Kingston DT108 Memory Stick Review

Kingston DT108 Memory Stick Review - Intro

I am no computer boffin, so I suppose the main purpose of this review is to say that this USB memerory stick from kingston is OK to use, if a little fiddly, and seems to work fine. Now for some pictures . .

Kingston DT108 Memory Stick Review - Close Up Pictures

Small and Secure when Folded

Kingston DT108 Memory Stick Review - Conclusion

A bit fiddly to open but very workable, and small the alloy casing looks like it will last perhaps good for on a key ring or similar.

Sunlight and Daylight Assessment

Michelin C6 Inner Tube Review

Michelin C6 Inner Tube Review - Intro

A review for an inner tube. Don't be daft. Well it is worth saying that these tube are very much worth getting if you are running fat tires. On swapping from 2.0" Schwalbe Big Apples (with Kevlar Guard), to 2.35" Schwalbe Big Apple (with Race Guard), I immediately began getting punctures, I put this down to race guard being worse than kevlar guard, but I think it was because I was using tubes designed for narrower tires.

Since fitting these tires 3 months ago I have not had one puncture despite lots of cycling over hedge trimming from hawthorn and blackthorn bushes. This is unavoidable where I live owing to the country / green lane riding I often do, and the use of mechanised hedge trimmers which splinter wood fragments all over the road.

Michelin C6 Inner Tube Review -In and Out of the Box

The tubes are noticeably heavy than any other I have owned, but I expected this, I am not concerned about the weight of my bike, I just want it to work every time I get on it. These tires are designed for use with up to 2.8" tires and so at 2.35" my Big Apples were at the lower end of the width spectrum.

Handy Graph Printed on Box.

Packet

Michelin C6 Inner Tube Review - Verdict

If you are running wider tires, then really you should run the correct tubes. These tubes would be a good choice as far as I am concerned.

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Schwalbe Citizen Tire Review

Schwalbe Citizen Tire Review 

These are a fairly low cost of tires that Schwalbe make in a vast array of colours and sizes, this review relates to the 20 x 1.5" variety which went on my daughter bike, but could go on a folding bike just as well.

All schwalbe tires are really good quality this must be the 6 - 7 th type of schwalbe tire I have owned and they seem very good.

They are a nearly slick tire with a uniterupted solid band run around the centre line, which means they should roll well.

I'll leave you with some pictures.

Add caption

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Selle Royal Moody Saddle Review

Selle Royal Moody Saddle Review - Intro

Springy saddles are the best. Why go without? My last spring saddle was a £7 ofering from ebay which had lasted 2 or 3 years, so this time I thought I would splash out big time (£20) on a better quality saddle.

I have a brooks B67 on my main bike is is far superior to this saddle, it is also 3 times the price. I have heard of selle royal as a make, so that is why I went for this saddle, it was the cheapest one I could find, with proper springs from a known manufacturer.

Selle Royal Moody Saddle Review - Looks

Not tooooo bad . . . . 

A wide nose.

Metal is coated.

Big Springs & Saddle Bag Hoops

Branding

View from Top (Wide Nose)

Selle Royal Moody Saddle Review - Build Quality

This is a very solidly built saddle, its all glued together so don't expect to be able to repair it is it does brake. The metal work on the underside is coated with a tough black substance that looks as though it will last. Its a good bit of kit.

Selle Royal Moody Saddle Review - Comfort

The vinyl cover is quiet sticky against fabrics etc. so 7 out of ten there, the squashiness is just right 9 out of ten, but the let down is the wide nose which does not add to comfort.

A 1 hour ride on this saddle will leave be glad to get off, although not saddle sore.

Selle Royal Moody Saddle Review - Conclusion

This is a fine saddle for the price, although I would not whole heartedly recommend this one  becuase of the wide nose (and that just may be a personal thing) I would be keen to try some other selle royal saddles to see if they suited me better based on the excellent build quality of this saddle.

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Schwalbe Tour Plus Tire Review

SchwalbeTour Plus Tire Review - Intro

These tires are very similar to Schwalbe Landcruiser tires and at around half the price you should probably buy the land cruisers. However, being a bit of a tart I went for these chunkier tires, which appear to have a deeper tread, and be generally more knobbly.

They have a solid centre tread that offers low rolling resistance on paved surfaces, and then knobbly bits  for mud and such on the edges.

Schwalbe Tour Plus Tire Review - Puncture Protection

On most schwalbe tires "plus" means the the tire has a puncture protection band of some sort, which would be around 3mm or 5mm of green gaurd latex or 5mm of there smart gaurd.

These Tour Plus tires have the standard have the standard natural rubber protection belt, which I have found to be very effective on these and other tires. Having said that I am not sure why the word plus is on these tires.

Schwalbe Tour Plus Tire Review - In Use

Nice and quiet and roll really nicely. The 2" ones just fit in side my mudguards, they also come in 1.75".

Schwalbe Tour Plus Tire Review - Pictures

Schwalbe Tour Plus Tire Review - Conclusion

The lack of kevlar guard which would be available on a tire of this price else where in the schwalbe range, is of little concern. These are very puncture resistant tires.

However, why spend £20 on a Tour Plus when £12 on a Land Cruiser will do the same job? Maybe because they look a bit cooler. . . . . . .

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Illustrator Devon

How Old / Dating / Finding Out Age of an AYA Shotgun

How Old / Dating / Finding Out Age of an AYA Shotgun - Into

AYA is a Spanish Gun Maker, that has produce hundreds of thousands of guns since 1945. If you are lucky enough to own one then you can use the serial number printed on the gun to determine the age. 

