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lpbkdotnet<a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/speakingClock" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#speakingClock</a> done!Hmm. Except… I’ve only just noticed a bug that puts it in 24hr mode, when it should be 12hrThat bug has been there since I wrote this in 2017 - how has no one ever noticed this?It’s also a bit quiet on the internal speaker, but I’ll be using the headphone jack when I install it in the <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/strowger" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#strowger</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TelephoneExchange" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TelephoneExchange</a> at the <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/DeanForestRailway" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#DeanForestRailway</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/museum" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#museum</a> display (next time I’m there)

lpbkdotnetI recently scored three dell thin clients for under £8 each.Spec is similar ballpark to a raspberry pi, but with an x86 chipset and so much cheaper!One of them will become a standalone <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/speakingClock" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#speakingClock</a> system for the <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/DeanForestRailway" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#DeanForestRailway</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/strowger" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#strowger</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/telephoneExchange" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#telephoneExchange</a> (replacing a <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/museum" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#museum</a> exhibit that went offline in ~ 2019)One of them will probably become a remote control host for my <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/icom" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#icom</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ic7300" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ic7300</a> The last one is likely to be kept as a spare for now, unless I can come up with another project.

lpbkdotnetI play weekend <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/telephoneEngineer" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#telephoneEngineer</a> at the <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/DeanForestRailway" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#DeanForestRailway</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/steam" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#steam</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/railway" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#railway</a> - it’s all fun and games until a <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/steamEngine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#steamEngine</a> starts a small lineside fire directly on top of the <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/telephone" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#telephone</a> cable!This damage took out phones at 3 stations, and the token machine used by our <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/signalBoxes" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#signalBoxes</a> Luckily it wasn’t too hard to get to, and we had a suitable length of scrap cable we could joint in as a temporary fixJointing grease filled cable in the sunshine… there are worse ways to spend a Saturday!

lpbkdotnetAnother day at the <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/DeanForestRailway" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#DeanForestRailway</a> working on the <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/UAX13" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#UAX13</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/strowger" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#strowger</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ElectroMechanical" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ElectroMechanical</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TelephoneExchange" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TelephoneExchange</a> … today I was changing the strapping on the vertical marking bank (VMB) for some group selectors.The VMB is used when the selector moves vertically, to allow/deny access to certain levels.Here I converted a selector that allowed (89)xx to allow (34567890)xxThis changes it from serving our museum demo phones to be suitable for use as an incoming selector from a distant exchange.

lpbkdotnetI spent today at the <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/DeanForestRailway" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#DeanForestRailway</a> working on their <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/UAX13" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#UAX13</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/Strowger" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#Strowger</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/PhoneExchange" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#PhoneExchange</a> We’re increasing the junction capacity between Norchard and Parkend (about 3 miles away) and I needed to trace out how the existing junctions are cabled, find the existing terminating equipment, run new cables, prepare new terminating selectors…Yesterday was leg day at the gym, so I only got about 75% done before I couldn’t cope with the step ladder any longer!<a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/phones" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#phones</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/telephone" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#telephone</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TelephoneExchange" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TelephoneExchange</a>

lpbkdotnetI spent today doing maintenance on the <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/DeanForestRailway" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#DeanForestRailway</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/PABX4" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#PABX4</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/strowger" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#strowger</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ElectroMechanical" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ElectroMechanical</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TelephoneExchange" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TelephoneExchange</a> We cleaned, lubricated and adjusted all the group and final selectors and cleared all but one fault.This is a poorly group selector, that refuses to operate to dial pulses. For some reason the K relay doesn’t operate. We cleaned all the contacts in the operate chain, checked the coils, spent well over an hour on this one selector!It beat us today, but it won’t beat us entirely!

lpbkdotnetThese are a group of 4 relay sets that bridge between an <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ElectroMechanical" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#ElectroMechanical</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/strowger" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#strowger</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/TelephoneExchange" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#TelephoneExchange</a> and an electronic <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/PBX" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#PBX</a>I designed/installed them at the <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/DeanForestRailway" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#DeanForestRailway</a> (UK) back in December, but they didn’t work.I built them with UAX style “dis testing” of free outlets, but the exchange is PABX4 based, and uses “battery testing” - so they were all permanently marked as busy… oops!New springsets, extra resistor and lots of rewiring to do, so they’re back on my bench for rework!

Shels McGuireThe <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/santaspecial" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#santaspecial</a> at <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/deanforestrailway" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#deanforestrailway</a>

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