Having stumbled across your site I read with interest
that you've been looking at a promise fasttrak sx4000 ata raid controller,
where do you get these from? I've spent some time searching and can't find
anyone who lists them for sale in the UK. I'm building a small workgroup
server and one of these would be just the ticket for some redundancy in
the disk subsystem.
- matt
Answer: Can't help, I'm afraid - the things seem completely unavailable (in
the retail channel, at least) in this country, and pretty rare worldwide,
for that matter - it may be just a supply-chain problem, but I've been
wondering if they're having problems with firmware or drivers and haven't
actually released a final version yet... Reviews are sparse, too, it
seems...
It looks great on paper, though, so I suggest that you
say "to hell with it", import one from the US, and let me know if it fries
your data or not. :-)
First, congrats on your Infinity2 project. I’m also
trying to mod my PC so reading your article was very interesting, a real
guide for me. However I would like to ask if you still remember what sizes
(diameter) of Expandable Braided Sleeving did you ordered from RS? I’m
asking this because I also would like to cover the cables of my Enermax.
- Pedro
Answer: The RS part numbers for the sleeving were 389-886 and 389-892.
The wider braid will fit over the Molex
connectors on the loom, but it's a fiddly job... I think you'll get the
best results by removing the Molex connectors from the wiring loom and
using the smaller braid - it's not a significantly more annoying task than
wiggling the braid over all the sharp edges, and is a much better fit than
the wider one. In the end, I ran out of time and energy and used split
loom instead of braid, but next time I'd definitely pull the connectors
and do the job properly.
just starting Revell's international space station and
have a question. in your opinion, what would the effect be if i left the
colored plastic parts unpainted, that is, leaving those plastic pieces,
which the instructions say to paint, the same color they already are? i
don't know the effect of painting a gray plastic part gray and a black
plastic part black versus leaving them as is - unpainted.....
- tim
Answer: I know what you mean, yes - it shouldn't make that much of a
difference, but unfortunately it does seem to. I was planning on doing
this with the Mir kit, but within a few minutes of starting to paint the
other sections I realised that it wasn't going to work - a painted surface
somehow has a different "tone" to unpainted plastic, even when ostensibly
the same colour and finish. I suspect that to an extent it would depend on
from how far away you'll be looking at the finished product - the
difference was very obvious (and jarring) from a few feet away, but if you
were thinking of hanging it from the ceiling you might well get away with
it...
Good luck with the kit - it's certainly a major effort
to build, but the result is well worth it... Take care with the internal
supporting beams, though - I found it best to epoxy them into the joints,
as when they were just push-fitted the overall structure was rather too
creaky and flexible - although that isn't really an issue if you're
intending to display it on the stand rather than hanging. Oh, and the main
solar panels are very tight in their sockets on the truss, and their "pin"
is surprisingly fragile. Don't count on being able to turn them much when
they're fitted, as standard, but I'd recommend enlarging the hole a touch
before assembly - I broke two trying to reposition them later on, and
making repairs was quite hard.
Hi.........i see you have the same
reader as me, I need drivers for
it to work on XP, I have d/loaded the win 2000 version but they crash my
machine. Can you help me please??
- Bernard
Answer: I only use Windows 2000, so I can't be sure, but in theory (and
according to Kingbyte's home page) you shouldn't need drivers for a USB
card reader under Win XP at all! The OS is supposed to have native support
for all the available types of flash card built in, so if you're not
seeing the additional drive letters when you connect the reader, and there
isn't an entry in the "Unplug or Eject Hardware" applet, then something
else is probably wrong with your setup...
However, Kingbyte seem to think that there might be stability issues with
early versions of the reader's firmware under WinXP, and they offer an
upgrade here
- it's worth a try, but be careful to remove any traces of the failed
Win2K driver before experimenting further... and it might be a good idea
to make liberal use of XP's "System Restore" facility while you're working
on this.
In general, Windows 2000 drivers won't work at all on WinXP at all, so I'm
surprised that it actually let you get as far as installing them and
crashing! If you're feeling especially adventurous you might try the
Windows ME driver, which ought to use the same Unified Driver Model as Win
XP - in practice, though, I wouldn't be particularly hopeful.
There seem to be differences in the various designs on
the market, but with mine it's like this... Basically, you should end up
with three straps running in parallel for most of the length of the gun,
with the quick-release buckle at the front end and one length running
freely through the rear mount. In other words, it looks like a needlessly
complex regular sling, and you could just put it over your shoulder like
that.
