I took a risk on big pad negative. Got some cardboard from Lidl, a broken charger lead from the accommodation, and two nails extracted from some old fencing. Nails cleaned up by rubbing on the wall, inserted through cardboard, watch looped round and a wedge of cardboard at the back to keep pressure on, lead stripped back to expose positive and negative and wrapped round nails. Connected to a mobile power bank.

Now charged at 100%. Amazon Prime would have been easier, but I’ve achieved a strange sense of (rare) achievement and didn’t have to wait in for a delivery that may have never found us.

if I could figure out posting a photo, I would capture my fleeting joy.

Cheers for the help.

Just wanted to say thanks for the responses…. toadhall locked and loaded; will be an adventure.

twinw4ll – I hope I meet you out and about in Town … owe you a pint for such a generous offer.

cheers

I rarely post, but have been following your journey.
Donation made, if you need more then shout out.

Good luck pal.

May sound crazy, but consider further north. Look at Lower Halling in Kent. Nice village pub, good curry house and the best North Downs riding on your doorstep.

River through the village, housing cheaper than anywhere above. 30 minutes into London, 35 minutes to Gatwick.

Worth a driveby.

Some good stuff to think on. Going to try the following.

1) List of jobs versus pay. His choice if he does them. His choice what he uses the money for.
2) Screen replacement kit from eBay. £9.99 – he pays for it (if he wants it fixed) and we do it together.
3) Screen / device curfew. Recognising the start of sitting in separate rooms, all browsing our little patches of interest. Need to nip this in the bud.
4) Take him and his brother camping today, with a box of matches being the most technology allowed. Life is too short.

Cheers. Feel oddly calmer now, and the need to shout has leaked away.

I think he can be rescued from the spoilt brat path.

If you want to email me, I’ll fix it as long as you cover the postage costs.

Good call. What a soothing piece.

Chris.

Thanks. All resolved.

I do things like this. I spend more time fixing the bodge than doing it properly. Can you not lift out the worktop and cut it properly ?

Having said that, I’d probably have a go bodging it with one of the oscillating multi tools and a straight edge

Thanks for the response (all of it).

Personally I experienced some compelling evidence yesterday to convince me riding with, is better than riding without, but we still have freedom to make our own choices. So go where your head leads you (no pun).

Dad had a good night, sitting up in bed. Internal bleeding has stopped – but they want to keep him in a little longer to make sure fractures are stable, other than that no lasting harm.

I tend to rationalise a lot, so positive points are two kids who will wear helmets (until old enough to be educated here) and some time to make special with a Dad who is still around.

Cheers for the kind words.

Worked as a student in Fords – lived around the whole area, only one place I’d recommend, Maldon.

Pedals, chainring bolts, saddle, seat post, gear cables (either where they enter the shifters, or if unenclosed, the bit attached to the frame where they transition from enclosed to open). Grease is your friend.

Just spent a fortune tracking down a rattle over rough stuff. Turned out to be the little springs in the brakes had lost their tension and the pads were rattling. Cost me a new rear mech, chain and cassette.

I have a set of Ergon grips you are welcome to have. PM your address to my email.

Good call will give it a look. Thanks.

Same problem – caused (in my case) by corrosion. Loosen off until the point the forks start to widen, then put a wooden dowel up the inside of the maxle and gently tap it. Should pop out. Bit of copperease before reassembly.

Red grease is the right stuff – but a pain in the A to buy. CV grease (any car accessory shop) is fine.

Bit of a distraction, but where can I get Ruby in England ?

http://www.deal extreme.com,

from memory about $12 ea. Paypal and delivery in 10ish days.

Immortal words. “The bigger the cushion the better the pushin”. Man from Utopia.

Had guitar lessons with a guy called Jim Macdonald (Northern Ireland!!) who played with Zappa. Said he arrived late to practice and Zappa had a new harmonicia in a box; opened it up, threw away the harmonica and played the box ….

Pair of 3mm neoprene socks from eBay – around £5 a pair. Pair of cotton socks underneath to wick away the sweat. Toasty warm and waterproof through the mud. Best buy of the winter.

Very light (for the 15 miles they lasted). Rip in sidewall, needed a patch and tube to get home. Nothing more challanging than mud fest in local forest, assume a sharp stone (never happened before with Mud X TLR).

Lost confidence in them, so sitting in the shed (the tyres, not me).

Pair of 3mm neoprene socks from eBay. Pair of thin cotton socks underneath to wick away the sweat. Best £4.95 I’ve spent in a while, toasty warm.

