Drat, double drat and triple drat. When I moved URLs about this blog, reconstituted from the original before I briefly moved to Write Freely, was all fine. But I overlooked the fact that the WordPress database held onto the old URLs in all the images. So all the original posts that had images now have blank space. I am working my way back through these to sort each post out. Annoyingly it is not just a straight URL swap as there were differences in the older version of WordPress as was, so I need to remove and re-add each one. Oh well…

Update: I think I found and fixed them all.

I have removed the Activitypub plugin that was supposed to make it possible to follow this blog from the Fediverse. I was the only follower and it never seemed to work anyway. Less baggage.

After a brief expedition to Write Freely I have moved back to WordPress. I had kept a copy of the old WordPress site so actually moving was not that bad other than adding in 4 or 5 posts and associated images…

Five years+ on from retiring I no longer feel the need to tell the world my continuing story via the likes of Facebook. I actually only came to Facebook to find out what other people were saying, principally about my employer. I engaged a little with LinkedIn but never in any serious fashion and I deleted my LinkedIn presence a few months ago. As to Twitter, well, I think in all the years I held an account I sent five tweets. I deleted that account too since I moved to Mastodon. I have since deleted all my Facebook posts and all photos on Instagram and Facebook. I kept the accounts but will no longer engage with either, not even to post ‘likes’. From having my name at the bottom of several thousand web pages over three decades I reckon now it’s only on my own blog. Oh, and my Ph.D. thesis which is online. And I think that’s a good place to be. 

While viewing the UKuG webcast last night I lost the RHS sound in the headphones. Fiddling with the wire made no difference. The headphones in question are plugged into an audio mixer that connects the radios and PCs. Checking the speakers which are on a different output from the mixer showed the same issue, LHS sound only. As I wanted to watch the webcast I unplugged the headphones and plugged them directly into the MacBook, restoring the audio.

Today, I pulled the mixer out and checked all the plugs. Checking audio from the FT450D showed it, too was only LHS. Hmmm. Figuring out it was probably time to take the mixer apart as fiddling with the pan and level knobs and main slider made no difference I caught one of the push buttons and heard a crackle. Pressing this a couple of times solved the issue. I do like these faults, just fiddle with everything and swear at it to fix. Brings back memories of the house TV in ancient times that would sometimes need a good thump! Very scientific…

Now, do I bother finding the switch cleaner or leave it well alone and hope I remember which switch to abuse next time…

Been rearranging the workshop today because I ended up spreading stuff about rather illogically. I also wanted to add some boards to the roof joists to stop leaves blowing in – the eaves are open and the shed is not insulated. It’s surprising how difficult it is to manoeuvre and fit an 8’x4′ foot plywood sheet into an 8’2″ x 4’6″ space on your own! Anyway, the aim of todays mudding was to prepare for getting all the components and bits and bobs over to one side and to extend the ‘projects waiting to be started’ shelf which was full! All the woodwork is done now and just needs some shelves and boxing to sort out.

Oh yes and there is still the matter of running some SWA Cat6 cable out from the garage which involves lifting flags, digging a trench and other adventures.

This work is partly in preparation for Project QO100 as well as the model railway which will go where the components are now. Any heavy work is now all at one end and all electronics and servicing type stuff at the other, roughly 50/50. Pics will follow once I can actually see the benches and it doesn’t just look like everything has exploded.

So, new TV, empty space in bedroom, TV point and Ethernet points nearby, all I had to do was finish the wiring (left unconnected as it was not needed 15 years ago!) and scan for channels. Simple.

OK. So I had a splitter and then found a smaller one so used that. Stuck it to the wall in the airing cupboard, wired in the CT125 coming down from the loft and two TV coax runs to the two bedrooms, and connected the other end of the CT125 to the aerial distribution amp in the wiring closet. Turned the TV on and it began scanning. And found very little. Hmmm. Well, it found the HD channels but would not receive them.

Out with the meter. Connectivity fine from the splitter to the TV, so blamed the splitter and wired in the larger one. Rescanned. Same thing. Got a barrel connector and bypassed the splitter. No difference. Went to the wiring closet and checked the connection there… which I had plugged into the DAB aerial feed input, rather than a TV output!

Put the smaller splitter back in and fitted the cables again and all is well.

Ugh.