To use it properly, though, with the gun horizontal at
your right side you put two of the straps over your head onto your left
shoulder, and the third (nearest to the gun) runs under your armpit
between the slider on the rear mount and the quick-release buckle at the
front. This carries the gun securely at your hip, and when you want to
fire from the shoulder you release the buckle, the straps slide through
the sliders getting longer, and you can bring the gun upwards and forwards
with the new slack.
If it doesn't seem to work, try choosing a different
two of the three straps to put over the shoulder - it will be quite
obvious when you get it right, as it will feel right. It's much
easier to do than to describe, but I hope this has helped a little.
By chance, I ran across your website today and saw the
July 28 entry.
I have been playing with a Pioneer DRM-5004X, too and I
acquired it around the same time. Have you had much more luck with it? I
am still trying to get the thing to work with XP, and I'm almost there. I
can move the changer all right, but right now, I am having trouble getting
XP to read audio data from the CD Roms.
What software are you using? I would love to trade
notes with you. Respond to this e-mail and let me know. Excitedly awaiting
your response!!
- Brian
Answer:
This has turned into something of an epic, and ended up with
its own page...
Hi, as a member of the Swedish equivalent to the
British Territorial Army, I'm currently trying to update my antiquated
equipment. For weapon slings, I found the Guarder sling interesting, and
which could be purchased for a reasonable price from a Swedish mail order
company.
Now, you claim to have found a way to properly fit and
handle this sling, so my question is HOW ? I would also like to know if
there is a device included, that easily lets you expand the sling for
quick
right/left shoulder switches?
Regards,
- Lars Wiberg
Answer: As the saying has it, "I refer the honourable gentleman to the
answer I gave some moments ago" - only this time I sent
pictures, too, as even I had difficulty in understanding the
written explanation a few months later. This really is one of those things
that is easier to do than to describe - and it wasn't that easy to do,
either...
I saw on your website where you said some people have
purchased this unit with DVD drives installed. I have been looking for
information on upgrading this unit to support DVD drives forever. I was
wondering if you had ever received any positive information in this
regard.
Thanks,
- Cody
Answer: I only have anecdotal evidence, I'm afraid - the first page I found on
this hardware, describing how to use the changer with the Linux MTX media
manager, mentioned that he'd bought his unit with DVD drives already
fitted. Unfortunately the page disappeared back in the autumn, and I've
never been able to track the author down.
I didn't actually own a 5004 when I first read the
account, and assumed that it would be a relatively easy upgrade, but
having examined mine the drives are obviously wildly non-standard
and unless DVD hardware in the same unusual form factor was available
(which Pioneer seem to deny) I can't see how the replacement could
actually be performed.
My gut feeling is that he was mistaken - he never
claimed to have used them to play DVDs, so maybe MTX reported the media
type incorrectly and he never actually tested it!
Hi, Any ideas where I can get hold of a really good
Browning Hi Power replica, i.e. correct weight, field strippable and
preferably a blank firer. Have looked every where but no joy.
Cheers.
- BH
Answer:
Well, what you've described would be a rare beast, I'm afraid - and
unfortunately I haven't heard of anything that matches your description
exactly. I think you can rule blank firers out straight away, if you're
set on the ability to field strip - I've never seen a blank firer
that could be stripped at all (well, without a centre punch and a bunch of
fuss, anyway) let alone having an accurate take-down ability. Aside from
the external appearance, the designers of blank firers are pretty keen to
avoid making their replicas too close to the real thing, to avoid the
chance of swapping components etc to enable (however briefly!) the use of
live ammunition.
The gas blowback airsoft replicas can usually be field
stripped fairly accurately, and with the addition of after-market metal
components can be made into a close approximation of the "real steel"
weight and appearance - but if you're after the sound effects then of
course they're always going to be a disappointment.
I wonder if you have considered a deactivated firearm,
though? They don't go bang, of course, and could never be made to do so -
but apart from that they are as close to a real handgun as you're going to
get in this country. They should field strip 100% (although beware of the
very cheapest deactivations that have been thoroughly mangled inside) and
of course they look absolutely perfect. You might try checking
these links, although it's something of a growth industry since the
handguns ban and there are many other suppliers:
Another possibility would be the Japanese "Model Gun"
type replicas - they usually look pretty good, and certainly have
all the sound effects - I don't know about field stripping (it may vary
from manufacturer to manufacturer) but the two links below might start you
off: