Member postings for An Other

I don't know if they are still obtainable, but would a hard rubber doorstop be suitable for the drive pulley? - I,m thinking of the slightly conical things about 3cm high x 3cm diameter.

HP trying to stop people using their printers again?

LINK

SoD,

I didn't say in my post (because it wasn't relevant to the thread about laser printers) that I did get my Epson printer running under Linux eventually through CUPS. However, multiple functions do not work under Linux. Under Windows (which I hate) there is a long list of functions which can be 'tuned' when I access the printer setup. I am interested in these because I sometimes use the printer for PCB transparency design. Under Linux, there are only two or three options - the printer is effectively crippled, and turned into a very basic model indeed. This is not a fault of Linux - Epson provides next to no support for Linux machines on its website(s).

The printer also has Direct connection - this works - after a fashion - but once again very few of the printer functionalities are accessible - and the scanner function does not work at all. Its also irritating because without further changes to the computer, I have to disable my online WiFi connection so the computer can use the Wifi to talk to the printer.

Needless to say, the Epson printer is now gathering dust in a corner, and will probably end up being donated to the dustbin. I feel this is a pity - the printer itself, with its concept of using several large ink-bottles for refilling instead of proprietary chip-protected rip-off cartridges, is very good - it reduces the ink cost to insignificant levels - but its spoiled by the difficulties of trying to get the thing to actually print without having to jump through hoops - totally unnecessary in this day and age.

I sometimes get the feeling that people forget these things, like many computer related things, are tools - I want to use them to do other work, not waste my time faffing round trying to make them work in the environment for which they are allegedly designed.

Which OS do you use, Bob? - I ask because I have used Linux for many years. I had a Brother Laser printer, which was excellent, but eventually it 'died', and I replaced it with an Epson - chosen because because it used huge ink bottles, rather than 3/4 empty cartridges. ( I know you are looking at lasers) Unfortunately, I didn't check the software driver situation - and Epson didn't do drivers for their printers in Linux (for a large number of their models).

Hi Martin,

I typed "how to find out if someone was in the Royal Marines" into DuckDuckGo, and got back a long list of possibilities (too many to list here) - may be worth a try.

An

I had a similar issue with posting, and with unnecessary abuse on this site under my real name some years ago, so I simply stopped using the original account, established a new e-mail address, and started another account under a pseudonym. The original posts still exist, but at least the problem is not getting any bigger.

I never 'register' with any online site under my real name, unless its absolutely necessary.

Hello, Margaret,

There is quite a bit of stuff online about ball-cutting. I made a ball-cutter similar to the one shown in this link, and found it simple to make and works well.

LINK

Its item 13 in the list of gadgets. The page on Lathe Modifications also has some stuff on QCTPs - maybe some of the other ideas may be useful to you as well.

Trying to imagine how someone manages to cut into a ribcage while operating a motorscythe/brushcutter - the head on mine is separated by a long length of aluminium pole from me - I would really have to do some gymnastics to get anywhere near the head when its in use, and then I would probably have to let go of the controls, thereby switching it off - biggest problem is chunks of wood/earth kicked back towards my shins - and boots and overalls stop that.

+1 for steel brush cutter blade (per mgnbuk). We have 2 hectares of land, and on one side is a steep drop, with loads of spiky hawthorn bushes growing along one side (my neighbours) - they seed and grow very quickly, and the only way I can keep them down is using a steel brushcutter blade. It will easily go through a sapling up to about 3 cms thick, driven by a 50cc motorscythe. There are many variants about - 3 and 4 blades, and on the chinese sites there are types with articulated blades attached to a central head.

Its not uncommon here for people to make their own - a wide flat metal bar, sharpened a la lawnmower, but they are easy enough to buy - just make sure you get one with the right central hole - they come in several sizes.

Just for information:

LINK

Interesting reading the diversion into programming. My first attempts at programming began in around 1965 using Elliott Autocode on Elliott 803 computers - hand-punching paper strip, and later onto stuff like Fortran and Cobol, at the same time going into more exotic machine languages as a result of involvement in research into fully steerable satellite tracking systems.

Working both as a 'programmer' and an 'engineer' over the years (whatever they are), it always struck me that programming languages can never provide everything to everybody. I found I was using BASIC (in various forms) to produce quick and dirty 'programs' or solutions to immediate engineering problems, yet at times getting involved with in-depth programming to produce 'operational' software, and in my opinion they differed tremendously.

I didn't care how it was done in BASIC, and nor did I want to mess about with compiling/linking etc -- the good thing was to be able to write/edit something quickly and see it working - our focus was on the equipment, not the software - it was just a tool. Yet BASIC for all the reasons listed in this post, was hopeless for 'serious' software production.

I suppose we now recognise the shortcomings of all software, but we should remember that the languages we now use were written at least some years ago - times, and equipment change, as does usage - in 1965 we had no idea of the scourge modern hacking would grow into, forcing software programmers (in theory) to use more secure languages (Rust, et. al). C and its variants were considered perfectly safe for use some years ago, security was left to the programmers competence, if it was even considered, but not any more.

