things then it's a slick way of doing it.
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Thank you... a great overview. The girls will be using one computer each so that will keep their music seperate. I'm insisting they have Ipods and use Itunes to try and break the cycle of pirate music that they and all their friends tend to have on their devices.
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Still use iTunes to manage music, but you can purchase some albums cheaper on Tesco and Amazon and then import them into iTunes. I know I said this above just making it clear you would still need to use something to manage the music library.
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Having an Ipod and Itunes will not stop them downloading pirate material. Itunes & Ipods are quite happy playing pirated material downloaded from the net. However, having an easy way of purchasing music from the Itunes Store may help.
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However, having an easy way of purchasing music from the Itunes Store may help.
And providing an allowance to do so will help. But nothing stopping them firing up Spotify and using Audio Hijack or similar to record the songs. Then save the music MP3s and then load onto the iPod via iTunes.
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Actually if you were willing to (a) get them an iPod touch and (b) pay £9.99 per month for Spotify accounts then they could take any music offline with them and totally avoid piracy. But you'd never own the tracks.
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Agree they'll need an Itunes allowance but at least this will encourage purchase rather than pirate... it's a start. What's Spotify though and how is download ownership any different?
Edited by M.M on 24/11/2009 at 14:06
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I assume a paid for Spotify account works the same as my Napster service, you effectively rent the music for as long as you maintain the subscription rather than buying it outright. This works fine for me with Napster, 15 quid per month covers as much music as me and my daughters can download. Given that their musical tastes change every five minutes the lack of long term ownership isn't an issue.
Edited by SpamCan61 {P} on 24/11/2009 at 14:13
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Looking at the Spotify website it seems you can only stream not download??
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The 10 quid a month option has an 'offline mode' which sounds like a download option but I'm not 100% sure.
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The paid account at Spotify does indeed support an offline mode which means you can download music and listen anywhere. But you never own it.
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I've just bought a new Mac, how much aggro is it to to transfer the whole music library and have the ipod sinc with the new one. I know it's easy to transfer the data but what about the play lists?
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You don't say if the Mac has replaced another Mac or a Windows PC. Would have an impact on what can be done.
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Yeah it's a replacement...
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If you keep the original copy on the old Mac you always can go back to that. I must have done similar when I moved my music library from the PC to the Mac back in June this year.
So have you got one of them new 21.5" iMac... and if yes hope you're lucky not to have the cracked screen problem.
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No I need a 24" screen really because I do a lot of encyclopedias which I need to view in full and at actual size so I use a samsung screen and Mac minis. (which are just about quick enough for that type of work) I've got two imacs which are quicker when I'm doing photoshop jobs. Of course it would be nice if Santa would bring me an 8-core Mac Pro, I've worked on a 4-core and that was like lightening.
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>>..No I need a 24" screen really because I do a lot of encyclopedias..>>
TFT widescreen sizes can be deceptive compared to the 4:3 ratio of CRT monitors and TVs.
For instance my 26in LCD widescreen TV is basically equivalent to my former 21in CRT set (the actual picture height of the visible screen is only a midge's d--- more than the tube model); a 32in LCD TV is probably the equivalent of the old 28in CRT set.
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I made a thread a few days ago about boxes which would allow me to connect my freeview PVR directly to my VGA 22" widescreen and bypassing my TV card. I have just bought one from Maplin but I have a major problem with it.
It works but now in 1680 resolution (the monitors native) it is very very blured. The box says it supports this but only upto 19" it is in poor english but now I know what it means. As VGA is an analogue signal I suspect quality is being lost in the switching process.
Does anybody know a way round this? Will Maplin easily allow me to take it back? I asked them for a device and they sold me it, so its not like I just picked it up from a box, I also mentioned I had a 22" widescreen monitor.
The box was £60 too :( I could have got the same thing £30 less in Microdirect but it dosn't support 1680.
Surely the box should be of sufficient quality to amplify the VGA signal so that there is hardly any noticeable difference :( Sadly my monitor also dosn't support DVI otherwise that would be the obvious solution. If I kept this box and asked for a 22" widescreen monitor for christmas with a DVI input as well as VGA do those monitors allow you to select between VGA and DVI or can you only have one input? I am thinking then I could use this box (or take it back and get that cheaper microdirect one) simply to as a way of converting composite to VGA and then have the monitor input separate.
