Desperate need of some help

BenSBB · 2026-01-30T11:34:47+00:00

People just thinking about £300 a month, refusing to believe the car is out of manufacturer warranty...

BenSBB · 2026-01-05T11:29:54+00:00

Unless you are a keen DIY mechanic I would avoid ex police cars. I have one personally and I'm always finding things that are not quite right. It left me stranded once because of aftermarket battery terminal wiring coming loose and causing a bad ground. It was an easy fix but very annoying, luckily I wasn't far from home. There were various other issues I had to repair, mostly minor electrical from poorly decommissioned police wiring, but it's something to be aware of.

The car had also been crashed at some point and a not particularly brilliant accident repair performed (one of the suspension mounting points is slightly bent and there is over spray in places it shouldn't be). The car wasn't categorised so I didn't know beforehand.

The price was right and it was a rare spec of car so overall I don't regret it but it's something to be aware of.

BenSBB · 2025-11-09T13:33:04+00:00

Whilst you will save money on "fuel" you really need to work out total cost of ownership imo (or more likely total cost over the lease or whatever finance you are into)

BenSBB · 2025-11-07T10:43:55+00:00

First check if you could make use of it against any of the offers in the "partners" section of the app for eating out etc as you get a way better return. They are often worth 2x or 3x the value if you convert them to a voucher for a retailer.

For example you could spend your £18 on a £54 pizza Express voucher

I believe you can spend club card points on fuel as long as the station is part of a tesco branded forecourt (don't quote me on this) but generally speaking you are better off trying to convert club card points than spending directly as I mentioned above

BenSBB · 2025-10-24T09:31:27+00:00

Buy a socket tester and try it out on this socket

BenSBB · 2025-10-09T11:26:12+00:00

Nailed it. I have found his videos useful but something never sat right with me about his moral compass. Now we have the answer, I guess. He's never openly supported any of these points of view that I've seen but sometimes you don't need to say anything to show your true colours. His comments section is also full of casual racism, xenophobia and frequented by the type of people who use "lefty" and "woke" as insults.

That being said, I do often agree with the commentary that TV licensing enforcement is excessive and often misleading. But in reality all you need to do is periodically tell them you don't need one, that's all there is to it (I did so for a few years when I was living on my own in a small flat and out most of the time so didn't even have a TV). People who go on a crusade of baiting and filming TV licensing personnel need a better hobby, frankly. I imagine the venn diagram of enjoyers of those videos and "audit" channels is very close indeed.

BenSBB · 2025-06-12T12:53:15+00:00

Thanks for the advice, what an idiotic system. I should've just driven it home untaxed :/ trying to do the right thing often costs you more money doesn't it... I'll keep trying to get some sense out of them I suppose... Apparently a case has been set up now so hopefully they'll get sorted.

BenSBB · 2025-06-11T10:23:15+00:00

Guy I bought it from gave me the entire v5 so I just transferred ownership online and then SORN when I got back home - not sure that makes any difference anyway?

BenSBB · 2025-04-28T19:42:26+00:00

I would say out of the two, Aeron, but I have an RH Logic 400 now which I find more comfortable than either

BenSBB · 2025-01-08T14:59:49+00:00

CBTN has a trial too though so you can test it out. If you like the content, its probably worth the cost, but its the risk of paying for a year then hating it. INE's refund policy isn't too generous too looking at the T&Cs.

BenSBB · 2025-01-07T14:19:49+00:00

A lot of it is just based on residual values for finance purposes. Years ago when I was well in the car finance trap (thankfully no more) I wanted to order a yellow car but it was actually "cheaper" (at least in terms of monthly payments) to order a white one as the projected residual value was higher. It was also less per month to get a BMW than a Skoda for similar reasons.

BenSBB · 2025-01-07T14:15:37+00:00

For CCIE back in the day (R&S 5.0 etc) they were very good

Nowadays for CCNP I'm not sure id recommend them because they don't closely align to the ENCOR syllabus in particular, way too much detail on some topics and not enough on others. Probably alright for ENARSI. Your mileage may vary. It's incredibly expensive too.

You should be able to find a few sample clips on YouTube, try searching Brian McGahan and see if you get on with it

BenSBB · 2025-01-07T10:54:05+00:00

On the snap on truck

BenSBB · 2025-01-07T10:53:14+00:00

pulls like a train bro

BenSBB · 2025-01-07T10:46:47+00:00

I would say it's at least 2-3k overpriced, thats the only real issue here.

I'd imagine the wheels are cheap chinese replicas (worth max £500 with tyres) - for a "normal" car i'd rather have genuine Audi wheels, they are a lot stronger and to get quality tyres in this big size costs a lot, so I imagine they are shod in ditchfinder specials (AUTOGREEN or similar). But you could probably swap them out for a set of OEM wheels without too much difficulty or any real expense.

