RealMarkDeneen

Just an opinion: Reading the spec sheet for the Three, it seems the inputs are "USB" and "Bluetooth." Both of those standards have nothing to do with which processor chip your PC is using. Both standards transcend the processor architecture. I have all sorts of Mac and PC processors, and they are all compatible with USB and Bluetooth.

Cherokee

T-Bird

I'm not a weatherman, so I'm just going to take what we get. We always leave home around mid august and take vacations to places we have interest. If it's cooler - that will be great. If not, we are still on vacay!

A couple of days ago, I ventured into the "OMAD" eating style. That's One Meal A Day. It's only been a few days, but I think I like it. I only eat Ketogenic, and for one thing, OMAD simplifies the whole eating ordeal. What pushed me over the edge to try it is that it is now reported (here and there) that fasting 23 hours a day will help clear the MRNA Spike Protein from the body. That was a pretty big incentive. Also, "resting your liver" every day is beneficial.

When we first moved here 10 years ago, I assumed that it was "always dry." WOW! did we find out how wrong that was. We are on the "western edge" of the south to north monsoon flow that rolls into Phoenix every August. We don't get the full on brunt of that humidity, but we get 3-4 weeks of 110+ with quite high humidity - like it saturates you during the monsoon season.

No kidding? Yes, maybe lunch is possible! Let's connect when it's closer! Thanks!

Absolutely true, Bruce. I used to apply that analogy to records and cds in place of real music. Photos and recordings suffer the same "unreality". One of the reasons that I didn't do lots of classic landscape photography is exactly that it doesn't impress like "being there." So, starting 20 years ago or so photogs just decided to keep making BIGGER prints. Now, you go to a photo exhibit and pictures are on 4' x 8' paper as if enlarging it will make it real. Doesn't work for me, but maybe for some. When I was doing lots of exhibits, I rebelled by showing some photos as small as 6" x 6". OTOH, if you can produce a photo that isn't cliche, it will attract interest as "something not seen before." Or being seen in a new way.

I like pictures like this............

Love to see some! I usually don't do many "travel pics" in the standard sense of that term. My normal photographic interest was always more abstract, ironic, or focused on "things that might look cool on paper." But I enjoy every kind of photograph.

We're going to the finger lakes region of NY and Vermont in mid-August when the temps here will be hitting 120F. As much as I despise flying, I will have to do it. Arghhhh!

Gone Skinny Dippin'

Tetons...

Tetons.....

@the real Duke Spinner See what I mean.....

Don't be fooled.....he's a BRUTE. Don'na tangle with "Barney"!

I have two reasons to recommend the tube versus SS diodes. First, I like the sound of tube rectification, and I like keeping a certain "tube vibe" to the product. Second, the design of the circuit used the voltage as produced by the 12X4. Using SS diodes will raise all voltages in the plate circuits. Maybe it's audible, maybe not, but there's at least a theoretical reason to have the circuit "be as designed." When I twiddled each gain circuit, I optimized the loads and voltages by watching the meter on a precision distortion analyzer to achieve "minimal THD" for each tube stage. The BBX and Peach circuits do NOT USE feedback to lower THD as most other tube circuits do.BBX is a zero feedback design. Thus the "optimal voltages and loads" as designed would offer the lowest THD. Can we hear it? Well, I used to think I could - today probably not at 75 years old. In summary - a small difference is likely when changing to SS. Cheers, Mark

WOW - - what a great post! You are good to go with the rectifier he put in. It is a replacement for the original and it is best when mounted to the metal chassis. AOK! You actually got the pins and molex too! Very well done! That tool back when I bought it was about $75 -- I no longer have it. Sounds like you are going to stay with the SS rectifiers in place of the 12X4? And yes, the LMXXX at 6.4 is perfect - all good there. So, are you back in business with a working unit now? Cheers, Mark

Hi Bruce-- Not finding it at all. HOWEVER -- there is another way to skin the cat. The first Merrlin units used the EXACT same line stage parts as the original BlueBerry with the 6922/6DJ8. So, that has an 18k plate resistor, a 470 cathode resistor and a 10k grid input resistor. The plate feeds a 2uF cap with a 10k load resistor. If you markup the Super Merlin schematic that way, you have the original Merlin. Mark

Hi-- Yes, I think your green winding voltage is fine. It's the pins. You can fix the pins, but it might make more sense (knowing what we know now about the pins/molex trouble), to remove the molex header from the PCB and just solder the transformer to the PCB. Yes, that makes it harder to replace, but I don't think I ever replaced a transformer, so low risk of that. If you do replace the spring pins don't rely on the crimp. Solder the pins to the wire. Maybe you can send me a pic of the area around the Molex. I'd like to make sure the blue caps and big cement resistor are ok. And (sorry if you told me already), but have you replaced the bridge rectifier yet? If not, read back through this thread and there is good documentation on what to buy and how to replace it. It is a major weak spot of the unit. They cook, burn and fail at about the 5 year mark. Bad choice of parts on my part. But, it's pretty easy to remedy. The BBX has one more tube than the Peach. Four versus 3. Probably a little higher current in total, but I'm guessing because the rectifiers have failed much more often on BBX than Peach. Keep me posted... Mark

Plus or minus 10 minutes is good enough precision for me. But, like Islander, I do like to know where the day stands. How much time do I have left to do X, Y or Z. I think I have about 20 watches and other than one Seiko that cost $600 in 1995, the rest I bought for their "style" or "color" - mostly Swatch watches and Timex. Also, I have watches to wear if I am engaged in messy work, or using tools, where the watch might get scratched. That's when I go with the Timex watches. I really don't want complications, and I simply can't figure out "4-button watches." So, I don't lean toward those things. Never needed a stop watch that I can recall, and I don't give a darn what time it is in Rome, 'cause I ain't there. I also will NEVER be found under 100 meters of water unless someone kills me and dumps me in the ocean, in which case I probably won't care what time it is, will I? I have one antique that I had restored to perfection - a rose gold dial Gruen Curvex from the 1940s. Very elegant - I wear it when I take the wife out to dinner, or if I am invited to a wedding. I have a watch that I wear when sleeping because it has to absolute most wonderful backlight of any watch I ever had - it's a Casio Forester and the back light is a soft yellow that mimicks "candle light" - easy on the eyes, nice warm glow. I once bought a very expensive Patek-Phillipe from an online auction house as an investment - but when they failed to ship it after something like 14-days, I got mad and nervous and demanded my money back for "non-delivery." I won't do that again.

A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot in the Style of Gordon Lightfoot Old men dying, their stories fading Like the leaves of autumn, gently cascading Their memories etched in the lines of their face A lifetime of wisdom, a lifetime of grace Their voices grow quiet, their steps grow slow As they journey towards a place we'll all someday know But their legacy lives on in the tales they've told Of love and loss, of young and old So let us remember these old men dying And honor their lives with our own trying To live with kindness and with heart And to cherish each day before we depart. Author: Microsoft's AI engine in Bing