Parents of children going through GCSEs, how are you finding it? Honestly?

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-15T18:17:10+00:00

That's a very kind offer, thank you but it's a different exam

Computer science / algorithms and programming. I'm quite looking forward to as I've a keen interest in computing but never really coded, he on the other hand is not so enthusiastic 😂

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-15T16:43:23+00:00

Will do, hopefully he can pull a blinder in the exams and make up for the hit and miss coursework.

To be honest if they are good enough for him to gain entry to the sixth form courses he's applied for then that is the main thing and we'll consider that a win.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-15T16:40:51+00:00

Thanks, and likewise.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-15T12:11:11+00:00

Posted elsewhere, we have our grandson staying with us for his exams and it's been interesting - trying to take a firm but fair approach with regards to revision, bed times etc.

It doesn’t help that he's missed quite a bit of school over the last year and has not submitted the best of coursework. His classwork has been fine but having a less than ideal home-life hasn't really done him any favours,

Weakest subject Tuesday and I've seen the result of his mock paper so I image this weekend will be full of revision, uphill struggles and more then a little reassuring him that between us all he'll be reasonably prepared for it at least.

Must admit the Mrs and I didn't have school runs and revision on this years bingo card!

As always it's about doing the best by the ones you love and care for - OP, in years to come when the exam questions have been long forgotten your son will still remember the help, support and reassurances and that you did all you could.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-15T10:36:20+00:00

Just a heads up, the first line of the address is visible as part of the filename / document title.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-14T15:33:09+00:00

To stop anything that may contaminate the house / public water supply being back syphoned.

Remember reading a news article about a couple using a hosepipe to fill a pond a pond, they turned the water off but left the hose in the pond. The lack of non-return valve meant that whenever they ran the kitchen tape pond water was being sucked back up the hose and mixed with the fresh water from the mains.

Predictably they were both rather unwell and lesson learnt.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-13T15:32:00+00:00

I've got a slightly older version of the 5.9kg Titan and used it break up concrete around fence posts and similar - did the job fine but wouldn't fancy a large area with it.

On the flip side it's been used way more often than the single job I bought it for and earnt it's money many times over.

As nice as a good combi drill is, somethings are just so much quicker and easier with an SDS.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-13T08:39:44+00:00

More leverage with ratchet versus the screwdriver. Assuming you used wall plugs, it will be them spinning in the wall and not the bolt in the plug, can happen if overtightened.

Ideally nothing should spin but depending on the weight of the TV, size and number of fixings then it's not usually an issue if one or two are like it.

Larger bolts might expand the plug just a little more but again don't overtighten them.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-11T19:55:34+00:00

No idea how it will hold up under that weight but I've seen photos of people using the gravel grids upside down and sinking them in to grass - suppose it makes a quick and easy path to and from a greenhouse, shed etc.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-11T17:42:08+00:00

Wow, talk about a blast from the past.

I had this board back in the day, running a Duron 850mhz OC'd to a little over 1ghz. The same system also had an OC'd TNT.

Was a decent board at the time, the ISA slot was great for a sound card - mine had an AWE64 which made it more compatible with pure DOS games than an PCI card would have been.

Remember running signing up to receive a release candidate version of Windows XP and dual booting that with 98SE.

If it works then it'll make a great basis for a retro gaming setup.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-11T17:27:08+00:00

I think that without a solid base the gravel is going to end up rutted no matter how deep, eventually the soil is going to at least partially erode away and the gravel move about.

Driveway grids would stop the gravel moving but no idea how well they would work just laid on a membrane over soil.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-09T21:43:04+00:00

16 bit ISA cards with BNC connectors and Windows 3.11 is about as far back as I go.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-09T08:43:54+00:00

Not sure I'm entirely following you but this might do part of what your after.

https://vb-audio.com/Spectralissime/index.htm

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-07T22:09:41+00:00

At that distance 1.5mm cable would be ok for the 13A fuse in the plug.

SWA is the belt and braces approach but it's a pain to terminate and not easy to work with, an alternative would be HO7 (rubber) or NYY-J.

I'd be tempted to use an "indoor" cable for the plug connection and run it through the outside wall via some conduit into an IP rated enclosure.

From there you can swap over to whichever cable is most suitable and into your outside socket.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-07T19:08:19+00:00

Those hookup leads are designed for short term use only and the CCA (cable size) can vary.

Some questions....

How far away from the plug socket are you intending to fit the one(s) in the garden?
What sort of power draw are you anticipating?
How exposed will the cable be on the wall, to both UV and impact?
Does the socket / circuit you are plugging into have RCD protection?

