1st ade

(contractually) the blue light services were involved (but didn't pay for) the AML (Advanced Mobile Location) service developed by BT. They had to pay for the equipment to receive the information (which they would for whatever service delivered a location) and were actively consulted over what was an acceptable error, how long it would take to get the info to them, what happened if the caller was in a gps black spot etc. AMR is being continually developed. I've seen nothing directly from the emergency services praising W3W. I've seen plenty from W3W quoting police etc as "this is great" but that's from individual officers after a specific incident. A bit like those who say "well my cassette didn't overflow in the great freeze of 1963" W3W may be great but I've seen no technical review of it's performance (say) if you give a location as you emerge from Harecastle Tunnel. I know (because I've seen the spec and test procedure) that the BT developed system will default to cell location because it knows the GPS is not to be trusted. AML also does not rely on the caller speaking, or speaking English. The position is fed through without user interaction. I should add I've no professional or commercial interest in either system; my direct experience is my father falling on the towpath by a public house and the operator asking me (without any help from my end) which end of the Galleon car park I was at!

I don't have an issue with "the other stuff". I don't deny it has uses. What I object to is pushing themselves as "helping the emergency services" when those who are actually involved in the emergency services (BT, all four mobile networks, police, fire, ambulance, mountain rescue, coast guard, moor rescue etc - who actually understand both the technology and rescue) have done it all first and done it better - for a specific purpose; emergency rescue.

That's admin for you That's why i waited for discharge in one ward of St Mary's hospital because my prescription for heart surgery (without which I couldn't leave hospital) was waiting in another ward. And why I got a letter the day after surgery to say my operation was cancelled... [Don't take any of this as criticism of the NHS - they do a great job and I wouldn't be here without them]

Agree - so it then comes down to how much backup do you plan for something that may never happen. A mobile phone each is a good start (and 999 [unlike what 3 words] works if you can't unlock the phone. And will work if there is no coverage on your network provided there is coverage on "A" network [the silent text to 999 works on any network as well...]) The project was kicked off by BT in 2012 following a 999 call from a horse rider, thrown from her horse. She broke her back but was conscious. She called 999 - "where are you?", "under a tree" She managed (slowly) to describe to the operator which road she'd been on, where she turned off, roughly how long she'd ridden for along that track. And they found her, eventually. In open countryside (where, as others have said, triangulation on cell sites is quite vague) Advanced Mobile Location brings the location of the caller down from 6km to 6m - a 1,000 fold improvement. it's not quite as impressive in an urban environment but can improve from around a km to around 50 metres; the difference between knowing which estate and knowing which road. On a good day on the motorway it can say which carriageway the caller is on. And if the caller is an observer and still driving (hands free, obviously...) it can work back to where they were when they hit 999 as opposed to where they are now. A little white lie - the trace happens (assuming post 2014 and a modern[ish] phone) as you start the call and continues even if you hang up

Do you have a smart phone? Are you in the UK? If yes, dial 999 (or 112) For the last four years or so (depending on model and network) the phone will: - Dial 999 - connect you by voice to the police or emergency services as usual Check the battery, if enough to not risk the voice call, enable GPS Wait 20 seconds Send a silent text to fire police / ambulance with your lat / long (and other parameters including phone number which they can match to the voice call which may still be in progress) Job done Position for blue lights is integrated into their control rooms (anyone who works in a UK blue light control room and thinks otherwise; PM me, I'll give you a contact at the primary PSAP) BT have since given the design to other countries Started with Sony and EE in 2014; now covers all four UK networks and Sony, Samsung, Apple, HTC and others. Keep it simple. Everything else is "what 3 words" pushing technology for their own benefit.

The charger will regulate 230 volts down to 5. It will be designed for (something like) 90-250 volt input so it works anywhere in the world; marginally low voltage in Somerset won't affect the output voltage. As others have said, a worn connector which lays in a slightly different position depending on where you are charging. (One frequent cause of wear on micro / mini USB was an attempt to plug it in upside down. USB C fix's that by being symmetrical). And I think the design deliberately has the plug (on the cable) wear faster than the socket (on the phone) as that's much cheaper to fix!

And don't actually stop what was required to be stopped on the aqueduct? (I'll gloss over whether they are needed) The railway ones prevent a trained person from inadvertently stepping into oblivion whilst going about their work. They wouldn't stop an arbitrary untrained member of the public who (almost by definition) has abandoned common sense to be within touching distance of the edge in the first place.

Most engines mounted transverse these days?

Thanks for both these - a little bedtime reading... To the other responses; there is a RIcher store a little way from home, I feel a visit coming on. The retailer was Sony - but physically that store has closed (if it hadn't been over fifty miles away I'd have been sorely tempted to drive to the next nearest Sony store, dump it on the counter and say "sort it", loudly and in front of customers)

Any recommendations for a 49 inch UHD TV that isn't made by Sony? We had a Sony Bravia 40 inch which we paid £2,500 for on Christmas Eve 2006 and still going strong on Christmas Eve 2016 (when I gave it away). It's replacement (Christmas Eve 2016) was a 49 inch Bravia UHD costing £700 and has given nothing but trouble. It's not just the faults, it's Sony's attitude. First (total) failure was after three months and it took Sony four weeks to admit a fault and replace the whole unit (I was passed to "my supervisor" so many times I must have ended up speaking to the CEO). Since then we've had other niggles and now, at 2 1/2 years old it's failed totally again. I appreciate I could argue with them, say not fit for purpose but as our one and only Living Room TV I get it in the neck from the Domestic Manager for every day it's out of order. There seems to be a good selection with good reviews from LG, Panasonic and Samung; any comments, observations or suggestions? Thanks. [I'm waiting for the "take it back where you bought it". We bought it from the official Sony Shop - which closed a month later!]

Are you also working out how to permit launch / retrieve? Manoeuvring a 31ft trailer to go down the slipway in a straight line ain't easy (some of the tidal one's I've used with a seven metre RHIB were obviously designed for dinghy on trolleys, not a twin axle trailer pivoted at the back of a long wheel base 4x4)

I find it slightly ironic that, at least on a mobile device, my reading was interrupted by a "fill in a questionair and win £" type pop up... I'm not knocking Royal Mails efforts BTW; good on them protecting the vulnerable

Given the antics when an armed swat team hit the local council offices after an email regarding "... a wheelie BIN LADEN with non recyclable refuse..." they may have sharpened their filters a bit. My hot spot is "KGB, добро пожаловать"

I received today advance warning that my yearly donation to CWF will be due in about ten days time. I renew by Pay Pal so clicked the link, job done. I ask out of polite curiosity, does this mean I've paid ten days early so next year will be reminded in late May, then early May then...? (Polite curiosity since, in the grand scheme of things the amount is tiny and [in my humble opinion] for a good cause)

No, you want one now. You've managed without, you don't need