2000w Osram Halide finally fired up FrontSideBus 2022-06-06 | Years ago I showed a nice big 2000w stadium metal halide lamp but I never managed to fire it up as it was designed to be ran off 400v control gear.There are two types of large (1kW+) metal halide lamps, those with low voltage arcs (110-130v) for use on single phase 240v control gear and those with high voltage arcs (230-250v) for use between phases on 380-440v control gear or US auto-transformer gear.These ballasts allow the use of 1 1000w US US M47 1000W lamp with a high voltage arc tube and European lamps designed for 3 phase gear to be ran on single phase. The unit is basically a step up auto transformer connected to a normal high voltage choke with a PFC cap connected in between in order to avoid the transformer being overloaded.Running 2 in parallel gave me the required voltage and lamp current to fire up that big 2000w Osram!I have also used this setup to run a high voltage 1500w linear metal halide lamp by adjusting the mains input voltage to lower the lamp current to the desired value.
General Electric 1500w Linear Metal Halide Lamp (MBIL/H) FrontSideBus 2022-06-08 | 1500w linear double ended quartz metal halide lamp with bare arc tube.The MBIL/H lamp was introduced by Thorn in the early 1970's as an effort to increase the illumination in sports stadia so that new colour TV cameras could be used with narrow apertures to give good depth of field as well as a reduction of energy usage by potentially reducing the number of lighting points.The MBIL/H lamp was often used in conjunction with the 1000w CSI PAR64 lamp.The idea behind a long arc bare metal halide lamp was so that they could be used in existing very successful floodlighting luminaires that were developed for linear tungsten-halogen lamps. The narrow lamp being right in the focal point of the compact and efficient reflector systems which gave very good optical control.Previously, all discharge lamps had utilised large outer envelopes to provide thermal insulation and to prevent the end seals from oxidising which made it impossible for them to be located in the focal point of a compact reflector system and necessitated rather large and bulky floodlight fittings with the associated problems with weight and windage when mounted high on a lighting tower.As this is a bare arc tube, this must only be used in a sealed luminaire.The lamp is frosted in order to improve the colour uniformity due the long arc length.I did clean the lamp with IPA after handling it as any contaminates can cause the quartz to fail during use.
Cnut FrontSideBus 2022-01-17 | Cnut of a van driver undertakes that white car, cuts him up and them slams on his brakes.... but after that as the white car tries to move out of the way to the left, the knob in the van swerves left and forces the car into the inside line! Now I know there might be something that happened before that I didn't see but there is no call for dangerous driving like that!Ignore the beeps and chimes. It's complaining about the average speed cameras lol.
Keyboard switch clean. FrontSideBus 2021-10-24 | Sorry about the mains flicker. Was a completely random off the cuff video and I had the shutter set at 1/60th of a second for a 30fps frame rate instead of 1/50 which would have avoided the mains flicker as I have 50hz power. Just a quick bit of video of trying to make an old used and abused Dell "Bigfoot" keyboard that uses Alps SKCM Black tactile switches which are prone to feeling shit when they are highly used or have lots of dirt in them.
Toasty! #shorts FrontSideBus 2021-08-29 | Can't beat some toasted marshmallows... makes me want to sing "Row row row your boat" and put whiskey in the beans...
Gods Food. #shorts FrontSideBus 2021-08-01 | When you've just woken up on a Sunday afternoon after working a 12 hour night shift and you are absolutely starving... nothing but the best will do!
Nailed it. #shorts FrontSideBus 2021-07-25 | Use a tripod when you want to film yourself pouring beer!Life's good when you have beer!
How not to pour beer... #shorts FrontSideBus 2021-07-23 | Maybe I should have used two hands from the start... Oh well I enjoyed it greatly anyway! Been really hot here in the UK these past few days, like 32'c +!
The good old RCD runaround... FrontSideBus 2021-06-19 | Been having random RCD trips and it's been fun trying to find the little bastard that was doing it. I did check this dishwasher initially but it was fine at the time... those intermittent faults are the worst to find! Was only when somebody just happened to close the door when it was sulking that it was caught. It will then run for coupe of cycles before playing silly buggers again.Was at the stage testing all of the circuits in the house!We are on a single RCD consumer unit which doesn't help but will be upgrading to a full RCBO in the very near future.
