DaveP

'3' operate on 2100Mhz - so a 1/4 wavelength aerial would be ~3.5cm - easily within the physical constraints of a mobile phone. Most of the rest are on 1800Mhz - makes the aerial only mm longer?

Yes - phone calls are just another data stream coming over the air from your provider; same with sms. Dave

Except for the one that doesn't! Had to spend a while finding a suitable stick on my roof to keep it propped up (said stick has now joined the improvised Calder & Hebble handspike - which I hope I didn't put on the fire as I'm going back there next month). My general technigue with the non-locked ones is to gently nose into the offside and disembark with the front rope just laid on the bank to assist if the boat decides to move away. Raise the bridge; the balance beams generally have a nail hammered into them which the chain can be secured to via the ground loop. Back on the boat, shove off, drive through, stop and move the stern into the offside, climb off from the stern with a rope, release the chain, lower the bridge, reboard and pootle off. The only difficult offside landing is the Lower Heyford bridge which is high up from the deck on both sides of the bridge, and cross winds can cause embarrassment in front of strangers at Chisnell (North of Somerton Deep Lock).

When I first got my boat, I left the pilot on continuously - a 13kg bottle would last about a month. Moving to only lighting the pilot when water is required extended the bottle life to nearly two months!

About 50km west from Carc is Castelnaudary - huge basin on the canal, and some fairly decent restaurants. But TBH the 7-lock staircase mentioned above is definitely the sight to see. -- Dave

Got to pick your moment really - Lower Heyford has plenty of mooring, but if you don't want to be kept awake by the railway then stay North of the lift bridge. Aynho only has room for half a dozen boats close to the wharf - so park up towards the lift bridge where there's normally loads of space. Banbury seems quite full at the moment; but there's room on the tramway moorings (by Morrisons).

Punting shells around boatyard, Rudder substitute off bow of boat being towed in reverse Leaving on the side of the cut after running aground and levering the boat off a bank slip Washing line pole Death slide for grocery bag off bridge and I've always wanted to try a pole-vault...

Lower Heyford to Rugby and back in February, then down to Carcassonne - the latter on the bike rather than the boat though...

How about 'Other Horse Missing'

An adjustment that helped my vista laptop stay on message was to change the roaming aggressiveness of the wifi transponder - basically it was looking around for other access points, latching on to them, failing to negotiate a link and dropping the connection to mine. Reducing the roaming aggressiveness value prevented it being so flighty. See http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/cs-025393.htm for the advanced settings of the transponder.

Found one! HTC Wildfire - 5 megapixel camera - with zoom and flash. Seems to have a built-in phone but it can be difficult to find amongst all the other stuff - including a radio! Ace little gadget. Dave

Yes the sim card is located in the dongle - there's a small tray located just above the usb plug, it will have a nail indentation in it and slides out over the plug. They've changed they model line-up since I got mine (several years ago). Look on ebay for 'braodband dongle', there's loads. Then ensure that 1) it's either unlocked or locked on '3' and 2) that it is a model that takes an external aerial. Should cost 10-20.

Absolutely - I'd be more inclined to go with 3 than anyone else - but check broadband coverage for the areas that you're intending to cruise first - use the links from this page to reach each providers map. Also check how much data you're likely to use and what the excess charges are! The higher you can get the receiving aerial, the better, so a dongle that will accept an external aerial is better than one that doesn't. Given that, it may mean that you can keep your dongle inside whilst the aerial suffers the outside weather. Without an external aerial the dongle will need to be in an advantageous position - which means on the outside or close to a window - so a USB extension lead of up to 5m will be needed (over that length the cable will require extra power to overcome limitations in its transmission capabilities - a powered cable). If you have more than one device which you want to reach the 'net with, then a 3G router is an absolute boon. The router takes the 3G signal and converts it into a wifi one, allowing multiple devices to share the internet connection. The mifi is one, but combines the role of dongle as well (the SIM card is contained within it). A 12v powered one allows you to place the router in a more weatherproof area with the dongle on a USB lead in a good receiving position. My setup is a Huawei E156 dongle up a mast (that also supports a TV aerial) with an external antenna, connected via a 3m usb cable to a Huawei D100 router in my cratch. The dongle is weatherproofed in a bicycle inner tube. I've had no problems connecting to the wifi with various flavours of windows, an iphone, and an android phone and tablet. Another advantage of the wifi is the ability to conect to it within 100m or so of the boat, so towpath sitting and surfing is a summer blessing.

[i'm currently ashore, and getting homesick for my boat] Things I love; The ability to move your home and stop where you wish (or at least within walking distance) The comradeship and community of fellow boaters The engineering and scale of the system The need to maintain the boat and systems within - and the subsequent warmth and protection afforded The bafflement of officialdom, the conversion of friends (and strangers) Why; Because I didn't want to live in a grotty flat in London for the rest of my life

Ahh, but the GWA does serve rather wonderful Old Hooky as an alternative food all the way to 11 o'clock... [no excuse to miss the exquisite food though, I agree. But the GWA is only 3-4 hours from decent pubs in Banbury and the Heyfords so being in a rush to get there does seem to indicate either a poorly boat or lack of planning]

'lick up' - quality of service is really heading south ...

I find in that pulling over for a nice cup of tea (and whatever pastries I've bought in the bakery that morning) generally solves the slowcoach in front issue as well as dissipating incipient boat rage tendencies.

I am also abroad at the moment. In my correspondence with the Census, they are claiming that if I return to the UK within the next 6 months I must fill in a form - a weekend away doesn't relieve the obligation. The conversation is ongoing (I don't have an operational 'phone here, apparently the only way to obtain a form if one hasn't been delivered is to telephone them, and I won't be back until after their lines close down). Dave

When I was there (on Tixall wide) the other year, a bus into Stafford (hourly I recall) and then regular trains into Euston - all very convenient.

Today and tomorrow (8 & 9 Feb) There are contractors working inside the locks (#8 today and #11 tomorrow). They may need to stop traffic for up to two hours. Should be clear after early morning on Thursday 10 Feb. -- Dave nb Freespirit Rising

My setup is; '3' branded Huawei 160G dongle up a pole with an eternal aerial (actually a repurposed dvb-t one) further up the pole connnected via a 4m USB lead to a '3' branded Huawei D150 router in the cratch roof. The dongle is enclosed in a gaffered bicycle inner tube section. So far it's lasted 2 years without water issues - except when I dipped it in the canal. The router is protected from the elements becuase it's inside the cratch. This router isn't sold any more (I picked mine up in a pawn shop) but a friend has the zoom router and loves it. The wifi field penetrates all areas of the boat without a problem and also about 100m around. I use 2 laptops, an android phone and an itouch to connect without problems.

Yep - 24" on a swinging bracket, into 8mm ply. No extra battening, just screws with damned big ridges. Didn't quite believe it would hold, but it's fine. -- Dave

Have one - like it says on the tin. But still needs a decent aerial. Should be able to pick one up for £20 or less. but don't forget that laptops chew power; if possible find a small lcd telly - less power and cheaper.