Chris`I

Amanda has it on her new laptop I got her for xmas. First thing she has learnt is "Ctrl-D" to get to the old desktop. Second thing she learnt it to put shortcuts on the desktop for everything she needs. The new start screen is now redundant as she goes straight to desktop! Trying to find old settings such as control panel is infuriating

Light dusting here, looks to be about an inch. The roads will be grinding to a halt as I type

I turned down overtime to do that, I think it was a fair trade! In fact, it actually cost me money cos my tyre fell to bits 3/4 of the way round Can you do any ride without a mechanical?

Thanks guys Might take a while to do burgers for 50 Zed drivers with 2 hob rings Changed a lot in the last few weeks, all for the xmas adventure but it all worked out in the end. Quite a few bits are beind done in multiple passes at the mo, doing it once to prove it fits and works, then again to do it right! Its hard work but good fun. And the to-do list seems to be getting no shorter! Still have Gas plumbing in properly - currently on a temporary flexi pipe, needs copper tubing (started tonight) Boxing in under the bed. Units came with finishing panels with one end having doors for access Wiring up the TV to the 12v system rather than through 240v hookup so we can use it off grid Armrests for the drivers and passenger seat Recover the seats and seat/bed in leather Swivel for the passenger seat (on order) Colour coding the bumpers Somewhere to fix the table so it doesnt move around (currently going to be at the end of the units, already made a prototype) Somewhere to fix our little oil radiator Loads more I've not thought of yet

Done so much in a short space of time I forget how much I've done. In there I've also fitted the fridge and fitted pull up worktop sockets which also have USB ports for charging iPhone and other gadgets. Gas for the hob is temporarily fitted for now with flexy tube but I have all the bits waiting to fit it up with 8mm copper tubes - thats tonights fun

Then it was time for the units. These are CNC cut lightweight ply units, made by the guys at Green Dog Campers in Ireland. Cracking bits of kit, you can tell the chap that makes them is a designer and engineer. All the panels slot together to make a much stronger structure than the usual units you see in these vans which are just screwed together. All done and with the table up: Cooker and sink: Bed down: Units in the rear: And seat up for watching TV!

OK updates have been few and far between as we were on a mission to get the van into a 90% converted state for our trip to the Lakes between Xmas and New Year. So heres a quick rundown of what I've been upto! First up we replaced the double front seat with a single and another came with it as we got the pair for a bargin: T5s are known for having shoddy reception (aerial is in the wingmirror of all places!) so the rubbish head unit was replaced with a Kenwood DNX520VBT which is a VAG fit and also replaced the aerial with a internal window one which greatly increased the reception - its not flawless. Next up came the floor. Battened with 9mm ply here and then 12mm ply sheets over the top. Rock solid once it was all Sikaflex'd and screwed down. Altro flooring on top of that. Amanda likes it as it sparkles

Ooooh puuurdy

Mifi and cheap Wifi dongle would be the best option TBH. Could possibly even get you a wifi dongle from someone close on the forum. I have an old USB one but its a bit flakey now, if that were in better nick I'd have given it to you.

Hmm that makes it a lot more complicated. What phones do you have? If you are on locked down Apple hardware you wont be able to share the connection and even then you'd need to have the Apple device serving the internet connection, which it is not, the dongle/PC is. I'm sure you could make the PC share the connection to the other phones, but I'm unsure as to how it would work as I havent done it before. In theory you should be able to get the PC to bridge the connection between the dongle and hard wired network and serve up the internet connection to the router. The problem is the router will want to control the connections too, so you need to tell it not to (disable DHCP, this will be controlled via the PC), and then it should act purely as a network switch rather than a router and allow the Wifi devices to connect to the PC. I'll see if I can have a bash when at home, but instructions to get it to work might be quite lengthy. Fortunately you have a Netgear router which I also have so instructions should be the same!

You might find this helpful - http://lifehacker.com/5369381/turn-your-windows-7-pc-into-a-wireless-hotspot

Ok so you have 2 connections that need setting up 1. PC to the internet - sorted 2. Other devices to PC The best way to achieve this is to set up an ad-hoc wireless network on the PC and then bridge the connection to the net. If you do a Google for "ad-hoc wireless network" then you should be able to find out how to set it up on your PC, or give us more info on the OS you're running (WIndows I assume) and we can give you more instructions. This assumes you have a wifi adapter in the PC?

Best build thread ever

Please join me in welcoming Jim as the newest member of the club team. Congrats Jim

This. So technically the correct spelling is with "re" :wink:

Best get onto his network Dave and use some of his left over bandwidth too

40Mb is the standard for first gen FTTC. I've had it for a good couple of years now and its been flawless since we got it. Quite surprising for BT

FTTP, very nice! I heard from a few people this is working rather nicely but is pricey to roll out as you need fibre to the door which isnt easy in most places. I was going to test this for PlusNet like I did with FTTC, but they said I'd have to pay the FTTC prices for the trail as the price I currently pay for FTTC is a legacy product (only £11.49/mo and unlimited), so I decided that although a speed increase would be nice, the price I pay for 40Mbps is nice enough for me. Maybe we should colo the club server to your house?

No they should be lined up and shot. I have no sympathy for anyone that moves into a house within ear shot of a race track. It was there first (and in most cases an airfield prior to that), so they should be made to live with it. They should have done more research into the surrounding area before moving there. Probably they got a "bargin" and now they know why! Same happened at Castle Coombe all the time.

Thats exactly what I was thinking when I saw them complaining. Use the new money as a nice way to move out of the smoke into a nice big country mansion

We should be able to make it. If theres a leccy hookup in range then that would be ideal, but not the end of the world if we use Martins fridge to hold our drinks What happened to the talks of Go Karting? I can confirm Stanley Gill is a good little walk and scramble for those that like that sort of thing, I'm sure Mr AK has a photo somewhere of a recent visit in fact.

Just caught up with this properly as we were away for Xmas. So sorry to hear this, Keith will be missed, especially at the Wales meets which he was so fond of. Thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Our old table tags work, but they arent the nicest looking, will see what other options are out there

I see the brakes are the right way around now New mech on yet?

Yes but the only copy of the film you are likely to have would be a wobby cam version filmed in 480p which would look like Lego Hobbitt Well Jim will have to wait til its on BD but he needs a bit of time to save up for the air fare! Remember Jim, we have nice Stressless sofa and chair now too, better than even the VIP seating at cinemas