Yes, I use a Creative E-MU 0404 – replaced a MicroMega 4 CD player and is much better – it’s within your budget. The other one to try is the Cambridge Audio DacMagic form Richer sounds, bit more expensive.

For info – you use the SPDIF output and feed it through the coax aerial system in your house – put an Amp or DAC in whatever rooms you want and have a decent distributed audio system (you can also feed SPDIF into the video channel of those cheap video senders for wireless transmission).

I have a 6 month old Dealextreme light for sale – charger, mounts, battery etc in box – yours for £40. Decided chasing around in the woods, in the dark, is not for me.

email in profile if interested.

Gingeroot, same side of the road as Europa, about 500m further up towards Shaftsbury Square. Roughly across the road from Robinsons, so you can a nice pint. The Jhara is up the Lisburn Road, prob 20min walk, but it’s probably the best.

If you had bought in your LBS and discovered their mistake (say, wrong shoes in the box), would you demand they paid for your petrol ?

If you had bought in your LBS and discovered their mistake (say, wrong shoes in the box), would you demand they paid for your petrol ?

CaptJon if you think your case is clean, I’d hate to see your house. Everything is relative …..

I had a Zagg skin on the iPad; colour leeched out of the Apple case and turned it purple.

Don’t get the Apple case, gets filthy in 5 mins. £20 case from Tesco, top job.

Do it ! You’re a long time dead (as my Granny would often say).

Buy a Fender Jazz Jap or Mexican S/H – if you don’t take to it, then you shouldn’t lose on it, plus you’ll enjoy playing it.

If they are aluminium try putting them into caustic soda for 10 mintues. Dissolves the top layer and removes any anodising. If the caustic mixture is lukewarm it improves the reaction time. Then wet and dry paper for an hour, finishing off with a polishing mop and Brasso. I use a Dremel for polishing – small enought to get into the nooks.

Had the same problem. It was the protection board. The battery charges up ok, (and turns green), terminal voltage measures ok at >8 volts, but as soon as you put it under load, one side of the protection circuit switches a pair of the batteries out and the voltage dives to 4 volts. Depends how comfortable you are, but I’ve removed the circuit and just run direct. The board is there to limit current draw, over voltage and under voltage. The first two tend to happen in failure conditions (so you have bigger problems), the latter when the battery is run down. If you run the batteries below a critical voltage, there is a risk of damaging them. With the DX light, the head unit has voltage monitoring, just switch it off when the light on the back turns red and you should be fine.

Just one minor thing, I wouldn’t trust either the DX batteries (regardless of protection circuit) or the cheap charger. Strongly suggest you don’t leave for long periods unattended. I charge mine in the garage with a timer switch to shut it off after 3 hours, and I put the batteries in a fire proof box (well, a Quality Strret tin), while they are charging.

+1 on Musical Fidelity A1.

Using one now, through a pair of Ruark floor standers. Changed my perception of the speakers so much I ended up buying 3 (just in case). In attic awaiting capacitor and pot replacement. Hope they are one of the few pieces of eBay tat that will be worth something when my kids clear my house in 30 years time.

My theory was to use mineral oil as I thought it was a bit more inert then DOT4 – the issue was then master cylinder volume ….

If your mate is interested, give me a shout. I have a Decathalon, done about 100 miles, decided road wasn’t for me. £180 not a mark, based in Kent. If interested I’ll sort out some pics and a component spec. Email in profile. Cheers.

So am I – in Halling. Email me your contact details and I’ll give you a shout. Address is in profile.

Might be able to help. Where in Kent are you ?

Dutton – brings back memories (and the smell of leaking petrol). As long as it's not a Burgundy one (my first build) you should be ok. The wet weather gear is pointless (nearly killed myself getting blinded and soaked by lorry spray on the M25). Good cheap fund. Didn't loose much when I sold it on. Bought a Westfield at twice the price, but not much more fun.

Good luck.

Agree with everyone else – worth the money to get the faults codes read out – local garage should do it for 40 quid or less, but at least you'll get a good pointer on the problem.

Not sure on EGR failure – it's mainly an emissions component, so should light the MIL, but not cause engine torque limitation. Torque limitation would normally be for a failure that could lead to engine damage (head temp, oil temp, turbo related – MAF, MAP), or safety (pedal position).

Does the MIL / Check Engine lamp come on ? What does the "Limp Home" feel like – limited to idle, or reduced torque ?

If you are only suffering engine speed limitation and the Check Engine light is not lit, it could be as simple as a dodgy clutch pedal switch.