The Wonders of Technology

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

A lot of people complain about the pressures imposed in keeping up with modern technology but there is also an upside.

Over the weekend, Editor Paul Freshney passed me an email request from a correspondent in California who was seeking plans of the trawler Ross Valiant which he thought might have been published in 1970.

I happened to recall the name and that I thought I had seen it featured on one of Laurie Bagley's cover paintings but Laurie's covers were published back in the 1960s. So I went onto the Magazine Exchange website and called up the issues of Model Maker for this period and, hey presto, there it was in the February 1966 issue.

Delving into the back of my wardrobe I managed to locate that issue and scanned in the plan as a jpeg file and the cover and article as a PDF fie. I then emailed these to the gentleman in California. It all took about 15 minutes.

I doubt if the people who produced the magazine in those days could have imagined that something like this would be so easily possible. As it was the gentleman in California was stunned and delighted at the rapidity of the response.

Colin

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

It’s not all bad!

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

There is something slightly magical about sending off an E-Mail with an attached file of your own computer-drawn shapes and then having several sheets of plywood delivered a couple of days later with those exact shapes CNC cut in them. I imagine it's much the same feeling as you watch something you've designed in 3D while it appears very slowly inside the printer.

One day all of this will seem archaic to the people who follow us. I wondered the other day what my Grandfather would have made of an advert I saw, extolling the virtues of 4G WiFi.

DM

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Modern technology has its uses, but human aims and endeavours remain remarkably constant. Particularly those relating to fundamental desires.

While the technological environment may change, you will find that early treatises, such as Aristotle's Politics, The Art of War, or Bacon's Opus Majorem are still perfectly relevant today…

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Not quite sure what that has to do with my post DG. Sun Tzu's work on the Art of War is equally relevant today but I didn't feel the need to mention it.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I generaly find it quite annoying when things go obsolete within weeks of buying them. Printers being a prime example. Having found that I liked the Epson SX535WD very much and had it for two or three years, it now seems to be coming to the end of its life, but I can't get another because it has been superceded! With computers, I originally got used to the old DOS system and then they threw it out and went on to Windows. From then on, it has been updated with monotonus regularity and there is no signs of it stopping. I don't want Windows 10 or touchscreens, but they don't seem very keen on giving us a choice. Happy ending to Colin's story about the plans, but I have mixed feelings about it. I have literally thousands of small scale plans of merchant ships, together with permission to use them or publish them at will. Over the years, large numbers of people all over the place have asked for copies and I was in the habit of stopping everything, scanning and emailing them immediately, but only in about 10% of the requests do I get so much as a simple "thank you" email. It is usually a case of silence until they want something else!

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

That's a high ingrate rate Bob, in my case I'd put it at around 75% thanks response. Must be my bedside manner….

Colin

[Ian GardnerParticipant @iangardner62867]

When I was having a tongue in cheek moan about Windows 10 recently I did mention that we'd all do well to remember the benefits of modern technology when moaning about the frustrations. My life has been enhanced enormously by technology in various fields, including music and modelling. Since I downloaded Windows 10 my old computer has gone 'pop' but I think this must just be a coincidence!

I still can't quite get over it when I find myself conversing with folk the other side of the world and so much can be learnt through the wonders of Google.

As for people ignoring your help Bob, that's just people! And by the way, Windows 10 isn't so bad once you get used to it, although I have found no advantages yet -but it is the last one they'll do.

Ian

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Posted by Colin Bishop, Website Editor on 31/05/2016 13:50:38:

Not quite sure what that has to do with my post DG. Sun Tzu's work on the Art of War is equally relevant today but I didn't feel the need to mention it.

Colin

Just pointing out that the finish on the surface differs, but the fundamental principles remain the same. I find that to be a useful consideration when addressing a new bit of technology. Particularly if you want to fiddle with it to get the best service…

Posted by Bob Wilson on 31/05/2016 15:19:51:

I generaly find it quite annoying when things go obsolete within weeks of buying them. Printers being a prime example. Having found that I liked the Epson SX535WD very much and had it for two or three years, it now seems to be coming to the end of its life, but I can't get another because it has been superceded! With computers, I originally got used to the old DOS system and then they threw it out and went on to Windows. From then on, it has been updated with monotonus regularity and there is no signs of it stopping. I don't want Windows 10 or touchscreens, but they don't seem very keen on giving us a choice.

