Since we don’t live by politix alone (I sincerely hope), what did people get up to this weekend? Join in, share some tales, regulars and lurkers all!
Oh, if you were worried about the baleful effects of public holidays on national productivity (which I most sincerely hope that you weren’t), rest easy after reading this post from Peter Martin.
Here are some piccies I took on a walk on Friday afternoon.
Little Larder by *phenomenologist on deviantART
If you’d like to see a larger image of the photos, click on them then click on “full view” once you’re inside the gallery.
Casa del Mar by *phenomenologist on deviantART
City lane by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Riverwalk IV by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Million dollar view by *phenomenologist on deviantART
City Lane II by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Beer wine and spirits I by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Beer wine and spirits II by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Amazed I’m the first. Anyway .. finished reading Gould’s Persistence of Empire, Saturday morning, began on Bailyn’s Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, which I have been dipping into, between posting what seems thousands of books I’ve read over the years onto Facebook. Ny memory has failed me so I’m cheating and consulting various publishers’ lists to jog it.Big thunderstorm Saturday afternoon, had to get off my new computer. Thought the Compass special on religion and film last night was very disappointing. But I don’t suppose one can really expect deep analysis, even on ABC TV.
Actually, I’m disappointed I missed The Christ Files on Friday morning. “Historian” Dr John Dickson “searches back through time to reveal the real Jesus.” It would have been good for a bit of a laugh.
PS. The preview function on this thread is missing.
It’s missing for this reason:
[link]
Sank multiple happy hours into Telecastic Regeneration. Not entirely successfully yet. Am currently elbow-deep in re-wiring for the nth time, alas.
Does anyone know of any hidden traps when wiring humbuckers? Can’t get past clicks, fuzz and f/b squeals…
The god-like powers of fixing electronic stuff deserted me this week, perhaps for good, although the months long run of turning shite into gold will live long in my memory. The repaired router is still routing, various dodgy old vehicles are still vehiculating, second hand store laserdisc player is still laserdiscing. However, I’ve been defeated by the kids portable DVD player and a particularly ancient PC this month, so am despondent. Jack R - the only advice I can give on your geetar is that earth loops or insufficiently earthed (dry solder) joints will give you hums and pops so make sure you tin the wires nicely before joining them, don’t use dirty wire and don’t drip gobs of solder onto the visible bits of the guitar, your shoes or the cat.
Went down to the racecourse to see old car show this weekend with the neighbour. Lovely Buick straight eights, Model A fords, a sweet Studebaker Hawk and sundry other droolworthy vehicles.
Bought a laserdisc box set of “They Shoot Horses, don’t they” on Ebay last week but j-u-s-t missed the postie so have been waiting the whole long weekend to pick it up. It’s available on DVD but the commentaries on the laserdisc are apparently worth hearing and have never been reproduced. Plus, I like the fat, polycarbonate 12 inch disks because they look like the future like a Studebaker Hawk looks like the future.
Celebrated 1mm, in the rain gauge, after about one and a half months of trying to keep plants alive with grey water in Central Victoria.
Just imagine, no rain at all, for about a month and half in central victoria.
Just saying…..
Went to a wedding: singing, (real) poetry, little kids, old people, bride and groom with eyes only for each other (not bad when they’ve already been a couple for 9 years, both are over 50, and the five adult offspring are all in the wedding party), birds flying overhead in the clear blue sky, punters drifting past in the Botanic Gardens and stopping for a look. On to restaurant for reception: great SA wine, excellent local food, optional community singing (gender-specific): SA Minister for Health John Hill led the blokes’ rendition of ‘Get Me to the Church on Time’, but J.M. Coetzee chose to remain in the audience. Discovered I know all the words to ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’ and can do the accent as well. Back to home of bride and groom for more partying. Left home at 11.10 am and didn’t get home till after dark.
Had the family over yesterday for afternoon tea with champagne, cucumber sandwiches, hot cross buns and rocky road. Succeeded in keeping cat out of butter dish.
Read three novels.
Jack R, I can only echo the suggestion you’ve already received - dry joints. After all, the whole point of hum-cancelling pickups is that you _don’t_ get electrical noise. Btw, if you’re getting buzzes, clicks and squeals, you may find it’ll do something awful to your amplifier. I recently had to replace all the valves in a close-to-new amp after my aging Maton (last rewired in about 1980)had a conniption fit and shorted itself out internally because a poorly-soldered joint finally fell apart.
As an aside, it’s not really going to sound like a Tele with humbuckers. I’m pretty sure they originally came with single-coil pickups, hence the thin, shitty sound they make when played badly.
