text:
Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane
The Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane is an American twin-engine heavy-lift helicopter. It is the civil version of the United States Army's CH-54 Tarhe. It is currently produced as the S-64 Aircrane by Erickson Inc..
|S-64 Skycrane / Aircrane
|Erickson S-64E over Wagga Wagga Airport
|Aerial crane
|Sikorsky Aircraft
Erickson Air-Crane
|First flight
|9 May 1962
|Primary user
|Erickson Air-Crane
|Number built
|31 [1]
|Developed from
|CH-54 Tarhe
Under SikorskyEdit
The Sikorsky S-64 was designed as an enlarged version of the prototype flying crane helicopter, the Sikorsky S-60. The S-64 had a six-blade main rotor and was powered by two 4,050 shaft horsepower (3,020 kW) Pratt & Whitney JFTD12A turboshaft engines. The prototype S-64 first flew on 9 May 1962 and was followed by two further examples for evaluation by the German armed forces.[2] The Germans did not place an order, but the United States Army placed an initial order for six S-64A helicopters (with the designation YCH-54A Tarhe). Seven S-64E variants were built by Sikorsky for the civil market.
Under EricksonEdit
Originally a Sikorsky Aircraft product, the type certificate and manufacturing rights were purchased from them by Erickson Air-Crane in 1992. Since that time, Erickson Air-Crane has become the manufacturer and world's largest operator of S-64 Aircranes and has made over 1,350 changes to the airframe, instrumentation, and payload capabilities of the helicopter. The Aircrane can be fitted with a 2,650-gallon (~10,000 liter) fixed retardant tank to assist in the control of bush fires, and it has proven itself admirably in this role. The helicopter is capable of refilling 10,000 liters of water in 45 seconds from a water slide of only 18 inches or 46 cm thick.[3]
S-64 Aircranes have been sold to the Italian and Korean Forest Services for fire suppression and emergency response duties. Those in the Erickson Air-Crane fleet are leased worldwide to organizations, companies, and Federal Government agencies for either short-term or longer term use in fire suppression, civil protection, heavy lift construction, and timber harvesting.Erickson is manufacturing new S-64s, as well as remanufacturing existing CH-54s.
Erickson gives each of its S-64s an individual name, the best-known being "Elvis", used in fighting fires in Australia alongside "The Incredible Hulk" and "Isabelle". Other operators, such as Siller Brothers, have followed with their Sikorsky S-64E, Andy's Pride. The Erickson S-64E nicknamed "Olga" was used to lift the top section of the CN Tower into place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sikorsky SkycraneEdit
- Twin-engined heavy-lift helicopter, 3 built. 1 rebuilt as S-64E [4].
- Six test and evaluation helicopters for the US Army.
- Civil version of CH-54A, 7 built.
Erickson AircraneEdit
- Upgraded & certified CH-54A helicopters, plus one new build aircraft. 17 aircraft in total[5].
- Upgraded & certified CH-54B helicopters. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney JFTD12-5A engines. 13 aircraft in total[6].
- Columbia Helicopters(No Longer in Use)[10]
- Erickson Air-Crane[11]
- Evergreen Helicopters, Inc.(Bought by Erickson Air-Crane)[12]
- Helicopter Transport Services[13]
- Los Angeles City Fire Department (contracted by Erickson Air-Crane)[14][15]
- Los Angeles County Fire Department (contracted by Erickson Air-Crane)[16]
- San Diego Gas and Electric (contracted by Erickson Air-Crane)[17]
- Siller Helicopters[18]
- National Aerial Firefighting Centre (contracted by Erickson Air-Crane)
- N189AC "Gypsy Lady" – crashed in Ojai, California on October 1, 2006. While operating for the USFS The Erickson S-64 snagged a dip tank and the helicopter rolled over and crashed.[19]
- N198AC "Shirley Jean" – S-64F; sold to European Air-Crane c.2006 as I-SEAD; crashed in Italy on 2007-04-26.[20] Aircraft was destroyed in a post-crash fire.[21]
- N248AC "Aurora" – S-64E; named after Aurora State Airport, home to Columbia Helicopters, former owner of aircraft.[10] Crashed on 26 August 2004 in Corsica, killing its Canadian pilot and French co-pilot. The aircrane was chartered by the interior ministry to fight fires on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica. It had been fighting a wildfire as it went down near the village of Ventiseri, trying to return to a nearby military base, due to technical problems associated with inflight breakup.[22][23]
- N173AC "Christine" - S64E; ditched into a small dam within Melbourne's water catchment with no casualties during a firefighting operation in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia on 28 January 2019. The crew, consisting of 2 pilots and the flight engineer, were able to bail from the aircraft in 2-3m of water and swim to safety with no life-threatening injuries.
Specifications (S-64E)Edit
Data from The International Directory of Civil Aircraft[24]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3 (pilot, co-pilot), plus one engineer or rear-facing observer
- Capacity: up to 5 total persons
- Payload: 20,000 lb (9,072 kg)
- Length: 70 ft 3 in (21.41 m (fuselage))
- Rotor diameter: 72 ft 0 in (21.95 m)
- Height: 18 ft 7 in (5.67 m)
- Disc area: 4070 ft² (378.1 m²)
- Empty weight: 19,234 lb (8,724 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 42,000 lb (19,050 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney JFTD12-4A (T73-P-1) turboshaft engines, 4,500 shp (3,555 kW) each
- Maximum speed: 109 knots (126 mph, 203 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 91 knots (105 mph, 169 km/h)
- Range: 200 nmi (230 mi, 370 km) max fuel and reserves
- Rate of climb: 1,330 ft/min (6.75 m/s)
See alsoEdit
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists
- ^ "Sikorsky s-64 CH-54 in USA: Erickson". Helis.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ Jackson, Paul (1976). German Military Aviation 1956–1976. Midland Counties Publications. ISBN 0-904597-03-2.
- ^ "Firefighting Services - Erickson Incorporated". ericksoninc.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ "S-64 c/n 64-003". Helis.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ "S-64E". Helis.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ "CH-54B Tarhe". Helis.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
- ^ "Corpo Forestale dello Stato Elicottero S 64 F". Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ "Korea Forest Service S-64". Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ "KFS Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane". Demand media. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Helispot photo". Helispot.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
- ^ "the origins of Erickson Air-Crane". Erickson Air-Crane, Inc. 2013. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ "Evergreen S-64 spec. sheet" (PDF). evergreenaviation.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ "HTS Fleet". htshelicopters.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ "S-64 Aircranes for L.A.?". ainonline.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ "LAFD S-64". emergencyrigs.net. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ "L.A. County S-64". finance.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ "Erickson Air-Crane buys Sun Bird aircraft from San Diego Gas & Electric". Helihub.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ "Siller Fleet". sillerhelicopters.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- ^ "NTSB report (LAX07TA001)". Ntsb.gov. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ Helicopters area of dgualdo.it (report excerpts in Italian) Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "NTSB report – NYC07WA152". Ntsb.gov. 26 April 2007. Archived from the original on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ "NTSB report – WAS04WA012". Ntsb.gov. 26 August 2004. Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ "NTSB probes Air-Crane crash – September 9, 2004". Archive.mailtribune.com. 9 September 2004. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ^ Frawley, Gerard: The International Directiory of Civil Aircraft, 2003–2004, page 195. Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd, 2003. ISBN 1-875671-58-7
External linksEdit
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane.
|Line drawing of Skycrane