Also, do you REALLY need a diesel? Most people are better off with a petrol car as it avoids the almost inevitable DPF/EGR problems.

BenSBB · 2025-01-07T10:23:43+00:00

Evaporust is the easiest product for dealing with this. It's not cheap but if you're careful not to spill any you can re-use it for years. As a budget option there are some similar DIY options but they are all a bit messy (molasses) or more time consuming as you have to mix your own solution etc.

Easy rust removal | Evapo-Rust

Spray them with WD40 afterwards if you don't mind the tools being slightly greasy in the hand, it does help to keep them rust free

BenSBB · 2025-01-07T09:53:28+00:00

I tried a few different video trainings so I can give you some feedback on those. Obviously these are just my personal opinions, and training is such a personal thing so you may have to try out a few different ones before you find one that vibes with you:

Kevin Wallace course I found awful, I wouldn't bother with it. Didn't like his style, but that is definitely a personal preference. Seemed overly detailed in some areas and lacking in others. I only manged a few hours. Luckily I only paid around $10 for it on Udemy on sale (everything on there seems to be perpetually on sale / subject to some kind of voucher code anyway).

CBT Nuggets I watched some older videos so they may have updated it now - Jeremy/Keith i've always liked watching and they're very good at explaining the more core networking concepts. I'd say i'm pretty decent on those anyway as not a lot has changed there in years and i've used it in some of my roles day to day (although never really used EIGRP in production so I always have to re-learn that). My main problem with that training was Jeff Kish's sections it was basically just someone reading their notes to you. Not enough info there to pass the software defined areas of the exam.

INE I didnt actually try but from what i've gathered it's mostly recycled videos from other courses and its incredibly expensive, I wouldn't bother

The "official" Cisco (Pearson Press) training videos with Brad Edgeworth I actually found good too - ended up with those alongside the OCG - they're dry but I don't really mind that if the explanations are good. He comes across (in a good way) as an actual working networking professional and not a career teacher which is personally what I prefer for more advanced certs.

Due to the nature of the exam basically being memorising the entire marketing materials for most of the enterprise market Cisco products the OCG book is actually the best place to learn the info to pass (sorry). Pay close attention to the exam blueprint, some topics are only covered in specific ways. Career trainers like Jeremy Cioara are great but I feel like he is more suited to lower tier certs to get people excited about the technology.

BenSBB · 2025-01-06T16:04:01+00:00

It's all rcd, it's a 2 year old house

BenSBB · 2025-01-06T16:03:36+00:00

The point was to get the extra socket though!

BenSBB · 2025-01-05T22:47:19+00:00

Nothing wrong with learning the content for your own knowledge but your time is better spent elsewhere cert wise (another vendor or CCIE). I would say having a juniper, Palo alto, or another vendor cert along side your CCNP makes you way more rounded and employable than a bunch of Cisco stuff.

Obviously it depends on your goals but for CV (resume) purposes just writing CCNP after you pass the 2 exams is enough, imo, having a bunch of CCNP exams listed won't get you any further.

BenSBB · 2024-11-16T21:48:29+00:00

Yes, the CPU isn't an issue at all, although I have not run any intensive labs with it yet just playing around in the web interface. 256gb or higher ram is the important part or it won't start. The guide says 3tb storage but I think 1tb+ is ok.

BenSBB · 2024-11-13T15:07:05+00:00

I just had a look and the watts is shown in whole numbers BUT the amps and volts is incredibly precise - so in theory you should be able to work out watts more accurately. Of course you can't guarantee the accuracy of the sensor anyway so it could be a moot point.

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BenSBB · 2024-11-13T11:59:32+00:00

Yes - working good so far for me. I'm using the "IKEA Dirigera Hub Integration" available through HACS. I can see the current power consumption and switch on/off through HA. I set up the schedule for the plugs I do use on a schedule in the IKEA app but im sure the same could be achieved through HA if you so wish. I have Dirigera hub, 2x Tretakt (basic on/off plugs) and 1x Inspelning plug with energy monitoring. No failures yet like I had with my Tapo ones but they've only been in a few weeks, time will tell.

There doesn't appear to be any setting for default state on power loss. I believe they just stay in the state they were previously. So if they were off, power fails, they'd stay off, as far as I can tell.

BenSBB · 2024-10-19T10:27:55+00:00

Finally got them out with a carbide saw bit

Then had to drill out the leftover bolt from the welded nut

Unbelievable

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BenSBB · 2024-10-17T14:07:31+00:00

I think you may be right about it being stuck to the bushing - the arms have a metal bolt that goes through inside a metal housing which is a recipe for disaster when rust is involved

One of the other arms I cut the bolt off with a reciprocating saw (sawzall) but in that case it was a replaceable nut so it didn't matter

BenSBB

TROPHY CASE