audio-talk

In the last twelve months I made two purchases which I chose to return to the selling company for refund. They provided their own returns service through Hermes. Although Hermes tracking recorded they had collected the items, they never got delivered back. As the return contract is between the company and Hermes, the customer has no leverage in such matters. One company refunded me straight away. The other made it so difficult, I gave up chasing the refund. Hermes must be either significantly incompetent or they employ many dishonest people, or probably both.

We live in a little village called Goudhurst in Kent.

The village's Facebook page is full, almost daily, of complaints about lost/wrong/missed deliveries or just plain lies from Hermes.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Goudhurstvillage/

They are completely dishonest and useless. There is no way for the end customer to do anything.

Pretty much every parcel I've ever been sent via Hermes has been marked by them as delivered and signed for but has never arrived, including valuable items like data centre equipment - an item which they claimed had been delivered to and signed for me but which, a month later, they quietly delivered back to the sender's warehouse... Oh, and they sent a copy of the "householders signature" which had been faked. I always ask venders to use anyone but Hermes. No-one else has ever missed a delivery to us.

IMHO, they are serial liers and borderline criminally incompetent.

I've said this many times.

In the main, the problem with some couriers is the quality of the delivery driver.

The old saying about paying peanuts and getting monkeys seems to fit.

Now, my local Hermes delivery man drives a small van, fairly old, but he's never let me down. The lady who was his predecessor was the nicest and most friendly person, and also very efficient.

It's quite a while since I had delivery problems, even less so since I made my house name sign more visible.

Having said all that, when I send parcels I don't use Hermes, preferring DHL, UPS or Parcelforce. Using Parcel2Go to select a courier is my preference.

pre65 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2020 9:16 am Using Parcel2Go to select a courier is my preference.

Which is fine until there is a problem because your contract will be with Parcel2Go and not, say with DHL. In the event of your parcel going missing or some other problem and you contact DHL, they will refer you back to Parcel2Go. You are then dependent on them to chase it up. Have a search on the web. I think the Martin Lewis forum has stuff about this from unhappy customers of P2G.

Thanks Greg.

I like P2G because it is so easy to get the service I need at a good price, but the point you make is a valid one.

It seems that the whole courier thing is a potential minefield.

Yesterday we had a visit from a green woodpecker, in the back garden.

We have a resident small rabbit who hides under the shed when disturbed, and the moorhens in the pond opposite us have some more chicks.

Aint nature wonderful.

pre65 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2020 11:50 am Thanks Greg.

I like P2G because it is so easy to get the service I need at a good price, but the point you make is a valid one.

It seems that the whole courier thing is a potential minefield.

Seems to be regional, what makes it good or bad, so like yes what courier you get. Never forget the story about the depot in London (of course I can't remember the name now!) where "things go walkies" (i.e., nicked), at least that's what the lady said on the phone to someone trying to trace a lost parcel!

pre65 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 29, 2020 4:46 pm

jack wrote: ↑Mon Jun 29, 2020 11:32 am
It's a tough puzzle, but it's classical physics and, I think, fascinating... People need to stretch their minds... (I certainly do)

No-one elsewhere has got it yet - I only thought it up late one night unable to sleep and reading about The (ex-Dixie) Chicks.

Does that mean you are exceptionally clever, or everyone else is as thick as shit, or both ?

I gave this about half an hour but I don't know anything about the (Dixie) Chicks, and too much confusing or conflicting stuff about them on the Internet!

With all the financial implications for the country of the Covid-19 emergency, along with it's relative proximity to the 2008 crash, I got to thinking about how ignorant I am about the workings of the global economic/financial 'machine'; I didn't really know about basic things like 'where does the government borrow money from?'. Talking to a colleague and she recommended the book below and I'm now part way through reading it. It's accessible and, so far, it has made sense (in that I understand what's been written, the antics of banks and bankers are quite extraordinary!). I'm now just a tiny bit less ignorant.

Mike H wrote: ↑Thu Jul 02, 2020 12:20 pm

pre65 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 29, 2020 4:46 pm

jack wrote: ↑Mon Jun 29, 2020 11:32 am
It's a tough puzzle, but it's classical physics and, I think, fascinating... People need to stretch their minds... (I certainly do)

No-one elsewhere has got it yet - I only thought it up late one night unable to sleep and reading about The (ex-Dixie) Chicks.

Does that mean you are exceptionally clever, or everyone else is as thick as shit, or both ?

I gave this about half an hour but I don't know anything about the (Dixie) Chicks, and too much confusing or conflicting stuff about them on the Internet!

They were quite easy on the eye as I recall.

Wildlife update.

The green Woodpecker is back, this time with a chic. Parent is feeding chic but trying to get the chick to feed itself.

I got my monoscope out and watched them for a while.


Sad to say we found the rabbits body minus the head.

Managed to bag a Digilent Analog Discovery 2 before they became unobtainium for a while (seems production has temporarily stopped). Arrived today and I've been giving it a quick test with my old scope and signal generator - very impressed, and certainly good enough for audio work.

Scope and signal generator now for sale.

I was looking on Ebay at classic cars, and I came across a recreation of an American Miller V8.

Amongst the specifications is a nixie tube speedometer, seemingly unique.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Miller-V8-Fl ... SwGQNfA2hA

EDIT. I Googled "nixie speedometer" and there are quite a few DIY versions around the world. Mainly USA.

There's a few folk over on neonixie-l that have built Nixie speedos, but they all fail fairly quickly due to mechanical failure, either in the dumat seal leading to gassing, or cathodes/anode shorting...

They're not good at vibration...

Thermionic Idler wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 6:22 pm Managed to bag a Digilent Analog Discovery 2 before they became unobtainium for a while (seems production has temporarily stopped). Arrived today and I've been giving it a quick test with my old scope and signal generator - very impressed, and certainly good enough for audio work.

Scope and signal generator now for sale.

I've been using one for a few years - love it, especially as it's completely USB powered and has so much stuff in it, including an adjustable PSU.

http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/phpBB3/view ... ry#p141826

When I was doing lots of shuttling between the middle east and UK, I had a lot of 8 hour flights which allowed me to do all my uP development (mainly MSP430) in the 'plane with just the tiny dev board, an ADII and a laptop. Incredibly productive use of the time.

I always warned the cabin staff in advance of what I was up to, as well as any seat neighbours (if any).