vfrmedia

vfrmedia, 9 months ago to random

This is why #AM #radio is worth keeping - I tuned into #RadioCaroline using an 18m wire antenna run around the outside of the building, a 330 uH inductor and a military surplus CV7130 (OA91) germanium #diode (I had to order these from a place near Brighton selling NOS vintage components, diodes sold on Amazon as "Germanium" didn't work). The output of the detector diode is fed into the line in of a desktop PC (the metal case of which also provide the earth for the receiver)

2 component AM crystal radio circuit on breadboard, just an inductor and diode (the audio output is fed to the a PC line in, and the frame of the desktop PC also provides earth for the receiver)

vfrmedia, 11 months ago to android

Beware that newer/recently updated #Android mobile phones may automatically dial 999/112/911/000 etc if the power button is pressed rapidly 5 times (they may also make a loud alarm noise). This can also send your physical location to cops, which you may not want!

It is possible to switch off this emergency feature altogether, or route it to share you location with trusted contacts (this does nudge both you and the recipient to share more location data with Google)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65962942

vfrmedia, 8 months ago to Canada

I don't live anywhere near #Canada so don't know what is happening first hand, but if #Meta are blocking emergency news due for commercial reasons, is #CBC stepping up to the plate and providing real time regional reporting? (including linear radio, which can be more resilient than the Internet if the right resources are used) Do they still have budget/resources to do this or any help from the government? (I suspect PSBs in many other countries would also struggle due to 40 years cost-cutting)

vfrmedia, 1 month ago to uk

Just read on FB a young mum bemoaning the fact it costs £45 for her teenage lad to attend the high #school prom, plus around £200 for suit hire (for just 4 hours!). Some other mums are trying to help her, but I was just thinking "why the fuck did we import this whole concept from the USA in the first place?" What was wrong with the "end of term school disco?"

#UK #CostofLiving #schools

vfrmedia, 4 months ago to random

Some warehouse #rave memories from 2004/5 I found on an old hard drive - video mash up I made of the years parties with the soundtrack of a local pirate radio station of the era.. (alas, it was only in 352x244 resolution due to hard drive space limitations, and Youtube compresses it further, although it turns out I've still got my DVcam captures of the parties)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apMFo_BJPPs

vfrmedia, 9 months ago to random

If this YT comment is true (it seems like too random a thing to just make up, surely this is at the very least culpable and reckless conduct?

It takes a certain amount of interest in cars and resources to want to go anywhere near a trackday to start with, are they really now infested with those shelling out a few hundred quid just to cause a crash and cost someone else a few grand?

vfrmedia, 8 months ago to random

In "modern" Britain, we seem to be returning to the days of the medieval barber-surgeon...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66644960

vfrmedia, 6 months ago to random

4 men are charged with nicking a gold #toilet from Blenheim Palace, a stately home in #Oxfordshire - Thames Valley Police and the Crown Prosecution Service found something to go on... 🚽

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-67334893

vfrmedia, 2 months ago to random

One thing I find somewhat alarming on otherwise harmless funny cat/dog videos, is just how many people (particularly in USA and East Asia) seem to find it completely normal to have a #CCTV camera running 24/7 inside their house! Not even those widely sold for watching pets, but cameras that are clearly hooked up to a multi channel DVR and intended for general security/surveillance purposes..

vfrmedia, 8 days ago to random

Someone in the village must have got a fat fine or even a ban for #speeding - the local speedwatch sign has been destroyed - even though the electronic "SLOW DOWN" sign cannot result in a charge even if it contains a camera (some do!) -All that happens is after repeated hits the registration mark is put on a list, driver gets a warning and the list sent to #Suffolk Constabulary (so they would have to be repeat offenders to actually get a ticket) #RoadSafety

Solar powered electronic sign that shows 30 SLOW DOWN if you drive past it at >30 mph (it might have a camera inside it, about half of these signs (which appear on various rural and suburban streets from time to time) do contain camera.

vfrmedia, 7 hours ago to random

What is this? Some kind of #seeds / #pollen that has been blowing about the entire yard the whole day - it made me cough and I even had to abandon valeting the interior of a recently purchased fleet car (as it was pointless trying to hoover the carpets as it was entering the car in some quantity). What tree/plant is it from?

vfrmedia, 8 months ago to random

@milan since the update, I don't get any sound for notifications (I checked all my devices and "play sound" is turned on on all of them

vfrmedia, 11 months ago to cars

I updated the infotainment firmware on my #VW #Polo #MIB2 system (it is a Technisat Preh, there are multiple variants in the same car model!) - this is a somewhat cursed job as it only works via the SD-card (I tried with USB but got errors), then the ODB2 scanner has to be plugged in to clear off 2 codes (to confirm the software change) #cars

Warning that the update can take 60 minutes to complete (you need enough battery power to complete this without starting the engine as that will dip the battery voltage and cause problems)
system is unzipping the data from the SD-card
now complete with the update (from firmware version 0138 to 0140, my head unit won't accept newer versions as its from 2015)

vfrmedia, 1 year ago to random

How many of you remember seeing this in a car, and know why it was there? (probably more folk will know than a few months ago, with a lot of older age groups joining Fediverse!)

#cars #motoring #oldtimer

British Leyland version

vfrmedia, 1 year ago to random

TIL: There is a lag between #DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) and #DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) databases - I had my car #MOT inspection done today (passed with 0 advisories), but my code to check the DVLA database still shows the old expiry date (the DVSA MOT website shows the correct info with todays test date).

Maybe the two databases only synchronise overnight?

#uk #cars

vfrmedia, 1 year ago to random

Gangster culture and toxic masculinity could put an end to the tolerated #cannabis dealing area in #Christiana #Denmark which had lasted nearly 50 years...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/09/gang-violence-could-end-open-cannabis-trade-in-anarchist-commune-christiania

vfrmedia, 9 months ago to cricket

A #snake disrupted a #cricket match in the South Asian country Sri Lanka - although physically large, it was a non venomous rat snake which was escorted off the pitch by security staff..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-66373467

vfrmedia, 10 months ago to random

Saw a pink wrapped Range Rover a few days ago - I've seen them as models and ride on toys (clearly a cursed plan by marketers to co-opt "girl power" and encourage young lasses to aspire to SUV ownership), but I never thought anyone who was old enough to have both a driving licence and afford a Range Rover would actually drive one (the lady at the wheel was in early middle age). I do live almost on the border of #Essex though 😁

vfrmedia, 3 months ago to TeslaMotors

A big oversight of these #EV #van manufacturers - the consequences of cost-cutting and inadequate testing - surely it would make more sense to also monitor the 12V vehicle battery and if necessary charge it alongside the high voltage batteries when the vans are being charged up, and the circuitry required shouldn't be that expensive either? #Hyundai #Stellantis #SAIC

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/warning-over-12-volt-battery-on-electric-vans-suddenly-draining

vfrmedia, 4 months ago to random

@milan Hi Milan, tube.tchncs.de is giving some SSL certificate error on all my browsers..

vfrmedia, 2 months ago to Trains

A #German teenager works as a software dev whilst literally living on the #train (he pays about 9952€ for a countrywide ticket). This is all perfectly above board, although requires quite a minimal lifestyle (I'm more intrigued as to how someone just out of high school manages to land a tech job that allows this level of remote working and pays enough for him to do this)

https://metro.co.uk/2024/03/03/spend-8-500-a-year-live-a-train-20388001/

vfrmedia, 2 months ago to random

This is a far better choice than a stop sign - its way too big for anyone to try and nick it, and won't cause a traffic safety hazard if they do try..

#Banksy

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68596824

vfrmedia, 8 months ago to random

#NATS (UK National Air Traffic Services) has failed, and the controllers have all this to deal with...

vfrmedia, 1 month ago to Futurology

Random thought - a modern #van or #lorry used for transporting items from place to place with the telemetry and cameras commonplace today is both a pantechnicon and a panopticon 😁

#transport #surveillance

vfrmedia, 5 months ago to delhi

A Scotsman got banned from driving for 12 months and fined £500 at the Sherriff Court for driving along a fast highway a year earlier without properly defrosting his windows in winter.

This is a heavy penalty (as much as for DUI) and appears to have been heard at a higher court than normal for #traffic offences - anyone from #Scotland know why this is so? is it normal practice (or was he likely up for other traffic offences as well as this one?)

https://news.stv.tv/west-central/man-receives-ban-after-driving-van-with-frozen-windows-in-dumfries