I am just at the end of my tether with this, I also tried lots of digital TV cards and I found them extremely unreliable hence why I have as separate digital pvr box.
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Edit I am taking it back, on the website it says it does support 22" monitors :) it was a question asked to a member of staff, so I can't see how they can argue with me :) The PC output is now so poor it makes me feel sick (it is the correct resolution) but all the text is really blured.
I still don't want to have to buy a proper TV with a VGA/DVI input as that would be expensive :(
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Rattle, Maplin have a rock solid returns process - you can return anything for any reason, even if just you changed your mind, up to something like 30 days. So yes, they'll take it back no question.
There's a branch a few hundred yards from us and we spend a few k a year with them on bits and pieces so often in there - never had a problem with returns yet.
Edited by Dipstick on 24/11/2009 at 21:46
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Thanks will take it back, also when I set the TV to 1680 it has a big line in the middle but I suspect it is because thats in 6:9 and my monitor is a 6:10.
The obvious solution would be just to buy a smaller TV and keep it separate from my PC but my HIFI system and PC repair bench take up all the room, so there is no room for a separate TV and wall mounting is not an option because the plaster is really brickle and don't have the right power tools to drill into brick.
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I have a money savings tin with a bit of spare smackeroonies init, I have enough money in my main account for a rainy day (e.g MOT) so I am thinking rather than just wasting a lot of money on fancy boxes just to still have a compromise to now buy a new monitor with which also allows me to have a composite/scart input. Any ideas? I need a 22" widescreen with a DVI connector (VGA is ok but prefer DVI) and a composite input to hook my freeview PVR straight to. It dosn't need speakers as I will be using my amp anyway.
Best I have seen so far is a Bush 22" from Argos for £180 but I am sure I can do cheaper but I am aware the prices of TFTs have also gone up :( Just want to get this sorted as I am sick of listening to TV in almost audiophile quality but putting up with a picture quality from 1990.
Edit I am also due some money from a friend that owes me more than enough to pay for a new TV :).
Edited by Rattle on 24/11/2009 at 22:06
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I've forgotten your original question - but how about the Artec Freeview USB dongle thingy on offer at www.7dayshop.com?
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THey don't work, I already have a very expensive TV card in my PC with a digital tuner and it just kept dropping digital signals all the time. I just gave up and used my freeview box connected into the composite input of the tv card. This works but the quality loss is now starting to be irritating.
I am also looking forward to being able to watch TV without my PC actually being turned on :) e.g watching TV In silence, and also not having to wait 90 seconds to boot the damn thing up when I arrive home from a job at 7:32 and thus already missed two minutes of corrie.
I just want a normal TV now like the rest of the world :)
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Best and Bush do not go hand in hand. Cheap poor and bush is a closer match
www.amazon.co.uk/LG-M227WDP-Monitor-Digital-Tuner/...d
composite, hdmi, dvi, analogue, scart.
this is much better quality for not much more
Edited by Altea Ego on 24/11/2009 at 22:55
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Yep thats exactly the sort of thing I am looking for :) I wonder if I could get it retail to avoid the hassle of delivery though. Also are prices likely to come down after Christmas?
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I have a PCI TV Tuner in the PC (seldom used now) and a USB tuner (analogue and digital) on the Mac. For both the TV input from a Virgin STB is excellent.
Since BBC 2 analogue switch off, the tuners now pick up (using the old aerial on the roof) all the digital channels as well!
I have an unused USB TV tuner as well if you want to try it. This sounds like a lot of hassle to get a Freeview signal on a monitor shared with a PC.
A 22" 1080P monitor from Microdirect with DVI and VGA input is probably about £150. For similar money you could get a 26" TFT TV with VGA in too.
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Thanks. I did try several and just could never get them to lock into channels, I still have a USB one one some where but have lost the Athena connector for it. I have a separate PVR now (was an early Christmas present and long story) and I just want to keep the PC and TV separate. I miss the old days when I could just switch the tv on if I couldn't sleep and watch some boring programme, now if I can't sleep I go on the internet and end up on it until 3:00am which means I don't get to sleep at all.
I've had a look at Microdirect but haven't found many monitors with a composite input but have seen a 22" LG at £205, I have no idea how much I could get that for with my trade discount but its usually only 1-5% discount depending on their margin.
Also my Cibox 22" cost me £156 from Microdirect 2.5 years ago so the quality is probably lacking some where, so it may well be replaced and then I can use my existing 22" to replace my 15" 4:3 on my bench.