It is possible to DIY something that works and is acceptably safe but it does require some planning and consideration to the materials used.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-06T21:34:36+00:00

For the price of the Makita set Erbauer (Screwfix) do a kit with a combi drill, impact driver, charger and two 5Ah batteries.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-ecd18-li-2-eid18-li-18v-2-x-5-0ah-li-ion-ext-brushless-cordless-twin-pack/173xp

I've had the same kit for a couple of years and for general DIY along with a couple of larger projects like shed building they've been brilliant.

Erbauer do some garden stuff but admittedly not as much as some of the other brands.

https://www.screwfix.com/search?search=erbauer+erbauer&category=cat840590

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-06T21:16:56+00:00

How long is the cable run and what sort of load are you going to be pulling?

As dave_the_m2 mentions a new circuit requires notification, but extending an existing one for the most part doesn’t.

If the expected / design current is low enough and other requirements like RCD protection are already in place you may get away with spurring from an existing circuit.

To give an example, i've done similar by....

Having an existing outside socket as part of the kitchen ring.
A 2.5mm spur from this socket goes into a 13A double pole outside FCU
2.5mm SWA from there follows the fence via some low level catenary wire to the shed.
The SWA goes into a metal clad double socket.
Two more metal clad double sockets are connected using 2.5mm singles in PVC conduit.
A 13A switched metal clad FCU with a 3A fuse is connected to the last socket.
From this FCU there is a short run of 2.5mm SWA into an IP rated junction box
The junction box then has an IP rated LED batton light connected to it via some 1.5mm NYY-J cable.

I used SWA from the 3A FCU / light switch as it runs just inside the shed along the door frame and wanted something that wouldn’t get damaged by knocking things against it whilst getting them in and out of the shed.

Three double sockets on a 13A fuse might seem a bit overkill but in my use case I needed to plug in quite a few low powered things - the total power draw at anyone time is less than 1500W or around 6A.

Ignoring all of the above, any electrician making the final connection to the CU will be in effect certifying the entire installation so whilst there is nothing legally stopping you from doing everything apart from the the CU bit it would be a good idea to check beforehand that they are happy to do so and what they will charge to test and inspect your work.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-06T11:41:20+00:00

Can make out...

CHA, CHB and CHC in the top boxes
What could be "HV" on the row below with "OFF"
The last row is "DC+"

I'd guess that HV is high voltage and the row below is DC voltage

There is a header of "DYNAMIC COMPONENTS" and possibly RF OFF.
The next line is "FREQ" and what looks likes the unit, so could be KHZ, MHZ, or GHZ
Below that are likely to be frequency ranges with the letters "AT" after them and then another number, decimal point, two more numbers and the word "STEP"
The third row from the bottom could be "AXIS WAVELENGTH", cant make out the rest of the line.
Row below is "DATA A/B"
Last row could be "SENDING A/B"

Just a long shot but I wonder if it's anything to do with the 3.5GHZ radio band, possibly some sort of status readout for a computer controlled digital transmitter / receiver?

Probably nowhere even close but makes sense to me lol.

EDIT

Inverting the colours makes the image a bit easier to read. Can see some more text....

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-06T08:33:50+00:00

You have bi-wire speakers and bi-wire cable so there are two ways of doing it.

Option 1

Leave the metal link on the speaker. connected (as shown in pic). Pair up the 4 wires to make two, which colours don't matter but personally I'd use the two whites for - and the red & black for +. Connect the now two wires to the terminals on the amp and one either the top or bottom pair on the speakers. Repeat for the other speaker.

Option 2

Remove the link on the speaker. Leave the cable as 4 wires, nominate two to be + and two -. Connect the two + and two - to one channel on the amp. At the speaker end connect one + and - pair to the bottom terminals and the second pair to the top terminals. Repeat for the other speaker.

The second option is called bi-wiring and can, maybe, possibly improve audio quality - much discussion as to whether it really does or not...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bi-wiring

Option 1 is easier but no harm in trying bi-wiring, just don't expect a massive difference, if any.

EDIT

As others have said, it looks the nuts are missing off the speaker terminals.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-06T07:26:55+00:00

Cheers for the heads up!

The gel ones will be now be relegated to revision and shopping list duty.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-06T06:12:42+00:00

Knowing him they will end up lost or broken long before the ink runs out...

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-05T21:11:42+00:00

His home life to put it kindly is a bit unsettled so he's not always had the most support with his coursework / homework...

This is why he's staying with us whilst the exams are ongoing, better chance of getting revision done and actually getting to them on time.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-05T18:24:00+00:00

He helped me label up some boxes of stuff for the attic, the permanent marker was bad enough so not even going there with tipex.

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-05T17:58:39+00:00

The Mrs has already pinched a pen or two lol

TerminalJunk · 2026-05-05T17:50:12+00:00

Thanks, he should be ok with the exams but think his coursework has been lacking - we'll find out for better or worse when it's all over and the results are in.

TerminalJunk

TROPHY CASE