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Member postings for Frances IoM

Here is a list of all the postings Frances IoM has made in our forums. Click on a thread name to jump to the thread.

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Thread: Low cost swarf guard/dovetalk protectors for Mini Mill?
07/03/2021 08:40:40
the rubber matting sold for workshops (the one with many holes) will trap quite a bit of flying swarf - I made a simple clip on transparent guard to the table of my small X1 but this restricts placement of vice etc but ok for many jobs - a special pair of shoes/slipons/safety shoes depending on type of work worn only in workshop + exchanged at boundary will help as will spare carpet laid near door
Thread: Drilling & tapping for a screw whose major diam. is undersize
06/03/2021 22:51:10
10-32 thumbscrews are the standard for PC panels - you can buy all sorts of fancy thumbscrews for those who make their PC into an artistic construct - eg I've got a pack of bright gold anodised thumbscrews that are quite useful for those machines where I often want to swop out bits - taps and dies for 10-32 are relatively cheap;
Thread: Locating a copy of a CDROM for a C Compiler
06/03/2021 22:40:55
The Arduino IDE will run on 32 or 64 bit Linux machines and is freely downloadable.

32bit Linux machines are somewhat on the way out but there are versions of Mint that still support 32 bit machines and are not too far removed from the classic XP model for graphical user interfaces but will take a little to get used to - the catch is how old is your XP and how much memory does it have - if very old then the hard drive is possibly not the modern SATA but the older PATA which prevents one immediate speedup by using one of the now cheap SSD (the smallest 128G would suffice and should be less than ?25 - the other key problem is the memory most XP systems should support 4GB but 2GB should work ok with MINT - if you have a later machine it may support the 64bit version and your choice is wider tho here the usual problem is they work better with more memory 4GB is usually quoted as a minimum

None of the old C compilers will cross-compile to Arduino code
06/03/2021 20:24:24
are there no old version of Microsoft's Visual C - I still have a copy on an old Win98 machine that is kept to drive a too good to throw scanner - there was a Borland-C that also ran on win98 + I think XP - may well have this on an old CD buried somewhere but 20yr old C - what do you need the C for as often it is the libraries that are the difficult bit to find
Thread: Special nuts for various parts
05/03/2021 08:34:11
the OP seems to have edited his posting to make the image inaccessible
Thread: Groups io browser operation
03/03/2021 15:49:24
The drive to ever more secure https systems is driven by the wifi transmission needed for mobile phones and the rise of eBanking - Google pushed it from the start as some crafty cafe owners + small ISPs set up a mechanism to replace google adverts with their own adverts
The simpler precursors to today's highly securecrypto systems were once blocked as armaments by the USA.
For those of us ancients still on landlines such crypto are gross overkill but not for the great multitude who now have little access to physical banks etc
Thread: Issue number 1995
02/03/2021 16:14:49
that would place it around June 1939 - I know the SMEE library has bound copies including this year but until lockdown ends access to building is restricted
Probably little help at moment but the librarian at SMEE would in past copy articles for members - maybe there is a large public library near you that can offer this service.

Edited By Frances IoM on 02/03/2021 16:15:11

Thread: Ancient Skills
28/02/2021 20:52:58
when in 1723 the local blacksmith + pub landlord having access to some old cannon metal decided to counterfeit some pennies he apparently just used one good penny to make a mould presumeably using clay - the details were not described in the court hearing but many pennies were made so probably the moulds had the imprints of one side + channels for the molten metal to flow with a corresponding mould of the reverse of the coins which would be abutted to the other mould and the molten metal poured into the baked moulds - the small bits of metal from the channels were filed off.
The jury tho the blacksmith acknowledged having made the coins acquitted him as under a new law counterfeiting of brass as well as silver coins was a capital offence (the blacksmith also hadn't realised but was lucky in that his son had married the daughter of the attorney general!

Many silver coins were quite small and a single master could be used for many copies - the moulds could be reused tho wear would be seen
Thread: I want a telescope
26/02/2021 10:09:01
and I'm one of a select group who have been up to the prime focus of the beast ! - admittedly many many years ago before the rebuild
Thread: Replacement lathe lamp suggestions?
25/02/2021 18:58:36
"Just as well, since no around here seems to stock 24V 50W QH!

have you tried a local coach operator ? 24V would also be used on lorries etc.
Thread: I want a telescope
25/02/2021 17:57:35
my Russian spotting telescope goes upto 24x which is considerably more than I can handle without a stand.

