TheNumberOfGeese

joined 1 year ago
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[–] TheNumberOfGeese 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

To build on this good answer, there's an additional factor: How well a receiver can make use of the signal it receives.

I have both an old and a newish DAB radio. One can decode the audio pretty much anywhere in our home. The other only has stable reception if I put it by the window. It's the same signal, but it's not strong enough for the old DAB radio in most places at home.

Edit: This may be true for different FM radios too, but less noticeable as FM doesn't have a "digital cliff" where the decoding just fails as ~~seen~~ heard on DAB. Plus, DAB is comparatively new technology... Oldish FM radios still have decades of techy wisdom in their design, whereas as of today, old DAB radios haven't had the benefit of time for the engineers to optimise their design.

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 2 points 1 year ago

Look at McDonald's, ahead of its time with that lovely WST Level 2 orange! ❤️

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

They (eventually?) put their radio stations on DTT, thus proving ChatterBox right, albeit on a technicality :P

Edit: correction of autocorrect

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 2 points 1 year ago

Switching it DAB+ is great. It makes better use of the available spectrum.

Adding in extra stations at the same time is such a shame. The audio quality of commercial DAB stations in the UK is so far from "Crystal clear digital sound" that we were promised.

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I agree. This website has been very useful and encouraging on my language learning journey.

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 2 points 1 year ago

Does the fifth cyclist only cycle at the velodrome?

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 1 points 1 year ago

I've often thought cold fizzy drinks or bottles of water on hot days

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 6 points 1 year ago

Technically, no, as in the UK, you can't steal electricity... you can only abstract electricity, which is an offence in its own right. (IANAL)

I'll get my coat.

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 3 points 1 year ago

I was so annoyed to get that email. Never using them again. Going to install a non-smart wireless thermostat, or maybe a HA install if I'm feeling brave.

 

Hi!

Many mechanical keyboards are only available in ANSI layout. I've held off buying a keyboard because of this.

How have people here found moving from ISO to ANSI? Does it take long to say goodbye to the backwards-L return key etc.?

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 1 points 1 year ago

Thank you for letting me know! I didn't realise that it had connectors at all. I'm looking forward to checking it out tomorrow :) Cheers!

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

That is good news. I have to draw a lot of diagrams and I find myself stuck between a few tools, none of which is perfect. Any one of those that improves is a great thing!

  • Draw.io is brilliant for quickly creating stuff, but you can't easily reshape shapes
  • Visio is ok, but for software that aims to be diagram -focused, compared to draw.io, its connectors are appalling
  • Affinity designer is good, and not too expensive, but the lack of (outline+text*) objects (compared to draw.io and visio) quickly becomes a pain with complex diagrams. Plus complete lack of support for variable fonts is a showstopper for me.
  • I was really pleasantly surprised by inkscape when I tried it again the other year after many years of not using it. It's really come along and improved. I know its not intended for diagrams, so dynamic connectors and (outline+text*) shapes aren't there. If they were, it would be the perfect tool.

I'm looking forward to trying out the new features of this release.

*When I say (outline+text) I mean a shape with text in it that isn't two separate objects I have to wrangle with careful alignment or grouping etc. If you don't know what I mean, take a look at how easy it is to put text in shapes in draw.io compared to inkscape

[–] TheNumberOfGeese 3 points 1 year ago

Not quite a direct answer, but since watching Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, we've enjoyed referring to things in tins/cans as trapped potatoes, trapped beans etc.

 

Are they really as 'bad' as is made out? Presumably for low power use, a bit of spill-over isn't the worst?

6
Narrowboat Insurance (self.narrowboat)
 

Just received our new quote. Ouch! Does anyone have any recommendations for good (and well-priced) narrowboat insurance?

3
Tesco Mobile WiFi calling (self.narrowboat)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by TheNumberOfGeese to c/narrowboat
 

Very pleased to see that Tesco have enabled WiFi calling on my phone.

Now I hopefully won't have to go outside to make and receive calls in patchy areas! Hopefully it'll lengthen battery life (and not warm my brain as much) if I turn off mobile connectivity inside too.

Is WiFi calling as good as I dream it to be on a narrowboat?

 

Ofcom are proposing some changes to amateur radio licencing in the UK. The proposals are interesting.

What are people's thoughts?

3
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by TheNumberOfGeese to c/reading
 

Is Newbury pronounced:

  • (2 syllables) New•brie; or,
  • (3 syllables) New•b'uh•ree

I really need to know, and Wikipedia says nothing!

 

We're heading down the K&A to Reading. We don't have time to travel anywhere on the Thames before we have to head back, but vwe were wondering:

Is it worth dipping onto the Thames for a day or so, just "because"? Does the licence seem worth it, just for a few hours to "feel" the Thames?

 

Please excuse the mess. This duck was looking for somewhere quiet to nest. She headed off when we arrived, looking for a quiet boat.

 

The platform numbers on the display boards don't use decimal, or are somehow encoded with the wrong number until 30 seconds before the train heads off.

And given the doors close up to 45 seconds before departure, -15 seconds just isn't enough time to storm up the escalator, run sideways and fall down the next escalator to the correct (and-now-empty) platform.

2
Lights on pins? (self.narrowboat)
 

Hi! Does anyone have any recommendations for lights to put on mooring pins? I've seen solar powered garden lights stuck next to them, but if anyone knows of anything better, I'd be keen to find out!

 

I passed my intermediate a couple of years back. I loved both the foundation and intermediate training. Great teachers, interesting topics.

I've tried a few times to get on the air (mostly vhf due to lack of space), and every time without fail, the people on the other end are, well... not particularly welcoming, and on occasion quite rude to newbies.

I'm considering going for a full license, just because the learning is fun. But after that, I don't know if I'll ever make use of it.

Can anyone here recommend ways to use my intermediate (and eventually hopefully full) licence to communicate with people who aren't unkind?

I realise that not all operators are like this, I think I've just been unlucky.

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