MrKev

5A is quite a lot for a LED. What sort of LEDs are you using? @Range Rover Blues, TheRecklessEngineer - you are mistaken, LEDs have a much higher forward voltage than that. 0.7 would be about right for a typical normal diode. An LED can be from around 1.6V through to over 4V, depending on chemistry. PWM is probably over complicating it for this application, and finding the right value resistor would be plenty good enough for marker lamps. Post some more details of your chosen LEDs and we'd be able to help more. Kev

Ok, so I've got a Defender 110 station wagon with a saggy and grubby headlining, and I fancy tidying it up a bit. A friend of mine has a roll of upholstering carpet in an appropriate colour, which he has offered me the use of. I have seen one or two pictures on here of some quite nice jobs that people have done in this respect, and wondered if anyone who has carried out such a job would care to post up a couple of pictures to inspire me, or equally if anyone has any tips of things to watch out for, recommendations of suitable adhesives and other materials, then that would be good. Should I, for example, include a sponge / foam layer (closed cell,presumably) to help with insulation? Kev

I'm not familiar specifically with the series engine, but Smoke coming out of wires is always bad: they only put so much in each! I'm kind of wondering if either your points never open, or you have a fault in the wiring somewhere such that current is always flowing through the LT side of the coil and hence things are starting to smoke. Do you have a multimeter? I would start (with the battery disconnected) by checking that that the points open and close, and when they do, the circuit opens and closes. Might want to disconnect the LT side of the coil for this too. Kev

Yeah, the red pull switch is very much connected to the part of the actual switch contacts inside. I/my passenger keep kicking mine into the off position - worth building a cover for it or cutting the red bit off completely if you don't need it. Kev

I'm using one something like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COMPRESSOR-PRESSURE-SWITCH-1-4-SINGLE-PHASE-230V-/280735815829?pt=UK_Air_Tools_and_Compressors&hash=item415d289895#ht_2197wt_754 I paid about a tenner for it. Kev

underneath the thumbnail pictures, there's a link with the words 'sell one like this' !!

Did you know today is the 15th? The website says Saturday 17th, for info! Kev

something like this: http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?q=usb+temperature+logger&hl=en&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1024&bih=475&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=13784429004931203445&sa=X&ei=MbpvTvyyKo75sgbO_bCRBw&ved=0CIUBEPMCMAQ Kev

you can get fairly cheap (£20 ish) USB sticks which are self (batery) powered temperature loggers - CPC do them as an example, Stick the logger (running,of course) inside the fridge (also needs to be running) and when you look at the results, you should see the temperature recorded versus time. A typical domestic fridge will have quite an obvious sawtooth shaped pattern as the thermostat cuts in and out, and you should be able to see the temperature being kept under control. You should then be able to diagnose the faults, e.g if it's not getting cold enough, so the compressors is running all the time, or if it's over cooling, for example. Kev

I wonder if it's the same guy I saw a couple of years ago... Mine was someone who was so confident in the system, that they even insisted that we bankroll the development and they let us have a % of the takings.... Easy decision, I think.

Well, I did tow a Frontera up Snowdon...

Yes, 2.75m is 1/4 wavelength for CB and that is why. One type of aerial is where 1/4 wavelength goes straight up (from the centre conductor), and the same straight down from the outer. It's called a dipole, and it's a fundamental building block for many kinds of aerial. A reasonable compromise is to have just the top half, and have a large conductive (i.e. any kind of metal) surface - a 'ground plane' horizontally, and extending 1/4 wavelength in every direction (i.e. 2.75m in this case). Clearly the roof of a Landrover is not 5 1/2m across, so this is another compromise. Furthermore, partly for an old legal reason, and partly for size, the whippy bit at the top can be loaded up with a coil (the black lump you often see somewher along then length, the at the base of a springer) to artificially shorten it without affecting it's electrical appearance, so far as the transmitter is concerned. It will affect the range, as there's less metal up there. As Mark touched on, the same principle can be applied to the ground-y end - a loading coil ("artificial ground plane") can be used to compensate / eliminate the requirement for the large ground plane requirement. If you choose to use a magmount, then of course the surface has to be ferrous, but otherwise, it's generally best to just make a sound electrical connection to the roof, ideally with the whip in the centre and make do. Kev

