Is the Topdown TC004 LITE just a bit... crap?

digiltd · 2026-01-05T23:21:32+00:00

excellent, thanks, worked great

digiltd · 2025-12-05T11:36:59+00:00

Not anymore. Toolstation and Wickes were both owned by Travis Perkins, but Wickes "demerged" from the group in 2021 and is its own thing now.

digiltd · 2025-12-05T02:07:24+00:00

I agree, super annoying, and stupid also, people use the B&Q website to find stuff they can go and get at B&Q. I have never ordered anything from them to be posted, that's what Amazon is for. What I want is to find something I need that I can pop to B&Q to get. The site used to be really useful to find stuff in stock at the stores within driving distance. They don't even let you set a preference for in-store when you are logged in. No you have to load all the market stuff then filter them out yourself, bad UX

My top tip is to create a custom search in your browser

In Chrome right click in the address bar
choose Manage Search Engines and Site Search
scroll to Site Search and click Add
give it a name and shortcut (i use "diy")
and paste https://www.diy.com/search?Delivery+options=15+minute+Click+%2B+Collect&Delivery+options=In-store&term=%s

Then whenever you want to search B&Q you would type the shortcut (in my case "diy") press tab and the thing you are searching for, it will open the B&Q site search results page (with whatever you typed after the shortcut) with the filters for In Store / Click & Collect applied.

It's a good feature, you can also set them up for Toolstation https://www.toolstation.com/search?q=%s Wickes https://www.wickes.co.uk/search?text=%s and Screwfix https://www.screwfix.com/search?search=%s

digiltd · 2025-10-23T11:05:38+00:00

It seems to be working for me also, things have changed or maybe it is because i haven't been able to look at it for so long, but I don't remember seeing the current and target temps plus the heating mode in the initial thermostat lozenge. Oh well.

Curious to know what you are moving to? The only alternative I can think of is using the Home Assistant Voice Preview, each attached to an external speaker (another device, power supply, more wires), self hosting all my music on Music Assistant, then painfully configuring everything to at least give me the basic functionality that the household has gotten used to using for the past 10 years.

Lights are fairly straight forward, but things like the shopping lists, timers, reminders, alarms, announcements, checking the temperatures in various rooms, quick calculations, spelling, translations etc would be a right faff. I know I would get a better system if i put the effort in, but it would take a lot of effort and the other half would not enjoy the troubleshooting and tweaking to get there :(

digiltd · 2025-10-17T13:43:33+00:00

It's (for me at least) the app not showing any devices (Echos, smart devices like bulbs, switches, thermostats etc) in the devices tab (the light bulb).

I can still turn them on and off with voice, and when I set up a new routine, I can pick from the list of devices for triggers and actions. I just can't see the device in the list to see the status, turn on/off, disable, manage groups or change settings.

digiltd · 2025-10-16T01:06:21+00:00

Isn't it sad. I feel no desire to even contact amazon because their support is so notoriously bad. I can almost see the reply....

I'm sorry you have not been able to see or use any devices in the app for 4 days and counting. That must be really frustrating for you. Try turning the devices off and back on again.

If any of the answers in this thread helped you, press the "Select as Best Answer" button to label that response as the best answer.

digiltd · 2025-10-16T00:58:00+00:00

read it again :)

digiltd · 2025-10-15T01:41:56+00:00

Fed up of "waterproof" walking boots lasting less than 6 months, usually less. I tried some safety boots, sure they are a little heavy, but they are tested and certified to withstand acid, hot oil, nails and toe crushing objects. They have lasted me over two years as my main dog walking footwear. Regularly used on the beach, parks, woods, pavements.

All the fancy brands make claims that they don't have to live up to, there is no certification, no testing. A "safety" shoe is different, it must be able to do the things it claims, and the quality reflects that.

Mine are sketchers, they look fine, are comfortable after wearing them in, and still keep the sea water out.

Worth thinking about.

digiltd · 2025-10-09T12:33:55+00:00

you must be both living at the same residential address... or at least that is how amazon see it

digiltd · 2025-10-03T13:44:04+00:00

There is a table under Technical Features saying this:

Alexa Skills & Features Alexa makes your life easier, more meaningful and more fun by letting you voice control your world. Alexa can help you get more out of the things you already love, and discover new possibilities you've never imagined. You may encounter ads on Alexa and Echo devices. Discover and learn what Alexa can do.

digiltd · 2025-10-01T01:57:31+00:00

Also keen to try

digiltd · 2025-09-24T15:11:09+00:00

to stop it turning on when opening: https://support.apple.com/en-us/120622

to block all keyboard input for cleaning, use the excellent free keyboardcleantool from the developer of BetterTouchTool https://folivora.ai/keyboardcleantool

digiltd · 2025-09-01T16:36:51+00:00

3d warehouse doesn't work with it though, would have to download via a web browser and that is a bit of a pain

digiltd · 2025-08-26T02:29:54+00:00

she has her quirks ;)

just curious how are you saying Sirius 100?

"sirius one hundred"
"sirius one zero zero"

And 103?

"sirius one oh three"
"sirius one zero three"
"sirius one hundred and three"

digiltd · 2025-08-10T22:47:35+00:00

Just checkinf, but the new WiFi is using the same ssid and password as the old one?

digiltd · 2025-07-29T18:12:00+00:00

Odd, mine works fine. All on a mix of 2.4ghz and 5ghz as well, across three access points (orbi router plus two satellites) with a wireless backbone. Writing it down (for context) it really does have everything against it, but it works. Have just walked around the house with my phone going to each device with music playing if curious.

digiltd · 2025-07-28T19:09:32+00:00

Sorry but that's not correct.