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AE is right about such Far Eastern products.
I have a five or six-year-old Twinhan Freeview PCI TV card which cost around £60 - it gets a decent TV signal via an aerial amplifier and delivers a first class display and sound on my 21in CRT monitor.
It was particularly popular Down Under at the time I bought it as it is HD compatible and many Aussie states already offered quite a lot of terrestial digital programmes in HD.
I use it with Showshifter (now sadly defunct although it can still be found with a bit of Googling) and the Twinhan BDA drivers; Showshifter also offers full PVR programming and recording.
In general the USB sticks/dongles are not particularly good, although a good signal will make the most of what they have to offer; better to go for quality internal devices such as those from Hauppaugge.
Edited by Stuartli on 24/11/2009 at 23:56
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Yep mine is a PCI, cost around £60, but although I have a large case it is rather cramped and I imagine the tuner could suffer from interference from all the electronics next to it. Also due the upstairs anthena cable comes in through a front window. In the front room it is attached to a booser, it then goes to my sisters room into an another booster which is then connected into my room. It is a long narrow Edwardian house so its the only way to do it.
I suspect the daisy chaining of boosters could also not help the problem, that said all my freeview boxes pick up the signal perfectly never so much as as jitter, but for some reason any of the PCs had real trouble. They would also do silly things like forget channels.
My current setup is a PCI TV card but I have have a proper freeview box connected to it via composite.
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Rattle, have you tried it since the start (not end) of digital switch over from Winter Hill? The signal is boosted now. I got no extra channels and thought I need a new aerial on the roof - but we have cable so why bother. Now get all channels with the same aerial.
Try the PC with a tuner card again? We're only talking weeks since it improved. You'll need to retune again in December for Winter Hill.
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The quality from this Maplin box is just awful so if I have any trouble taking it back I will be getting trading standards involved. It simply isn't fit for purpose. I am sure it will work fine on a 15" screen but my 22" just shows up all the flaws.
I have decided to sell my Cibox 22" might be able to get £70-£80 for it and then buy one of these. It is actually the same model as Altea pointed me to :).
www.richersounds.com/product/lcd-tv/lg/m227wd/lg-m...d
It is £200 but I often tend to get cheap rubbish and then wish I had spent more. It has very very good reviews and it will also upgrade my existing monitor as the colours can be a little washed on my cibox. It is also getting to the age where the invertor etc might fail.
PS for £20 is I might take out the extended warranty, seems very good value for five years.
This TV just seems to solve all my problems and will be ready for blueray for when they finally come down to less than £50 a pair.
I am sure I could get it to work with my PC in a much better way but it still means booting up my desktop and now I have linux on my laptop I am using it more and more which means my PC will only be used for gaming/photoshop and web stuff. My old celeron laptop is just working too well to be bothered with my desktop for surfing. The downside is it means I spent too much time in bed!
Edited by Rattle on 25/11/2009 at 02:12
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>>..suffer from interference from all the electronics next to it.>>
My Twinhan card is one of a number of PCI cards, plus an AGP graphics card, occupying my Midi computer case's six PCI slots motherboard - there is no interference between this and the other devices.
The aerial signal to the card actually arrives via two aerial amplifiers connected via a 60ft coaxial cable under the floorboards (there are two TVs that need a signal as well as the PCI card!) as we have always had our main TV in the back room of our Victorian semi-detached.
The Winter Hill digital signals will be increased in strength 10-fold (it may well have been done from November 4th, although the final switchover retuning will be December 2nd); certainly a lot of people's STBs and integrated TVs have been bringing in all the Welsh radio and TV channels as well since November 4th...:-)
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Just an update, went and bought the LG, its very nice and the freeview actually looks good after changing a lot of the settings. I do need to replace that VGA cable with an DVI one though!
I used mostly the bits of loose change I had been saving for my Ford Focus to pay for it :).
i167.photobucket.com/albums/u141/amazingtrade/tv.j...g
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Looking for some feed back on the Honda GX50 engine fitted to Honda EU10i, Stephill SHX100 and SDMO Booster 1000 inverter Generators. How reliable is the engine, confused if it is OHV or OHC the later means it is fitted with a cam BELT which as we all no can break at anytime and with regular maintenance how long will the engine last?