Aluminium roofs make adequate ground planes, the biggest problem is making a secure electrical connection to it such that it doesn't corrode. Running a wire off to the chassis doesn't really help, in fact dangling a piece of wire 2.75m long (ideally as straight down as possible, but I realise it's gonna need a bend in it somewhere before you get to the floor) from the earth of the antenna connection that goes no-where will probably have a better effect. Kev

Never expected to read about protozoa in a thread on here

Frank Pickles still taking customers, see the Frank Pickles thread for info. Kev

You've probably got too much Wales stuck in there somewhere

What do you assume the voltmeter to be measuring? If you assume it to be battery volts, then I would run a pair of cables from the battery - one +ve and one -ve. If you assume it to be vehicle volts, then I would run one from a decent grounding point, and one from the fusebox. The reason behind my logic is that often the fault being looked for is a faulty ground point off the battery, and as such the first method will not show the volts collapsing when attempting to crank the engine, but the second one probably will. The second method may lead you to replacing the battery when there is no battery fault, whereas the first would show that the battery is in good health and thus prompt you to consider the other possible faults. With method 2, the voltage reading will collapse with either a poor ground or a poor battery (or a poor positive connection elsewhere for that matter). Kev

Unfortunately there' a safety issue with this: vehicles that do have the 'one touch up' feature detect an increase in motor current, and if this occurs, backs the window off, so that the (for example) stuck child can get free. Otherwise, you have to hold the button down to close the window, the idea being that the onus is then on the operator to spot a problem / howling child. So does the Disco II have motor current sensing devices in the window controller? Kev

A simple low pass filter may be good enough for you. Do you care about throttle close delay time as separate from throttle open time, or is the same dwell good enough for both? Kev

Thames Valley 4x4's next event is being held at Broxhead, in Bordon for an the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend. Camping is available for those who would like to arrive on Saturday evening or to stay over on Sunday evening but must be prebooked in advance by ringing the Club hotline on 07773125745 or posting on the club's forum. Camping will cost £10 per camping unit. The event costs are £25 per day or £50 per weekend Members & £30 per day or £55 for the weekend for non-members, plus camping and plus £5 per extra driver for insurance. Please remember that the site has no running water so please bring at least 20 litres per day per car for use in the Jetwash. Come on over and have a great weekend and if camping a chat round the barbeque and bonfire over night. For more details, please see http://www.tv4x4.co.uk/ Kev

Thanks Andy, I'll get in touch with them. Looks like they do other stuff too which I may be interested in. Thanks for the link Kevin

Terrafirma, among others, market a detachable towing kit based on a 2" receiver mount. I have such a system on my Discovery, and find it very useful. I'd like to add one to my 110, and here's where the problem arises: The previous owner replaced the rear crossmember with a TD5 one, rather than a TDi one. The TDi towpack no longer goes on as the bolt hole spacing underneath the crossmember is different, though a bit of drilling and it would probably go on. The TF873 from Terrafirma is designed for the upto 1998 models, and fits my 110. The TF877 is for the '98 on, and I think it would fit too (I havn't offered one up to check, but if the holes through the chassis where the tow pack normally bolts on are in the same place on a 300tdi and a TD5, which I'm lead to believe they are, then all should be well. The TF873 picks up on the rear face of the rear crossmember, and the two chassis rails: here's a picture The TF877 also seems to pick up on the 2 or 3 holes underneath the crossmember: here's picture So, which do you think I should fit? If the TD5 chassis holes are in the same place as the TDi then it gives me an extra 2 or 3 holes to fit with. The TD5 crossmember has captive nuts, whereas I understand the TDi one you put your own nuts (pardon the expression) on the inside. Kev

I like "THE LAND ROVER DRIVES VERY WELL WITH ONLY 1 OWNER." Did all the other owners make a real hash of driving it Kev

Presumably you tried rocking the steering wheel a little to free off the steering lock? Kev

Well, I would personally avoid using something like bluetooth for this type of application, however, I quite fancy seeing a mobile phone used as a bluetooth winch controller, with all the telemetry in the mobile phone's display... Not as nice a feel as some proper buttons, but convenient. Kev