Hey I used to live at the Casa Del Mar a long long time ago. Those were the days. 10 long blacks, get up at 3pm. Drugs, poetry, art openings and extremely bizzare sex.
>
And for some reason a thousand fucking bottles of mineral water on the ledge up near the living room ceiling.
I went to a few parties in some of the NF art deco apts back in the day when the student/art crowd could actually afford to live in them.
Long time passing - when I moved to New Farm in 2002, I checked out Casa del Mer, and even back then it was $325 a week for an apt. Shudder to think how much it would cost to rent there now.
Sometime before the Crimean War.
That’s about right.
Teles originally came with single-coil pickups (that’s all that existed at the time) but plenty were made with humbuckers.
Jack - are you wiring the humbuckers in series or parallel? Either way, polarity matters - if the coils are wired out of phase with each other you can get near-total cancellation, which combined with bad wires/soldering/switches/pots could result in the odd shit you’re hearing.
Other than that, I’ll add to the chorus of “check your solder joints”. Are they shiny and have they flowed right into the junction, or are they blobby and dull?
BTW - did you replace the selector switch? These can get really dirty and the contacts are usually made of flexible strips which can get fatigued or bent with age. Also, be sure it’s a SPDT (single pole double throw) switch with “centre on”. This will mean you can have one, the other or both pickups going.
Anyway, good luck!
David R, FDB, thanks both, yes, the solders are all OK, all-new wiring, everything clean and tickety boo. Pretty sure that’s not it.
FDB, I’m using GOTOH pickups and unless the manufacturer and almost every wiring site online is playing tricks on me, the color conventions for the wiring is fairly clear and consistent (although much of my trouble shooting has been changing combo’s just to be sure…man, I wish these guys would get a little consistency going with their nth/sth, start/fiish colour matching…). Anyway, it all gets a bit spaghetti-ish but I don’t think I’ve duffed up the polarities. I was planning to get a bit fancy and incorporate a six-way selector switch to give me series, parallel, single coil/humbucker options…but for now I’m just using a straight three-way selection to try to get the things working. I haven’t replaced the original selector switch - that’s my next option - but it seemed to CT OK. Anyway, I’ll keep fiddling…I have a feeling it could be that switch, or the capacitor I’m (re-using - yeah, I’m a cheap-skate) for the tone button that’s causing probs.
Ta gents. Of course, pottering through snafus is part of the plezh. (I think they started fitting hummies to Teles around ‘71 or ‘72.)
Sounds like a really fine wedding, Dr Cat.
Had a pretty routine easter break in all, so I’ll share some mudanity.
Took a few snaps at the cemetery: including a little pictorial resurrection series, and also some shots of the v. large Irish memorial in the cemetery. No idea how they got permission way back, to honor Irish patriots, none of whom are actually buried in the cemetery.
Anyway, on Sunday, a mob of true believers gathered at the memorial for their annual easter sunday pilgrimage. I waited to mow the nature strip, until they had finished their speeches - jeez, they went on and on. My English neighbour grizzled about victims of IRA bombs, but not very loudly.
Caught up with my footy buddies for the first round, an away game, at the pub. Shite game, but not expecting much this season.
Cooked big Sunday night dinner for our close neighbours and kids, and another mum & her daughter, which then had to stretch further, for unannounced friends of theirs, which it did.
Managed to wash the car finally, no more spider webs! A huge huntsman had crawled across the windscreen driving up the shops, umm, probably not a safety feature… and mowed said nature strip, which runs down the side and across the front of the house, about twenty feet deep. The house instantly turned from shabby to respectable, as I pushed the borrowed victa around.
Checked out the sales, for some autumn work clobber yesterday - ended up only buying a pair of brown Havaianas thongs, to replace the wafer thin pair I was wearing, and christened them at the beach. Water still warm.
Avoided to going to the Royal Easter Show.
David R, David, FDB, ta guys…I’m pretty sure it’s not dry solds, etc. Also, even allowing for the hellish inconsistency b/w pick-ups manufacturers re: colour coding - what’s with every single goddamned combination and permutation being covered, btw? - I’m pretty sure I haven’t mucked up the polarity. Have been trouble-shooting at length there. Then again…
I’m sticking with the simple 3-way SPDT for now, FDB, KISS just to get the damned rig firing (I may go for the deluxe six pozzy Imperial Stormtrooper Mega-Flex Million-Combo job later), but…yes, I am using the original - it seems fine, and I’m a tight-arse - so that may be the most logical next thing to ts, I guess. Or…maybe the capacitor I’m re-using - yeah, yeah, I know, but… - for the tone pot could be mucking me up, too. (Is that likely? - ie if I have a dud tone cap, can that knacker the whole loop? I wouldn’t have thought so…)
BTW, FDB, I had a go at DIY DI you suggested, but then half way through fiddling with it - I’m s-l-o-w and p-o-t-t-e-r-y (and a f/t dad) - we got a semi-permanent Monday gig in a pub, which is kind of a jam affair (ie other muso’s occasionally drop in), and I figured it was time I got a proper DI box anyway.