Introduction of more efficient and secure languages has brought its own problems. Python was/is often touted as "the" language to use, yet that too has brought along its own problems. As someone already said on this thread, it is horrendous to learn - I believe I read recently there is even a move now to simplify Python, and reduce the use of the multiplicity of tools associated with it that do the same job.

I think software will always carry these problems - and different people will always use what they are familiar with, and like to use.

Hi, Gerry - sent you a PM - this site won't let me post an answer for some reason - keeps telling me to paste (what?) using the paste from Word button

Oh, dear,

Obviously a few souls with bruised sensitivities. Rodger is trying to solve a problem outside his skills - but this forum doesn't seem to be providing a lot of help. I and others have made some suggestions, so lets give the guy a chance to work through it - no doubt he will come back to the forum if he has other questions, but rude non-productive comments don't help, do they?

Emgee - you hit the nail on the head! - well done.

Hopper, Thanks for your reply - but it was none of the possibilities you mention, which is why I was concerned. It was definitely not the "Sent' folder, and it contained both sent and received emails - absolutely everything. I not only used to empty the inbox, but all the folders you mention. As an aside to this, I recently had to help a friend who had no idea that all his deleted mails, etc, actually still existed, and had just been moved out of sight, until one day his mail began to act erratically because it was full. Deleting the contents of the bin, and other folders, solved the problem.

In view of Googles well-known propensity fro data-scraping, I keep as far away from any of their products as possible. There are better alternatives, fortunately. One has to wonder why they have an interest in personal emails.

Rob - sorry this has deviated from your original query - I'll shut up now!

Hopper - Interesting to hear about your positive experience with Gmail - my experience was entirely the opposite. It never seemed to learn what spam was, and I got sick of having to recover non-spam emails it had blocked. I finally disabled the spam interception. I also (sometimes) experience long delays in mail delivery - people phone me to ask 'have you seen my mail'?, which hasn't arrived, then may turn up as late as 2 or 3 days later. And complaining to Google is a total waste of time.

I am also fairly conscientious about erasing 'dead' e-mails that I no longer need, so never really have a lot of stuff in my inbox - maybe only 20 or 30 mails. However, one day I was searching through Gmails settings for something, and came across what seemed to be a "History' page - it contained literally every single email I had sent or received over a 15 year period, even though I believed I had been deleting them. (hence my comment earlier about Google intrusiveness). It took me quite a long time to erase them all, and nowadays, although I still have the Google Account, I rarely use it, precisely because they seem to retain everything.

Added: it regularly used to dump private ME mails as scam.

Before you ask, I have no idea how I got to the page I mention, although I have since looked for it several times.

It would seem that what is sauce for the goose is poisonous to the gander.

I moved on the Mail.Com as a result.

Edited By An Other on 22/06/2023 08:00:33

Reading this, I just wondered if the question is "correct "- it seems from Robs initial post that he is fed up with Hotmail as his email provider, and is looking to get a new e-mail address (or have I got it wrong?).

There are many companies providing e-mail services, some better than others - Gmail is suggested in the thread. Personally I dislike the intrusiveness of Google - my email provider is Mail.com (LINK) , which have used for years - it allows you a lot of flexibility in selection of an e-mail address, is free, and I have had no problems with it.

Link Some more data - lots more available online. Love to have watched them plasma-cutting a hundred years ago

Rodger, If all seems OK with the motor not running, then its likely the problem lies with the connection from the VFD to the motor, or the VFD/container grounding. If the motor is not running, then the VFD is not producing the "modified" drive sinewave outputs (actually composed of square waves). The edges of these square waves are usually what produces the interfering harmonics, so if the motor is not running, then any interference is much reduced.

Make sure the earth(s) you mentioned are made, then check that the motor cable (which appears to be screened in your photos), is firmly connected, and that one or both ends of this screen are also grounded. If that doesn't have any effect, then I would try re-routing the motor cable. These are the simple possibilities, and must be eliminated before moving on to more laborious checks, otherwise you could do a lot of work for nothing.

Hi, Rodger,

Does the DRO appear to increment normally if you turn off the VFD, and rotate the lathe manually? - if that appears OK, then I would suggest that the problem is caused by the VFD - you probably know they can produce high levels of interference, so this would suggest a problem with the VFD screening/connections.

Keith

I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but I have made some very thin spring plate valves for a ramjet - round about 0.5mm thickness. I found the best way to cut them was to use a thin cutting wheel in a Dremel-type tool - when I bought the tool, it came with thin brown cutting wheels about 1" diameter.

It was a little difficult, since I was cutting free-hand to a stencilled pattern shaped like a daisy, but I am assuming your accordion reeds are straight, so it may be a little easier. I would suggest that perhaps you could make a small jig to clamp the steel and hold it, then cut up to the jig to get the size correct and constant ?

I found almost any type of blade cutter (snips, etc), tended to leave a very slight 'tipped-up' edge on my valve springs - my problem was that the heat of the ramjet motor heated these edges very quickly, and then they burnt away - shouldn't be a problem in an accordion, I guess, unless you are a demon player