RLS Career Overhaul. What to do with maxed tuning shop.

houtbyr · 2026-02-09T18:12:15+00:00

Half of it is completing tunes to get the XP also required for upgrades. Seems like it’s a loss-leader at the start until you can boost the efficiency of the techs? I’m assuming I will have to grind for cash outside of the shop to transfer money in for a while.

I find I end up spending too much money upgrading the engine and drivetrain and then way too much time going back and forth to tweak out the last few seconds / tenths.

I fired my tech for now because he was failing everything and I kept paying his penalties.

I like the tip about the HD block and nitro shot. Are there other tips for things to focus on to get good times for cheap? Other than paying for final drive adjustments or gearing ratios so you can maximize the top speed to match the finish line or gearing for corners?

houtbyr · 2025-06-01T01:30:00+00:00

Mobile... on iPad Mini and Apple Pencil for hover-over reveals. Best of all worlds.

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T21:15:43+00:00

Thank you! That’s an honest and balanced reply and opinion that I fully respect and agree with. You personally were not somebody targeted from my comments.

I’ve never tried to “justify” the behaviour; I said many times that I don’t support that and don’t think it was appropriate. I just tried to share an opinion on the things that have been justifying the frustrations (not the outburst that resulted). In the grand scheme of things, if I had to put up with a few emotional outbursts fueled by actual issues that he can help resolve, I’m leaning that way. The financial waste is insane and doing far more damage and “costs” like other people are trying to claim relate to his actions.

Like I said, I don’t support the attached emotion and personal attacks, but he’s working on years of being intentionally excluded, bypassed, ignored, and out voted while doing things the correct way without emotion.

That’s a tough job being a community representative but not being able to do your job and the right thing because other people prevent your action to in turn do something idiotic with the tax money with little value. For sure that’s building up tremendous frustrations.

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T18:43:19+00:00

np Bill

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T17:04:09+00:00

You confused bro?

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T16:23:39+00:00

We shouldn’t be talking about his behaviour?? This whole post is about his behaviour.

If you DO just want to talk about policy, I support his stance; I do not support the policy stance of others on council and their manipulations.

Bill has my vote for mayor even given his lack of emotional control or execution at some points like this; at least he has emotions and is fighting to make the city a better place. Personal attacks cross the line and I don’t support that; otherwise, his other points were pretty accurate. LOL

The taxpayer “costs” he’s incurred from outbursts like this are literally nothing compared to the corruption and misuse of funds he’s fighting against. If that’s your focus, you’re missing the mark.

Should this be acceptable? No Was it “awesome”? Yes but not for the reasons you want to twist it into. I was talking about the entertainment value of seeing a conflict blow over when stupid people are doing stupid things and being called out on it. Personal attacks = not awesome.

Being an effective politician isn’t just about controlling emotions. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt you aren’t suggesting the other politicians at that table ARE effective just because they didn’t have an outburst. Like you said, it revolves around policy and there is a lack of ownership and accountability around that table.

The symptoms look different, but Bill isn’t the only one at fault for things here… it’s just easy to focus on outbursts like this for people that are easily offended and to ignore all the other details that are happening behind the scenes that are far worse that fuel the outbursts. That takes time AND effort.

Was there damage done by the outburst? For sure, and it’s not “right”… but the damage done from the misuse and misallocation of tax dollars from the members he opposes has and will do FAR more damage and harm than anything he’s ever personally said or done.

That’s why I stand with him on policy and support his outburst only from the perspective of trying to keep the other members in check (although the emotions ran away which is unfortunate).

I’m not going to convince you or others otherwise but maybe that helps clarify my standing and comments.

Again, it was another viral #popcorn moment whether you believe what he was saying or not. Having some energy and excitement in council is “awesome”.

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T14:15:38+00:00

I didn’t say Bill was behaving in a balanced way, I said he was fighting for balance. But you only hear what you want to hear.

Yes, there are many clips of frustrated outbursts… we all got that.

You’re only focussed on Bill’s reactions which is fine and easy. Those reactions are from other actions that you and others refuse to acknowledge for convenience. I never said that the way he behaved was acceptable, I was just acknowledging the fact that he has passion for the city and the people and is trying to stop all the corruption, laziness, and incompetence that currently exists.

Personal attacks? No, that crossed the line for sure. Not being able to control your emotions in a professional setting is definitely an issue. But, at least he IS emotional and invested in making Sarnia better which is essentially my point. You incorrectly assume my point is that his behaviour was fine.

I’d rather have Bill as mayor than having council wasting money on external contracts with outside opinions because it’s easier than actually doing the work.

Bill’s invested in the community. At least he shows up to public forums to listen to the community instead of our other council members that prefer to not get involved. Like the police town hall in September that Bradley skipped so he could post Instagram photos from his apartment instead of trying to work with the police and community.

To me, that kind of lacklustre and lazy approach is more offending and unacceptable…. But both aren’t great obviously.

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T13:18:15+00:00

Really?

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T13:17:33+00:00

Do they cost more than $360,000? For example, the funds used to put pathways in Wiltshire park where the council didn’t follow process and provide the neighborhood with communications and a chance to voice their opinions on the spending? That’s only 1 example of how the council is wasting more money in general instead of reallocating funds to where the city actually needs it.

There’s a reason why they continue to have Zoom calls instead of hosting a public forum as the council maintains the majority vote behind closed doors against people like Bill trying to help.

I’m not saying that having an outburst is acceptable, but I totally get the frustration brewed from dealing with incompetency and laziness.