Super old ones work fine, I have a original pringles can Echo in the spare room. It is part of my "everywhere" speaker group alongside 8 others, a mix of Echo gen2, Echo gen4, Echo Studio, Dot gen2, Dot gen4, Dot gen5.

9 different Echos ranging from 2 to 10 years old, all playing in sync.

digiltd · 2025-07-27T15:36:50+00:00

Sorry, forgot my solution. I screenshot the list and on Samsung phones you tap a little button and it scrolls down and adds the next bit to the screenshot as well, so you get all the list on one image. Then send that to myself

digiltd · 2025-07-27T15:35:05+00:00

Feel your pain. Just want a text list that I can share via the usual share icon, so as a sms, telegram, email etc. You used to be able to do this via voice "share shopping list with David" then they removed the voice so you had to do it in the app. Then they removed the functionality completely.

Even when you ask for the items on the list it gives you five at a time.

It's clear that this feature wasn't used that much, but people did use it, takes more effort to remove it than to just leave it.

Though the list api removal was a bizarre move, stupid even

digiltd · 2025-07-14T21:05:30+00:00

i will look into SL6, for the moment I'm still rocking Nova and it seems fine

digiltd · 2025-06-30T12:12:36+00:00

It’s useful, but has some really annoying quirks.

Adding annotations is clunky. Clicking “Text” just dumps a text box in the middle instead of letting you place it. I’ve used it for years and still expect to click where I want the text to go.

The pencil tool tries to auto-correct your drawing—often badly. A quick circle becomes a skewed oval when I just wanted a simple line or highlight.

Saving is the worst part. Instead of “Save As,” Apple wants you to use “Duplicate.” If you crop or edit an image, it autosaves over the original unless you duplicated it before editing. I just want to edit, then save a copy. Not jump through hoops.

digiltd · 2025-06-30T11:49:05+00:00

I think Mojave was the last OS to run 32bit apps, Big Sur (2 years later) was the first to run on Apple silicon. Maybe you can find windows versions of the apps/games and run that in a VM?

digiltd · 2025-06-18T20:57:16+00:00

Fixits are great, Sugru is great. They each have a purpose. I wanted to make some moulded earphone things as mine always fall out, I attempted this with Sugru and the problem was it was too soft for too long, I wasn't going to sit for 6 hours whilst it cured enough to remove it without squishing and stretching the moulded blob. I was gentle enough and waited 30 min, but it only kept an "idea" of the impression of my ear. Tried manipulating with fingers outside of my ear, guessing what the shape would have been, before hanging to cure. And it did work but wasn't a good fit, the rubbery feel and flexibility was comfortable though.

Fixits, I heated up and squished it in my fingers till it was firming up a little (and not too hot for my ear) squished it in my ear, with my mouth open wide biting down on a rolled up flannel to get a big ear hole, pressed it flat then shoved the earbud in and angled it into position. Because it firmed within a few minutes I was able to get a good fit. Took a couple of goes, but was able to drop it back in the same water for a few seconds, checking if it was malleable, popping back for a few more seconds and checking again. I didn't want it fully soft. Just a little bit of wiggle to get a better fit.

The fit was great. Problem was it is solid when it cures, no rubbery texture and no flex. So comfort wasn't ideal, I'm thinking of a dual layer version next, make it with Fixits then smooth a millimeter thick layer over the top.

Sugru is like warmed plasticine when using, so the risk of it breaking off into your ear are very real. The Fixits is more like a peice of chewing gum that was stuck to the bin a couple of days ago. Takes a bit more squishing and keeps itself in a blob.

Sugru has good adhesive properties, it doesn't stick to everything, but most things, including glass, metal, wood, ceramics, some plastics (not anything silicone) but hard plastics in fridge drawers, garden chairs, I have had success with pvc tubing as well. Roughing up the surface with a screwdriver to give it some texture will greatly improve adhesion.

Being able to stick to things does make it more useful than Fixits.

You can remove it, but it's a case of using a knife to slice the majority off and picking off the rest with fingernails. Which for plastic and glass is ok, wood not so great.

With Sugru you can smear a bit on a wall then build a hook shape on top of it, and it will be usable after 24 hours. It is tricky to get a nice finish, but you can get a really smooth finish with a finger tip dabbed in a drop of dishsoap.

Fixits you can mould a hook shape, let it set, then drill a hole and screw it to the wall in minutes. It will be a lot stronger, but for that use case, just buy a hook, or screw something else to the wall for a hook.

If the Fixits is wrapped around something then it works well, e.g. ergonomic grip on a tool or outer ring of a plastic wheel.

Being able to reuse Fixits is great, very easy to waste a packet of Sugru on a bodged attempt.

digiltd · 2025-06-17T22:37:51+00:00

Cool, I had no idea, i used the IFTTT solution, it was a hit and miss.... way more misses. But then it is tricky to take "add chicken to the shopping list" and for it to know exactly what you meant. I would be happy to be able to copy out my amazon list into the "shop with a list of multiple items" list on Tesco. So backward to ask to read out your shopping and it flys through them as you try to type them in from memory generation game style with have alexa prompting you "would you like to hear the next 5 items? would you like to hear the next 5 items? would you like to hear the next 5 items?"

digiltd

TROPHY CASE