Bob

All the major companies are not interested in maintaining items – it costs them money and they don't make a profit. Microsoft's entire business plan is based on the requirement for people to change operating system every 3-5 years. The only way to avoid this is to use the free LINUX operating system.

Epson have an interesting technique. Their inkjets have very small inkdrop holes, which gives them very good resolution. But it means the holes can easily get clogged. So every time you turn on, the printer sucks a little ink through to keep them open.

Where does this ink go? Some companies send it to a little reservoir where it evaporates and dries out. But Epson send it to a sponge unit in the body of the machine. After a year or two, this sponge starts to fill up. The machine counts the ink sent to the sponge, and when it is nearly full, locks the printer with an error message saying 'Maintenance Needed'. You are then expected to take the machine to a dealer and pay £50 or more for the sponge to be replaced, and the 'Waste Ink Counter' reset to zero. Of course, in practice, you buy a new machine…

To address this, some people divert the waste ink flow from the internal sponge to an external container that they can empty. Here is a link to a company which provides these for schools and suchlike – **LINK**

But you still need to reset the waste counter. The classic way to do this is to use a Russian hacking utility – SSC – obtainable here: **LINK** This will let you do a reset, and then either divert the ink or replace the sponge on your own…

While we're at it, buying OEM inks is a very expensive thing to do. I use either continuous supply or refillable cartridges, and refill them with high-quality OCP inks that I get from here: **LINK**

This drops the price of a cartridge from pounds to pence…

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

For years I have used refillable cartridges with automatic reset and, as you say, the ink costs reduce dramatically. As for Linux, every time I ask about it, there is no explanation forthcomin, and looking it up on the internet it is the usual things, whoever writes about it assumes that the reader knows everything there is to know about it anyway.

I knew about the sponges in printers, also how they switch off after a certain number of copies, but have never tried messing with it – so far!

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Colin

That was a very nice thing for you to do and I hope that the American gentleman appreciates your help, respect to you.

All.

The internet / computer technology is just a tool and like any other tool it is only as good (or bad) as the tool that is using it.

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Most tools do what I want them to with little or no trouble, but computers have been an uphill struggle with me for years! And as soon as I get the hang of it, they "upgrade" to something more difficult, and usually not as good as what it replaced!

Bob

[Kev.WParticipant @kev-w]

That Russian hacking utility states ……….. '95/98/ME/2k2/XP' … so probably not compatible with Win.10

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Posted by Bob Wilson on 31/05/2016 16:36:18:

…..As for Linux, every time I ask about it, there is no explanation forthcomin, and looking it up on the internet it is the usual things, whoever writes about it assumes that the reader knows everything there is to know about it …

I shall use words loosely, so a purist might object to some statements…

Linux is a free operating system, set up as part of a move by some activists who believed that software should be free. By this they both meant 'free' as in beer, and 'free' as in 'you can fiddle with and alter anything you like'. It is a more sophisticated operating system than Windows, having been designed as a mainframe multi-user operating system right from the start. So, for instance, you don't need to do any de-fragging – it handles file allocations properly…

Linux is the centre of a whole world of free software which is put out with this idea in mind. The proper collective noun is 'Open Source', because all of the source code is provided openly to you (assuming you understand code!). If you don't you can still use it quite easily. You can often use Open Source code on Windows machines, and there are free Open Source alternatives to most Windows software – Word processors, Photo editors and the like. But it is all really intended to be used on Linux.

The Linux operating system comes in different 'distributions'. That means it comes from different companies or organisations, built in different ways to optimise it. Commercial companies will often provide Linux as part of their offering – of course they can't charge for dong that ! If you wanted to buy some Web Servers for a company, for instance, you might find them running CentOS or Red Hat – these are the names of two professional Linux distributions.

