RobinR

No mention of the K&A!! Here some older "as built" locks have the overflow inlet within the lock. For these locks the requirement is to leave top gates open regardless. There are often C&RT signs with this instruction. These are being modified on an ongoing basis. Once a bywash has been constructed the normal canal practice to leave all gates closed becomes the requirement however the (BWB) signs to leave top gates open may be an element of a listed structure thus can not be removed!! Confused???? This was an explanation given when I visited three years ago. Gates swinging open indicates a good seal at the other end so don't worry.

Per the following from the 13th. March 2014 "Who do you Think You Are" newsletter, these can now be accessed for free. "The National Library of Scotland has announced a major new online resource for family historians - a collection of English and Welsh maps covering more than 100 years. The highly detailed zoomable maps of England and Wales from 1842 to 1952 allow anyone to browse through a catalogue of place names, modern street names, postcodes and grid references. You can access the maps at maps.nls.uk/os/6inch-england-and-wales/info1.html. Alternatively, you can look through a clickable graphic index at the site's Find by Place viewer here. The website compiles 37,390 sheets, including 35,124 quarter sheets of A2 size, and 2,236 full sheets at A0 size, which makes for a wide range of search options. The National Library of Scotland’s map digitisation work in recent years has been externally funded, leading to a recent expansion in map images beyond Scotland including a Victorian plan of London which was uploaded last year. The Ordnance Survey six-inch mapping system is the most detailed map scale to cover England and Wales and can record most man-made features in the landscape such as roads, railways, fields, fencing, streams and buildings. Smaller features such as letterboxes, bollards and mileposts can also be seen. For many of the towns featured, the maps show the detailed urbanisation and rapidly changing landscape from 1914 through to the 1940s thanks to 25 inch to the mile mapping. Although images can only be viewed individually, you have the option via the map group tool to look at an area from the 1840’s up until 1952." Apologies if this is duplicated information.

Is F1 FTA on other satellites e.g. Astra 1 and Hotbird? If so, use a small dish and a FTA (not Freesat / Sky / Freesat from Sky) box and listen to the BBC radio commentry. (FTA = free to air i.e not encoded)

Kent Green on the Macclesfield Canal at Heritage Narrow Boats. Narrow locks are MUCH easier than wide ones. Excellent choice of routes including the Caldon Canal (best in the UK) and in Cheshire (i.e. not Lancashire!!). I have a share in a 60 ft narrowboat and disabled wife thus work single handed from time to time. I continue to manage these canals single handed at 67 1/2 years young.

I have both the Maplin aerial with amplifier and suitcase satellite kit. All work from 12 volts (I use a power inserter to feed 12v to the amp) and the FTA satellite box also runs on 12v. and then to aim the dish at 142 degrees with the dish vertical (shows 19 degrees on the built in elevation scale). To find 142 degrees, initially look where dishes on houses are aimed then take a compass onto the towpath away from the boat and other large steel objects but stand as close to the dish mounting point as possible. Identify a distant object (tree, chimney etc.) at approximately 142 degrees and stand on an imaginary line between the dish and that object. If the previously identified object is no longer near the 142 degrees line, select another distant 142 degrees object. Align the dish to that distant object. The Maplin FTA satellite box (as generally with COMAG derived boxes) has variable tone (higher audio pitch equates to stronger signal) tuning feature which can be heard with the TV volume high or on earphones with an extension lead from the headphone socket of the TV. If using BBC1 London for set up, the box will also receive a German programme from the Hotbird or Astra 1 satellite. Astra 2 is a little further East and at a very slightly lower elevation. The smaller Maplin dish is less prone to signal loss however, before leaving the dish to watch TV ensure it is aimed at the mid point position for optimum reception both horizontally and vertically. Our mooring mallet or a windlass helps keep our dish secure in moderate wind! We place the dish inside the boat whilst boating and can now set it up more quickly than resetting the TV tuner and aerial where the previous terrestial transmitter is out of reception range plus we can watch our local area news etc from anywhere satellite reception is possible. The Freeview reception provides the "Red button" text and weather and our recently purchased COMAG HD Satellite box (also 21v) can record to a memory stick!! The FTA satellite box will also accept FTA signals from all satellites above the horizon thus usefull for those of us fluent in multiple languages or wishing to watch the BBC World News not on Astra 2.