Simon
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The user manual is here -
ww1.honda.co.uk/power/owner/manuals/generator/EU10...f
Says it is OHV and has the maintenance schedule.
Edited by Old Navy on 24/11/2009 at 22:07
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Arguably the most reliable generators you can get. All the ones I've seen have a very well developed OHV engine. Doubt whether Honda would meddle with it. It powers the world (well almost)
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My employer has asked me to be part of a team reviewing a revised policy for travel on duty. I'm supposed to be considering it as both manager and claimant. One bit that puzzles me is the "lesser of" rule. This means that if I start a journey from home I only get paid travel for the lesser of the distance from home or distance from the office.
I usually commute by train from Northampton to London, a route for which I hold a season ticket. If I'mrequired to be in say, Southampton, for 09:30 I'll obviuosly drive from home - 120 miles(?). but I'll only be paid for the mileage from the office, around 60 miles.
As I undrstand it this was originally set up to comply with Inland Revenue rules about the taxation of motor mileage. However, so far as I can tell from the HMRC website the revenue dropped this approach around 10 years ago in favour of a more pragmatic system that looked at the actual cost to the employee.
I'm sure I could research this given time but can anyone here confirm that the lesser of rule is no longer applied for the purposes of tax relief on travel costs? (The employer actually suggests those who lose out under "lesser of" claim relief).
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As I understand it it used to be the case that if you drove past your work, i.e. Northampton to Southampton when you work in London, you would only claim from work to the destination though if you drove in the opposite direction, say Northampton to Newcastle you would claim the full journey cost.
It seems that now as you say a more pragmatic approach is used where you can claim the cost of any journey in full that is not to your designated place of work.
I assume the same applies to rail fares as to car mileage costs.
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Our expenses policy, presumably compliant with HMRC rules, is as Cheddar describes. It even explicitly says that, should you call at the office (normal place of work) only to pick up a colleague, or something else you need to collect, that the whole journey is claimable - only if you do some substantive work there does the claim only apply from there to the remote location.
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Do modern (electronic control Hotpoint Ultima) washing machines shut off the water flow after a certain time or do they sense the amount of water that has gone in? I'd like to substantially close our inside stop tap to try to reduce/prevent water hammer when the washing machine shuts off the water inlet. It only started when we had a new bathroom suite and the plumber (?!) used flexible tap connectors which have obviously reduced the rigidity of the clamping of some pipes.
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They use a sensor to measure water level (mostly - some measure flow). Its not timed.
Edited by Altea Ego on 25/11/2009 at 10:04
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Crude but sometimes effective way of reducing water hammer is to wedge a chunk of polystyrene between pipe and wall - a bit of solid packing from round something fragile will do.
Best somewhere out of sight but if you're really pushed you can paint to match the wall.
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Crude but sometimes effective way of reducing water hammer is to wedge a chunk of polystyrene between pipe and wall - ........
If only I knew which bit of pipe was rattling.
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Life is hard!
A bit of patience and trial and error may get you there if reducing the pressure doesn't solve the problem.
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Thanks Altea Ego. My proposal may be OK then.
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I have tried to solve my water hammer problem with limited success.
I had a Torbeck valve , for many years, on the mains supply to my 50 gallon tank.
( I am now informed this is not legal)
The tank started overflowing so I changed the diaphram and then got got massive water hammer.
I resorted to turning off the mains at night and then found that stopcock gland leaking so changed that. I changed another stop cock on the rising main with no improvement. I eventually changed the valve on the tank for an approved type 2 brass one that discharges from the top of the unit. The water hammer is now reduced to the odd clonk.
I found this item.
Potable Water Shock Arrestor 1/2" MBSP -"Eliminates water hammer in potable water systems" tinyurl.com/l2wxvv
I have not yet bought one but can anyone comment on such a device.
From what I have read it has an air pocket in it that absorbs the shock similar to a teed of pipe with a cap on it. I understand that the air in the simple teed method will eventually get absorbed by the water so said air needs to be replaced at an unknown interval.
This shock arrester appears to have a nipple on it to allow air to be pumped in ( by a bicycle pump?). I suspect it has a diaphram inside it to keep the air away from the water.
Any other suggestions other than support the pipes and ensure no jumpers / valves are faulty?
Edited by rtj70 on 25/11/2009 at 16:50
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Henry, if you have got it down to the 'odd clonk', you aren't doing too badly.