Thinking about it, guess I’ll buy a new selector switch tomorrow. Thanks again, gents. I’ll let you know how it sounds, btw, when I get it going. I think they started putting hummies on factory Teles around 71 or 72. Be interesting to see what these one do, given that this copy’s only ever had nasty tinny singlies in it.
That, and the tuning problems…no wonder I gave it to my mate 20 years ago…
Think my earlier replies are getting/got stuck in/as spam…thanks to David R, Davod and FDB for the excellent suggestions re: guitar wiring, will let you know how it goes…
Definitely check the capacitor - I’m ashamed I didn’t think of that. Some help I was.
They get leaky and freaky with age (although usually as a function of use which sounds like it doesn’t really apply), and cost diddly squat. If you’re dealing with a cheap copy, they probably saved wherever they could, and amazingly this sometimes means using a $0.50 cap instead of a $2.00 one. Although come to think of it (I suppose I could go back and edit this comment rather than give away my shaky grasp of basic electronics but what the hell, I wouldn’t be fooling anyone) the cap wouldn’t actually be doing anything with the tone knob wound up to max (i.e. the most trebellious end).
Check the switch. You could do this without any outlay by just bypassing it and temporarily soldering the pickup outs to the lead that leaves the switch.
(God I hate when the spaminator taunts you like that…there’s something about accidently publishing multiple posts that’s like getting caught practising your Rock Star signature or rehearsing a sponmtaneous Denton anecdote, ain’t there…sorry for the duplication, everyone…**)
Yeah, I think now that it’s the switch. I’ll replace the capacitor anyway, too. Ta again.
Would anyone be prepared to give email advice to a friend of mine whose near new router suddenly died? Would be soooooooooo grateful!
If so, pls email me at
mbahnisch at gmail dot com
Good Lord! Our router just died. Maybe there’s been open season on routers. If it’s near new it should be under warranty. Ours was mature and they said, buy a new one rather than try to fix the old. It’s just that we aren’t clever enough to install it.
Router apocalypse!
Brian, I gather it was under warranty but receipts unfortunately are hard to put your hand on sometimes…
What’s a router?
There are some severely under-engineered power tools out there in recent years. A friend of mine’s router died after one weekend of fairly heavy use, and the mototr had totally burnt out. They’re incredibly simple electrically (nothing much to them but the motor) so if that ain’t it I don’t know what it could be. Sometimes there’s a hidden fuse somewhere inside it with no access from outside. I spit on designers who do that, but if you’ve got the tools to take it apart then give it a crack.
I also hate manufacturers who build stuff with proprietary screw heads, but that’s another whine for another time.
What kind of router? The network kind or the woodworking kind?
(Paul, a router is a box that “routes” network information around a network. Typically they have two or more network connections on them and run software that looks at the addresses on the network traffic and sends it down the right connection. On a dial-up system, your PC is effectively the router. On a broadband system, either the broadband modem acts as a router or in my case it’s plugged into another, bigger router as there’s more than one device that needs access to the internet).
I’ve never owned the woodworking kind. The networking ones, they usually die when bits of power supply fail. Generally, they are only 5 or 6 integrated circuits which are surface mounted and therefore unfixable by shaky handed humans. However, you may be lucky like I was and it’s just a few of the human sized components around the power plug or the plug pack itself that have failed. Dead diodes and resistors usually look odd - burnt and hot. If the plugpack has failed, take it to Jaycar and ask the helpful assistant for an equivalent. If the router itself has failed, open it up. If you can’t identify the faulty components with a visual inspection, you’re usually out of luck without more sophisticated testing equipment (aka buy a new one).
Good point David R!
I forgot about teh intertubes in my current handyman frenzy. A lot of the same points apply, but forget about the motor. Or the mototr.
Thanks, DR. One more piece of computer info in my head. Slowly learning it all.
Since we don’t live by politix alone…
Au contraire. I attended the Marxism 2008 conference in Melbourne. Twas awesome, with some excellent international speakers, gained some fascinating insight into the struggle against the ANC’s post-apartheid implementation of neo-liberalism and the situation of the working class in China at the moment.
