General Questions

[wfooshee]

In those days, clocks were furniture, too. Whether a cabinet-encased grandfather clock, or a heavy marble mantle clock. I love real clocks. I have from my mother's estate a marble mantle clock with an 8-day movement, and a real anniversary clock, mechanical, not that quartz crap they sell nowadays. It's called an anniversary clock because it runs for a year on a single winding. I also have 5 cuckoo clocks, but I keep those put away. They're just too noisy. Not just the damn bird, but the escapement is loud, too.

I don't know about clock making, but clock collecting is pretty cool.

As for Saving vs Savings - whatever!

 

[Danoff]

I love real clocks.

Ah, you must mean a cesium oscillator. What I love is GPS. All the accuracy of a bazillion dollar clock for a fraction of the cost.

 

[BayConRong]

gps.... how do you go from clocks to gps?

 

[wfooshee]

GPS works because the satellites know EXACTLY what time it is.

The satellites' signal is basically, "The time is now . . . ." The GPS receiver compares the signals from multiple satellites and computes position based on the respective differences in the times. There's a measurable delay in the signal, and that delay tells you how far away the satellite is. The receiver thinks of a sphere with that radius with the satellite at the center. By comparing its distance from several satellites, your GPS receiver figures out where it is by intersecting the spheres computed for each satellite. Big time/speed/distance 3D geometry problem is all it is.

BTW, Cesium ("atomic") clocks are accurate to 1 second in 1.4 million years.

If the Egyptians had had an atomic clock, it might be off by as much as 3 or 4 thousandths of a second by now. Jesus's atomic clock would just now be reaching a thousandth of a second error. Maybe. (I'm sure, though, that His would actually be perfect. )

 

[BayConRong]

do all radio's that fit into cars, fit universally?

in other words can i fit any thing into the center area of my car, that place between my steering wheel and the glovebox?

 

[wfooshee]

Recently, yes, for the most part, but it depends, sort of.

Aftermarket radios generally conform to the DIN sizing standard.

Wiring harness is another situation, but adapters are readily available to use your OEM connectors with an aftermarket head unit.

And with a lot of GM dashboards, all bets are off. Some of those, the radio wasn't even in the dash, just a control panel.

 

[niky]

RE: GPS time, never thought about that.

I occassionally use a GPS V-Box Racelogic unit for road-testing, and I sometimes set my watch to it.

For most cars, radios are universal fitment. For those with the fancy dashboards, you'll need to buy either an adapter plate, or just mount it under the glovebox...

 

[Paulie]

Are Sumo wrestlers physically healthy and fit? You'd think they'd have to be in such a sport, but then they're so big......

 

[Rykon Zero]

Well, if suddenly all their fat disappeared, they would be far stronger than most people, because they have to carry all their fat. I read somewhere that the food they eat is designed to be high in fat but low in cholesterol.

EDIT: Question for you. My mom's boyfriend was going to get an R32 Skyline GT-S, RHD. All he needed was to approve it with customs, or something. Should he have gotten it? What he got instead was a MB SLK230.

 

[Metar]

BTW, Cesium ("atomic") clocks are accurate to 1 second in 1.4 million years.

These are no longer the most precise clocks, either - I recently read a American Scientific article about the measurements of light, where the researchers managed to measure time using the waves of a laser-beam - and apparently, with far more accuracy than Cesium clocks. They said they're working on a new light-based standard for time...

 

[mafia_boy]

EDIT: Question for you. My mom's boyfriend was going to get an R32 Skyline GT-S, RHD. All he needed was to approve it with customs, or something. Should he have gotten it? What he got instead was a MB SLK230.

A GTS......no.
A GTS-t or GT-R......yes.

You'll have problems scoring a ride in the MB with both of them as it's only a 2 seater.

 

[Danoff]

RE: GPS time, never thought about that.

It's actually one of the cooler things about GPS. For the cost of $300, people can buy atomic clock accuracy. Not only that, they can coordinate experiments with that degree of accuracy all over the world without having to synchronize multiple atomic clocks beforehand.

