IanD

What, no unlimited allowance? 😉 We streamed some TV (including a UHD Dr Who) the other night, that used 11GB in one evening...

IIRC they had it last time I was there, but it ran out -- probably *too* popular with the locals... 😞 I wouldn't go a long way out of my way to drink there, but I certainly wouldn't avoid it either... 🙂

Indeed. Good luck with the PiHole, please report back on what you thought of it... 🙂

Bass tastes of farts to me, Butty Bach is fine -- but last time I was there it ran out... 😞

Yes, if you set it up that way (which you should). What I mean is that if you're having problems accessing any websites -- because some may not like ads being blocked and fail to work properly -- you can just turn off the RPi and go back to no blocking (via the secondary DNS), if that fixes the problem then you know the ad-blocking was causing it. If there's no other option, you can then put that website onto a whitelist so it doesn't have ad-blocking enabled.

Currently Old Speckled Hen, Draught Bass and Wainwright according to their website -- which falls into the "all right/fine" category in my book. It certainly isn't the Blue Bell or Holy Inadequate with lots of delicious beers, but what they had was at least in decent condition when we were there. Not a pub to go out of your way for, but also not one to avoid... 😉 Not a lot of other options if you're at Great Haywood though, unless you happen to have a minibarrel on the boat. Oh look what I've just found in the stern cupboard... 🙂

That looks like a pretty good and relatively idiot-proof deal... 😉

Just remember to set up a secondary DNS in the router in case the PiHole has problems (you can just unplug it or power it off) -- we use OpenDNS, you could also use Google if you don't hate them... 😉 Looking at the details of blocked domains can be fascinating, you can see where any "smart" devices are trying to talk to without telling you... 😉

No you're not, you're trying to tell other people that you're right and they're wrong, regardless of the facts. BTs are not essential, and cost money, and -- as I've found out -- can be unreliable. That doesn't mean they're useless, just like cars... 😉 Like I said -- used appropriately, they can be useful... 😉 When they, work obviously... 😞 I'm beginning to wish I hadn't bothered restarting this thread -- it stayed useful for precisely 3 posts, and then one poster turned it into an "BTs are useless and their users are idiots" rant... 😞 Sometimes I despair about CWDF... 😞

Which is what I said. What I also said is that there are circumstances where one is helpful/useful even if it's not essential, such as reversing and crosswinds -- do you disagree? You really seem to be wearing blinkers here, refusing to accept what most reasonable people would think is obvious... 😉 If you think they're so useless, don't have one. Other people who think they can be useful, have one. That's called choice, neither is "wrong" or "right". Right? 🙂

Of course -- he's right, and everyone else must agree with him, and if they don't they're an idiot... 😉 Donald Trump thinks very much the same way... P.S. It might be better if he hadn't turned a possibly informative thread into an "all BT users are idiots" diatribe... 😞

At least you got the apostrophe in the right place. I don't suppose by any chance you like panini's? 😉

Which is why out of the many channels (more than 100?) available on Freeview and streaming, we regularly watch maybe half a dozen -- many of the others are pure dross/repeats... 😞 Your maths don't work anyway, because the good writers/actors/producers still tend to do most of their work for the higher-quality channels, not the junk ones.

Like anything else you care to name, something that is misused is a bad thing -- and this includes bow thrusters used by people -- especially in widebeams, it seems! -- who can't steer without them. That doesn't mean they're not useful in the hands of people who use them appropriately. If you don't want one, don't have one, that's your choice. You could say exactly the same about many other things -- alcohol, fast cars, quad bikes, ebikes, many foods -- that they can be lethal in the hands of idiots. But that's not the same as saying that they're completely useless and should be banned, which is the "nanny state" approach you seem to be taking -- and in particular, attributing thoughts and motives to others that may well not be accurate, the "useless scrounging scum" principle beloved by the Tories -- or in your case, useless BT-dependent steerers... 😉 There are entirely too many people today who want to ban other people from doing things that *they* don't like, regardless of what the other people want... 😞

That's exactly what I said, isn't it? 😉 If it's too difficult, either watch the ads or pay for monthly subscriptions to get rid of them, it's your choice... 🙂 I think the problem is that if you're used to watching BBC (no ads) or commercial channels via a PVR (instant ad-skipping) then you find being forced to watch puerile ads even more annoying than many people do, because you've got used to not doing it -- that's certainly the case for us. And many people want to watch TV at peak times for the same reason everyone else does... 😉 So if you're happy to put up with ads, feel free to watch them -- personally speaking, I hate them... 😞 Just to make it clear, the PiHole also gets rid of many/most ads on smartphones (the worst culprit) and laptops, not just TV streaming... 🙂

Your first line rather betrays the viewpoint of someone who is anti anything new. They're not "of no use" as anyone who has used one will tell you, they are sometimes useful no matter how good your boat handling skills are -- but they are an expensive luxury and by no means essential. I'll be fine without it -- just like for the last 40 years -- but if it's there and working I'll use it when appropriate, for example when reversing. But certainly not for routine steering when going ahead, like I've seen some boats do... 😉 Last point -- in real life as opposed to your head, stops working, get a replacement under guarantee, Vetus pick up the bill... 😉

I'll miss it because it's useful sometimes, but OTOH none of the other narrowboats I've been on in the last 40 years have had a BT and we managed just fine, so it's hardly a disaster. I doubt if it's the damp, they're designed for marine use and are likely to get rather wetter (and with salt water!) at sea. The first one it was the membrane switch that failed and apparently this wasn't the first case, I assume they changed the switch design to fix this. The new failure could in theory be at either end of the link (joystick or BT) but Ricky said that in his experience it's usually the joystick that's the culprit not the BT -- but I won't know for sure until I get a new one and plug it in, if the fault clears it's the joystick that failed, if not it's the BT which would be a much bigger problem... 😞 The fact that this now looks like the third joystick failure -- once when the boat was being built, once last year, once this year -- doesn't leave me impressed by Vetus quality, to say the least... 😞

We haven't eaten there yet, the menu is standard pub grub but I can't vouch for the quality. Friendly and the beer was fine though... Do report back on the food quality, then we'll know whether to eat there next weekend or not... 😉

That's true today. But as more people move away from terrestrial TV to streaming (e.g. Freely) and start getting more annoyed by adverts and having to pay extra every month to avoid them, I suspect this type of solution will become more popular, maybe even being sold ready-built and pre-configured... 😉

A lot of their prices are "saw you coming", good quality but you sure pay for it. Their meat in general is good but pricey, but their smoked dry-cured bacon is excellent and reasonably priced... 🙂

Unfortunately when I went up to the boat this weekend to get it ready for cruising this summer, the Vetus BT controller appears to have failed *again* -- this time just flashing alternate green and yellow LEDs, which means the joystick can't communicate with the BT... 😞 Nothing worked, resetting it, turning BT power off gain, unplugging and replugging the CANbus cables, just keeps on flashing. And this time Ricky doesn't have a spare in stock and after phoning round he can't find anyone in the UK who has one, so we have to wait for one to come in from Vetus in Holland, which means thanks to Brexit it's unlikely to arrive before we set off since they won't ship it direct to me due to duty/taxes etc... 😞 It does seem to me that Vetus may have a QA/reliability problem with the Bow Pro joystick -- it's this one, and given the price I'm glad it's still under guarantee... 🙂 https://www.vetus-shop.com/vetus-bow-pro-proportional-joystick-thruster-panel-p-3782.html