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Thread ID: 103573	2009-09-28 11:44:00	Alternator question	prefect (6291)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
814798	2009-09-30 10:33:00	R2D2: No one else made a speedo like this, Smiths of course: www.imagef1.net.nz a 150 mph speedo, beautiful. And that is not a Jaeger Chronometric re-badged ? Every part but the case and set knob made in France? A genuine Smiths instrument can be easily determined by the fact that it does not work properly. A good example of their meticulous craftsmanship and effective design would be their autopilots. Could any other autopilot require an additional crew member to be carried as well as requiring a pilot be strapped into his seat at all times the autopilot is engaged? Of course, it had the inherent advantage of being pneumatically powered which as their commercials stated gave superior "feel'. Damn good idea, could we give the autopilot a personal window to give it an improved view for added feel good? Some Smiths aircraft clocks were amazing examples of precision craftsmanship and were durable as well as consistent. Smiths provided the spelling of the name but had no other contact with them except for a hefty mark-up. Other clocks were indeed made by Smiths, they were everything you would expect them to be. Rough. Smiths altimeters were the most complex of their day, the most expensive, and the least useful as an altimeter. (People with funny accents however swore by them. They deserved 'em.) Pre - 1916 they made a couple of instruments that although bulky, heavy and grossly overpriced were quite well made. They gave that away very promptly.	R2x1 (4628)
814799	2009-09-30 19:03:00	Made by Smiths to Jaeger patent as were all Smiths chronometric speedos.	Terry Porritt (14)
814800	2009-10-01 01:34:00	And that is not a Jaeger Chronometric re-badged ? Every part but the case and set knob made in France? A genuine Smiths instrument can be easily determined by the fact that it does not work properly. A good example of their meticulous craftsmanship and effective design would be their autopilots. Could any other autopilot require an additional crew member to be carried as well as requiring a pilot be strapped into his seat at all times the autopilot is engaged? Of course, it had the inherent advantage of being pneumatically powered which as their commercials stated gave superior "feel'. Damn good idea, could we give the autopilot a personal window to give it an improved view for added feel good? Some Smiths aircraft clocks were amazing examples of precision craftsmanship and were durable as well as consistent. Smiths provided the spelling of the name but had no other contact with them except for a hefty mark-up. Other clocks were indeed made by Smiths, they were everything you would expect them to be. Rough. Smiths altimeters were the most complex of their day, the most expensive, and the least useful as an altimeter. (People with funny accents however swore by them. They deserved 'em.) Pre - 1916 they made a couple of instruments that although bulky, heavy and grossly overpriced were quite well made. They gave that away very promptly. I am sure you are Anglophobic R2x1 or just Lucasphobic, meaning: Scared you cant see anything in the dark with lights on.	prefect (6291)
814801	2009-10-01 02:18:00	I am sure you are Anglophobic R2x1 or just Lucasphobic, meaning: Scared you cant see anything in the dark with lights on. Most people with mangy beards tend to be Anglophobic.	Cicero (40)
814802	2009-10-01 03:39:00	Watch it, I've had a beard for...for..er 46-47? years. My sons have never seen me clean shaven :clap R2x1 does go over the top a bit at times, but it doesn't worry me, he tries to needle :) but everyone to their own opinion. Like I said, there are some of us, many of us, who have lived in Noddy land all our lives, had British bikes and cars, Smiths speedos, and never had any problems of significance. Neither have I in the UK come across all this doom and gloom that seems to have inflicted NZ. The 1953 A40 Somerset had all its original Lucas electrics still in perfect working order when I sold it in 1977. All I had done was to fit front and rear indicator lights to replace the quaint semaphore arms, which I left in place. I have a photo somewhere along with the Jag 2.4 MkII, if I find it I'll post it. The Jag, a 1961 model also never had any electrical or speedo problems, though I had a corroded head problem which had to fixed, and rusty sills that had to be replaced. But rust was always a problem in the UK because of the salt put on the roads in winter. Someday I must tell the story of Tony Rose, the bloke who asked Phil Vincent back around 1950, whether a Rapide could go 100,000 miles without overhaul. Phil said yes, so Tony bought a Rapide at the Earls Court show and proceeded to drive 100,000 miles. I will look it up in the Vincent Owners mag. one day and tell the story when everyone is sitting comfortably.	Terry Porritt (14)
814803	2009-10-01 05:52:00	Most people with mangy beards tend to be Anglophobic. No they tend to be weirdy Beardies, professors or inventors :punk where is the bearded smiley	gary67 (56)
814804	2009-10-01 06:14:00	He quite a good lad,but one tires of his generalizations of blighty.	Cicero (40)
814805	2009-10-01 07:42:00	He quite a good lad,but one tires of his generalizations of blighty. I on the other hand am trying to break that habit after all I chose to leave	gary67 (56)
814806	2009-10-01 10:19:00	If you want to know the sad story of British motor vehicle 'engineering quality' read the history of the Long Range Desert Group, the breakdowns they had with British machines were appalling and they found US trucks were much more reliable. Every 'British' vehicle I ever owned or used as an employee was unreliable and had a limited lifespan. My first car was just 9 years old and had only 54,000 miles on the clock (around 86,000km) but it was a heap of junk. As an apprentice it was all I could afford, but the steering had more slack than your great grandmother's bust-line, the clutch was shot, the gear lever was so loose that gear selection had worse odds than the Golden Kiwi, the window winders had long given up, the drivers' seat-back was broken, the handbrake was buggered and the radiator leaked. That's just the faults that I remember, and we won't talk about the rust! The Ford Escorts my employer used were so unreliable that we kept a spare engine in our spare parts store and when one blew up we delivered the carcass and engine to the repair shop so we could have it back on the road same day. A used Japanese car was still in the prime of its youth at that age & km. Some said that FORD stood for 'Fix Or Repair Daily' but we reckoned it stood for 'Found On Road Dead'. My point is that too many people put their nostalgia blinkers on when they reminisce about the technology of yesteryear. The same applied to British radios and TVs, and almost without exception they were shite, needing frequent service while the Japanese technology just about put service companies out of business. I remember one internationally reputable TV manufacturer boasting of 1.6 calls per year reliability, while the Japanese opposition was saying nothing, but zero service calls in 10 years on their products was not uncommon. 'British Made' meant unreliability, no matter what it was. I like to restore old electronic equipment, and if it is 40-50 years old and Japanese that usually means blow out the dust, clean and polish the outside, power up and enjoy. Anything else means rebuild, repair, and hope that the plastic and rubber hasn't decayed too much. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
814807	2009-10-01 18:43:00	The above is a diatribe on reliability,is that what makes a country great? Compare what the Japs have invented with that of England.	Cicero (40)
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