text:
The resolution of the US war in Afghanistan is getting tangled up in one of the world's most stubborn rivalries: India versus Pakistan.
Pakistan cites India's influence in Afghanistan as one of its top concerns. And with Pakistan increasingly crucial to any military or diplomatic progress in the war, it's a concern that Washington has to manage.
Some current and retired Pakistani officials are hinting that as both the war and the peace efforts become more and more difficult, Washington and its Afghan allies might do more to reassure Islamabad that India won't play a major role in a future Afghan settlement.
"That, to my mind, is one of the mysteries: why the Americans have not recognized why the Pakistanis have a legitimate reason to worry about Indian involvement in Afghanistan," says Najmuddin Shaikh, a former Pakistani foreign secretary.
Instead, he says, the US is looking for a "regional solution" that would involve negotiations with not just Pakistan, but nonbordering countries like Russia and India. He calls the inclusion of India "bothersome," and says the only countries for which Afghanistan is "critical" are Pakistan, Iran, and, to a lesser extent, the Central Asian republics.
In the end, Pakistan wants a friendly government in Kabul, and friendship is defined in reference to India.
"They are two sovereign countries, India and Afghanistan, and they have the right to have good relations. But what we are saying is that their relations should not be at the cost of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, or in any way harm Pakistan's interests," says Abdul Basit, the spokesman for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.
Pakistan worries about having to defend both its eastern and western borders if India and Afghanistan grow too close. Pakistan has also alleged that India uses its consulates in Afghanistan to conduct espionage, stirring up antigovernment forces in Pakistan's frontier regions.
Verging on paranoia
Sometimes the Pakistani fears verge on paranoia, says Marvin Weinbaum, an Afghan expert at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
"I've had Pakistani diplomats tell me, 'You know, there are 15 [Indian] consulates,'" he says. (There are four.) "When you press them on it, they say that, in effect, this is our line," suggesting that they sometimes fabricate in order to have some bargaining leverage.
India did use Afghanistan to aid Balochistan separatists in the 1970s, Dr. Weinbaum says, but no evidence has turned up of meddling in recent years. That said, consulates are "listening posts," he adds.
Ramesh Chopra, a retired head of Indian intelligence, dismisses the idea that consulates are being used for espionage, noting that the border regions are an impenetrable war zone.
Beyond security concerns, Pakistan worries that India has historically supported minority ethnic factions in Afghanistan, creating tensions with the more numerous Pashtuns who live on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
"Pakistan's interest is really that the Pashtuns should have their due share so that they don't then create resentments among the Pashtuns in Pakistan," says Mr. Shaikh. Many Pashtuns are unhappy with the current makeup of the Afghan government and military and that has contributed to the Pashtun-dominated insurgency.
India's stake in Afghanistan
Indian officials bristle at any suggestion that Afghanistan is not a vital interest.
"We are first and foremost in Afghanistan for the same reasons as the rest of the international community: to prevent it from becoming a safe haven for terrorists," says a senior official in India's foreign office.
Under the former Taliban regime, an Indian airliner was hijacked in Kabul and Kashmir jihadis trained in Afghan camps. India also cites historically close relations with Afghanistan, as well as the access to Central Asian trade as important.
But the worst nightmare for India, and the main reason India advocates for a regional agreement, says the official, would be an unraveling of Afghanistan as NATO leaves. He says to guarantee Afghanistan's sovereignty, an effort has to be regional. India argues that other nations have key interests: Iran does not want to see a radical Sunni government return; China worries about similar extremists developing ties with its neighboring Muslim minority.
To help stabilize Afghanistan, India has pledged $1.3 billion in assistance since the Taliban's ouster. It has also implemented some 50 development projects including a road to Iran and transmission wires to Uzbekistan. The country's involvement has come with risk: Militants have launched multiple deadly attacks on the Indian embassy.
"They have an investment there now as far as they are concerned. If things go badly there, you can bet that they will [send] military advisers," says Weinbaum.
India has not contributed militarily to the coalition effort because Afghan President Hamid Karzai has not sought its help, perhaps under US pressure not to antagonize Pakistan.
Quietly the US has talked to the Afghan government about listening to Pakistan's concerns, says Weinbaum.
But publicly the US has mostly celebrated Indian involvement in Afghanistan, not called for less.
Partly this is because India shares American antipathy toward the return of a radical Islamic government, and partly because the US wants to deepen its ties to India.
Asking India to leave "would be contrary to any diplomatic political norms," says Michael Semple, an expert on the current peace process. Instead, a legitimate way to address Pakistan's concerns is by "providing an effective check on any threatening or unhelpful activities."
The Afghan government appears to be taking further steps to ease Pakistan concerns about India. Mr. Karzai last year removed his intelligence chief, a powerful Tajik who was seen as wary of Pakistan and more sympathetic to India. Karzai also sent former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani as head of a High Peace Council to Pakistan earlier this month.
Mr. Rabbani remains a powerful figure among the ethnic minority factions that resisted the Taliban in the 1990s, and though he has received Indian help in the past, he said the right things to put Pakistan at ease.
"What Mr. Rabbani said today was quite meaningful: that no third country would be allowed to damage Afghanistan-Pakistan relations," said Mr. Basit after meetings Jan. 5 between Rabbani and the Foreign Ministry.
"The Afghan government has assured us that they would never allow their soil to be used against Pakistan," added Basit. "But one would also like to acknowledge the fact that there are areas that are not under the Afghan government's control and that can be taken advantage of."

subset: commoncrawl


text: Two eye surgeons, one American and one Nepalese, are united on a quest to end preventable blindness - blindness that leads to poverty and early death for many in the developing world. Over two decades, the efforts of the two doctors have returned sight to an estimated 2 million people in Africa and Asia. VOA's Carolyn Weaver reports.


text:
Find out who sets the pace and why
Workload management solutions are evolving quickly amid intense vendor competition. See what IDC has to say about key developments in the space, including the latest challenges facing enterprise IT and how they're being addressed by vendors. Learn about:
- Why 2015 was the year of simplification and self-service
- How vendors are modernizing their workload management solutions
- Which companies are leading the market—and which one is moving fastest


text:
Want an event experience that goes above and beyond the expected? Then gather a group of good friends or coworkers and bask in the heightened atmosphere of the Budweiser Roof Deck. As our premier outdoor venue, and as the only roof deck actually built into a Major League ballpark, it gives
you a bird's-eye view of Target Field, with the city skyline serving up a breathtaking backdrop. This one-of-a-kind space is custom-built for company parties, promotional events and family get-togethers. A sophisticated twist on the classic Minnesota backyard BBQ. (Available April - October)
The Budweiser Roof Deck was built to represent all that's great about hanging out with friends on a deck on the perfect summer night in Minnesota. Complete with a covered 360-degree bar and gas fire pit, the Roof Deck oozes summer party fun.
Globally recognized Delaware North Sportservice and Executive Chef Pastor Jimenez are exclusive caterers to events held on the Budweiser Roof Deck. And that makes for a truly delicious experience.
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The Budweiser Roof Deck is just right for family get-togethers and private parties. For business, it's a great chance to reward team members or throw a promotional event. Or change up your company's holiday gathering and celebrate in the warmth of a summer evening - high above Target Field.
As part of your Budweiser Roof Deck rental, you receive use of an in-house sound system, a wireless microphone and an iPod hookup.
Guests will get the feeling of hovering in midair, eye-level with the skyscrapers downtown.
Target Field's only 100% outdoor space features a large 360-degree bar and an outdoor fire pit.


text:
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Dorval, Quebec
Home of Taschereau yard, and popular railfan location Dorval Via station. CN and CP are parallel and busy and Dorval airport is visible in the background.
November 18th, 2017
VIA #26 Ottawa to Montreal.This image viewed 3 times, as of last night.


text:
Managing a wide network of websites ranging from restaurant guides, to latest business news: it's challenging, but gives us the know-how required to excel while helping our clients.
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Make your site visible to Search Engines. Get your product viral on Social Networks. We are here for this.
Your best source for free online tutorials. Photoshop, GIMP, Inkscape... You name it!
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text:
What Is Collateral Advertising?
Collateral advertising has numerous purposes — and the different kinds of collateral advertising at your disposal are numerous as well. You should research carefully, always keeping your advertising budget in mind, to determine which form of collateral advertising best suits your needs.
Whatever you're trying to accomplish, a collateral piece, in one or more of its many forms, can do the job. How well it does the job is up to you. Types of collateral advertising include the following:
Brochures can be anything from a single sheet folded in two or three to a small booklet that is nearly a mini-catalogue. You can leave brochures behind with prospective clients at the end of a sales presentation, keep a stack of them on the counter at your place of business, send them as direct mail, or send them to people who request more information about your business.
Business postcards typically include a picture of your product, your service in action, or some other aspect of your business, with brief info on the back, perhaps announcing an upcoming sale or other news. Postcards are ideal for cutting costs, and they're effective because they can be read without being opened. They're also easy to turn into coupons. The following picture shows one side of a promotional postcard.
Many small business owners write their own newsletters to keep their company's products and services uppermost in their customers' minds. Newsletters can provide information on trends in the industry, news and reviews of new products and services, testimonials from satisfied customers, or just fun-to-read articles that your customers may enjoy.
Business cards
Business cards have been around for a long time, but today's technology provides options that weren't available twenty years ago. All business cards should provide your name, your business's name, address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, Web site, and any other contact info you want to include. They can also include your photo — which is great for customers who are more likely to remember your face than your name — or a photo of your storefront or office building. Anything to make it stand out among the rest.
Electronic direct mail
Whether via e-mail, Web content, or text messaging, electronic direct mail is the fastest-growing area of direct mail. E-mail newsletters are a cheap alternative to snail-mailing your customers; just make sure you provide a way to get off your mailing list.
Freebies and samples, aka tchotchkes
Giving away a miniature version of your product, a free sample, a toy with your logo on it, or another creative element is a good way to get your business's name remembered in a positive way. After all, who doesn't like getting free stuff?