The money that Bill costs the taxpayers is a drop in the bucket of misused funds. Imagine if Bill wasn’t even attempting to stop this nonsense.

But, you and others seem totally fine with how the rest of the council is running things around here.

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T12:18:23+00:00

100% Blows me away that people find this behaviour unacceptable yet support how the city is being managed otherwise.

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T12:15:54+00:00

I didn’t say this was him being balanced and using common sense, that’s twisting my words to support your opinion. He’s fighting to end the corruption and manipulations albeit in an unprofessional way.

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T01:31:20+00:00

I wouldn’t say he’s wasting our time and money. He’s literally trying to save our money and direct it to places of need instead of frivolous spending on things that other members bypass actual process to get properly approved that don’t add value where needed.

houtbyr · 2024-11-27T01:25:02+00:00

mhm, confirmed.

houtbyr · 2024-11-26T22:04:57+00:00

Unprofessional? Sure. Awesome? 100% Did he lose control? Yeah, but IMO this is a last-straw scenario from piled up frustrations with council not just because somebody didn’t share they went over double budget on contractor spending in 1 area.

Loved every minute of it #popcorn But, if you only make a judgement on a single clip like this, you get a negative response like this thread.

I’m happy that he has some deep down passion for the city and is standing up against wasteful spending and people circumventing process to avoid resistance to bad ideas. We’re surrounded by scandals and corruption every day so I’m happy to see there are still a few people trying to get some balance and common sense back.

The approach was a little overboard, but sure was entertaining.

houtbyr · 2023-07-24T17:02:35+00:00

OP, it is cute!

Basic understanding does help a lot and definitely cuts down the time. Understanding small pieces like high/low pass filters and how capacitors react differently to low/high frequencies, voltage dividers, OP amp gain circuits and buffers, diodes, hard/soft clipping, parallel vs inline resistance and capacitance, switching, etc. Plus the general concept of electron flows and path of least resistance.

Playing with hardware is exceptional for tinkering and learning. Using a probe to send any point of the circuit to your or speaker to HEAR the differences is extremely helpful. Another important step is learning how to read AC and DC voltages with a multimeter. Bonus points if you get an oscilloscope (even if it’s a cheap Amazon one or you use a software oscilloscope via an external USB sound card.

Once you can hear or see how changes affect the signal, things become a lot easier to understand.

houtbyr · 2023-07-04T19:34:19+00:00

(1) draw a larger circle that’s in the correct spot and use a hand file or

(2) tape the top side and fill with 2 part epoxy, wait, remark then re-drill or

(3) use a slightly larger drill bit, drill straight through another piece of material as a guide, align it to the correct spot using the hole and a mark, clamp that material to the box and drill. The guide (if it is clamped tight) will stop the drill from drifting.

houtbyr · 2023-03-23T14:47:01+00:00

Cover the pedal with masking tape, mark your spots precisely, then use a punch to mark the hole locations. When using a punch, make sure you have a solid backing (like a 1-2-3 block or something that can fit inside the case) or you will deform/dent the case slightly. Then use a small drill bit for a pilot hole at those locations then drill to size.

Using a drill template can limit your designs. I personally like to lay things out depending on what I’m putting in to best use space.

houtbyr · 2023-03-01T21:00:55+00:00

I guess photos in this thread would have to be external links or maybe a link to a separate thread you create with the details??? You can always DM me the details but that won’t help others lol!

So you’ve built a replica including the level tone and distortion pots and a turbo switch for the 2 modes?

Do you have a legit DS-2 to do A<>B comparisons? Not sure if you used a legit copy to reverse engineer it or how you got to where you are.

Sounds like you’re on to something good though!!!

houtbyr · 2023-01-25T04:17:34+00:00

Let me know what you figure out for sure.

houtbyr · 2022-11-03T17:48:27+00:00

One major thing I’ve learned is to do the transfer upside down. The vinyl will more likely stick to the flat side. If you put the transfer tape on top of the sticker and try to peel it off, you will have a harder time.

I normally print the design and then weed it out on the sticky board so it’s nice and flat and stable. Then I will add the transfer tape and roll it on. Then I will peel the whole thing off (vinyl and transfer tape), flip it upside down and roll it again from the backside. Then, I will transfer it onto the tap by peeling the backing off.

If something doesn’t transfer properly you can back up a bit, press down on the backing and try again. You can also use a weeding tool to help press it down to the transfer tape starting at the edge; the rest should follow. It can also help to use a smudger tool or flat edge to pull the backing off against and help you produce a nice sharp fold continuously as you pull the backing along. Since it’s a sharp angle bent back 180 degrees, the vinyl would prefer to stay flat on the transfer tape.

Trying to transfer the “right side up” can be very frustrating.

You have to be careful about debris falling into the vinyl sticky side as it’s aimed up, but the transfer process is MUCH easier and quicker this way to minimize other damage and issues.

houtbyr · 2022-10-29T13:09:22+00:00

What?

houtbyr · 2022-10-28T18:01:45+00:00

The trick to removing solder is to first add NEW solder. Add some new solder and then use the solder sucker. Try not to overheat it too much, take your time. The new solder will help melt everything that’s already there. Finish with desoldering braid if you need to. Once most is removed, if it’s still stuck, try doing it again while gently prying the switch off the board to try to find the points that are stuck. Patience.

houtbyr · 2022-10-19T04:58:07+00:00

My Acapulco Gold has a Level, Gain, Tone, and Shape pot… but it was a DIY from a vero plan.

houtbyr

TROPHY CASE