My plumbing expertise is probably out of date , but here goes:-
1. As mentioned, make sure all pipes etc are firmly fixed to avoid any vibration.
2. Is there a stop cock on the supply pipe before it goes into the tank? Can you reduce the flow on that valve? If no stop cock in the vicinity of the tank, can you reduce the flow at the main stop cock? - normally in the staff quarters under the sink.
3. I don't know what a Torbeck valve is - however - can you fit a longer arm to the ball valve in the tank?
4. Can you fit a damper onto the arm of the ball valve close to the ball? A fairly stiff piece of wire around the arm with a flat piece of metal (a jam pot lid would do) which is immersed in the water when the tank is nearly full.
5. I should have said this at the start - is it a high pressure valve in the tank - not a low pressure type?
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I deal with 'water hammer' on a somewhat larger professional scale. Surge pressures (which is what water hammer is - conversion of the kinetic energy of the flowing fluid to pressure energy when it is brought to rest) is a big problem in large systems (eg crude oil transfer lines). Nailing the pipes down might stop the nosie, but it does not stop the problem - for that you need somewhere for the pressure energy to be absorbed - eg the Torbeck valve as mentioned earlier. I suspect some of the problems are due to conversion from gravity water systems to mains pressure closed systems,and also the fashion for modern taps to be the 1/4 turn type that shut off very quickly (one good way to avoid surge is to close valves slowly) - certainly in my house, I used to find the ball cock in the HW header tank would open slightly when a tap was turned off, but since converting to a mains pressure system, I now get knocking in the pipes - particularly when the washing machine shuts off - this is the worst offender as the solenoid valve shuts very quickly from a high flow rate. I was thinking about fitting some sort of surge accumulator (just like an expansion vessel on a sealed central heating system - but with a different purpose in mind) - still thinking about it....
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........ - particularly when the washing machine shuts off - this is the worst offender as the solenoid valve shuts very quickly from a high flow rate.
Our worst offenders are the originally-mentioned washing machine, and a recently-fitted push button toilet. I can control the toilet by having the washbasin cold tap open slightly until the toilet has stopped filling. I would never again have a push button toilet. I don't care if they do use less water.
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Has anyone any first hand experience with the above?
I have previously bought some stuff off of the net, but as usual I cannot find the maker/supplier. It was a few years ago. As with all things today there is so much choice and I don't want to get it wrong. It is also darn expensive. The Labradors are in plastic (vented) beds and I need something to place within, ideally washable although it may be too big for that. Some of the purpose made material beds say that they are non absorbent, but I wonder if that is such a good idea as one can never get a dog towelled completely dry.
First hand experience sought. Thanks,
Martin D
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Our cavalier king charles is smaller than your labs, but he is quite happy in his plastic bed with a water absorbent grey fleecy thing. Not expensive and easy to clean - he picks up loads of mud on his walks at this time of year, which doesn't all come off under the hose.
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Been using this Profleece for 20yrs. Not too expensive but importantly washes/tumble dries and still looks good.
www.profleece.com/
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Fifi the RF hound, has a large Plastic dog basket, with a vet bed in the base and old towels to nest with. The vet bed and towels get washed once a month.
You can buy vet bed by the metre.
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Yep that's the stuff AE.... the Profleece I mentioned is also called vet bed. Ours is white pile with a green backing. Was first advised for an old dog towards the end of his life when he was inactive and laying on the floor most of the time. Vet said the pile would help cushion his joints. We used two layers.
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Yep that's the stuff AE.... the Profleece I mentioned is also called vet bed. Vet said the pile would help cushion his joints. We used two layers.
Thanks to all. I am on the case.
Best regards............M
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Seems to me it's getting harder to buy music CDs, over the counter at least.
I was at the MetroCentre in Gateshead today and the only shop at what is one of the bigger shopping centres in the country selling any quantity of music CDs is HMV.
Only a few years ago there was HMV, Virgin, Woolworths, Tower Records (I think) and at least one or maybe two independents.
Even HMV devote less and less floor space to recorded music - a fact confirmed by a member of staff.
Then there's my purchase - all The Beatles remasters - the upmarket way to buy these now is on an Apple logo-shaped USB stick, for an equally upmarket price, of course.
I read somewhere that the premium audio equipment manufacturer Linn has stopped making CD players.
Their players cost thousands, but it's a sign that hardware support for the format is slipping away.