text: Greetings and cheers - my first post. After I updated to 3.0.5, the order of tabs was not kept, which is still bugging my eyes and normal procedures. While I normally just edit the sys_user table in the database, it seems to be ignored now? If I log out of ISPConfig, change the order in the sys_user table and log in to ISPConfig again, the order in the sys_user table can change to a third one. How can I fix it? I understand if you have more important issues to deal with right now after this major release in which I really appreciate. Currently my favorite order is Home | System | DNS | VServer | Client | Sites | Email | Tools | Help | Monitor Ultimatively, every user in ISPConfig could change the order of their avaliable tabs.


text:
Simply roll your cursor over the pictures to see what people are really saying
Page 1 of 4Next
20 Phrases You Hear During Graduation, and What They Really Mean
By Susanna Wolff and Hallie Cantor
I'm going to miss this place so much. :: I'm going to miss guiltlessly sleeping in the middle of the day so much. [Guy with a beach ball] :: I'm woefully unprepared for real life. Is the bursar's office open today? :: I fucked up. I'm thinking about applying to law school. :: I'm thinking about spending $100 on LSAT prep books and then doing nothing for a year while I "study." What are you doing this summer? :: I'm doing nothing this summer, as evidence by the fact that I still think summer exists after graduation. I've got an awesome internship lined up. :: I've got an unpaid internship lined up. I'm going to travel for a bit before I settle down and get a job. :: I'm going to burn through all of my savings really quickly and then take the first job I can find. Mom, this is my girlfriend. :: Mom, this is the girl I started dating in the last month of college and will break up with in a matter of weeks. You guys are my best friends. :: You guys were my pretty good friends. I'm so drunk right now. :: I just need something to say right now. We had a class together once, right? Eh, doesn't matter anymore. Where am I supposed to be standing right now? :: I'm so drunk right now. [celebrity speaker] I'm honored to be here today. :: I'm paid to be here today. Your graduating class has more challenges to face than any previous class. :: Your graduating class will hear the same speech I made to every previous class. We will begin by awarding honorary degrees. :: We will begin by acknowledging famous people whose children go here. Please purchase your cap and gown at the school bookstore. :: Please let us suck a little more money out of you before it's too late. You are the leaders of tomorrow. :: You are the unemployed people of tomorrow. Would you like to donate to our class' graduation gift? :: Would you like to throw some money into the mythic pot of gold that is our endowment before your euphoria dissipates and you realized that you're unemployed and massively in debt? And now, your senior class orator. :: And now, a clichéd speech from someone with no more life experience than you. You should be very proud of yourselves. :: I can tell from your Facebook statuses that you are very proud of yourselves.