Character building keyboard switch mod FrontSideBus 2021-06-14 | Swapping out the linear Cherry MX red switches in a wireless Corsair K63 keyboard in favour of some Gateron Brown switches that offer a slight tactile bump to the keystroke. Absolute pants compared with tactile ALPS switches or the legendary IBM buckling spring but it's better than nothing.I had to de-solder 4 contacts on each switch and there are about 90 switches, which also had to be re-soldered... you can imagine that it got very tedious after not a very long time indeed lol.The escape key is a Kailh Speed Bronze which is a clicky switch that uses a clickbar which I was going to do the whole board in but were too noisy for what I wanted and also the "click" was not at the same point at which the switch actuates...
Battle of the clicks: IBM Model M vs DELL AT-102W Clickfoot FrontSideBus 2021-05-09 | Just a quick typing sound comparison between an IBM Model M keyboard which was made in the UK in 1989 and a modified Dell AT-102W "Bigfoot" from 1996.The Model M, as we all know has it's infamous buckling spring switches while the Dell AT-101/102 series of keyboards use a couple of different types of ALPS tactile switches with this later model having the SKCM black versions.Modifying the board to become a clicky "Clickfoot" involves taking the switch top housings off, removing the tactile leaf springs and then breaking some small tabs off which hold the spring in place. This allows the spring to move and snap against the switch body when depressed.The overall effect is a much better tactile break and a very nice clicking sound. So much so that I think it actually sounds better then the famous IBM Model M!I still prefer the overall feel of the M though, the key weight and tactility of the buckling springs is second to none but these modded Alps are not far behind IMO. The build quality of the M is also far superior. With very nice PBT keycaps instead of the ABS ones on the Dell which have gone yellow over time.Both are amazing to type on, far better than any modern keyboard!
Hungry Buzzard FrontSideBus 2021-04-06 | He likes the remains of our roast leg of lamb!Unfortunately, the camera that I left out there on the tripod (Some Panasonic thing) only records a clip of 30 minutes and then stops... I thought it might have carried on with a new clip like my Canon 5D but alas no...
Slight bit of brake fade... #shorts FrontSideBus 2021-04-03 | Somewhere out there, there is a lorry with slightly reduced braking performance...
Essential supplies. FrontSideBus 2021-03-23 | Using the internet to shop for the essentials, not bog roll!
Volkswagen Currywurst & Krautsalat FrontSideBus 2021-02-23 | Genuine VW currywurst sausages and DIY krautsalat... and some onion rings 'cause I can.Meh.
Food of the gods. #shorts FrontSideBus 2021-02-07 | Nothing quite cures a hangover like fried Spam & Onion with beans...
15,000 Rippums FrontSideBus 2020-10-19 | Playing with an old Fujitsu MAM3367MP 15000 RPM Ultra160 scuzzi drive from about 20 years ago.What I would have given for one of these back in the good old days...Sure it's noisy but you were lucky to get more than 30mbps out of PATA drives of the time, these were the bees knees back then!
Foxy Woxy FrontSideBus 2020-06-09 | Mother Fox and her four cubs having a play in the sun.Not sure where Dad is though.Sorry for shaky video... holding up a Canon 5D with a massive telephoto lens over a fence is a bit tricky lol.
Philips FGS224 SOX Conversion FrontSideBus 2020-05-16 | Was bored so decided to have a play about with the Philips FGS224 lantern that has been knocking about the back of my garden for a few years. The standard lantern comes equipped with a single 36w PL-L compact fluorescent lamp and a high-frequency ballast.I decided that the lantern would look good with a 55w SOX lamp instead!Here follows a quick and dirty vid following the conversion.Music by Approaching Nirvanahttp://youtube.com/user/approachingnirvanaSong: World BorderListen to the song on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1OCx730
Really? #shorts FrontSideBus 2020-05-14 | This has all the makings of my lucky day...Sometimes you wish you never got out of bed.Fucked over by two machines at once!
