Zenrat's Flying Circus

[Rick Lowe]

Yeah, I was just going to comment something about balancing things for an equal rotation.

[PR19_Kit]

Now there's a question for consideration, is 'land' heaver than 'sea'?

[Rick Lowe]

Now there's a question for consideration, is 'land' heaver than 'sea'?

That's well above my competence level, I'm afraid. (some unkind people would say there's not much that isn't... pokes tongue out at them and carries on...)

Is a cubic metre of a given type of earth equal to an equivalent amount of water? And how do you average for different types of earth or the mineral content thereof...

Argh, too weighty (ha!) an issue for me at this time of night...

[zenrat]

I'm aiming for Belgium.  The Flemish part for preference.

And I forgot to say.  I follow the guidance laid down in No Country for Old Men (I think) - As soon as you tell one other person about a murder than you will get caught.

Brad C - does it do what you want?  What do reviews not linked to from that web site say?
To be brutally honest my gut feel is that it looks a bit cheap.  I've had cheap weather stations and they were unreliable.  Mine was about $400 to $500.  Sometimes you just have to pay a bit more to get something that works properly.
Look for comments about the reliability of the rain gauge part.  They work on a tipping device with a micro switch and being mechanical are a potential weak point.  They are also prone to spiders setting up home in them, small bits of leaf clogging them and birds crap in the collector.
If possible look for a design with an easilly removable rain collector.  The one in the link doesn't appear to have this and neither does mine.  The one I used to use at the poo farm (costing $3000 - wish i'd souvenired it when they made me redundant) required a simple 5 degree twist to unlock the collector and get access to the mechanism.  Mine requires 4 screws to be undone before removing the entire top half of the unit.
If you get one that can upload its data to the interweb then you must sign up with the Weather Underground web site so we can go and look at the weather in your back yard any time we want (as anyone here can by clicking on the link at the bottom of my sig).

It does everything I want it to with the rain guage being the "extra" bit that is nice to have but not necessary so... if it winds up not working or gets jammed up from time to time, it doesn't bother me. I'm all about the temp, humidity, and wind direction. And I'm all about knowing what those values are HERE not 5-6 miles away at the airport where our NWS or whatever official measuring stations are at. Not only is it up on a hill, it's practically out of town out in the country so, while still useful, the readings can be off by quite a bit depending on what's going on in the atmosphere.

As far as reviews and what not, I have no clue. Our local certified high-falutin meterologist for the local news station use this one and I figured that made it good enough for me, especially considering the price. But really, I have no clue how good it is. But, the weather guy using it is a pretty good indication.... our weather people here are gung-ho take things seriously people because Oklahoma weather is some of the gnarliest on Earth so I figure what they use should be good stuff even if it is just the stuff in his backyard and not the stuff at the airport.

When I get back to mowing lawns again and have that money coming in I plan to get this model and we'll run 'er through her paces and see how she survive Oklahoma Spring (and then the rest as well, depending).  I will definitely hook it into WU if it turns out to have the capabilities.  That sounds pretty neat!   SURE IS HUMID where you are!! God...   

Well if the TV weather guy uses it then it should be OK.
You can always blame him if its not up to scratch.   
What was the humidity when you looked?  It's currently 53%.  You replied at 23:22 local time so humidity would have been up given it was the middle of the night.
If the wind is your prime interest then you will need to site it in an open area so gusting round structures and trees doesn't upset it.  That was one of the reasons for moving mine.  The new post puts it up high in clear air.  Previously it was between the house and a large shrub and I could see the wind direction thingo constantly flicking backwards and forwards.
I got the new post finished today.
Weather station post Mk 2 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
The unpainted section pivots on the top bolt for access to the gauge.  The wider parts at the bottom acting as counterweights.

I also painted this.  I dislike doing shiny black.  It stresses me as it shows up every defect.  This looks better in the photo than it is.
It will need a light polishing before I decal it and then touch in the gaps where the decals don't quite fit.
I am pleased with it though.  I would have hated to have to turn it into a build of the one Barris flocked (they called it "Batskin" IIRC).
Batmobile WIP 06-02-18 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[Old Wombat]

Found this "Antipodes Map" site;

https://www.antipodesmap.com/#antipodes-map

Then there's this one;

https://imgur.com/KWpyhcO

Or this one:



Almost the entirety of Australia is opposite the North Atlantic Ocean.

Veeeeeery interesting.

It's almost as if it had been arranged that way, almost all land masses are opposite large oceans on the other side, how odd. 

I was thinking exactly the same thing.


Generally, yes, land is heavier than water. There are some rock types that are lighter (pumice, for example) but very little of the Earth's crust is formed from them. From memory the average density of the rocky part of the crust is roughly equivalent to that of aluminium, which is 2.70 g/cm³, water is 1g/cm³.