text:
So I've come up with a great way to mount the thing to the car: Place the servo inside the body, mounted to a project box which is mounted to the body, this way there is 3-way support to the Pan & Tilt setup, and it's all using rubber bushings from other servos, so that there are no harsh vibrations.
Roughed out where to cut, then looking from underneath, I shined a bright light so I could see the trace marks, I outlined them with a blade then cut with a dremel tool:
Here's how she sits!
No problems rotating!
Because this is a smaller scale body, it was very hard to make this all work, it couldn't be too high, couldn't be too low, couldn't be too far left or right, still has to be able to tilt up and down and spin without being too high or low etc... there is about 1.5mm clearence to all sides, between the roll cage side and top, and the chair/center console side and bottom. Sometimes you just get lucky - and a company sells a camera called the GoPro haha!
ONE issue is that I cannot be looking far down, AND turn to the left of the car, the top left of the camera hits the roll cage - that's okay, it's only if I'm looking at the floor and looking left, which I'll just have to make sure I never do.
So the past 10 minutes, I've managed to slice BOTH thumbs to the bone, so I've figured "I can't use my thumbs, so I'm pretty much USELESS lets take some pics, and put'm up!"
... really, stupid scalpels! Worst part is, I did it and yelled in pain, then did it AGAIN to the other hand within 2 minutes. Idiot.
Regardless, I've figured out how I'm going to mount this body to the Summit, and I've also completed the TILT functionality.
Here's the front mount:
Here's the rear mount:
Because this is very cheap plastic, I'm afraid would snap in the front if I rolled hard enough, so I built some extra support:
To this:
Now it's rock solid!
This is how the rear is mounted now! You can see the old body post mounting holes and the new body post placement:
Here's the TILT setup, clearence was a big issue again, so the servo is centered, and at it's location it has the greatest tilt range, any higher and you lose tilt down, any lower and you tilt up. Any further left or right, and the thing can't pan because it'll hit the chair or the side wall. I tell ya, they didn't make this easy on me!
Last edited by krallopian; 05-06-2012 at 09:59 PM.
I'm loving this thread. Do you know what aspect of the vtx/rtx controls the range? (frequency, power, etc?) A lot of the information I have been reading specifically refers to FPV planes and helis so I'm not sure what changes when only being on the ground.
You can drive my car, but there's a $500 deposit.
Thanks snowslider! Smittyz I love your signature
The basics are this:
The longer the wavelength (the lower the mhz) the better object penetration you have. HOWEVER the lower the wavelength the more noise can be induced and you certainly cannot be around anyone using an old portable phone, the same frequency or any of that. Where as something like a 5.8ghz has SO MUCH bandwidth that there can be 20 guys all using it with different "channels" and there's no problem - UNTIL you go behind a tree and lose line of sight. So people end up with POWERFUL transmitters, 1watt, 1.5watt even 2.5watt (KILLS the battery and generates a HECK of a lot of heat) but the trouble with THAT is: Everyone's plane, or car, or anything becomes totally saturated and falls out of the sky or drives on to the road.
So there is no one best setup for FPV, ground or air. There is a best setup for specific areas, and it really comes down to testing. My 1.2ghz 1watt system is very powerful, and has great object penetration - walls, trees, etc... - and I'll be able to drive all around my country property. BUT if I bring it downtown Toronto for instance, it'll still work, but the range will be GREATLY reduced AND emergency vehicles use the 1.2ghz range so I could interfere with their communications - a big no no (for the guy about to die, not for the guy using the radio)
So there's lousy answer for ya! Your main question was what aspect controls the range: Certainly output power first and foremost - secondly the receiver setup, yagi antenna, patch antenna, etc.. (the factory installed small whip omni antennas are usually best as they come tuned to the frequency already) and thirdly, location.
Hope this helps =)
Heck I've only done ONE fpv drive so far haha, I've had the gear for a week, and been busy working on the setup and not actually DRIVING! AND it's going to be raining for the next few days, figures. (the gear isn't waterproof)
Hi. Krall. Very interesting and amazing project. You really are doing this FPV thing right. I see that you are using a Gopro HD Hero2. Gopro will be releasing a WIFI BACPAC very soon. This would mean that you could have full operational control over the camera. Like toggling from video to still or changing video settings - even turn on or off. You could also initiate record/stop at any time. The pack includes a remote that fits to your wrist. Check out the Gopro website.
I have a new 2012 Tqi Summit and a new Gopro Hero2 and am watching your thread very excitedly. I am gonna do and FPV system soon.
Awesome, I heard about it wasn't sure what the point was - now I know thanks! I was thinking about this, and making just a mini servo that activates record/stop and changes modes - but I really don't need that. Most FPV rides will only be between 10-50 minutes, and with a 32gb card there's no issue recording the whole time. If I find I have extra cash sitting around I might get one just for the sake of it, but between the extra battery draw and the pan/tilt system not being built for the extra size of the wifipack, I doubt it'll happen.
2012 Summit and Hero 2 are my two favorite parts of this project, do it you'll have a blast!
Thanks for the info. I hope to have an FPV setup in the near future so this is a good resource.
You can drive my car, but there's a $500 deposit.
.. sneak peak of some dashboard candy
Lookin sweet!
what's the fpv battery life like when you're using the 3s lipo?
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
Not sure, but since it's a 1400mAh and the transmitter wants 5-600mAh it'd be good for at least a couple hours of transmitting, longer than I would ever be out with it per run.
That 7-segment LED display for the gears is 7mm tall. I don't expect to see it behind the steering wheel, let alone have it in focus, but it'll be there, slightly focussed with about 900% awesome factor!
Right on, that's awesome!
that and a couple spc 8200s I think they are, and you're set for some good fun!
I don't want to be a douche or anything lol but I think I'm going to try and copy your set up (same fpv gear) so I don't run into too many problems. I can't wait man!
Would a 3s battery work for the transmitter too or receiver (lol both)? if I wanted to go portable with it
Last edited by TQi; 05-07-2012 at 07:26 PM.
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
Certainly copy me! It'd be the, "COOL" move to do hahah, only us cool folks do it
Yeah both the transmitter and receiver run 12v, I think +/- 15% which means a 3S fully charged, to fully drained will be fine. Then you want to find a screen on the field. You are better off getting a lead acid battery though like in my video, they are $5 vs the $30+ lipos.
The screen you want would be best designed for a car navigation or something like that - something that is to run DC not AC (a computer monitor or TV is usually AC) and DC means 12v usually, which is perfect because they are FAR better when it comes to efficiency, you won't need to buy an AC to DC converter and have all kinds of power requirements. You could even just get a small screen from ebay for $30, get the receiver taped to the back of it, with a lipo attached, to the back, and now you have a screen, battery, receiver... alll portable as you can get!
Check this out:
Not too bad!
In the end though I'm making a Pelican Case (1450) ground station, will be as awesome as awesome can be. It's not a HUGE case but it's not tiny, and it'll house a 10-11" 4:3 screen very nicely. That's next month when my funds recharge haha.
I just spent the past hour fixing my transmitter though, the wires break off easily and I didn't bother opening it up to fix it. If you can't solder and you DO get this transmitter, make sure the first thing you do is put some silicone glue around the base of the wires so that never happens to you. I also custom made a heatsink for it, took an old one and cut it up and mounted it nicely with some thermal paste, check it out:
I ordered the black one on Saturday came in today, haven't found a use for it yet. This shows the size differences:
Taking off the stock heatsink, it's TAPED on!? Haha not even any thermal paste, what a joke:
I cut up the blue heatsink, here it is test fitted (I drilled a hole for the dip switches didn't get a pic of it) Look at the size difference. This once is great as it will cause a type of convection, as the heat rises, it will pull cool air from below in to it from each side - front, back, both sides - helping keep things cool:
Here's the amount (almost too much) of thermal paste I used:
Just as I sealed mounted the heatsink with zipties, BLAMO ground wire fell off:
Re-soldered it, and covered it all with silicone glue, this stuff will still flex in -10° so no problems anymore!
Here she is all fixed up, with super cooling:
That blue heatsink is from 20 years ago, one of those proof of concept projects my father was working on, and has just kept it in one of the too many boxes of junk ever since! Pretty lucky.
Good stuff man, and that heatsink has a wicked design
I'll be sure to get a heatsink for it and use some extra solder and silicone. lol I thought you said hese guys are the best!? taped on heatsink psh, hahah just jokin, can't wait.
Thanks for all the help, oh, where can I find the lead acid batteries? how long do they last and do I need to solder a connector?
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
Haha it IS the best option out there, it's just made... to be, "good enough" heat kills electronics, and eventually it would die from it, so now... not so much! =)
Besides these are made for planes, LOTS of cool air up there and the heatsink NEEDS to be small and light, so it only made sense to ship with it.
Yeah, I hope I can find a heatsink/fan for it that fits.
so I've decided to stick with the 3s lipos, do I need anything else to connect the go pro to it other than some trx connectors for te gear, I was looking at the 1.2 ghz combo
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
Well you will need a video out connector.
The camera doesn't come with a video out connector, only a usb one. So you get the "fpv 2.5mini jack" setup, and that will allow you to take the video out to the transmitter. It's like $5-15.
3s lipo is great ON the truck, but it's a waste in a base station, lead-acid (small one, like in my video) is so much better for the base station IMO, because of the cost, you can buy 5 for the price of one lipo. They are sealed, so they are totally safe.
Right now I'm just researching the best way to power all my on-board stuff. I have my VXL3S that I don't use, but it's big and bulky, probably just going to get a UBEC but I don't know of availability, and want to see if the EVX2 can handle what I need. I mean it comes ready to power all the led's on the truck, and it's not like I'd be using all the servos at once! Maybe pan/tilt/steering at maximum! We'll see.
An update:
I figured the silicone has dried enough by now, so I plugged the battery in to the transmitter to see how hot it will get with the new heatsink/paste.
So far (10 minutes in) it's about as warm as it used to be within 30 seconds! Half way up the heat sink is much cooler than the base, this means a lot of heat is being dissapated, and THAT is a good thing. I can hold the thing in my hand without any concern for, "oh crap is this TOO hot!?" it's just... hot and that's perfectly acceptable/expected.
I swear every time I turn this thing on I get a headache.. I guess sitting 12" away from a 1000mW transmitter isn't good for your head after all. Anyway, it's now been almost 15 minutes and it's been sitting flat on my desk, and it is much warmer now. However still not TOO hot, so looks like this was a good move!
On a side note, if I put the thing close to my head I can hear a high pitched hum, so if I try really hard to listen, I can hear it saying something, it's telling me to
I wanted to see how it would look driving with the lights on real quick now that I have the body mounted correctly, and blamo. Haha, wasn't wearing it's safety either - roll cage wasn't on - so stupid drawer also hit the camera, luckily it didn't snap the rig. CLOSE CALL I say, close call...
Always remember folks, when testing an FPV vehicle, make sure the roll cage is ON first! Ah well, now I'm thinking I'm going to build a solid roll cage, AND re-do the windshield so I can see the HOOD as well, because with no windshield, you can see the hood and it looks great.
Not to get you off track...
But most TV's and PC monitors are 12vdc. They usually have internal or external power supplies/converters.
Whatever it is I just typed... could be wrong.
Yup, but you need a screen that TAKES 12vdc
Here's what I've worked on today: Mirrors!
Original Mirrorish thing:
New mirror from aluminum, and ... mirror:
How it looks from the other side:
They are moveable up and down, and left and right. Turned out rather swell!
Here's a vid showing how they can be used to see when backing up instead of panning backwards:
Last edited by krallopian; 05-08-2012 at 02:49 PM. Reason: To avoid adding ANOTHER post
Oh now I see what you mean, I had to watch that one video again that shows the little clunky lead acid battery..
