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Forum Index : Other Stuff : velomobile
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| Dinges Senior Member  Joined: 04/01/2008 Location: AlbaniaPosts: 510 |
Thanks for the link. Combination of a bicycle and sailing - the best of both worlds. Had seen similar vehicles before though. In fact, there's a Dutch company that manufactures and sells trikes which can be fitted with a 1.6m^2 sail: http://www.whike.com/index.php?sid=2 The difference between those crazy Dutch and the yanks is that we actually use such vehicles on public roads, not just on empty salt lakes.... Peter. |
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MacGyver Guru  Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Ik ben Nederlander (50%). Maybe that's why I've always owned a sailboat and had an interest in windmills, eh? About 15 or 20 years ago, I made an RC sail-car similar to these things and ran it in empty parking lots down at the beach (Pacific Ocean) on windy days. The little toy would go about 35 mph and it went so fast that one day I did a left when I should have done a right and smashed a big crease in my truck's door with the aluminum mast on the toy car. That's how fast the thing would go! I still have it out in my garage rafters. If I could figure out how to post a picture on this 4m, I'd do it just for kicks. I've tried before and failed (the picture that is). Thanks for the link; I'll add it to my stash. Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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oztules Guru Joined: 26/07/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1686 |
Did you post this MacGyver. I didn't see it on the forum, but you have successfully uploaded it to your files area. 
..........oztules Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Yup! I cannot tell a lie; it was me. I use it as my avatar. Of course, the obvious question is, "What the heck is it?" It's a version of a UAV--kind of like an unmanned helicopter. The blades counter-rotate and it has onboard cameras and stuff. Our Navy (I think) came up with it. Why did I use it as an avatar?? Easy, I like 'different' things. I like to think of myself as one who thinks outside the box (way outside by most accounts). You may have noticed from my several posts that I look at the world through the large end of the telescope, so to speak! Hey, it works for me! My wife has a cartoon on our kitchen wall that shows two rattle snakes coiled and having a conversation. Each is watching another rattle snake, whose head is "rattling" and vibrating back and forth like the rattles do on the snake's tail when it's agitated. The caption reads, "Don't look at me; he's from your side of the family." I pretty much fit that die! Hmmm . . . my little wheels are turning. Are you implying I could just drag in a file from my I-photo and post a picture of my sail car or any of my other weird contraptions the same way? If that's so, please share with me how I get it out of my user files to the 4m posting like you did with the little UAV, okay? Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| oztules Guru Joined: 26/07/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1686 |
[Quote] Hmmm . . . my little wheels are turning. Are you implying I could just drag in a file from my I-photo and post a picture of my sail car or any of my other weird contraptions the same way? [/quote] ..... in a word ... yes. If you use this button  you will get a browse interface to find the file in your computer, and it will upload it into the post reply box.
If you use this button  then it will ask for a http web address (if you copy the address like this "http://www.thebackshed.com/Windmill/FORUM1/forum_images/pos t_button_image.gif", then make sure you delete the default http:// hint/example from in the default box or it will fail... ie clear the box before you paste the location.... otherwise you may end up with two "http://http://"... which won't work. It will then appear at the bottom of the reply window. If you preview now it will display properly.... and your away.
The boxed quotes is also a forum code thing. If you click on forum codes below the reply box, you will see the quote mechanism there . Simply use [quote] then the text then /quote] (I left off the front square bracket ... other wise it would make the box rather than letting you see it. Play with it some using the preview button. remember, the second or trailer uses a square brace in front and after the word [/quote Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth |
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vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Sorry for previous image  Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Thanks! You will hear me from time to time say one of my favorite quotes, "I don't understand all I know about this". Computer stuff falls nicely into that statement! The funny thing is, I have a huge Web site at www.TenGreenThumbs.com that I built from scratch using HTML. My son is a Web guru and works for an advertising agency in that capacity; he spruced up my HTML a bit and helped with the graphics. Still, he came out of the womb with computer knowledge; I on the other hand, am from the 1940's and just do mechanical stuff! I'll try and post some pictures. Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| Dinges Senior Member Joined: 04/01/2008 Location: AlbaniaPosts: 510 |
[quote=MacGyver]"Ik ben Nederlander (50%)." [/quote] We'll try to not hold that against you. Ah well, lucky for you you're only half Dutch. Others are burdened with 100% Dutchness. It's not easy, ya know. People tend to underestimate how hard it is. Take the language, for example.... as someone much wiser than me once said, 'Dutch is the sounds I make when I clear my throat'. Peter (singing Kermit the frog's 'it ain't easy being green') |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Okay, this is just a test -- to see if I have this right. I am attempting to post a tutorial from one of my little "weirdo" contraptions, a peristaltic air engine. Here's hoping it works: Peristaltic Air Engine Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
MacGuiver, You almost succeded, You must know that after URL= you must have first http:// then entire link. Otherwise, it will be considered a local link and completed with thebackshed link. Here is another form: 
Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
And is about BBCode language, not HTML. Here you will have a page with explanations. Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Color me stupid. I think I used the wrong forum code. Duh! I'll try to clean it up by editing. Sooner or later this will work and everyone can get a glimpse at how the little wheels in my head spin! Thanks for the help. Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Bingo! Will someone else please try the link? (4 posts up) I don't know if I actually succeeded or if the silly thing is just cached in my computer and it's maybe taking me for a little thrill ride! MacGyver Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
[Quote=Vasi]Here you will have a page with explanations. Thanks for the heads-up! Hey, this could be a whole new form of entertainment for me once mastered! M Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Oh, I should add one thing: The reason I called the little air engine S.P.A.R.E. is because it is "staged". The idea behind that was to make several sections of back-to-back "cylinder" sections and mount them all on a common shaft, thereby increasing the horsepower of the final unit. The really scary part is pneumatics works along the same lines as hydraulics in that if you want more power from lower pressure, you merely increase the working surface of the "piston". In the case of the SPARE air engine, that means making things larger. I have in mind (but haven't done it yet) making one with individual stages three feet by three feet! Keep in mind that an engine, which runs off pressurized air stored in a receiver, resembles an electric motor in the fact that it can achieve maximum horsepower (shaft h.p.) at zero rpm. That's important, because a behemoth like I'm describing would turn slowly and run a transmission, which in turn would drive a high-speed generator. As with anything, there are unforeseen "problems". One of those is you can't exceed the elasticity of the membrane or it explodes and you're back to square one. Been there . . . The ones I build now use aluminum and solid plastic instead of wood and tempered hardboard. The reason is, the wood one had to be glued in place to achieve a good seal on the "cylinder". When it explodes, there's no taking it apart to fix it; you just start over and build a whole new one from scratch. Another "problem" can readily be seen here. The bigger you make the air motor, the more VOLUME of air needed to run the silly thing. I am envisioning my own windmill farm with maybe hundreds of little windmill air pumps all churning into a massive receiver system! One more "by the way": I have several air-motor designs. The SPARE was built just for fun. My windmill "pumps" are similar and use either the peristaltic effect or are diaphragm pumps I manufacture in my garage shop. Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| oztules Guru Joined: 26/07/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1686 |
The link works... your up and away. Neat little unit. May have to make one just to see it work. ..........oztules ps. sorry to Dinges for hijacking his thread  Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth |
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| Dinges Senior Member Joined: 04/01/2008 Location: AlbaniaPosts: 510 |
[quote=Oztules]sorry to Dinges for hijacking his thread [/quote] Don't worry, I'll get even with you in your next thread. (Dinges makes feeble attempt to get thread back on topic): 
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
I'm still a little wet behind the ears around here. Maybe Glen could gather the several posts and put them into a new subject. Just a thought. I figured "Other Stuff" was a catch all. I have a drawer in my shop called the Damfino drawer; Dam 'f I know what's in there. I just figured it was okay to talk about my junk and went for it. Next time, I'll try to remember to start a new thread. So, I guess that's my attempt at an apology for being a fellow hijacker. Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| Dinges Senior Member Joined: 04/01/2008 Location: AlbaniaPosts: 510 |
MacGyver, No need for any apology. On my desk I have always a sheet of paper lying about. On it I make notes, varying from which groceries to buy, things to check or do, circuit diagrams, quick calculations, trying out a stencil, etc. In short, it's a scratch pad. Sometimes I even mindlessly doodle on it. I consider 'my' threads on this forum to be the internet variant of those scratchpads. There's not any single theme/subject that must be strictly adhered to. (note: others may care more about keeping their threads clean and on topic; there's something to be said for that too). Discussions normally grow organically, so it's natural for some diversion to occur on occasion. And (for me at least) no need to 'cut out' any off-topic posts and transplant them in their own new thread. The Einstein picture above tickled my funny bone. It actually serves no real purpose to post it here apart from adding a bit of humour. Anyway, to cut a longwinded reply short: feel free to (ab)use this thread as you like. And as with the sheets of paper on my desk, if they get too full of gibberish, I grab a new piece and start with a clean slate again. Or a new thread. So, no need for an apology to me. Neither from you nor Oztules. BTW, all of my drawers in the shed/workshop are damfino drawers. The good thing is - each time you open one, you're amazed at the useful stuff (some ignoramuses would call it 'rubbish' though; but what do they know anyway) you have. Opening such drawers is a bit like opening a christmas present.... except you can do it all day of the year, and as many times as you like - you'll always see something you hadn't noticed before. Obligatory on-topic something: 
Peter. |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Okay; thanks. Now I have another question. If you go to "Windmills" on the 4m, you'll see that I have posted a new topic and successfully SCREWED UP both posting a link and posting a picture. To top it off, my avitar disappeared as if by magic. I'm clueless. I feel like a complete "klootsak"! (Dutch expletive) Any help would be much appreciated. Okay, I fixed the avatar, but the rest is a mystery still! MacGyver Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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