However, a little bit of research shows that oceanic crust is thinner than continental crust but it's denser, having a mean density of about 2.9 g/cm³, while continental crust has a density of about 2.7 g/cm³.

[kitnut617]

Now there's a question for consideration, is 'land' heaver than 'sea'?

I read sometime ago, the researchers monitoring the glaciers in Greenland made a discovery. They have GPS watching the action of the glacier meltdown but the discovery they made was all the monitors were showing they were a metre higher now. It seems without a load of ice piled on the ground, the surface has risen up.

[TheChronicOne]

Fred, brilliant design there for being able to access it. At first I was like, "I guess he'll be dragging the ladder out" then I read how you got around that problem! Pretty slick, I might do that, myself! I have it made, though. My backyard is LARGE and the middle section is very empty.  I'll stick it out there . Should make for adquate reception. Thing says it'll broadcast 330 feet max but readin around a bit, 100 is a more reliable figure. Considering being on the second story, here, and then the lateral distance, I shouldn't have more than 150 feet of distance between the unit and receiver.

It was up around 94% humidity when I saw it. Sounds like typical summer nights!! I hate that stuff when it STICKS around throughout the day, though!  I hope this year is a drier one around here.. won't be long and we'll be dealing with it.

[zenrat]

Thanks Brad C.  Took a bit of thinking and I was a bit flummoxed until I thought about security barriers and level crossing gates.
Hotter today but less humid.

Today I finished the FW190.  Pics tomorrow.

I also started on the turbine engine for the Batmobile.  It's got limited surface detail moulded into it but I want to add lots of extra wires and tubes and other greebles to make it look busy under the bonnet.

[Rheged]

I want to add lots of extra wires and tubes and other greebles to make it look busy under the bonnet.

I'm sure it's already been said on this forum, but YOU CAN NEVER HVE TOO MANY GREEBLES.

Keep on greebling!!

[zenrat]

Underground, overground greeblling free...

Off now to google to find some pics of turbine engines for inspiration.

[PR19_Kit]

Off now to google to find some pics of turbine engines for inspiration.

Not too many of them to chose from sadly, not in the automotive field anyway. The ones I can remember :-

Rover-BRM
Lotus 56
STP-Paxton
Howmet TX
Rover Jet 1
Rover T3
Rover T4
Bluebird CN7

I'm only counting ones with powered wheels, so the jet cars like Craig Breedlove's don't count.

Bizarrely I have 1/43 scale model kits of many of them, not built even ONE yet! 

[zenrat]

You forgot the Chrysler Turbine Car.
Which I have in 1/25 by Johann.  Unbuilt, because I am scared of making a mess of it.

I found pics of this but it's not much help as the bodywork obscures most of the tubes and pipes and boxes and such like.
Same with other turbine cars.
But I did find some pics of aircraft and industrial gas turbines which are perfect for the job.  I'm seeking inspiration rather than accuracy.  It just needs to look busier under there.

More Edsel work today.  Painting small parts of the engine, priming the interior and PSR on the RHD conversion and fins.

I've also been working on a Spitfire (time I built one).  It's an Airfix Mk 1a into which I have shoehorned a PE interior from the terrible MPM Mk XVIII.

[PR19_Kit]

<sigh> Yet again I wrote all this previously AND posted the pics and the whole shebang just vanished! 

I did say the ones I could remember........... 

I've got a Chrysler Turbine kit, but as it's 1/24-25 scale it didn't impinge on my thoughts as I was only thinking 1/43.

Here's a few turbine engine pics I have.



Howmet TX




Lotus 56B




Rover Jet1




Rover-BRM




Rover T4

[zenrat]

Thanks Kit.
The Howmet exhausts have an Batmobile vibe going on there.  I like them.

The engine in the Batmobile kit looks like they took a 1/48 jet engine and stuck it on the front of a 1/25 automotive transmission.
Here is an (almost OOB) Polar Lights 66 Batmobile engine (what I am building).
As you can see (not my photo) it would be very susceptible to FOD and is sorely lacking in Greebles.

Given the choice I would transplant in the engine from a Chrysler Turbine Car (particularly satisfying given it would be putting a Mopar engine into a Ford).  However, those kits are too expensive to kitbash (although i've always wanted to build a Hemi version) and I only have one.
Here is one someone else did earlier.

[PR19_Kit]

Given the choice I would transplant in the engine from a Chrysler Turbine Car (particularly satisfying given it would be putting a Mopar engine into a Ford).

Hehehe, love it! 

I had a grandstand view of the Howmet's exhausts in 1967 or '8 at the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch. I was standing on the bank on the top of the hill at Druids when the Howmet's throttle jammed full open! He struck the wall right below my feet, did a 180 and came to a halt with exhausts pointing straight at the crowd. 

It got a bit warm there until he managed to shut it down.