I'd pm but the forum's being really slow for me right now, do they sell those on the same site? the 1200mah acid packs, and would you consider using one on the summit with stronger shock springs or is it too heavy/bulky?
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
I would not recommend using one on the summit, far too bulky and weighs enough to make a difference. I'll PM you more info on those batteries.
Update soon with new WINDSHIELD... been cuttin and sanding and smoothing and rounding and trimming and grinding and on and on for the past 4 hours... it's ALMOST ready haha.
The site is behaving exceptionally poor for me as well, 9/10 times it won't load, keeps me busy though!
So now I've basically completed the windshield. I knew that you can't super glue plexiglass without it fogging, so was careful to put only a VERY small amount, but I still got some fogging issues, oh well. At least NOW I have a CLEAR window, AND can see the hood while driving. The original windshield blocked the view of the hood, so it made it very difficult to judge the front of the car, AND it was lousy plastic so it was very wavey.
Here's how it looks stock: *I really like the black surround, I'm going to figure out an effective way to do this:
Here's the new screen cut out to shape and the frame has been heavily modified to allow the new piece to fit in, I had to mod the dashboard too as this piece is at least 2mm thick where the original is a fraction of a mm thick:
Here's how it sits, the old windscreen is against it to show the size comparison, MUCH more view has opened up!
... on a sidenote, during production - my dog ended up going through the windshield:
Here's a video showing the old vs new and how much clearer the new one is:
It's so nice to drive around now and see the hood!
I wanted to EDIT this video in the previous post, but this forum hasn't been in a very good mood for the past couple days, so now I need to make a new post SHOOOOWING, the hood and how much easier it is to drive it now - I'm not driving FPV, so... yeah. My basement is a disaster I know I know I know... lotsa projects on the go
hahahah that dogs awesome
I was going to ask about that lawmates penetration power, I think you said it was going through a few walls and an old stove or chimney? I don't know, do you think it could go through (or around, however it works) an average size 3 bedroom house? (from outside to outside)
or would it be a worse connection if say the receiver were inside on the opposite corner of the house from the truck, which would be outside?
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
Yes it certainly can! My first FPV (actually, ONLY one so far, shh) was me on one side of the house, driving all through it, then outside about 200 feet away, and the video broke up a bit, but certainly wasn't gone at ALL and totally driveable, and that was with a poorly mounted transmitter, and a receiver laying flat on my table - signal through a brick wall, a stove, an iron wood-stove, another brick wall, two drywall walls, a cinder block wall, and another exterior wall, then about 4-5 trees, and a bit of a hill. That's how it ACTUALLY was, and again the video was totally driveable, but wasn't as clear as it is when you're right beside it - in my video on the first page showing how clear it is up close - so there you have it, you'll have no problem driving AROUND your house let alone your neighbor's ... just behave! pffft hahah right
I need to get some switches and a UBEC before I finalize this electrically.
I am going to have a 10-pin ribbon cable connect from the chassis, to a connector board mounted underneath the body, this way I can control the chassis lights from the second rx, but MORE importantly:
I am going to have a light representing UNLOCKED/FRONT LOCKED/BOTH LOCKED - that's two switches right there, and another two throw (on or on) switch for the transmission with that 7-segment LED I showed earlier saying what gear I'm in. That's 3 wires for the gear switch, 2 wires for front diff, 2 wires for rear diff, 2 wires for the chassis lights. I'm also putting a y-splitter for the steering servo, to make a steering wheel turn, I am going to use my free Traxxas turning 2080 waterproof servo since it's sitting around doing nothing, and that too will connect from the chassis to the body connector.
I'm working it all out right now in photoshop to see how it's going to work best.
man.. finally got on the forum for a whole minute lol. That's good to know about the range and power holy, I just want it to be able to peak around a building without the screen getting completely fuzzy, so sweeeeeet! Just have to worry about the transmitter heat from running for long periods.
Wish picking the colour of your summit was an option but oh well. Extra stoked again!! I just need to do some more window shopping for a small display screen and then I'm set. The rest I'll figure out in 5 weeks like the heatsink, gopro accessories, some kind of panning system possibly (< not likely), etc., etc...
Well.. Your setup is definitely going to be as sick as all heck maybe you could hook me up with a panning dial hahah I could send you my remote with a little something in the battery tray lol
No, but your thing's gunna be a killer once you get it all configured, I'll probably just roll with the 170 setting on all the time, it should be alright
oh yeah, are you having any heat troubles with the transmitter after 15 minutes? because you said it gradually gets hotter, is it going to keep getting hotter and hotter or will it max out at a reasonable temp.? maybe I should be hunting down a nice heatsink now too.
Thanks for all the help again, much appreciated
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
Sorry i didn't read the whole thread but go pro is coming out with a "backpack" that will let you stream the video to a smartphone which you can hook up to a TV... so if it doesnt end up the way you want there is always another option. i was going to try this based off of someone earlier but i forgot about it until i got a go pro then i found out about the backpack and i though that would be great , and thats what i am going to do
Sent from my ICS rooted Droid RAZR
Last edited by zonda95; 05-09-2012 at 05:42 AM.
That's another possible option, a lot cheaper too hmm.. I gave it a quick sweep through before and I thought it only said wifi remote but no it does say "live preview, viewable from your smartphone..."
wifi definitely won't have the same signal strength though, it'll be a lot weaker. I don't know, unless that things going to sell for like $30 I don't think I'll be interested. these lawmates are ballin lol. I have problems with my wifi from 50ft away even with a clear shot.
Last edited by TQi; 05-09-2012 at 07:06 AM.
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
Thanks for the suggestion zonda (it has already been mentioned in this thread, but as you said; you hadn't read it) but the issue will be range, and live video. I believe it is only being sold as something to PREVIEW what you have done on your smartphone, that way when you're out skiing at the top of a hill and you want to see that the camera is angled right, you take a picture, and view it on your phone, maybe even view the video you recorded on your phone.
It is not a LIVE out video, nor will it go much further than about 100 feet - FCC won't let wifi broadcast far enough. Besides wifi is 2.4-5.8ghz and those are very line of sight frequencies. Even IF you could go 100 feet, WITH live view... you couldn't have so much as a tree between you and the 100 foot mark.
The wifi pack is ONLY going to be good for seeing what you're about to do, or have done - which is important, so many times I have to just "hope" the camera is facing right - you DO get used to it after a while though. All of these small cams come without a preview screen (except the new foxtech ones, they look promising) so there you have it.
To answer your question TQi about the heat - it will only rise to a certain temp. Even the stock heatsink will be okay to drive around with, it's just not okay to leave sitting, not moving, in the sun. You won't NEED another heat sink, but I strongly recommend it!
Last edited by krallopian; 05-09-2012 at 11:41 AM.
Oh right on, that's good stuff and yeah recommendation acceptito, I'll find something that will fit for sure.
Do another fpv run when it's nice out it's all crappy out here
What I was thinking I throw on my smartphone with 4g and broadcast a wifi signal then, just go to any computer and control it. The range of video would be un limited but the range on the rc will be limited to the range on the tx.
Pede 4x4 PE - Slash 4x4 PE
Miss Geico Boat
I'm not so sure about your "unlimited range" there but I did just see a video about the range being up to 600 feet with the remote and that's giving me second thoughts. I'm pretty sure trying to do a couple hundred feet while streaming a live video through walls isn't going to work but we'll see. this will probably be really nice for fpv flying, what do you think krall?
I don't want to wait until december for fpv either way unless I'm completely sure that this will be a decent alternative..
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
Sounds promising, but I guess only time will tell - as has been the case with this wifi add-on anyway; time!
All I can say, the lawmate system is already available and it's range is far greater. It's analogue as well, which means static/snow not... ON or OFF video as digital wifi would be. With my system if I start going out of range, I will know because it will get less and less clear, but with wifi it will be on, or off AND there will be lag, too much to drive real time by. Again this is for monitoring things, not for FPV unfortunately. I'm all for this working, but technically I don't think it's going to be the ticket.
I just got back from hobbyhobby (in the hail, at rush hour, GREAT timing...) and picked up the CC 10amp BEC (programmable, I just changed it from 5.1v output to 6v output via the castle link I bought when I got the MMP for the mini E-Revo) a couple HS-55 servos for something else, a bunch of connectors and some servo tape to properly mount my tilt servo. Very exciting.
hahah nice.
yeah I wish this thing was out already and people were testing it's range/speed
There's an ipad dock that increases range up to 6x among other things like speed and technical stuff I forget, it would for sure look a lot cleaner than what I'm picturing my lawmate set up to look like (wires sticking out here and there) but still I can only wonder if it would perform good enough to enjoy it, and yeah they keep pushing the release date.
I live in a wifi rich place right now so that wouldn't be good anyway wouldn't it interfere? just put my mind at ease so I can forget this whole wifi backpack idea lol
Last edited by TQi; 05-09-2012 at 08:30 PM.
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
So good'ol'smart'ol'me....... I put the ROLL CAGE on and found the camera doesn't pan left if the video cable is hooked up! Where the heck has my mind been to have not tested that!?!? What a pain, and to top it off, it was only hitting with about 5mm too little room.
So I started hacking away at it, but it looked horrible, and wasn't really doing the job. I knew I wanted to improve the roll cage but hadn't though of how yet since it's not mounted in the front or the back, only in the center!?
Here's how it looked:
Then I removed that driver side center beam (B Pillar) and started to fab up some aluminum pieces: (the left and ride of the rear bed of the truck)
Then made your every-day-typical-youtube-looking-roll bar.. roll bar:
Marked some spots for mounting, mounted it up, and now it's solid!
In this pic you can also see how I had to modify the left side of the pan bar... I swear I've been in a daze this whole time, with the rear "box" in (the steal looking utility box) the pan hits it, so I lucked out and only had to shave the corners of it off:
I'm thinking I'm going to continue the roll bar underneath the truck body so that I can bring it to the rear mount, that way when it lands upside down, or hits sideways, the force is continued through to the chassis, and not just the Jeep body. Lotsa work, and my finger is killing me with metal shavings, but I think it's a necessity.
In other news, when I was researching the CC BEC I found this in their faq:
25. Is my CC BEC edible?
Please refrain from tasting the yummy goodness of the CC BEC. Castle Creations is not responsible for any cases of upset stomach, indigestion, or other GI malfunctions as a result of CC BEC consumption. Eating a CC BEC is known to cause cancer in the state of California.
So I ended making that brace tonight, suddenly it's 3am again! I tell ya, FPV isn't for those who need to be up at 7am...
Here's how it looks from underneath:
Here's how it looks mounted from underneath:
Here's the mounting posts coming through, with the original holes lined up to be nice and snug for some clips!
Now I'm confident the truck will survive a roll over without cracking the whole thing to pieces.
lol awesome man, just had to do it extra fancy, I was just gunna cut a hole in the front window
anyhow, refrain from the yummy goodness
What's a coffee if it aint Irish
Great so after getting it all solidified and all that goodness, I take it out for the first drive with the camera in the mount and SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE Y'BODY, ALL OVER DA PLACE.. or however that stupid song goes.
Point is, I'm making a new camera mount, with a top support as well. Half way done:
Here's the basic idea:
Here's that sweet little hinge idea - super low profile:
That first pic shows the top bar support binding.. it's pulling the camera mount UP in to the roll bar, that needs to change. Space is too limited to the put the top support BELOW the roll bar, and the hinge is too thin (and already mounted permanently) to put a washer to level out the support bar. Problalems probablems probalems.