Fire Extinguishers Again. To quote BSS Chapter 6 "The requirements in this chapter have been informed by,and may refer to, the following technical references, codes and regulations." and then refereces BS5306-3:2003 which is now BS6306-3:2009. These further reference BS5306-8:2000 and a new Draft BS5306-8 has been published for public comment. Both exclude boats as needing to comply with their requirements: "This part of BS 5306 is not applicable to aircraft, caravans or marine craft. It is applicable to all other buildings." Does the BSS statement above overide this for inland marine craft? However, 1kg or 2kg ABC Powder extinguishers should be mounted on stands or wall mounted with the handle 1.5m above the floor. But is it now time to re-think extinguishers for use on boats per statements within the above draft viz: 4.2 The environment The impact of the discharge of the extinguishing medium on the environment should be taken into account. Extinguishing medium can cause collateral damage to many things such as, but not restricted to, food, machinery, building fabric, fixtures, fittings, artefacts and sensitive equipment. Expert advice on the impact of the discharge from a fire extinguisher on the local environment should be sought from competent persons. Advice on the impact of extinguishers (and their content) on the wider environment should be sought from extinguisher manufacturers and distributors. 4.5 Training in the use of extinguishers The competent person should bring to the attention of the responsible person the need for training. Every opportunity should be taken to instruct personnel in the use of extinguishers, and to demonstrate their performance. Extinguishers for different fire classifications will have different training requirements. 5.2 Fire ratings Fire ratings of extinguishers are determined during controlled tests by experienced users. When using the fire rating of an extinguisher to calculate the required levels of coverage, it is therefore important to take into account the total discharge time of the extinguisher, and its range of discharge, in combination with the levels of experience of the potential users. 5.4 Discharge 5.4.1 Distance and direction The distance over which an extinguisher can expel its content should be taken into account when specifying an extinguisher for a defined hazard. A jet type discharge will travel a considerably further distance than a spray type discharge. This affects both horizontal and vertical discharge distance and might be of particular importance in areas that have shelving or racking. Light or gaseous extinguishing media such as carbon dioxide or clean agent should not be specified where wind or draughts could adversely affect the distance of the discharge or unexpectedly change the direction of the discharge away from the fire. Such media should be specified where the media is required to search for the fire, e.g. through a vent or grille and into the shell of electrical equipment. 5.4.3 Use of powder extinguishers The discharge of a powder extinguisher can cause a sudden reduction of visibility, which could temporarily jeopardize escape, rescue or other emergency action. For this reason water-based extinguishers should ideally be specified for use indoors. 6.4 Travel distance Extinguishers should be sited in such a way that it is not necessary to travel from the site of any fire to reach an extinguisher further than the following maximum distances: • class A: 30 m; • class B: 10 m; • class C: 30 m; • class D: case by case basis, by expert advice; • class F: 5 m. Where the prospective operator is required to pass through doorways to reach the nearest extinguisher, the above travel distances should be reduced to maintain a short time between discovery of a fire and the moment at which the prospective operator is able to start fighting the fire with the extinguisher concerned. 8.4 Class C – Fires involving gases 8.4.1 General If a trained fire-fighter is not at the scene of the incident, the only safe method of extinguishing class C fires is to cut off the flow of fuel to the leak. Locating and operating the flow control valves is therefore the preferred method of extinction. These actions should be carried out as a matter of extreme urgency. If this cannot be done immediately, two opposing fire hazards are possibilities. These are: a) the jet of flame, contrasted with the filling of a volume with unburnt gas. A gas reservoir with free access of air will be liable to re-ignition at any time, possibly with explosive force. Unless the jet is playing directly upon some other combustible material, which should be covered with an appropriate extinguisher as recommended elsewhere in Clause 8, allowing the flame to continue is the least dangerous option until the flow can be stopped. 8.4.2 Minimum quantities of class C extinguishers required None are required unless a trained fire-fighter is available (see 8.4.1). ********************************** Should AFFF (Foam) now become the preferred choice with Class F coverage for the kitchen / cooking area? ********************************** 8.6 Class F – Fires involving cooking media (vegetable or animal oils and fats) in cooking appliances 8.6.1 General For these fires the first action should be to cut off the source of heat input to the cooking container, if this can be done in safety, as this reduces the chance of re-ignition. Types other than those suitable for class F fires should not be sited in areas where cooking oils or fats is the major factor in the risk analysis. WARNING. Failure to use class F media can make a fire involving cooking media in cooking appliances significantly worse and is likely to spread the fire to the immediate vicinity of the appliance concerned. ********************************** Time for a rethink???