The sound of more days gone by... FrontSideBus 2020-05-12 | Ahh, the sound of a real computer fixed disc... before the days of near-silent hydrodynamic bearings and almost noiseless seeking. xDOnly the CPU and PSU fan was running for this video, both at their lowest settings. That's all drive noise! Old 10gb Quantum Fireball CX for IBM.
Big Grey War Canoe FrontSideBus 2020-03-02 | HMS Prince of Wales.Quick and dirty video of the latest cruise ship for the Grey Funnel Line...
It’s dead Jim! FrontSideBus 2020-02-26 | Strange issue where an AVR has decided not work with less that 243v...
Clickety click clack! #shorts FrontSideBus 2020-02-01 | You just can't beat the IBM Model M* keyboard that was introduced back in 1985 for typing on! The buckling spring mechanism gives very nice positive tactile feedback and the quite loud and distinctive sound lets everybody else in the room know too!*Yes I know this Model M made by Unicomp in October of 2019 isn't a true IBM keyboard but it was made on the same machinery by many of the same people!
The end is nigh... #shorts FrontSideBus 2019-12-30 | Bearings full of rocks after only 4 years of service.Shit. Suppose it's about what you expect from modern appliances...
Disco SON Ignitor #shorts FrontSideBus 2019-12-25 | These G.E.C Z8600's seem to ignite in disco mode.The lamp warms up and changes colour from white to SON yellow during the flashing.Ignitor or photocell issue?
Scots Guardsman FrontSideBus 2019-09-28 | 46115 LMS Royal Scot Class "Scots Guardsman" passes through Warrington Bank Quay. Bit of a leaky cylinder drain cock going on there!Also 86259 "Peter Pan/ Les Ross" makes a cameo hauling coaches up to Carnforth probably.Thought it was a slow moving goods train that was going to obscure the view as the steamer was due at any moment!
Dakotas at Duxford FrontSideBus 2019-06-18 | Some footage I took a while ago at a very wet and windy Duxford.Was mainly taking stills so didn't get any footage in the air and wasn't going to post this, but meh."Daks over Duxford" was part of the IWM's celebration of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasions. Probably the greatest number of Douglas C-47 Skytrain and Dakota aircraft in one location since the Second World War!They was suppose to do a practise parachute drop but they didn't because the weather was so bad. Straight after the second day, they headed out across the channel to recreate the drop of paratroopers over Normandy 75 years prior...
Gaming PC Cooling upgrade FrontSideBus 2019-05-03 | Just a quicky showing the new case and cooling system I put in several months ago...
Hungry Woody FrontSideBus 2019-04-30 | This is all I can get with an 80mb/s SD card at DCI 4k!I think I need a faster card lol.
Digging up the floor... FrontSideBus 2018-04-09 | Got a few nestboxes in the garden with cameras in them and over the years we’ve had a few nests in them but the latest occupant, a Great Tit, seems intent in removing a layer of wood from the floor! You can see where he’s been at the bottom wall too. Never seen this before?
Some Engines FrontSideBus 2018-04-08 | Quick look at some of the various engines on display in the engine room at the National waterways museum in Ellesmere port.
Automatic caller dismissal system. FrontSideBus 2017-10-07 | "Go away" sign for unwanted callers. Handy for the god squad, trick or treaters and Labour canvassers!
Dog hates Bikers FrontSideBus 2017-03-21 | Was behind this car for about 5 minutes, dog went ballistic the moment he spotted me...
Caterpillar Convoy FrontSideBus 2017-03-07 | Meh.Music by Approaching Nirvanahttp://youtube.com/user/approachingnirvanaSong: Lullaby of CreationBuy the song on iTunes: http://bit.ly/r2eCz1
1929 Gardner 3J5 Marine Diesel FrontSideBus 2016-09-18 | Old 3 cylinder, 2 stroke, reversible marine diesel engine.
Eurofighter Typhoon FrontSideBus 2016-09-10 | Sorry about the shit video. My tripod head is fucking shit.Big, fast and noisy!
