timetraveller

It's not about the boxes being supplied to the elderly rather it's all about the quality of the Freeview signal being impacted by the presence of the 4G signal, which will overun on the same frequency as Freeview. This means that some people who previously received Freeview without difficuly MAY find that when the 4G system is made active that the quality of signal that they would normally recieve will be so degraded as to make Freeview reception impossible. Hence, (according to the report) there will be a 'company' setup by the government who can be called upon to supply 'filters' to attempt to aid the reception of Freeview, else provide guidance towards an alternative solution (ie Freesat), to people who are experiencing trouble and can no longer get Freeview. For boats out in the wild, and 'in the cut' - my concern would be that a degraded signal caused by the presence of a 4G signal around the country MAY make finding a Freeview signal of good quality to lock onto, difficult or impossible. The government are obviously aware of the impending problem and my post was just to make all us boaters aware also.

Took notice of a report Freeview Report Which broadly illustrates the impact that the introduction of 4G services will have on Freeview signal reception - reading through it you can see between the lines that nothing has been considered for all the users that rely on getting a freeview signal as they travel about ie boaters. Looks like Freesat is the way to go after all. Just wanted to bring the topic to the attention of everyone.

Yep, last year at cropredy a narrowboat locked through about 11:30 pm with tunnel light blazing and the crew shouting loudly at each other.

Thanks for all the responses folks, I forgot to say that the boat is a new build so all the electrical installation work is brand new, the batteries are brand new and the voltage indicators hover around 13.1v. We have installed an MSC distribution board on both 12v and 240v systems. Everything on the boat works fine - the cables are up to or beyond specification and the only issue we have is the flickering lights. I'll take of the feed to one bank of them and try them direct to the battery bank asap.

We have just got our boat on the water after a full fit-out and notice that when the Webasto Thermo Top C starts up /shuts down or when the fuel pump 'ticks' the LED cabin lights just 'flicker' in time with the pump. Has anyone any solutions to sorting out this slightly annoying issue.?? I wondered if it might be a bit of 'back EMF' occuring from the fuel solenoid if so I wondered if a Zener Diode (or two)in the 12v pump power supply lines might work - the groups thoughts would be appreciated.

Yes we have a Kipor IG2600 - bought it about 11 months ago - super machine (and pure sine output), we have used it on numerous occasions it performs very well. Starting is fine, usually take 2 pulls on the starter chord - but then fires up and after initial start-up runs very quietly.We have had it running all sorts of loads without a hitch.

Just for the sake of asking....but does anybody use one of those 'lock master' style ratchet windlass ?

Have you considered Paul Widdowson Boats Link Here - Pauls price to us was not only very competitive but the quality and finish of his boats are superb. Having bought and sailed in his craft we are more than happy to recommend.

yes they COMBINED IT with the TV licence

Mmmm, I think you need a licence for using the RADIO........

Thanks Justin for the clarification and the emphasis on the 'build' of the aerial, I've taken another (more careful) look at your website and can now appreciate your comments fully.

Many thanks MJG -and yes I see on the website his recommendation eg "The DM Log periodic is the correct aerial for those in strong signal areas for any transmitter. This is also the aerial we recommend for caravans and boats". BUT by nature Boats are not always in 'strong signal areas' - so these makes me wonder why this particular aerial is 'the right choice' ? looking at the test curve data it has a rather flat gain as opposed to the aerial with a slightly better gain eg the Log 40, which surely would help to bring in the weaker signals; so I still find this choice of aerial confusing and would welcome clarification.

Many thanks for the tip - Jim's website is packed with info

Just wondered if there is a site somewhere on the web which does a good job of listing all the existing UK inland Marinas ?

So Justin, what aerial do you recommend for eg a narrowboat installation can you give a specific example of what type of aerial you would buy, and how you would have it fitted..ie length of aerial mast & fixings you would use, its position on the boat etc. etc

Once again - thanks to everyone and especially 'Blackrose' for the photos - that makes the whole thing a lot clearer. The bottom word is that a cooler will get fitted.

Superb responses and my thanks to everyone. The general opinion is that an oil cooler really should be fitted to this combination and hence that's what we'll do. I did speak to prm at coventry, but rather than shed light on the issue I recieved a rather mixed answer from them, hence my question to the group. For the small amount of outlay in fitting a cooler, it has to be the best option, and of course that would make it in keeping with prm own product information data sheet. We just don't understand why a cooler was not supplied as part of the engine/gearbox package or why the fitter didn't make mention of it. thanks one and all.

Hi to everybody...advice required We have an isuzu 42 engine with a PRM 150D2 Gearbox combination and wondered if an oil cooler needs to be fitted to the gearbox. The engine and gearbox were supplied as a package and no oil cooler was present, but on looking at the prm website and the specifications of the 150D2 it looks as though an oil cooler should be fitted. What do you think, should we fit one?

We have just bought a new brass tiller extension together with a new wooden tiller handle. The wooden handle has a slit cut into the base where it would be driven into the brass extension tube and a small wedge has also been supplied. So the question is what's the correct method for fitting the handle? - if the wedge is offered even slightly into the slit in the wooden handle it's impossible to insert the handle into the brass tube? Do we just ignore the wedge and the slit and just 'whack' the handle into the brass extension tube ? or does the handle have to be sanded down first so that it fits easily into the tube - and then the wedge driven in from the opposite end of the open brass tube with something like a large dowel? What's the procedure.....help!

Well, we have just had a 57' cruiser stern narrowboat boat built by Paul Widdowson at New Ollerton and can thoroughly recommend his skills as a boat builder, and his prices are very competitive indeed.

We were also looking for another timer and took notice of this unit from here - it seems to be able to do plenty of on/off events.

A quick search of the forum shows a thread with the following content "Mine came with the standard timer which can be used to set 3 independent ON times but does not switch it off automatically. There is an advanced timer available which includes more options including switch-off times." from thread here

Many thanks indeed to everyone - as you all basically say Hep20 is the way to go, so we'll heed all your good advice and go with what you've said....thanks to all on the forum

Hi to the group - just a quick question on fitting the water system into our narrowboat shell - we have received conflicting views, but thought I'd ask the question which is going to be best to fit, Hep2 piping or copper pipes ?

"Also names and addresses do not have to be given, you can say, I'm taking photographs of the canal and its boats. If a policeman says you have to give details you simply say "thank you officer, I've explained why I am here. I don't want to give any details." Yeah, and then the police officer says "that's ok, I'm arresting you under section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008" for failing to provide details when so requested".