Member postings for Greensands

I think that EDBHP figures would have been as a result of observations made in the dynamometer car and then corrected for the given gradient to give a figure equivalent for running on level ground.

I understand EDBHP to stand for Estimated Drawbar Horse Power i.e. that the horse power available for hauling the load attached at the rear of the tender.

Hi all - Reading around the record performances of steam hauled trains back in the “good old days” several writers give values for EDBHP which would have been required in order for them to achieve their task with the given loads and controlling gradients. Nowhere however have I been able to discover just how these calculations would have been made and some illustrative examples of the required calculations would be most interesting to study. I am sure that there are several members of the forum who could provide answers to these questions.

Delage as in the film "Genevieve", the car driven by John Gregson!

Hi – Another query for the DOS based experts on the forum. I am setting up a vintage desktop PC, HP model 7700 as a standby for the workshop computer which I use to run my DOS based software. The HP7700 comes with a DVD drive and two USB ports and normally runs under Win XP but has the option to boot up under DOS Ver 6.3

When running under Win XP the USB drives are set up with a MS mouse dongle and a standalone 3.5” floppy disc drive with the DVD drive being available when required. Running under DOS (true DOS, not DOS via Windows) I want to be able to have the USB drives connected to the 3.5” floppy drive with the second one available for use with memory sticks. Problem is that only the 3.5” drive and not the USB drive is being recognised when running under DOS. Do I need to install another driver or is there something else which is missing?

Hi all- Thanks for all the advice and help offered. I feel a little more knowledgably now on the subject

Hi – I am having problems in formatting a 3.5” floppy disc on my Win XP laptop, the error code reading “Windows was unable to complete the format”. The floppy drive is in good working order and is able to read and write to/from my other collection of discs. The normal FAT system applies.

I have Googled the problem and although several other users in the past have had the same issue I have not had much luck in finding an answer. Can any of the old hands suggest some possible solutions to the problem?

Further close inspection with a magnifying glass seems to confirm that they are in fact filament bulbs which I had not appreciated existed in this size. Question still applies of course as to the operating voltage but perhaps it does suggest that the original understanding of them being a 12v device might be correct.

Not sure that they are LEDs, it is just my assumption. No obvious sign of any 'bump' in the leads either,indicating a series resistor, just a slight mismatch which I take to be the soldered joint between lamp and their connecting leads. Have not considered the possibility of them being wire ended lamps.

Hi -These 3mm diameter LED indicators were picked up at an ME exhibition some years ago sold for use in model railway signalling applications. Only problem is that I am not sure now of the operating voltage (?12V) and whether or not they have an built-in series resistor. Short of trial and error what is the recommended method to establish their operating voltage?

Hi - Thanks for all the replies. It confirms my original views on the strictly limited use of the device to its intended purpose. What it does mean is that it will release my somewhat ancient convential battery charger complete with ammeter for upgrading into a bench psu, perhaps even to the point of providing a new enclosure.

I have just acquired this 6v/12v battery charger from ALDI which is being sold as a fully automatic micro processor controlled charger suitable for use with conventional car and motor cycle batteries and also incorporates a trickle charger function. Does anyone know if this might find alternative uses as a bench power supply? Maximum current is given as 5A but is said to be NOT suitable for recharging lithium batteries. One is always a little wary these days in using electronic gear outside of their design envelop but I would be interested to hear other people’s opinions.

The link referred to is the one I found but I don't think the boards in question would be the answer in my case as my current motors do not have the necessary shaft extension. Additional costs and aggravation would not make any change worthwhile and as said in the initial posting it is not really a big issue with the present (milling) setup but interesting never the less to know what is out there.

I am currently running a vintage 3 axis Open Loop CNC system fitted with Type 34 stepper motors activated from a parallel port Mach3 compatible controller but am suffering from the occasional lost of steps especially when cutting under an intermittent load. Although I would be the first to admit that under normal circumstances this does not present a problem there has been a recent case where the loss of steps has proved to be an issue and I have begun to think in terms of possibly substituting a closed loop system. Googling the problem I have discovered that it is possible to buy and retro fit a so called Closed Loop Drive Board to certain type of standard stepper motors and have wondered if anyone has actually tried doing this on a type 34 stepper. The boards appear to be readily available from China but a UK source would be preferable. All views and comments most welcomed

I take the point about using a poly Vee belt rather than the tooth variety especially in terms of being able to make your own pulleys and the ease of setting up. Are there any suggestions as to a possible go-to source offering a range of useful sizes of poly Vee belts.

I wish to upgrade the drive of my cross slide drilling spindle from poly belt to a tooth drive plastic/rubber belt system with of course the associated change in the pulley system. Current drive is from a mains powered non-synchronous motor with a Chinese sourced electronic speed control driving a ¼” capacity drill chuck. Relevant dimensions are: large pulley diameter: 80mm/½”shaft; small pulley dia: 20mm/5/16” shaft; Distance between centres: 85mm; Dia of PU Belt: 5mm. Pulley diameters are approximate. Is anyone able to suggest some commonly available belts sizes and tooth belt pulleys which may be suitable for the job. All suggestions most welcomed.

To answer Duncan Edwards question. I have a Heidenhain DRO display unit Model VRZ 760B which makes provision for various parameteric corrections e.g. Linear Error Compensation on X, Y and Z where values to be entered are expressed in terms of microns/metre. Thanks to all who provided assistance

Hi all - Can anyone provide a link to a suitable units conversion calculator., specifically, converting thous/inch to microns/metre. The sites I have discovered appear to be limited to straight forward unit to unit conversions as opposed to a unit/unit to unit/unit conversion.

.Hi - Can anyone recommend a simple to use (foc) Flow chart software package. The sort of thing I am looking for is a means of selecting various shapes indicating Data Input, Decision making etc with connecting straight lines and the option to insert text within the selected shapes - all quite basic stuff. I think it may be something which is already available in the latest versions of MS Office but I am currently using MS 2007 which does not have it. I have looked at SmartDraw but I don't think it is available as a freebie. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.