Go get your licence back - sunspots rising. Had a number of great contacts last year and this year will bebetter!!

Yes - if you count during the training I undertook in 1994 for the F.E.T. A. Certificate and on real test fires. Very messy. Carbon Dioxide is not suitable for Class A (wood etc) fires. Halon was much better before being unjustifiably banned. Halon was (and still is) very effective in the hands of an untrained user and unlike for its other former uses, extinguishers are designed for absolute minimum leakage if any. Halon is destroyed by fire - one means used for disposal and whilst some escaped to the atmosphere when used to extinguish a fire, the overall adverse effect is still less than for powder, foam, water and / or Carbon Dioxide because there is a higher probability that the fire will be extinguished and hence fewer combustion products released. Re pressure gauges, the needle is normally midpoint when pressurised at the factory or when refilled. Changes in ambient temperature will result in movement from this point because the pressurising gas expands when warmed and compresses when cooled. Leakage of the gas also causes the gauge to move to a lower value hence their reason for being there. I have also seen a gauge stuck at the midpoint reading with the valve assembly removed from the extinguisher!!

Surely, Section 6 of the scheme is well overdue a full review and update because referenced standards have been revised substantially. BS5306-3 was reissued on 31st. July 2009 and now incorporates additional requirements including one for extinguishers to be commissioned by a competent person at installation and appropriate certification to be issued. BS EN3-1 to-5 have all been supersceeded e.g. by Part 7:2004+A1:2007 Characteristics, performance requirements and test methods and Part 10:2009 Provisions for evaluating the conformity of a portable fire extinguisher to EN 3-7 Extinguishers manufactured per BS6165 for small disposable fire extinguishers of the aerosol type are now only available as BC units and are not now sufficiently large to meet scheme requirements. Regarding Firemaster 1000PR B/C [brass/Chrome] models marked without the Kitemark being acceptable, the manufacturer ceased trading some years ago thus associated warranties are no longer applicable. All EN3 extinguishers require a pressure gauge. The wording in the scheme document is "The requirements in this chapter have been informed by, and may refer to, the following technical references, codes and regulations". Are the technical references, codes and regulations therefore mandatory or for guidance only? Do the outdated versions of the standards still apply to the scheme or are additional requirement within current versions applicable? All manufacturers specify service in accordance with 5306 e.g “This extinguisher must be installed and serviced to BS5306 Part 3 and Part 8.” Also “”An appointed person should visually check the extinguisher, preferably once a month, for damage and serviceability”. Also “This extinguisher should be serviced at least annually, and discharge tested every 5 years to check the actual functioning to BS5306 Part 3 and Part 8 by a trained, competent person.” are all extracts from the screen print on a Firechief 2kg powder extinguisher. A number of manufacturers have verified the absence of records verifying the annual service will nullify any warranty claims and thus they will have past any implied expiry date? The wording in the scheme document appears to reflect requirements of obsolete standards and codes of practice should it therefore be revised to reflect the current standards / codes of practice and should the requirements of these standards / codes of practice more clearly become mandated?