How Old / Dating / Finding Out Age of an AYA Shotgun - Guns Up Until 1995

If you own an AYA Yeoman (Side by Side), AYA No.1, AYA No.2, AYA No.3 or AYA No.4. Then you can use the bewlow chart to determine the age.

1945 to 1948 — 0001 to 19,999
1949 to 1954 — 20,000 to 71,999
1955 to 1959 — 72,000 to 115,286
1960 to 1965 — 115,287 to 222,508
1966 to 1971 — 222,509 to 378,548
1972 to 1977 — 378,549 to 481,401
1978 to 1983 — 481,402 to 576,551
1984 to 1987 — 576,553 to 599,999
1988 to 1993 — 600,000 to 602,642
1994 — 602,423 to 602,642

How Old / Dating / Finding Out Age of an AYA Shotgun - Guns After 1995

After 1995 AYA swirched to the below serial number system, which is easier to decifier.

1995 — 16-03-001-95 to 16-03-800-95
1996 — 16-03-001-96 to 16-03-755-96
1997 — 16-03-001-97 to 16-03-642-97
1998 — 16-03-001-98 to 16-03-677-98
1999 — 16-03-001-99 to 16-03-719-99
2000 — 16-03-001-00 to 16-03-758-00
2001 — 16-03-001-01 to 16-03-645-01
2002 — 16-03-001-02 to 16-03-645-02
2003 — 16-03-001-03 to 16-03-781-03
2004 — 16-03-001-04 to 16-03-703-04
2005 — 16-03-001-05 to 16-03-652-05
2006 — 16-03-001-06 to 16-03-750-06

How Old / Dating / Finding Out Age of an AYA Shotgun - Conclusion

Happy shooting.

Environmental Permit Applications 

Fixing a Sticky Auto Valve on a PFP-8 Floor Pump

Fixing a Sticky Auto Valve on a PFP-8 Floor Pump - Intro

The PFP-8 Floor Pump from Park Tools is a nice looking bit of kit, and it works beautifully. However, mine has developed a bit of a problem, in that the automatic "head" does not select between the larger schrauder hole and the smaller presta hole.

For example when trying to pump up a presta tube, the air will come out through the larger hole. Wasting your time and energy, and making you wish you were out cycling rather than piddling around with a pump in your garage.

Fixing a Sticky Auto Valve on a PFP-8 Floor Pump - What to Do

Not much info on the web for this model of pump. So I emailed Park Tools in the USA. Got a response straight away, they also offered to post out a replacment head free of charge. How often does that happen? The instructions for fixing the valve / head assessmbly are here. But read on below if you would like to see how to fix just the head.

1 - You can  bash out the metal pin that holds the lever in place.

 

2 - Take out the rear cap behind the lever.

 3- Take it all aprat and wash with warm soapy water.

 4 - Put back together.

Hopefully job done!

Enjoy.


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Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review

Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review - Intro & Summary

Can you buy a funtional telescope for £30 with postage included? Well from my experince with the Celestron 40 AZ, no you can not. This telescope has a brand name printed on the box that may leed you to belive that it is a worthy piece of kit, but alas it is not.

It looks like it might do the job, but the quality of the lenses etc. is so so poor that even if you manage to line up the tescope using the very poor swivel then you will be dissapointed.

Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review - Whats in the Box

There is a lot of stuff in the box, when you open it up, and as the instruction manual had nothingh to do with what was in the box, it took me a few goes to suss out what was what.

1 x Telescope with Pre-attached targeting scope.
1 x Tripod
1 x Barlow Lense
1 x Rectifying Lense
2 x Objective (?) Lense
1 x 90 degree prism
1x cleaning cloth
Lots x Lense Caps

Now I would suggest that in addition to the scope and tripod one lense a 90 degree and barlow would have been sufficient, which may have upped the budget spent on the main scope. But there.

Various bits that come with the 40 AZ

Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review - Images / Pictures

The tripod is well made, and I was impressed with its quality.

It is a small scope nf from the outside looks OK

Celestron (by name)

Fitted with 1.5 x rectifying lense.

Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review - In Use

It is a real struggle to move the scope, the mount on the tripod results in much jerkinging around, and for example while trying to line up Jupiter on a reasonably high magnification, I gave up after around 20 minutes of trying.

If you were lucky enough to line up with an object of interest then the view that you would get is substandard, with much blurring and lots of dark patches all over the image.

If used on a lower magnification setting with the larger aperture eyepiece then images are not too bad, but no better than a cheap (£20) pair of binoculars.

Bearing in mind I rarely leave a negative review, but the product is a complete waste of money. A passing triviality of a kids birthday perhaps . . . but then that child would be put of telescope for life.

Celestron PowerSeeker 40 AZ Review - Conclusion

I bought this for £30 off of Amazon. I was not expecting much. I now realise that you will need to spend at least £100 pounds on a telescope for it to be worth putting together.

By contrast I have some binoculars that cost £100 (Optical Hardware - Elenor) which are a joy to use, and the family can pick them up and use them too, after wasting 3 - 4 hours trying to use this Celestron 40 AZ, I picked up the binoculars and for the first time saw the moons of jupiter. In my pursuit for high levels of magnification I neglected to read up. If you are buying anything for star gazing then go to the BBC Sky at Night Website and choose something with a good review from there. That is what I did with the binoculars and they have served me well.

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