Since publishing the bulb mould plans there has been a couple of requests for a drawing of only the bulb. Here it is. It's a round cross section 350mm long NACA 0010-34 bulb.
I'm using a feature of Adobe Acrobat 6.0 to attach a DXF version to the PDF file. Open the PDF in acrobat reader and access the DXF by right-clicking on the paper-clip on the right and choose "save embedded file to disk".
The DSM system by Spektrum RC (www.spektrumrc.com) is a new and exciting development.
I got my RF-module and receiver ahead of the radio that I have also ordered so I have time to inspect the DSM parts before trying them out...
Continue reading Inside the DSM system
The best thing since sliced bread ! A digital PVR really transforms the way in which you use your TV. If you have digital TV but don't own one of these yet then you are missing out big time !
Boxes with twin tuners for the terrestial network DVB-T were available for some time in Finland but it was only in the spring of 2005 when twin tuner DVB-C boxes became available. The Topfield 5100 was one of the first products on the market - and naturally I had to have it.
The functionality of the topfield can be extended with your own programs and there are large user communities at least in Australia, UK, and Germany.
Here I have taken a look inside the box and tried to describe the hardware. Some of the wilder hackers think it should be possible to run an entirely opensource software(VDR) on the box...
Our group attended the 2005 Biophysical Society annual meeting in Long Beach, California.
Continue reading 2005 Biophysical Society Meeting, Long Beach
Jari Immanen is making a plug for a Marblehead. This is our homebuilt CNC machine. It's an Opti BF20 retrofitted with steppermotors. Geckodrives drive the steppers using the TurboCNC software.
Continue reading CNC Milling of MDF Plug
Søren Andresen (DEN) sent me the plans for his own design with which he won the 2005 Nordic Championship and placed 2nd in 2004. He also sailed it into 35. place in the 2004 Euro Champs in Arcos/Spain.
The PDF file contains the sections and a drawing with the mast and keel positions but you should really download the DXF file and printout accurate sections with a CAD program if you want to build the boat.
Søren Andresen (DEN) uses this interesting arm winch setup on his boat.
The idea is that by attaching the jib and mainsheet at different points wrt. the block on the arm you can get unequal travel on the sheets. As shown here the mainsail can be adjusted virtually independently of the jib sheet when close hauled.
A number of people were interested in it at the Euros in Arcos so Søren has made a detailed drawing and kindly allowed me to publish it
IOM European Championships , Arcos, Spain
Here are some pictures from the event including short comments.
Continue reading 2004 IOM European Championships, 7-17 October 2004, Arcos, Spain
The first Nordic IOM Championships were held in the small town of Risör, ca a 2 h drive southwest from Oslo, Norway, during the weekend of 21-22 August 2004. 25 boats(3 FIN, 2 DEN and 20 NOR) in two heats using HMS completed 13 races during two days. The wind was variable in strength and very shifty on both days. Mostly no1 rig with the no2 rigs being used for a couple of races on Saturday.
Continue reading 2004 IOM Nordic Championships, Risör, Norway
Getting the leech points correct when building a mainsail can be quite challenging.
Thomas Dreyer(GER) emailed me with this drawing+text about how to get the geometry correct when you are building an IOM (or M) mainsail.
Lester Gilbert has a similar kind of drawing at his site: "Measuring an IOM Mainsail"
Text is currently only on German, if anyone more fluent than me in German wants to send in an English translation then that would be great ! (Or someone who is good at programming could make a program that calculates the shape...)