It didn't take the CD long to virtually wipe out vinyl records.
What is the future for the music CD now?
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Having seen karaoke on the telly saturday nights by flicking the remote and hearing mixes of old records on the radio by unknown rappers is it any wonder the cd (which ive never liked anyway as its too tinnie a sound) is dead
long live vinyl ...........
and Deutsche Grammophon
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Vinyl? Bah humbug.
Wax cylinders.
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Wax cylinders ? newfangled stuff, never catch on !
Still employing a string quartet in our minstrels gallery !
Ted
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Easier and cheaper to buy audio CDs and/or DVDs on-line.
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...Easier and cheaper to buy audio CDs and/or DVDs on-line...
I'm never in to take delivery and my Beatles purchase was the full set for £145 which would not have fitted through the letterbox.
Online is probably the way forward for more usual buys of one or two CDs at a time.
Browsing's not the same, though, compared to a real shop.
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All I want is for blank CDs to continue to be available so that I can copy cassettes (30p each from a charity shop) onto CDs.
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Linn Products is stopping manufacturing CD players at the end of the year because CD player sales are down 40% and they want to encourage people to buy digital streamers (posh MP3 players) instead. From a manufacturing point of view digital streamers are easier to make with less reliance on external component suppliers, and can give a nicer sound for less money.
Being able to download music instead of buying it on CD means that you can buy individual songs instead of whole albums, which may contain several songs you don't like.
The yoof of today like the convenience of downloading MP3s, and the hi-fi bores think vinyl sounds better, so CDs are selling to an ever decreasing group of people in the middle. They'll be around for a few years yet, but I don't think they will have a resurgence in popularity like records have - CD players now can read all the musical information that there is to be had from CDs, whereas records still have a way to go.
I recently upgraded my gramophone, and I prefer the music it makes to the sound from the CD player, which now only gets used for background music.
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CD is a bit of a pointless medium for me new, I used CDs still simply because my Marantz CD6000 OSE LE has a very nice DAC and CDs still sound nice on it. However I am storing more and more CDs on my hard drive at a very high bit rate and my next peice of exostic HIFI will be a decent DAC rendering my CDP even more useless :(
So I am now mainly using two extremes, lossless files on my hard drive and vinyl.
The problem with CDs is they would always be a bit coloured due to the jitter, the circuits in the output stage try and smooth this out but this always leads to a slight loss of information. With viynl there is no such conversion but it has a much more limited dynamic range which is why it dosn't sound as exciting as CDs. In extending listening though vinyl sounds a lot better.
I think that vinyl will outlive CDs, I am sure if I am around in 20 years time I will still be playing my now 30 year old Joy Division records!
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>>CDs are selling to an ever decreasing group of people in the middle...
Quite proud to be in that group holding out with the CD. I honestly believe the CD has been one of the best formats of my lifetime. They lost the annoying surface noise of LPs, were easy to carry and play just about anywhere in devices little larger than their own cases. They were easy to store and have proved (so far) to have a very long life. CDs retain the vinyl benefit in being a physical object with cover and some stuff to read while playing. I reckon they are cheap new for what you get and obviously there is a huge used market out there as they are often a far safer used buy than vinyl.
You can talk about jitter, colouration and offboard DACs etc as long as you like but the simple fact is the CD brought reliable quality music to everyone from the masses to the top enthusiasts.
Much of the grumbling about CD quality by those that do is not strictly the fault of the CD itself. Many old albums were poorly mastered to CD with a quick remix by the tea boy. On the flipside much modern music suffers over compression which makes it sound odd on a good hi-fi.... this in your face sound has become associated with CD when in reality it is a product of an earlier step in the chain.
I worry about our kids and their use of music 90% as a file with no physical presence. I can bore them to death playing the first LP I ever bought plus a huge collection of CDs showing how everything they like has its roots somewhere in the past.
Will they still have their virtual files to play to their kids... I doubt it as music seems much more transient now. Does that matter... well it does to me.
Edited by M.M on 27/11/2009 at 00:19
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Ten months ago I took out a SIM only contract with a new provider. At the same time I bought myself a new mobile. Four days ago the mobile ceased working properly, through no fault of my own. I made a 45 mile round trip to my nearest phone shop, expecting a replacement. How naive of me. I was told because it was over 6 months old, and less than 12, I had to return it for repair to www.repairmob.com. The cost to do this is £17, which covers insurance etc etc. I rang the phone shop to query this (they made no mention of this cost on my shop visit) and was informed that is how it is.
