Harry P.

There used to be a blacksmith's shop in every town, too... and a wheelwright's shop, and a candlemaker's shop... Times change.

From what I read, apparently the Chinese are only selling their stolen designs domestically, which doesn't really affect the bottom line of the manufacturers whose designs were stolen... so they pretty much let it go. But if the idea of stealing someone else's design isn't bad enough, the fact that they are making moves to claim the designs legally is pretty outrageous. But again, I guess it's all a matter within China itself–to prevent other Chinese automakers from stealing the design from the Chinese automaker who stole it first! You would think that country of over a billion people would have a few who could come up with an original design...

I actually found many sources for the parts. Including ebay, naturally! And all sorts of garage door parts places that stock the part. I also found several garage door/opener forums, believe it or not! I tell ya, these days there's an online forum for everything!!! I love the internet!

I hear you. It is more than ten years old. But I think I'll try that $10 fix first... it seems like a very cheap, easy fix if that's the problem. If that doesn't work, then yeah, I'll just go ahead and replace the thing.

Tom, I've been doing some research online. If the unit doesn't run at all (just a click), it's probably the starting capacitor gone bad. A replacement costs roughly $15. If the unit runs, but the door only moves a few inches either way and then shuts off (and assuming the auto-reverse sensors at the bottom of the door are operating correctly and the door itself moves smoothly if you disconnect the opener and raise/lower the door manually), it's most likely the RPM sensor. That little gizmo measures the motor RPM and shuts off the unit if it senses anything wrong... but apparently the sensor itself can go bad and give out false "trouble" readings. A replacement costs about $10-12. Based on the symptoms my unit has, and what I read online, I'm going to replace that RPM sensor and see if that was the problem. If so, I just saved the cost of a whole new opener... and if not, I'm only out a few bucks (plus a new opener, of course!).

So not only are the Chinese literally stealing designs from other automakers, but they're actually patenting them and calling them their own! http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/05/06/china-chevy-colorado-clone/?intcmp=features http://www.leftlanenews.com/landwind-e32.html

And their high price probably didn't help much, either.

Here's another one from the Danish Bang & Olufsen, a "Beogram." These "tangential arm" turntables were all the rage among the audiophile crowd back in the late 70s... Found online... "The Beogram 4000 actually has two arms. They are side by side, about a centimetre apart. The inner arm is a control device. It carries a photocell which recognises the presence of a record on the turntable. The photocell senses light reflected from the surface of the turntable. Radial ribs on the turntable mean that the reflected light is pulsed at a rate depending upon the speed of the turntable. The Beogram’s electronic circuitry recognises these pulses. This arrangement can locate the edge of a record and tell the pick-up arm to lower itself at the right place and start playing the record. The tone arm is driven by a servomotor. A light beam and photocell arrangement controls the movement of the pick-up arm, which is kept at a tangent to the record’s groove. The arm can deviate from its tangential line by a few degrees. At the arm s base, where it swivels, two photocells look through a pair of slots. When the slots are aligned an electronic bridge circuit is balanced. Misaligned slots unbalance the bridge, which is a sign that the pick-up arm is not at a tangent to the record groove. When this happens the turntable’s servomotor comes into action, moving the arm’s pivot so as to realign the two slots. The positioning mechanism is accurate to within one groove (0 2 mm), and with a slightly eccentric record the servomotor can be seen making a correction to the arm position every rotation." That's a whole lotta technical overkill vs. a conventional turntable with a pivoting tonearm, if you ask me!

You're right, the carriage was motorized. But how it exactly synched up with the record groove, I have no idea! Some sort of laser, I assume. Seems to me to be more trouble than it's worth, engineering-wise.

I'm sure there are a lot of cover bands that do Pink Floyd, but two of the best I've ever seen are Brit Floyd and Aussie Pink Floyd. They are both equally good and recreate Pink Floyd's songs almost perfectly.

Strange it doesn't work for you. All you do is copy the URL of the page and paste it here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEoF7jfSxpY&feature=youtu.be

Your chrome trim is flawless on all the models you post. Are you using foil? If so, do you have any special tips or secrets to getting it to look that smooth and clean?

I remember another fad back then regarding turntables... the kind where the tonearm was straight, and traveled across the record in a straight line from outside to inside, because it ran on a track in the back of the turntable, not pivoted from one point like a "normal" tonearm. I guess the idea was that since the needle was always perfectly parallel to the groove, you got more accurate sound reproduction. But I doubt you could actually hear any difference in real life... more of a selling gimmick to die-hard audiophiles.

I think I figured out the problem. I'll do a check tomorrow morning. If I'm right, it's an easy fix. I'll let you know...

I have a Genie Intellicode screw-drive opener... it won't open the door anymore. Even if the door is disconnected, the opener will only run for a second or two and shut off. Is this a problem with the transformer? Anyone have a similar problem and know how to fix it? It's not the open and close settings... no matter where I set them, the opener will only run for a second or two (with door connected or disconnected). If there is a relatively easy fix I'd rather do that than buy a whole new opener.

A great cover of a Beatles song by Eddie Vedder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJwLAxlio9w

Q: What do you call 100 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A: A good start! (just kidding, Ray! )

I'm with you! Having a whole boatload of money means you don't have to work anymore! That's the whole point!

That's very impressive work, especially given the scale.

Now that's funny!

Please post questions in the questions section, not in the Tips and Techniques section.

Yeah, the radiator hoses are just a touch too beefy...

Please post questions in the Question area, not in the Tips area.

Isn't it always wet in Lancashire?

That is super cool! What a beauty! And as others have said, the subtle flames are just beautiful.