text:
Former NFL star Tony Gonzalez paid a visit to the Rachael Ray set with wife October as and Rachael and celeb chef Emeril Lagasse challenged them to a game of 'What's in My Mouth.'
The couple, who have four children, were put on the spot and had to identify such tastes as capers, kiwi and horseradish while blindfolded.
To see who's tastebuds reigned supreme catch The Rachael Ray Show.


text:
South African Rugby
Refreshingly different
Firdose Moonda
June 29, 2012
Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer has plenty of reason to smile having beaten England in their recent three-Test series © Getty Images
If Heyneke Meyer lived in ancient Greece, he would have found a friend in Aesop. They may never have met, because Meyer would not likely have come from the same class as the slave storyteller, but if they had they would have agreed on one thing: use humble incidents to tell great truths.
Aesop's stories of geese who laid golden eggs, boys who cried wolf and tortoises and hares who engaged in races took simple ideas and used them to convey what some consider life lessons. Meyer is the same.
The first time he was interviewed by South African journalist Liz McGregor, he told her a story about people sitting at dinner tables in heaven and hell. Those in heaven gave the best food to their neighbours. The folk in hell had the same food but could not eat because the knives and forks they had attached to their hands were too long to facilitate moving edibles into their mouths.
The story is essentially about character - by being a team player everyone benefits but being selfish condemns one to starvation - but its meaning may not be obvious at first. Told in Meyer's English, it could be the kind of story that gets the new Springbok coach branded a Peter de Villiers in sheep's clothing. Those who don't know or understand the occasional Afrikaans phrasing that creeps into Meyer speak may expect that soon gems like "talk is cheap but money buys the whisky," will be sprouting from Meyer's lips too. Not so.
Meyer is unlikely to resort to the outrageous albeit hilarious side of story-telling. But he will continue to speak a language that mixes rugby, philosophy, religion and passion, the four pillars upon which Meyer's house of coaching has been built. The combinations of those factors is what Ian Schwartz, Meyer's long-time friend, former high performance manager at the Blue Bulls and current team manager of the Springboks, thinks makes Meyer "one step ahead of his generation when it comes to coaching."
While Meyer's game-style is not revolutionary and concentrates on strong forward play, his ways of thinking and expressing himself, be it through stories or not, are refreshingly different. Schwartz said Meyer has "an extraordinary vision of the game." That insight does not mean he has reinvented traditional ways of playing rugby in South Africa, but simply that Meyer has realised he cannot be overly creative and should work on skills and structure.
The imaginative thinking comes out in Meyer's mentorship, which is almost more important to him than tactical training. It was the quality that he used to turn the Blue Bulls from a mediocre unit into an extraordinarily powerful team in the late '90s. "His strength is definitely his motivation abilities and he takes it on himself to ensure that the team and each player is up for the challenge on every occasion," Schwartz said. "Players and management always believed in him because of that."
Meyer's days as a provincial and franchise coach made him first choice for the Springbok job when De Villiers was appointed and ensured that he remained the frontrunner four years later. But, it is also that background that will cause the most public debate.
Meyer was accused of being too inward looking when he picked appointed four assistant coaches from the Bulls, Johann van Graan, John McFarland, Ricardo Loubscher and Basil Carzis. Then, his first squad included 13 Bulls players, out of a total of 32, and the provincialism case grew legs. When he allowed Morne Steyn to continue kicking in the third Test against England in Port Elizabeth even though the heralded fly-half kept missing, the argument all but got up and ran away victorious.
But, it was a flawed discussion because Meyer's squad also included 15 players from the Durban-based Sharks and his captain, Jean de Villiers was from Cape Town. Along with the four Bulls coaches, he had also acquired the services of Rassie Erasmus, Louis Koen as kicking coach and former French international Pieter de Villiers, to help with scrums.
In a country where foreign assistance is frowned upon, to bring in someone like De Villiers (albeit that he is South African-born) was to open the system up to international knowledge. "His other strength is to get the right personnel around him to secure success," Schwartz said. "He doesn't believe having friends will make you successful, surround yourself with the best and success will follow."
Although the Steyn situation led some of the public to differ about Meyer's attitudes to people from the area he had worked in, Meyer had an explanation. He admitted to being concerned about Steyn's kicking but said his only other option was to expose the inexperienced Elton Jantjies in a tense situation. With Pat Lambie out through injury and Frans Steyn missing the match because of his wedding, Jantjies was the only other player available to Meyer and had the match situation been less frantic, Steyn may have been replaced. Given the conditions, which were windy, and the little that separated South Africa and England, Meyer hoped Steyn's "warrior" ability would see South Africa through.
That it did not is something that Meyer will likely blame himself, instead of anyone else, for. His goal was not just to win the series but to emerge victorious from every match in it. When asked before the England tour what his aims were, Meyer said he had only one: to win. Concerns such as crafting a squad that would outlive the transition phase would be addressed later, perhaps not even during match-time but rather in one of the camps Meyer holds around the country to identify and interact with potential internationals. Even then, Meyer did take a solid stride towards the future in confirming De Villiers as captain for the rest of the year, on the basis of his leadership in the first two Tests.
It was a decision that was widely welcomed from all quarters and one that Meyer will see as an essential step in fulfilling a third wish. "He is an emotional person and all he wants to do is to unite the entire nation behind the Springboks and make the country proud," Schwartz said. That may be difficult to believe, considering that Meyer picked what one Cape Town journalist called an "anti-transformation" squad, which only had space for four regular players of colour. Meyer may not have been given a mandate that instructs him to transform the team but there is a tacit understanding in all South African sport that a much-needed balancing act needs to occur to right the wrongs of the country's Apartheid past.
An attempt at that balancing act saw Meyer lose out on the job in 2008. It was made clear that De Villiers was appointed, as Oregan Hoskins president of the South African Rugby Union said, "not just for rugby reasons." Depending on which side of the transformation fence you sat on, Meyer being overlooked was either justified or completely wrong. Even if you sat on that fence, his current appointment is a case of the deserving man finally getting his chance.
To that end, one of Meyer's most oft-repeated phrases may come in handy, for everyone including himself. Schwartz said Meyer often says, "if you put charcoal under pressure it will change into a diamond." Strictly speaking, that's not exactly how the mining process works but for purposes of a parable, it's perfect. Considering the pressure Meyer will be under in the lead up the 2015 World Cup, it may be a comfort and a reminder that he hopes to emerge from it, sparkling.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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text: HAUNTED Has A Director! Tweet Big news hit the net yesterday, which I missed because I was sitting in Jury Duty selection from 8am on. It seems HAUNTED is now on the fast-track to become Chuck Palahniuk's next movie adaptation. Variety reported that the option was acquired by Brian Levy, who has launched a management and production company called New School Media. 'Haunted' will be their first project. The writer and director is going to Belgium filmmaker Koen Mortier (pictured below). Mortier already has a building filmography listed on the IMDB, but is most noted for his last film 'Ex-Drummer'. Koen is on board to write and direct the adaptation. As a fan of most European film, I'm personally excited by this news. Koen is a filmmaker not saturated by Hollywood. An outsider. And with 'Haunted' being such a tough adaptation, it will be interesting to see someone that might have a very unique and fresh approach to the material. What do you all think? Sound off.