In my flat in Peel which looks out as far as the Mountains of Mourne and as far as the Mull of Kintyre I have a considerably larger scope with prism + better optics - you need a very stable tripod with weight balanced mounting (home made) but I can read the names of ships certainly at 2 or 3 miles off shore and on good days even further.

This cost me about ?60 15 years ago from the local photographic shop - if you go this way make sure you can get an adaptor to allow attaching a camera - if I had the money I would go for a binocular system - if you are into bird spotting then a much lower magnification will suffice and be more usable and hand held would be near essential unless you have a local watering hole you can set up a tripoded scope on - if your horizon is just 4 miles then I suspect 24x will be the most needed.

If I can round to it attaching a hi definition PiCamera with a C mount it would make using the scope much easier and allow better photo opportunities -

Edited By Frances IoM on 25/02/2021 17:59:53

Edited By Frances IoM on 25/02/2021 18:20:59

Thread: Replacement lathe lamp suggestions?
25/02/2021 14:49:29
one simple trick is to stick a length of water proof LED light strip to the splash tray (assuming you have one - Warco WM180 + larger models make it easy with a folded lip on this tray into which the strip can be placed so doesn't shine into ones eyes - gives quite effective local lighting - a small LED on a flexible stalk can then be used for detailed lighting - obviously larger lathes might need more lighting
Thread: Cumulative calculation errors
25/02/2021 08:49:08
look up the threads by Jim Noci - he + others discus Bresenham's algorithm
Thread: Skynet is Coming
24/02/2021 17:42:07
The point I was trying to make is that the cost of these small PIC-like chips are very small + total cost considerably less than any design that requires components that cannot be autoplaced - the ability to use compute power to avoid components such as large value capacitors is another significant cost saving - added to these is the stocking cost of a single component vs many.
Programmers for the PIC series are quite cheap for small quantity use by amateurs - several designs from last maybe 8 or more years in enthusiast magazines have used then to save cct board space - today's trend is of course to use the small arduinos, the Aussie micromate + now the PiPico as single components within a larger design
Thread: Building a small bench
23/02/2021 20:15:35
"I'm not sure what the right treatment is, but it's certainly not nothing" -
a good sanding followed by a couple of coats of polyurethane floor varnish should protect against most things but thin stainless steel on top of the ply makes a good work surface for metal bashing - for woodworking real hardwood is unbeatable for just its beauty + feel but don't let oil anywhere near it.
Thread: Skynet is Coming
23/02/2021 19:47:40
"I could probably replace that lot with a couple of transistors and a few resistors. Is this just a lazy designer or was he told " We've bought 1/2 a million too many. Can you get rid of them for us?"

No it sounds like a simple PIC processor - they will cost less than your 2 transistors which would probably need a capacitor for timing purposes (the latter being guaranteed not to last 10yrs unless quite expensive. Since you knew what it had to do program your own PIC
Thread: Boxford Cross slide
23/02/2021 19:08:09
2BA grub screws are not cheap (at least not from my supplier who only has limited selection of BA threaded items) - they may well have a ball bearing trapped at the end as this was a common approach
You should only need one adjustable screw to lock the gib. Nylon fishing line is readily + cheaply available in many diameters and can be used to replace worn or missing self locking material

Edited By Frances IoM on 23/02/2021 19:13:16

Thread: You think you have trouble starting your car on a cold morning?
19/02/2021 21:52:00
My winter holiday in the 70s and early 80s was to Soviet Russia always the week after that including the 1st of Jan as this week was Orthodox Xmas - temps could range from -40 up to a comfortable (for walking ) -16 - the few years that were warmer had miserable slush - the trams, buses, trains + our coaches ran even at the -40 temps (overnight train Leningrad to Moscow no heating + outside temp -40 was somewhat cold!) - soviet engineering was impressive in its simplicity but generally worked.
Thread: What about a "like" button on the forum?
19/02/2021 15:28:44
Michael that will get you the ire of our Editor who has it past defended the use of farcebook - that now 2 year old page is very relevant today.
Thread: What Did You Do Today 2021
18/02/2021 17:45:41
You were lucky that it was a iPhone model that was repairable,apparently not all are - many have pointed out that this built in obsolescence and non-repairability does nothing except to throw valuable resources into landfill

However locally there are several shops that seem to advertise such repairs and are still open in lockdown as necessary services whereas to buy a new phone you need go online.
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