After 30 years in retailing, if any of my customers had a genuine fault with a product, the article would be either exchanged or refunded within the warranty period at the point of sale. To add insult to injury, the phone shop said it was not their problem. It was up to me to take up the matter with the manufacturer. They were 'only' the supplier. Should I just throw it away and buy another phone?...it really rankles that the warranty is not being honoured unless I pay£17, plus the inconvenience of my 3 hour trip and having to request a returns pack online.
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What is the phone?
I would first check with the manufacturer about a warrantee/guarantee, which I would expect to be 1 year, it may be easier to take this route if the maker will send out a replacement.
If that fails then I would go back to the supplying shop and demand a replacement. If they refuse then small claims court/soga.
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I have always believed your "contract" is with the retailer, it is up to the shop to take it back & get it repaired. I don't think you can get a replacement after this long but I could be wrong on that.
Any time I have had problems like this with a phone (usually kids' ones) the shop has dealt with sending it away etc.
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It is normally up to the retailer to sort out faulty products and this can apply even if the warranty/guarantee has run out. See:
www.retra.co.uk/consumerInfo/consumer_info000.asp
for a range of information that applies to many customer queries.
However, sometimes you get a quicker service by contacting the manufacturer direct if recommended by the retailer.
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Buy a new phone, swap the SIM - £10-£30 should buy a phone.
Worrying over a phone repair does you no good & gets the blood pressure up!
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I once paid a hefty premium to have some computer equipment delivered pre-10 next day. It didn't arrive until the day after, so I told the company it had arrived late and I therefore didn't need it, that they could come and collect. They quite seriously expected me to pay the postage to send it back to them - I had two very long and irate calls to sort it out.
Some retailers really need to think things through a bit.
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My mountain bike has Shimano Altus derailleur gears, three chainwheels on the front, seven sprockets on the back, both controlled by twin levers on the handlebars.
The bike gets very intermittent use, the front change works reasonably well, although a long way from perfect.
The rear change is very difficult. I can change between the two smallest sprockets, but that's all. The levers on the handlebars feel 'dead', when I push either lever, the lever moves but nothing is actuated.
Perhaps I should explain that to change up, you pull one lever and to change down you push the other lever.
Any ideas please?
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Can you see the cable moving/flexing where it goes into the gears on the rear hub?
Can you move the derailleur thingy with the idler sprockets on by hand?
Edited by Focus {P} on 26/11/2009 at 17:17
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Can you see the cable moving/flexing where it goes into the gears on the rear hub?
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Yes
Can you move the derailleur thingy with the idler sprockets on by hand?
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Yes.
My feeling is that the problem lies with the handlebar control. Do these things require lubrication. or do they require friction to work?
I have downloaded the user manual, but it might as well be written in Serbo-Croat.
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My feeling is that the problem lies with the handlebar control.
IIRC these are called 'rapid fire'shifters. When you change up, which should tighten the cable and move the derailleur from small to larger gears, does the shifter click? Does the derailleur move across a bit but then move back to where it was?
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The cable has almost certainly rusted solid. This is an easy job to replace if you have some cable cutters and are practically minded.
This would probably only cost you about £10 to have any decent bike shop do it for you in 10 minutes, but if you do want to try yourself then I'm happy to give detailed instructions. It's not hard. HTH
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The cable has almost certainly rusted solid.
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I can move both cables by hand.
Do you have instructions on the lubrication - or lack of it - required and the adjustment required at the handlebar control?
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Ah, okay. If the cable moves easily then the next thing to check is that it hasn't slipped at the derailleur.
Pull the trigger of the shifter repeatedly, which should slacken the cable and select the smallest gearwheel at the back. In this condition the cable should have little or no tension in it, the first push of the lever should pull enough cable in to move up a gear.
If the cable is still slack after a single click upwards, pull the trigger repeatedly again to make sure that 7th is selected. Undo the allen key (or bolt) pinching the cable at the rear derailleur and pull through any slack cable, doing the bolt back up again while holding the cable very gently tight.
If the shifter is still working, then you should be able to use the knurled adjusters on the derailleur or at the lever to fine tune the tension in the cable to achieve a smooth shift. Reluctant to shift up needs more tension, reluctant to shift back down needs less. Move in 1/4 turn increments.