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text:
Thanks to Bikurgurl for hosting last week's #100WordWednesday flashfiction prompt. Today's NaPoWriMo prompt is "to write a poem of ekphrasis — that is, a poem inspired by a work of art." The A to Z Challenge GoodRead's Prompt begins with the letter U.
"To write is to forget. Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life. Music soothes, the visual arts exhilarates, the performing arts (such as acting and dance) entertain. Literature, however, retreats from life by turning in into slumber. The other arts make no such retreat— some because they use visible and hence vital formulas, others because they live from human life itself.
― Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet"
(Sorry finding a Q name for this piece impossible but there is Q in Disquiet!)
The photograph is lovely at first,
A brilliant blue sky, soft winds of cool breezes,
The Atlantic still icy, but forgiving.
Trees rise and guard the home, the lighthouse,
Ancient ones in slumber as spring yet approaches.
Rock walls prevent a fall below, to the unforgiving chill.
Hypothermia comes quickly here,
But the scenery makes up for the inherent danger.
Bright pink of the house stands out and the tower above matches,
Glows in the night when the boats pass by,
Protecting and guiding ships.
The long grass still waiting to be verdent,
Not dry crumpled straw.
And the owners of the house are silent, keeping to themselves,
Their only sense of existing, is the light that glares, when outside the tower is dark.
Spring is slowly birthing, but the ocean's still freezing,
And the danger is too real for ships too close.
And a stranger walking watches from the dim,
Holding back a dog barking in madness.
The bulb has burnt out, now disaster is unhinged,
The ship clips the cliff, the house crumbles and the ship sinks,
Screams in the night, in the Atlantic' waters cold numbness.
And when all is said and done, only the lighthouse stands,
With a burnt out bulb of fault.
How can this photograph be a work of art?
Is there art in dying?
Or is art and death as a perception, to ambigious to be real?
©Mandibelle16. 2017) All Rights Reserved.


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Like many American boys who grew up in the 1980s, I loved the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
Looking back, I think just about every episode of the show included at least some scenes of intense combat -- but I'm also pretty sure that in all those battles, no soldiers on either side were ever killed or even maimed. People would shoot at each other with those laser guns, but no one ever got hit. And when planes or helicopters would get shot down, the pilots always parachute out.
Am I forgetting something, or is it true that no one ever died in battle in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero?
(Note that I am referring only to the TV show, and not including GI Joe The Movie, in which Serpentor takes over Cobra)


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"NCIS," "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "The Good Wife" All Post Week-to-Week Increases in Viewers and Key Demographics
"NCIS" Tops "Glee" in Adults 18-49
"The Good Wife" Posts Its Best Ratings in Viewers and Demos since October
The season finales of NCIS, NCIS: LOS ANGELES and THE GOOD WIFE all posted week-to-week increases in viewers and key demographics, leading CBS to a Tuesday win in viewers and adults 25-54, according to Nielsen preliminary live plus same day ratings for May 17.
The eighth season finale of NCIS was first in households (11.2/18), viewers (18.09m), adults 25-54 (5.2/11) and adults 18-49 (3.8/11, +0.3 ahead of "Glee"). Compared to last week, NCIS was up +3% in households (from 10.9/18), +6% in adults 25-54 (from 4.9/13), +9% in adults 18-49 (from 3.5/11) and added +470,000 viewers (from 17.62m, +3%)
The second season finale of NCIS: LOS ANGELES was second in households (9.7/14), viewers (15.37m), adults 25-54 (4.4/10) and adults 18-49 (3.2/08). Compared to last week, NCIS: LOS ANGELES was up +4% in households (from 9.3/14), +10% in adults 25-54 (from 4.0/09), +14% in adults 18-49 (from 2.8/07) and added +630,000 viewers (from 14.74m, +4%)
THE GOOD WIFE's season two finale was first in households (8.1/13) and viewers (12.44m), and second in adults 25-54 (3.5/08) and adults 18-49 (2.5/06). Compared to last week, THE GOOD WIFE was up +5% in households (from 7.7/12), +13% in adults 25-54 (from 3.1/07), +25% in adults 18-49 (from 2.0/05) and added +710,000 viewers (from 11.73m, +6%). THE GOOD WIFE posted its best households and viewer deliveries since Oct. 26, 2010, and its best adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 performances since Oct. 19, 2010.
For the night, CBS was first in households (9.7/15), viewers (15.30m) and adults 25-54 (4.4/10); it was second in adults 18-49 (3.2/08).
Updated Tuesday ratings will be available this afternoon.


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Nation & World
Report says undermining Venezuelan judiciary threatens rule of law
Political interference, intimidation and the arbitrary dismissal of judges and prosecutors over the past 15 years has undermined Venezuela's justice system and fostered a climate of impunity, criminality and violence in the deeply divided nation, the International Commission of Jurists concluded in a report released Thursday.
The review, which drew on interviews conducted in Venezuela with over 100 former senior judges and public prosecutors as well as lawyers in Caracas, San Cristobal, Puerto Ayacucho and other cities, said that Venezuela's constitutional guarantees of an independent judiciary "are not followed in practice." It said "individual judges become fearful of applying the law justly and impartially because they fear reprisals or professional consequences."
The International Commission of Jurists is an international non-government watchdog agency first set up in the early 1950s to monitor abuses in the Soviet Union and other communist countries. Its board is made up of 60 internationally known jurists. Its current president is an independent expert to the U.N. Human Rights Committee which oversees covenant on civil and political rights.
Wilder Tayler, the group's secretary general, said the organization "had not been able to engage in a meaningful dialogue with the government" in compiling the study.
Carlos Ayala, a member of the ICJ executive committee and a professor of constitutional law at the Catholic University of Caracas, said that Venezuelan judges often are appointed by the country's judicial commission without a public process and that the same body can "dismiss judges without due process or any procedure."
He said 70 percent of the country's judges are in office only provisionally and can be dismissed at any time.
Such a system "cannot be justified by the Venezuelan constitution or international law," the ICJ report said. "The lack of security of tenure renders the system of justice vulnerable to improper influence and manipulation."
Pedro Nikken, a former dean of the law school at the Central University of Venezuela and an ICJ board member, said the chaos within the justice system was one reason Venezuela, with a population of 30 million people, suffers 15,000 murders.
About 90 percent of the crimes aren't investigated, encouraging other crimes, he said.
The report also found that prosecutors between 2008 and 2012 won convictions in only 12.55 percent of their cases. "This encourages a loss of confidence in the justice system, and represents one of the main causes of impunity, which in turn helps to perpetuate the feeling of citizen insecurity," the report said.
The report also provided statistics on the impact of anti-government demonstrations this year: about 1500 students have been brought before courts, and 160 remain in jail. At least 42 people have died in the clashes _ 38 civilians and four members of law enforcement and security agencies. At least 14 cases of alleged torture have been recorded to date by law enforcement agencies, the report said.