For a home desktop machine, you probably want to use the UBUNTU distribution. You can get that from many places – here is a good choice. **LINK**

There is a full explanation on that page of:

1. what version to download (you probably want a 64 bit one…?)
2. how to put it on a DVD/CD

You would then put the DVD/CD into your reader and boot the machine. UBUNTU will then run from the DVD/CD, and give you the option of trying it out from the disk (a bit slow!), overwriting your Windows installation, or 'Dual Booting'. This means copying it to your machine, but leaving your Windows installation untouched. Then, when you boot the next time, you are asked if you want to boot into Windows or Ubuntu. Thereafter, you can chose which operating system to run whenever you start your machine, and compare them both for as long as you like…

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Posted by Kip Woods on 31/05/2016 21:08:46:

That Russian hacking utility states ……….. '95/98/ME/2k2/XP' … so probably not compatible with Win.10

They have stopped updating their site. SW may still work with 10, or 7, or work running in compatibility mode. Remember you just have to update a counter on the printer, so plug it into an old XP machine if necessary. Alternatively, Octoink do a whole host of other reset options…

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Dodgy,

Thanks for trying.

I looked at the link and really, I don't have the courage or confidence to try it, I have seen things go wrong so many times in computers, usually ending up with me spending days or even weeks to get back to where I was before (this when I was at sea in charge of the dreadful things). As I said before, I quit the "rat race" in late 1992 when it all got too much for me. I know a lot more about it now, and generally only need a few clues to fudge along, but for me, a practical demonstration is the only thinbg that will get through to my grey matter! The last time I tried to move forward into Microsoft Office, I found that nothing worked as well as it did before, and it took me an awful long time to get rid of it from my computer. I will probably only move forward (as far as computers are concerned) when absolutely forced to do so, or I may throw in the towel altogether! Really, as long as I have word processing with MS Word 2000, jpeg images and able to convert Word to PDF, I can get along well enough. If I were leaving school today, I would not even consider a career in computers or electronics, being a product of the valve era!

Bob

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Ah, well – we tried! One of the nice things about Linux is that it doesn't need as much hardware as Windows, so if you have an old outdated machine you could just put a Ubuntu disk in it, reboot, and give it a new lease of life. That way you wouldn't have to risk anything…

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

….and this thread started off on such a positive note….. Never mind, Admiral – the thought was there.

DM

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Sigh…

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I do have an old laptop that still works, but is never used because three of the four USB ports have packed up and the fan has become noisy. I opened it up with a view to getting them going again only to find the connecting wires had broken off short. Found new sockets online, at about £9 each, so didn't bother. I may well try Linux in it because, as you say, no risk!

A few weeks ago, I decided to give up my other hobby of vintage radio design and construction, but owing to the declining interest in my particular field of ship modelling, I have been drawn back to it again. This sort of thing I really do understand This is a recent production, a two valve receiver, designed and built by myself!

At present, I am well advanced in the design and construction of an extreme vintage three valve circuit. After that, I may return to shipbuilding for a while!

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Very neat Bob, you should be able to pick up the BBC Home Service and Light programme on that.

Interesting you can still source the components.

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Picks up beyond that – stations from the continent as well! Components no problem. Small components, capacitors & resistors available in vast quantities on Ebay. Same with valves. Variable capacitors I get from old sets obtained from car boot sales, coils I make from RF chokes. It can be quite profitable as well. Some time ago, I obtained a 1927 radio on car boot sale for £25, and sold it via a London auctioneer for £2,400! So, althoigh it is obsolete technology, it generally serves me better than up-to-date stuff. It is hard to be enthusiastic about computers etc when they destroyed my liveliehood at age 48!

This one I paid £15 for on a car boot sale, refurbished it to excellent working order, and sold it for £207!

It came from a WWII Lancaster bomber!

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

If you are interested in early valve Tx/Rx design, you could do worse than follow this thread on RC Groups.

It tracks the disassembly, reverse engineering and repair of an early Metz single channel tone system. For at least the first part, the equipment was in Hungary while the expert repairing it remotely was a radio ham in the Netherlands. Quite a feat, and full of interesting fault analysis and design asides, with images of old and home-made test equipment in use…

**LINK**

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Thanks for link. It seems mainly transistors though. In my youth, I did mess about with valve radio control, but not very successfully. My main hobby is building model ships, but if I see old valve equipment on car boot sales, I can seldom resist them, but after repairing them, I usually sell them again on Ebay!

I only deal with valves these days – never did like transistors etc, although I could cope with them pretty well through long experience.

Bob

[Dodgy Geezer 1Participant @dodgygeezer1]

Ah, Bob, you're a difficult person to please…

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