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Morat

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Everything posted by Morat

  1. I'm not sure there's room for any more paddleboards on the Thames!
  2. I'm no agronomist, but I think you could well be onto something here!
  3. Wow, that's some impressive tech! I'd imagine they've been testing it on their rocket-landing barges first I don't see any special terminals for narrowboats just yet. Perhaps Elon needs a holiday on the cut? He could produce a dish that senses bridges and flattens itself against the roof automatically... £110/mo does indeed move Starlink into a "need this for my business" type budget - and it probably doesn't stack up against 5G if you're in an urban location. But IF I was working from my boat (if only!) I'd take it so that I could guarantee a connection from wherever I was moored (within reason) and shuffle around the network at weekends. Here's dreaming.
  4. Yep, 35W is the standard issue now. At least, we didn't ask for anything special and the rectangular version arrived. I can't imagine anyone being interested in the $5000 version. Starlink ISL does look to be something that the HFT boyos will enjoy, for the longer links anyway. Interesting.
  5. Yes, the cost reduction is true. Also, they reduced the power consumption by 2/3 which is very welcome. However, it might be a bit tricky to get a Starlink box now as they've sent 15,000 units to Ukraine 😮 That's quite a commitment to the cause!
  6. Ooh yes, nice article. There is much Clever Stuff inside the Skylink box, that's for sure. "Ours" is different and is rectangular. I assume it's a new version. I still want one for our boat! Ah little google later and good news! 35W - still not exactly nothing but I think it makes it more feasible. Here's an article from a yotty type https://seabits.com/starlink-finally-useful-aboard/
  7. It's a shame Starlink uses so much power. We installed one at work for a remote office a month ago it was giving 150Mb down and ~34ms ping to our own firewall for VPN use. It's a huge step above Geo-sync satellite systems.
  8. This is a very useful thread, thank you! We're considering the same route in August, starting from Stockton Top Marina, so pretty much next door to where you started. We've been to Stratford before, with a short trip on the Avon too cool off. Then again, we do love the route to Lechlade! Hmm decisions decisions Did you find time to stop for a day anywhere or were you going for it every day?
  9. In the quest for fast, reliable access to broadband on the boat I'm sure most will agree that 4G has been quite a game changer. I'm yet to try 5G as there's none near me. However, has anyone considered Starlink? It's at the very beginning of user testing in the UK at the moment, but it's an interesting tech. https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-starlink-1134426/
  10. Does anyone have any figures for how much Diesel the UK narrowboat fleet burns in a year?
  11. The gitty gappers annoy me, especially when I can't get in to the pub! I think we should re-discover an old canal custom that boats would be moved a few feet either way (and securely re-tied) in the name of neatness, efficiency and shorter walks back home.
  12. It's a pretty bridge, but so is the Humber Bridge and that's a white elephant too
  13. Direct and Boat are not well matched in my experience
  14. I've never boated through London but I think it's time to get it in before diesel boats are banned. This is what Khan is planning http://www.itv.com/news/london/2017-06-21/londoners-urged-to-abandon-cars-and-take-up-walking-and-cycling/ the timescales are not exactly tight, but he did specifically mention diesel powered boats when interviewed on R4
  15. TOO BLOODY FAST, YOU "£$%"£$ "£$"£$"£$$£ apparently. :bothered:
  16. It'd probably be wading - it's all pretty shallow...
  17. Thanks for all your replies. We've had the filters changed and the boiler is running fine (for now). I'll dip the tank and see if there's anything horrible in there. It's a plastic tank, but un-bunded. If a replacement is necessary then I guess it'll have to be moved because it's next to the coal/wood shed and also very close to our neighbours kitchen - separated by 5ft, 4 of which are vertical! fun fun fun.
  18. I guess this isn't really boating, but.... Our home boiler is clogging up on "dirty oil" which is a first for us. The boiler guy hasn't heard of Diesel Bug, but is it a possibility? The tank hasn't been filled since July so anything stirred up by the delivery should have settled long ago. Cheers, Morat
  19. This year, even the Viking Centre flooded which is a first (since 1984). No one quite knows how, yet, since it's a sealed concrete box under street level....
  20. http://road.cc/content/news/172242-crowdfunding-launched-floating-london-bike-workshop-bicycle-barge Seeing as I don't live in London, or cycle on towpaths I'm rather unsure what to make of this. Good idea?
  21. Hourses for courses. Most people who criticise CB are not CB users, same for Amateur, VHF or PMR. Then you get people who just hate radio full stop. I have a VHF ready should I ever need it, but we tend to take CBs on the boat because I have a couple of handhelds with autosquelch. I've never heard anyone else on CB who was on a narrowboat, but I've normally been sitting on one obscure channel talking to my wife at locks or when one of us has gone ahead to look for a mooring spot. Whatever radio you use, they're extremely useful in those situations, or just for asking for a cup of tea if you can't be bothered to shout. I guess in my ideal world there'd be a common channel for narrowboats that any canal based CBers could monitor, but getting people to agree on one would probably be impossible. At least in the 4x4 community they've got 16 as a pretty logical number to use. If anyone can think of a number between 1-40 (apart from 9 and 19) that would appeal to narrowboaters, feel free to chime in! CB has a bit more range than PMR especially over open countryside but they're all limited when you're in close proximity to walls, bridges, locks, trees etc. The good news is that you can't really get a better ground plane than the roof of a steel narrowboat. Sadly it's true that a lot of what you hear on 19 these days is a small local clique talking to each other day in and out about nothing. That doesn't mean that if you've got something to say and someone to say it to, CB can't be used as a perfectly good means of comms. PMR is definitely cheaper, though. And for anyone still talking in 80s slang, no one waffles on about convoys or rubber ducks any more than they wear red specs and braces with their leather filofax - you're just showing your age. One day I'll get round to doing my amateur license and then I'll think about some handhelds on a higher frequency but they'll never be commonly used because they cost and they're restricted to licensed operators. edit: Don't forget that CB can now use SSB and AM legally so there's a bit more capability over the standard UK FM that we've had since the 80s Here are some radios http://www.kcb.co.uk/shop2/contents/en-uk/d151_Multimode_%28AM_FM_SSB%29.html
  22. Move the Government to Leeds. The House of Commons is facing a £3bn repair bill so we could offset the cost against that. I'm sure we could lay on a train to get Her Majesty to the opening of Parliament on time. Also, there's a serious problem with the housing bubble in London which is distorting the market. When foreign investors are snapping up the new builds off the plans and UK residents are therefore forced to be tenants to overseas landlords, we're justified (IMO) to start charging some punitive taxes on non-dom owners of UK property. Of course, sucessive governments are scared that they'll overcook it and push property prices down, which would destroy their chances at the next election even though property prices are (IMO) far too high.
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