This placed on the roof of the boat will suffice where a good signal is available but you will need an adaptor to connect a standard DAB radio and may be another for an FM Radio. Steel is a very good shield for VHF and UHF radio signals thus will only be effective inside the boat very occasionally e.g when in sight of the Sutton Coldfield transmitter whilst on the northern part of the Coventry Canal. Also, remember the signals from virtually all the many low power relay / infil transmittters are vertically polarised and for best results the aerial should both point at the transmitter and be correctly polarised. Freeview boxes allow the signal information to be accessed thus the aerial can be pointed in the optimum direction and if all channels are not present, another retune may capture them.

Which one? Watford Village near Watford Gap Services, M1 - or the one near the M25?? The hills either side of the gap were the natural barrier which was considered a North / Souty Divide!!

Moor up and operate my mobile amateur radio equipment.

Re the first response, the properties of AFFF foam solutions are the same for both gas cartridge and stored pressure extinguishers. Even without low freeze addative the foam will depress the freezing temperature and even then the ambient temperature within a boat will need to be below freezing for days rather than hours before the contents freeze and strees the can to the point of rupturing. If ruptured, the contents will generally be released slowly - more slowly for gas cartridge extinguishers. If the extinguisher shows signs of being stretched / deformed it will need to be replaced however, once the foam is fully un-frozen, it will perform normally. It may also clean your carpet!! LFA extends the lower operating temperature by up to -10c at the expense of the fire rating of the extinguisher whilst ABC Powder extinguishers generally operate to -20c. Canal boats are generally fitted with up to three 2kg ABC powder extinguishers to best meet Safety Scheme requirements however they make an unblievable mess when used in the confines of a narrowboat and are certainly high risk for asmatics especially in a confined space thus an AFFF or two can be quite a good idea as additional cover. The prime function of a fire extinguisher is to extend the window of opportunity to escape a fire e.g. by maintaining a fire free escape route for as long as possible. Saving a boat from damage is only of secondary importance thus it is sensible to have good quality Kitemarked extinguishers installed, comisionned by a competent person and serviced annually per BS5306-3:2009.

On this Sunday / Monday, 8th./9th. October the Discovery Shed channel 242 (Sky) is again running all 20 parts of the series in 2 parts from 10.00 am. to 5.00 pm and again from 1.00am to 5.30 am (i.e.during the night). Alan Herd is travelling the Stourport ring clockwise starting from Birmingham. The programmes do not seem to be in order however the first two and last two programmes for each session are the first two and last two of the series.

Were a standard to be set, then 27Mhz would probably be the better choice because the greater range and variable power output levels would be good for on-boat comms, local boat to lock etc comms whilst being able to get signals a little further when set at 4 watts out and if in general use could be used as a water / time saving tool by advising others when approaching locks. We generally use 446Mhz PMR which are ok to a nearby lock but not much further. Marine VHF requires a licence and exam pass but of very limited use on UK inland waterways at present. Recent and current Amateur equipment can generally be set to the frequencies, power levels and bandwidths for 27Mhz CB and 446Mhz PMR by selecting the relevant parameters within the set-up menus. My Yaesu FT817 HF / VHF tranciever has both in memories for listening purposes only and my TYT UHF1 VHF / UHF Handheld has the 446Mhz channels in memories (again for listening purposes only). There is a proposal for boaters to use Ch8 on 446Mhz but I have heard this in use only once over 6 years / 3 to 4 weeks per year!! With a pair of good handhelds on eBay from time to time for around £10 there is surely no good reason for there not to be more extensive use accross inland waterways?