@Steve_Lee said:
May I ask what model unit you purchased?
I still have the Harman Advance stove in operation that I purchased in 2003 - still running flawlessly . . .
I'm thinking I mentioned I scored a prototype bass amp by VHT at a MusicGoRound back in March. Thing sounds freaking amazing, but it's only 100watts. After getting it going I took it to practice and it just didn't have the power to do the job, even through 8-10's.
That set the ball rolling for what I finally got going this weekend. I built the preamp that VHT was using, modified that with some of my own tweaks, and run that to an ICEpower 700AS1 amplifier module.
So far I'm digging it, sounds like the VHT, but has some balls now. Got practice tomorrow so some R&D can take place.
Future, I plan to make an actual amp chassis and PCBs. I built a head box that matches my cabs for the VHT, the tube amp will go back in it's OE box and this amp will take it's place in the custom one.
The first car I ever bought was this 1966 289 automatic. A friend had a set of thunderbird wire wheel covers that would fit. I thought is was a good looking car.
I don't have any pictures handy, but my first car was a 1980 Mustang with a 4cyl and automatic. Gutless wonder. Blew it up driving down the interstate with the pedal to the metal at a whopping 75mph. Was probably already sick by the time it was handed down to me.
Interior was in rough shape. My cousin had a Fairmont of a similar vintage with a good 4cyl in it, and decent interior. The interior of the Fairmont and the Mustang was identical so we spent a couple long weekends swapping engines and interior parts to pimp out the Mustang. Got it running nice again and he was out on a gravel road when a tie rod end let go and it rolled in to the ditch totalling it out. RIP POS Mustang.
My first 403 blew its engine coming down Mount Macedon, Victoria, after a picnic. My sister looked out the back window and said "it's very foggy up here, isn't it"?
I thought ' that's funny, there's no fog in front of the car'...
It got us home on three cylinders, I don't know how. I then bought another one from a wrecker for $80 and swapped the engines over, then sold the second one to another wrecker for $20. Unfortunately, while the second engine ran well it had the spark plug/oil problem I described above.
Success!! Played through practice without a hint of problems and sounded fantastic doing it. The heatsink stayed warm the whole time, like I could hold my hand on it with not problem. Now I'm on to PCB design.
Looks like it's time for a new computer. I've upgraded my 5 year old Dell desktop a few times and the (SATA) SSD is having intermittent failures.
I don't mind the desktop as most my mobile computing is on my phone or iPad. Am I missing anything if I go with a desktop?
All my MS programs have been purchased- on machine. Should I breakdown and do Office 365? Most of my Office usage is with Outlook which I prefer for managing multiple email accounts.
Last, I store and backup all my data on hard drives. I've got about 1.5 TB of pictures and music. Should I go Cloud to avoid the hassle of managing the backups? OneDrive is what I use at work. Office 365 and storage is $99/ year.
The idea of subscription based software just rankles me. The last time I needed to update my MS Office software I bought a license key for MS Office Pro 2021 from ebay for $40. The instructions included downloading the retail image. No problems doing the installation. Done deal.
Decided trick needs tunes and so a couple years ago I bought a retrosound head unit. Never got around to finishing it due to not knowing what to do about speakers.
Then I had the brilliant idea of using small bookshelf speakers and tuck them under the seat.
I bought these: https://www.parts-express.com/AET-HT-200SB-4-Passive-Surround-Speaker-Pair-4-Ohm-299-4016?quantity=1
Maybe I'll measure them, but I doubt it.
I'm old school. I still prefer desktops to laptops. Laptop is fine for leisure use, but it would be a secondary item. Too easy to drop and break. Also I find laptop hardware tends to begin failing by the 3yr mark. If something fails on my desktop I have a much better chance of being able to find a replacement part locally and be back up and running within a day or two.
Single PC license MS office keys are usually rather cheap on the key code sites. I think I got my Office 2021 for ~$30. They basically buy unused keys from companies that purchased a large block of keys and didn't use them all. Nothing nefarious, but I'd still keep my guard up on such sites just incase.
For your data.. How important is it to you? Typically there is no guarantee on cloud services that your data will be there tomorrow. It all comes down to trust. On a global level these companies are pretty reliable, but on an individual level it is becoming increasingly questionable IMO. That is all I'll say as I don't want this to turn political.
I just replaced my Lenovo Thinkpad laptop after 10+ trouble free years. Bought another Thinkpad as I can't fault the quality. The Thinkpads are business laptops that meet a low level Milspec for waterproofness and durability. My wife's Dell work laptop has had to be replaced a couple of times in the past few years, once from being splashed with water from a spilled glass, my Lenovo had gotten doused several times over the years and still kept going.