It may be useful to put a squirt of GT85 into the shifter housing if you think it may be corroded.
Let me know if that's unclear.
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I may need some short term let soon(ish) but want to avoid having to sign up to a 6 month let. Three months or possibly shorter would be better. I know I might have to pay more. Anyone know of agencies doing lets shorter than six months for the Stockport area.
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I think you might struggle, because the commission on two or three months' rent is so small it's not worth the agency's time and trouble setting up the let.
You don't say how many people, but 'three months or shorter' almost puts you in hotel/guest house territory.
You could probably get a bedsit on a weekly licence, but you might end up in the modern equivalent of a doss house.
A private landlord may have a property empty for the time you require, but finding such a person might be tricky.
Some areas have a private landlords' association.
The local authority might have a contact, or one of the agencies might oblige, particularly if they are unable to help you.
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It may be worth your while asking your buyer whether you can stay on for a while as a tenant. I was in the rather perilous situation to need to keep a sum of money out of the banks whilst the banking crisis was at its peak. One scenario saw me buying a house and offering the then owners the opportunity to stay on as tenants whilst their end of the chain caught up.....
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Our buyer (and his buyer) are keen to move in ASAP. And after the stress of getting it sold we're willing to move out. I wonder if we offered to pay more to the managing agent to make it worth their while.
We do have a plan B if needed - stay with our son but it might be a squeeze and he wants to rent out his house out soon (for up 6-12 months) to go travelling. So it would only be temporary before he moves on.
Just wondered if someone on here knew of a particular agent that might consider this sort of short let. Fingers crossed.
My next question soon (I hope) is where to put some money safely for a few months that still earns some interest but is quickly accessible.
This all assumes my buyer does not get cold feet or change his mind. Although I do have a contract to sign but he had lots of surveys done this week.
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Of course, nothing to stop you signing up - and paying - for six months and then moving out sooner.
If there are large house price-type sums of money at stake, paying a month or two's rent for nothing might not matter much in the grand scheme of things.
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Rob
I would say that your best bet would be to contact private landlords via their adverts in your local paper and shop windows, and place a few adverts yourself.
Letting just before or just after Christmas is not particularly easy, so you could be in with a reasonable chance.
I would offer a larger deposit rather that an increased rent.
Good luck.
Clk Sec
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May be worth bunging as much stuff into storage as possible and look for a bedsit - might be scope in an university city , especially over Christmas.
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A reasonable private landlord, particularly at this time of year, may be prepared to offer you a property on the usual six months assured shorthold tenancy basis, whereby you carry on paying the rent after you move out, until such time as a new tenant is found to take your place.
Clkl Sec
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If there are large house price-type sums of money at stake, paying a month or two's rent for nothing might not matter much in the grand scheme of things.
This is why we're willing to move before our house is available. We don't want things to go wrong with the sale.
And yes we could afford it but if you didn't have to pay for 6 months when it's not needed we could then put money towards the travelling of our son and also give more money to the one at university.
We will be putting most in storage (and getting rid of some) so would prefer furnished anyway. But the furniture could be moved. We also need at least two bedrooms so a bedsit might not be viable.
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I always though 6 months was the absolute minimum unless its an apartment designed for such short term lettings.
Is a hotel/short term letting apartment an option? There is a lot of these in the city centre but in Stockport and that general area it will be harder.
Sometimes looking in newsagents adds can pay off for that sort of thing as sometimes people let their house for a few months while they go away.
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Google "serviced apartments" expensive but might provide a short term solution.
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The Gumtree site is a useful tool...
tinyurl.com/yg67lre
Clk Sec
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A very large mobile home and goods and chattels in storage?
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...A very large mobile home and goods and chattels in storage?...
I did think about that.
My static in leafy North Yorkshire doesn't have two bathrooms, but it does have an ensuite, a bathroom, and two bedrooms.
Timing could be a problem - most holiday parks are shut in January, if not February as well.
Residential parks stay open, of course, but a short let would be a problem there for the same reasons as it would be for a proper house.
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>>..whereby you carry on paying the rent after you move out..>>
Could be open to abuse as little incentive to find a new tenant...
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What we've done in your situation comrade Rob, is to rent holiday accommodation and put our sticks into storage ~
www.stockport.gov.uk/services/leisureculture/touri.../
As for the money, I would be more than happy to look after it for thee.
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