In a way, time is the most fundamental variable GPS is solving for. Position comes almost as a byproduct.

 

[BayConRong]

A GTS......no.
A GTS-t or GT-R......yes.

You'll have problems scoring a ride in the MB with both of them as it's only a 2 seater.

Ya no way, now I have to drive me and my brother to wherever we are going in my Ford Tortoise that likes to occasionally not start though it's been acting better of late, it's transmission likes to not switch from 1st to 2nd and it has a funny smell to it when you floor it... er... not that I’d know.

what's wrong with a GTS?

Recently, yes, for the most part, but it depends, sort of.

Aftermarket radios generally conform to the DIN sizing standard.

Wiring harness is another situation, but adapters are readily available to use your OEM connectors with an aftermarket head unit.

And with a lot of GM dashboards, all bets are off. Some of those, the radio wasn't even in the dash, just a control panel.

So I can look up an aftermarket radio and the vast majority will fit into my car and almost all of them will have some sort of adapter it I can't wire it straight in?

I've put a stereo system, speakers and all, into a boat so I know how to do it.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

So I can look up an aftermarket radio and the vast majority will fit into my car and almost all of them will have some sort of adapter it I can't wire it straight in?

Well if the radio is the same DIN size then it should fit right in. My car came with some weird GM size so I needed an adapter to fit in a regular sized radio. Then, you will need to get a wiring harness (which you call adapter) and you will have to solder the wires, or I guess you could crimp them.

 

[BayConRong]

Well if the radio is the same DIN size then it should fit right in. My car came with some weird GM size so I needed an adapter to fit in a regular sized radio. Then, you will need to get a wiring harness (which you call adapter) and you will have to solder the wires, or I guess you could crimp them.

ya but if i crimp them, if i went over a nasty bump they would pop off. I like to solder then heatshrink. It holds everything together much nicer. and it doesn't come apart and won't ground itself out against random metal objects.

 

[TB]

These also work well for wire splices. Slide a wire through the tube, twist the two wires together, slide the tube over the splice and heat with a lighter to shrink it. Tight, solid splice.

Edit: While I was looking for some, you already mentioned it...

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

ya but if i crimp them, if i went over a nasty bump they would pop off. I like to solder then heatshrink. It holds everything together much nicer. and it doesn't come apart and won't ground itself out against random metal objects.

Well either way, you should probably check this site out
http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/autoinfo/autoinfo.asp?lp=/app/Car/MyCar.aspx

 

[BayConRong]

Ya that's heatshrink. it works, but i like to solder it because the heatshrink if flexible and as it implys under heat it shrinks but it moves too much for my tastes so i would rather solder it to keep it in place and use the heatshrink to just insolate it.

 

[niky]

Are Sumo wrestlers physically healthy and fit? You'd think they'd have to be in such a sport, but then they're so big......

They're just like power-lifters... all that fat serves as a cushion and protection from harm. If you've watched enough sumo, you'd realize that anyone strong enough to physically pick-up and throw aside a 300 pound opponent could probably beat you to a pulp.

Only issues is that because their diets are designed to give them a lot of fat, liver problems are apparently pretty common.

Well, if suddenly all their fat disappeared, they would be far stronger than most people, because they have to carry all their fat. I read somewhere that the food they eat is designed to be high in fat but low in cholesterol.

EDIT: Question for you. My mom's boyfriend was going to get an R32 Skyline GT-S, RHD. All he needed was to approve it with customs, or something. Should he have gotten it? What he got instead was a MB SLK230.

GT-S? Well, it'd be nice to be different, but seriously, unless you're getting a GT-R, I'd consider importing a turbocharged Silvia, instead. (even over the GTSt).

 

[Omnis]

They're just like power-lifters... all that fat serves as a cushion and protection from harm. If you've watched enough sumo, you'd realize that anyone strong enough to physically pick-up and throw aside a 300 pound opponent could probably beat you to a pulp.