I installed my copy of Office 2010 on the new latop as I didn't feel like paying for 365, it works fine for me.
I have also purchased fairly cheap software licenses from CDkeys in the past and have had no issues from them.
I'm typing this on a 12 year old Dell Latitude (the expensive one, maybe not actually?). I have found the cheap retail laptops to last a few years at best. I may go for a desktop next time, whenever that may be...
I've been building my own PC's for years ( since before PC's) and have been buying my MS software from this outfit. I refuse to pay the MS tax and if the apps I need to run didn't require Windows I'd run Linux.
I'm running MS Office Professional Plus 2016 and it works fine. I hate laptops because they always give you less performance, don't have real keyboards and the screens are always too small. The other big factor is that if I want something faster I can usually upgrade without replacing everything.
I used old parts and built my own network storage for backups using NAS4Free software. Whenever I need to back up something I just turn it on.
We recently bought a Lenovo Yoga All in One PC, our old PC croaked after 11 years of great service. The Lenovo has a large, bright screen, takes up less space than the old one and doesn't have wires everywhere. It was about the same price as a mediocre laptop with the same processor and video power, plus it has a 1TB SSD and a 2TB hard drive.
The downside of buying the new PC is that we had to buy the subscription version of MS Office (MSOffice 365) which costs A$100 p.a. The hard copy of Office was $195 and was only an old version. I haggled and managed to get two years' worth, but I still hate the subscription model.
Car makers have started doing that too, with, for example, a higher state of tune being part of the car, but you have to pay a sub to 'unlock it'. Rip-off is too tame a description for that.
Comments
May I ask what model unit you purchased?
I still have the Harman Advance stove in operation that I purchased in 2003 - still running flawlessly . . .
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/heating-and-cooling/wood-and-pellet-stoves/stoves/4013313?x429=true&gbraid=0AAAAADtqLJGcZfF9HxtnCMGNGTjJkr1M5&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9fjVubLSgQMVNQezAB0IsgI_EAQYAyABEgKoiPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I bought it brand new for $250 off of marketplace. Some woman’s dad bought it for his garage and he passed away and she didn’t know what to do with it.
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
Outrageous steal ! - I hope it is trouble free for life.
I'm thinking I mentioned I scored a prototype bass amp by VHT at a MusicGoRound back in March. Thing sounds freaking amazing, but it's only 100watts. After getting it going I took it to practice and it just didn't have the power to do the job, even through 8-10's.
That set the ball rolling for what I finally got going this weekend. I built the preamp that VHT was using, modified that with some of my own tweaks, and run that to an ICEpower 700AS1 amplifier module.
So far I'm digging it, sounds like the VHT, but has some balls now. Got practice tomorrow so some R&D can take place.
Future, I plan to make an actual amp chassis and PCBs. I built a head box that matches my cabs for the VHT, the tube amp will go back in it's OE box and this amp will take it's place in the custom one.
My prototype:
The first car I ever bought was this 1966 289 automatic. A friend had a set of thunderbird wire wheel covers that would fit. I thought is was a good looking car.
Ron
Very cool car Ron!
Geoff
I always wanted a fastback like that.
I don't have any pictures handy, but my first car was a 1980 Mustang with a 4cyl and automatic. Gutless wonder. Blew it up driving down the interstate with the pedal to the metal at a whopping 75mph. Was probably already sick by the time it was handed down to me.
Interior was in rough shape. My cousin had a Fairmont of a similar vintage with a good 4cyl in it, and decent interior. The interior of the Fairmont and the Mustang was identical so we spent a couple long weekends swapping engines and interior parts to pimp out the Mustang. Got it running nice again and he was out on a gravel road when a tie rod end let go and it rolled in to the ditch totalling it out. RIP POS Mustang.
Oh, the car was such a hot mess cosmetically that we nicknamed it the "Crustang".
94° in October. WTFudge
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
My first 403 blew its engine coming down Mount Macedon, Victoria, after a picnic. My sister looked out the back window and said "it's very foggy up here, isn't it"?
I thought ' that's funny, there's no fog in front of the car'...
It got us home on three cylinders, I don't know how. I then bought another one from a wrecker for $80 and swapped the engines over, then sold the second one to another wrecker for $20. Unfortunately, while the second engine ran well it had the spark plug/oil problem I described above.
The joys of old cars...I don't miss them a bit
Geoff
Success!! Played through practice without a hint of problems and sounded fantastic doing it. The heatsink stayed warm the whole time, like I could hold my hand on it with not problem. Now I'm on to PCB design.
This is outstanding!
Looks like it's time for a new computer. I've upgraded my 5 year old Dell desktop a few times and the (SATA) SSD is having intermittent failures.
