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Testlab

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Posts posted by Testlab

  1. Check where the inner cable exits the sheath at both the control and engine ends. Look for damaged, frayed or dry spots - this causes it to bind at those points as the inner slides through the outer.

    Lubricate the cables - if they've been neglected the inner can chew into the outer somewhere along their length and you'll need new cables. Liikewise if they've stretched or had a too severe bend in them (they wear out).

    If the cables look good then check the control cams and rollers - the cable inner will connect to a bell crank, which often has a cam or roller at the other end.. A broken roller can make it bind up, requiring a good pull to get past the crack or broken bit.

    If you don't have skills leave it to an expert - you don't want it stuck at full throttle unexpectedly.

  2. As a general rule the taller the marker the deeper the water it is in. E.g. The posts are usually in deep water, and the shorter floating makers are used where it is shallower. I've hit a sand bar when as far as I could tell I was in the marked channel.

    Another Brisbane Water regular here. The pile markers are placed where the hazard doesn't move, like a reef or point, mooring areas, etc and the small floating marks are moved around depending on where the sand bars or other movable hazards are. The marks at Half Tide rocks through to Lobster Beach and out to Box Head move regularly.

    "Red to red and green to green when coming home from where I've been"

    So red to port and green to starboard when heading into port or heading upstream. In the channel from Half Tide to Box Head that means keeping close to the rocks. At low tide the sand bars drop from dry to 4m deep in only 2-3m horizontal distance.

  3. Dave has some good advice. It is caused by the voltage drop when cranking and the sounder turns off or resets. The condition of your battery is very important - the less charge the greater the voltage drop. Also the location of the battery is important and the length of the cables (and condition) between the Dragonfly and the battery.

    You can easily fix this by using a voltage controlled relay and a dual battery setup. It is also possible to do it cheaply using a selaed lead-acid (SLA) located near the sounder, a less expensive smaller switch and a blocking diode. The SLA keeps the electronics powered up by eliminating the drop during cranking and the diode charges the SLA but blocks it from supplying power during cranking. It's not ideal but it works as a budget solution.

  4. So called DC-DC chargers are actually inverters, quite a different proposition to the old 24V-12V step down adapters. An inverter uses a boost converter to lift the incoming voltage to something higher than the desired output and then regulates to the value required.

    There are down sides. Yes, they use a bit of power in the conversion process but should be 90% efficient. There create radio noise reducing the sensitivity of your radio and they run all the time they have input power. So unless there is a relay in series with the input or an enable wire the converter will flatten the start battery while keeping the load battery charged (the relay or enable wire enables it only while the engine is running).

  5. Every dealer and tech I've spoken to say not to use the tab. It can snap when the motor bounces up and down. As explained to me by Suzuki (for example) the tab is to allow the tilt rams to be retracted back into the cylinders while leaving the motor raised during long term storage or if it is kept on a mooring or in the water all the time.

  6. Should I have a main 30 amp circut breaker before the fuse box ??

    Yes. Where the wiring for auxiliary systems connects to the battery you should have a fuse. Wiring fuses protect the wiring and fuses in series with the final wiring to the equipment protect the equipment.

    Dead pixels are nothing to do with the installation or usage. They are usually caused by a crook screen or dodgy connectors from screen to PCB - nothing you can fix or prevent (unless you dropped it).

  7. Pick up from depot, around $1K. Delivered to your door, around $2K.

    My best advice arrange and pay for your own transport insurance. Your regular boat insurance does not cover commercial transport on a truck or float. The carriers insurance will not cover damage unless it's their negligence (such as it falling off the truck).

  8. It's supposed to be on the centreline but providing it's close it won't matter. Just make sure it's up high and visible both when the boat's at anchor and underway. The higher the better, both for visibility and getting it out of your eyes.

  9. Beware the tax liability. You can't just enjoy the benefits of an extra $500K without there being tax implications. You have boosted your income by having the offset amount there to play with. You need to not only talk to a bank but also to an accountant who can assist with a tax smart way to do this. Many accountants aren't that smart when it comes to planning but great at reconciling your liabilities later so choose wisely.

    Do this before the $500K hits your account.

  10. It only takes one second from one day to end one life. Apart from the injuries and the suddenness I urge people to think about how this man's entire life and that of everyone involved with him has changed forever.

    The most important WH&S law is Murphy's Law.

    Side question.... Do those glass sheets weight over 3 tonne each? Wow.

  11. Garry, do you mean the gap between the islands in Woy Woy channel?

    As for fishing Davistown wharves, the Pine Ave and Central wharves get one heck of a current running past them but there are good spots up and down the waterside reserve, just choose your time carefully. You can also try the Lintern Road or Amy Street wharves and the Humphries Rd wharf on the other side at Kincumber (near the old monestary).

  12. If the power to the ignition switch is separate to the engine harness is going to one of the batteries or to the same terminal as the engine starter cable (which should be the common terminal of the battery selector) or is it coming up the engine harness?

    Most engines source the ignition switch power from the engine loom itself and then run it up to the switch and gauge cluster. This is why I didn't show any engine wiring on the diagram... because they are all different.

    You do have the battery switch wired up properly... engine to the switch terminal? You might get the problem you describe if one of the batteries and the engine wiring was transposed. Other than that I don't know without seeing the engine installation manual.

    (From your description you have the starting batt on Pos 1 and house on Pos 2.)

  13. I reckon Brisbane Water will be holding a few crabs here and there. Shame that the regs say:

    General

    You are not permitted to:

    Fish in waters that are closed to fishing.

    Use any methods/gear to take fish or invertebrates that are not specified in permitted methods.

    Which would outlaw the onion bag and stocking method. A couple of years ago I got a terrific muddie near home... by hand !!!!!!

  14. Depends on your interpretation of old! All I know is that with a couple of disc operations, servicing twin 454's and a Kohler is a major days job and a massage!

    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

    Gees Ian, doing an impeller change on the Kohler requires a three day fast and a slow exhale on the way in :) if only my arms were an extra metre longer.

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