Only issues is that because their diets are designed to give them a lot of fat, liver problems are apparently pretty common.

And Sumos are as flexible as olympic gymnasts.

 

[Rykon Zero]

Aaaand, another question for the staff of GTP! What's the difference between a Moderator and a Super Moderator? And an Admin?

 

[Omnis]

Aaaand, another question for the staff of GTP! What's the difference between a Moderator and a Super Moderator? And an Admin?

Moderators are for specific boards. Super Mods moderate the entire forum. Admins are grumpier versions of Super Mods and they have super powers.

 

[mafia_boy]

what's wrong with a GTS?

Compared to a GTS-t, heaps and heaps more compared to the SLK. Non turbo, 2.5L at most, and most of the good conditioned R32's have already been imported to Australia or New Zealand so pretty much only the high km, dinged up cars are left. Like Niky said, an imported Silvia would be better, or converting a local 240sx with an RB25DET or SR20DET.

Plus, the MB has 100 times more poser value which is what draws the chicks (and keeps mum's around. ).

 

[Bram Turismo]

Ya that's heatshrink. it works, but i like to solder it because the heatshrink if flexible and as it implys under heat it shrinks but it moves too much for my tastes so i would rather solder it to keep it in place and use the heatshrink to just insolate it.

Best combo ever! 👍

 

[wfooshee]

So I can look up an aftermarket radio and the vast majority will fit into my car and almost all of them will have some sort of adapter it I can't wire it straight in?

I've put a stereo system, speakers and all, into a boat so I know how to do it.

By "adapter" I mean a connector that goes onto the new radio's wires, and then plugs into the factory connectors. You don't cut the factory harness, makes for a very clean install. If you're not using the factory speaker wiring (because you're going the preferred path of external amps) you still get power hookups, and if you dump the car you can put the original radio back in with a minimum effort.

And soldered heat shrink is the best way to go.

 

[FoolKiller]

do all radio's that fit into cars, fit universally?

in other words can i fit any thing into the center area of my car, that place between my steering wheel and the glovebox?

You have gotten a lot of answers, but it comes down to not all stereos will fit in all cars precisely. ROAD_DOGG33J gave you a link to Crutchfield. Check that out. You can actually say what car you have and it will link you to all available systems sorted by ease of installation. At the top will be ones that just need a wiring harness adapter (provided free of charge) and then the mild work ones will require a plate that fits in to the slot in your dash and then holds the stereo securely (also available through them) and the hard to install ones may actually require a bit of cutting on your behalf or will require a new dash plate (they sell these too). Crutchfield will also provide step by step directions for installing the new stereo in your car using the adapters they provide.

An example of hard to fit stereos is my friends Mazda6. The buttons and knobs are embedded in the dash and the dash is custom designed for them as one solid piece. So he would have to get a whole center column dash plate that removes the factory knobs and buttons and has the holes laid out to fit his new stereo.

If you can post a picture of your stereo console I can give you an idea of how much work you are in for. I have replaced stereos in all my cars, except my current one. I have even gone so far as to cut holes for new speakers. My first car, an 85 Plymouth Horizon, only had two small speakers up front. I installed two three-way multi-range 6x9 speakers in the back.

Also, if yours is not a case of removing a few screws and snapping things in place a dremel tool should be on hand. It helps with everything from cutting to perhaps just sanding down a rough edge that is causing you problems.

 

[McLaren]

I have a question regarding lease buyouts. My TL still has 2 years left, but I'm trying to decide if I should do an early buyout out or a lease-end one. I know the dealer will tell me to do whichever will earn them more money, but my main concern is the economy's current condition having a big effect on the the price of an early buyout 6-12 months from the end of the lease, or the price at the very end.

 

[nk4e]

Is Nanotechnology current in this lifetime?

 

[ExigeEvan]

Nano technology already exists and is already used.

Are you referring to nano-bots?

 

[Sage]

Is Nanotechnology current in this lifetime?

What does that even mean?