I don't mind the desktop as most my mobile computing is on my phone or iPad. Am I missing anything if I go with a desktop?
All my MS programs have been purchased- on machine. Should I breakdown and do Office 365? Most of my Office usage is with Outlook which I prefer for managing multiple email accounts.
Last, I store and backup all my data on hard drives. I've got about 1.5 TB of pictures and music. Should I go Cloud to avoid the hassle of managing the backups? OneDrive is what I use at work. Office 365 and storage is $99/ year.
The idea of subscription based software just rankles me. The last time I needed to update my MS Office software I bought a license key for MS Office Pro 2021 from ebay for $40. The instructions included downloading the retail image. No problems doing the installation. Done deal.
Decided trick needs tunes and so a couple years ago I bought a retrosound head unit. Never got around to finishing it due to not knowing what to do about speakers.
Then I had the brilliant idea of using small bookshelf speakers and tuck them under the seat.
I bought these:
https://www.parts-express.com/AET-HT-200SB-4-Passive-Surround-Speaker-Pair-4-Ohm-299-4016?quantity=1
Maybe I'll measure them, but I doubt it.
I'm old school. I still prefer desktops to laptops. Laptop is fine for leisure use, but it would be a secondary item. Too easy to drop and break. Also I find laptop hardware tends to begin failing by the 3yr mark. If something fails on my desktop I have a much better chance of being able to find a replacement part locally and be back up and running within a day or two.
Single PC license MS office keys are usually rather cheap on the key code sites. I think I got my Office 2021 for ~$30. They basically buy unused keys from companies that purchased a large block of keys and didn't use them all. Nothing nefarious, but I'd still keep my guard up on such sites just incase.
For your data.. How important is it to you? Typically there is no guarantee on cloud services that your data will be there tomorrow. It all comes down to trust. On a global level these companies are pretty reliable, but on an individual level it is becoming increasingly questionable IMO. That is all I'll say as I don't want this to turn political.
I just replaced my Lenovo Thinkpad laptop after 10+ trouble free years. Bought another Thinkpad as I can't fault the quality. The Thinkpads are business laptops that meet a low level Milspec for waterproofness and durability. My wife's Dell work laptop has had to be replaced a couple of times in the past few years, once from being splashed with water from a spilled glass, my Lenovo had gotten doused several times over the years and still kept going.
I installed my copy of Office 2010 on the new latop as I didn't feel like paying for 365, it works fine for me.
I have also purchased fairly cheap software licenses from CDkeys in the past and have had no issues from them.
I'm typing this on a 12 year old Dell Latitude (the expensive one, maybe not actually?). I have found the cheap retail laptops to last a few years at best. I may go for a desktop next time, whenever that may be...
I've been building my own PC's for years ( since before PC's) and have been buying my MS software from this outfit. I refuse to pay the MS tax and if the apps I need to run didn't require Windows I'd run Linux.
https://kinguin.net/
I'm running MS Office Professional Plus 2016 and it works fine. I hate laptops because they always give you less performance, don't have real keyboards and the screens are always too small. The other big factor is that if I want something faster I can usually upgrade without replacing everything.
I used old parts and built my own network storage for backups using NAS4Free software. Whenever I need to back up something I just turn it on.
Ron
My wife got 3 tags this year 1 antelope and 2 deer, I got picked for none. Maybe next year for me. She said they were skittish this year.
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
Looks like you're going to be freezing a bunch of meat this year. Good for you guys! I've never eatin antelope. How do you plan on preparing it?
We only eat the backstrap within the first week of getting it. Then the rest will be cut up for chislic.
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
What is chislic?
Lol. You serious?
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
I forget chislic is kind of a South Dakota thing. It’s cube meat that you can brine and then deep fat fry.
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
Had that growing up. My dad was from the black hills. Not something I would want all the time but is a nice treat.
Wow, health nut are ya?😛
I am…. And it’s almost cookie season in this neighborhood.!
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
We recently bought a Lenovo Yoga All in One PC, our old PC croaked after 11 years of great service. The Lenovo has a large, bright screen, takes up less space than the old one and doesn't have wires everywhere. It was about the same price as a mediocre laptop with the same processor and video power, plus it has a 1TB SSD and a 2TB hard drive.
The downside of buying the new PC is that we had to buy the subscription version of MS Office (MSOffice 365) which costs A$100 p.a. The hard copy of Office was $195 and was only an old version. I haggled and managed to get two years' worth, but I still hate the subscription model.
Car makers have started doing that too, with, for example, a higher state of tune being part of the car, but you have to pay a sub to 'unlock it'. Rip-off is too tame a description for that.
Geoff