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"DEADLIEST CATCH" Grabs 3.47 Million Viewers
(NEW YORK) Last night's season premiere of DEADLIEST CATCH was the #1 series in cable among Persons and Men 25-54 delivery (no exclusions) on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, beating all cable programs and multiple broadcast series on networks that included ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Discovery was also the #1 cable network in Prime among P/M25-54 and P/M18-49 delivery and increased viewership by +28% vs. last season's premiere.
DEADLIEST CATCH earned a 2.48 HH/2.25 P25-54/1.83 P18-49 and delivered 3.47 million viewers P2+ making it the #1 cable program among Persons (25-54/18-49) and Men 25-54 (no exclusions), beating most broadcast television series including: NBC's "Ready for Love," FOX's "Hell's Kitchen," "New Girl" and "Mindy Project," ABC's "Dancing with the Stars - Results Show," "Body of Proof" and "Splash," and CBS's "Golden By" and "NCIS: Los Angeles." It was also the #1 ad-supported cable program among P2+, P18+, P/M25-54 and P/M18-49 delivery, no exclusions.
DEADLIEST CATCH: THE LEGEND OF THE TIME BANDIT, a special which aired at 10 p.m. ET and followed the iconic Deadliest Catch boat The Time Bandit as it dry docks for summer repairs, earned a 2.27 HH/1.94 P25-54/1.44 P18-49 and delivered 2.97 total viewers P2+. It was the #2 program on Tuesday night behind only DEADLIEST CATCH among both P/M 25-54 delivery (no exclusions).
DEADLIEST CATCH viewers are among the most passionate, and they took to Discovery.com and social media to deepen their engagement with the series. Online, fans have been signing up in droves for the new Deadliest Catch Fantasy Game over the past few weeks and, with last night's premiere, they sent their virtual crews out to sea to compete for bragging rights among fellow CATCH diehards. On Twitter, fans tweeted along with their favorite Captains and even had their Tweets featured live in the premiere of THE BAIT at 8pm ET. At the end of the night, DEADLIEST CATCH was among the top 10 most social cable programs on Tuesday, according to Trendrr, and more than doubled the volume of conversation when compared with last season's premiere night.
Now in its ninth season on Discovery Channel, the multiple Emmy Award-winning series from Thom Beers' Original Productions, follows a group of seven skippers and their crew fighting through hell and back again in search of King and Opilio crab.
An all new DEADLIEST CATCH premieres next Tuesday, April 23 at 9 PM E/P on Discovery.
Source: Nielsen. NHI Calendar. 4/16/13. Live+SD AA% and AA (000).
About Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.8 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 210 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 209 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity through 149 worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science and Investigation Discovery, as well as U.S. joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The Hub and 3net, the first 24-hour 3D network. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services, including Revision3. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.


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Health Indicator Report of Cervical Cancer Screening (Pap)
Cervical cancer is one of the most curable cancers if detected early through routine screening. Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by infection with high-risk types of the human papillomavirus (HPV). The HPV vaccine protects against the HPV types that most often cause cervical cancer. Women who have had an HPV vaccine still need to have routine Pap smears because the vaccine does not fully protect against all the strains of the virus and other risk factors that can cause cervical cancer. HPV is transmitted through sexual contact. Any woman who is sexually active is at risk for developing cervical cancer. Other risk factors include giving birth to many children, having sexual relations at an early age, having multiple sex partners or partners with many other partners, cigarette smoking, and use of oral contraceptives. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends cervical cancer screening (Pap smear) every 3 years for women 21 to 65 years old. For women 30 to 65 years old, Pap smears may be conducted every 5 years in conjunction with human papillomavirus (HPV) testing.
Pap Smear in the Past Three Years by Ethnicity, Utah, 2016
NotesAge-adjusted to the U.S. 2000 standard population.
Data SourceUtah Data: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Office of Public Health Assessment, Utah Department of Health
Data Interpretation IssuesTo reduce bias and more accurately represent population data, the BRFSS has changed survey methodology. In 2010, it began conducting surveys by cellular phone in addition to landline phones. It also adopted "iterative proportional fitting" (raking) as its weighting method. More details about these changes can be found at: [https://ibis.health.utah.gov/pdf/opha/resource/brfss/RakingImpact2011.pdf].
DefinitionThe proportion of women 18 years or older who reported having a Pap test in the last three years.
NumeratorThe proportion of women 18 years or older who reported having a Pap test in the last three years.
DenominatorThe total number of female survey respondents aged 18 or older excluding those who responded "don't know" or "refused" to the numerator question.
Healthy People Objective C-15:Increase the proportion of women who receive a cervical cancer screening based on the most recent guidelines
U.S. Target: 93.0 percent
State Target: currently being revised
How Are We Doing?Between 1991 and 2010, the percentage of Utah women aged 18 or older who reported receiving a Pap test within the last three years decreased from 88.2 percent to 74.0 percent (old methodology, age-adjusted rates). To reduce bias and more accurately represent population data, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) has changed survey methodology in 2010. It began conducting surveys by cellular phone in addition to landline phones. It also adopted "iterative proportional fitting" (raking) as its weighting method. Based on this methodology, Utah's 2016 rate was 66.7 percent (age-adjusted rate). All additional indicator views are based on the new methodology. For combined years 2014 and 2016, San Juan (54.2%), Central Utah (57.3%), Southeast Utah (59.5%), TriCounty (62.4%), and Utah County (64.9%) local health districts reported significantly lower cervical cancer screening rates when compared to the state (68.3%). After dividing the health districts into Utah Small Areas, the prevalence of Pap tests for combined years 2014 and 2016 ranged from a high of 83.3 percent in North Salt Lake to a low of 29.2 percent in Daybreak. There were no significant differences in cervical cancer screening rates in 2016 among Hispanic and non-Hispanic ethnic groups. In 2016, and when looking at the highest level of education completed for women 25+, college graduates (75.6%) were significantly more likely to have received a Pap test than those with a high school diploma (67.8%) or less (63.1%). Also in 2016, women in households with lower annual incomes were significantly less likely to have had a Pap test within the past 3 years (61.0 percent for incomes less than $25,000) than women with higher incomes (73.0 percent for annual incomes of $75,000 or more). For women of screening age in 2016, younger women aged 18-34 reported significantly lower rates (61.6 percent) when compared to older women (ages 35-49, 79.1 percent; ages 50-64, 76.0 percent).
How Do We Compare With the U.S.?Nationally, the percentage of women aged 18 or older who reported receiving a Pap test in the past three years decreased from 88.6 percent in 1991 to 80.6 percent in 2010. Since then, and with the new BRFSS methods, national Pap test screening rates have continued to decline (83.0 percent in 2010 and 74.9 percent in 2014). Utah screening rates are also on a downward trend and have consistently been lower than national rates in the past decade. Using the new BRFSS methodology, 69.5 percent of Utah women aged 18 or older reported receiving a Pap test in 2014.
What Is Being Done?The Utah Cancer Control Program (UCCP) provides free to low cost Pap tests and pelvic exams to women who meet age and income guidelines. Eligible women with abnormal screening exams are offered diagnostic evaluation by participating providers. In addition, the UCCP provides education about the need for early detection and the availability of screening services, collects outcome data, and disseminates information about cervical cancer. The Utah Department of Health also initiated the Utah Cancer Action Network (UCAN), a statewide partnership whose goal is to reduce the burden of cancer. The mission of the UCAN is to lower cancer incidence and mortality in Utah through collaborative efforts directed toward cancer prevention and control. As a result of this planning process, objectives and strategies have been developed by community partners regarding the early detection of cervical, testicular, prostate, skin, breast, and colorectal cancers as well as the promotion of physical activity, healthy eating habits, and smoking cessation.
Available ServicesThe Utah Cancer Control Program (UCCP) provides free and low cost Pap tests and pelvic exams to women who meet age and income guidelines. Eligible women with abnormal screening exams are offered diagnostic evaluation by participating providers. As of July 1, 2001, the UCCP is able to refer Utah women in need of treatment for cervical cancers and precancerous lesions to Medicaid for full benefits. The women must meet all requirements as outlined in the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act. In addition, the Utah Immunization Vaccines for Children (VFC) program provides low cost HPV vaccines to females ages 9 to 18 who meet income guidelines.
Health Program InformationIn 1976, the Utah Department of Health received a cervical cancer grant from the National Cancer Institute. In 1980, the Utah Department of Health began providing clinical breast exams and Pap tests on a sliding fee scale. In 1993, state funding was appropriated for mammography. In that same year, the Utah Cancer Control Program (UCCP) first received a capacity building grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct breast and cervical cancer screening in Utah. A comprehensive grant was awarded to the program in 1994 to continue breast and cervical cancer screening. Since 1994, the UCCP and partners, including local health departments, mammography facilities, pathology laboratories, and private providers, have worked together to ensure the appropriate and timely provision of clinical services. The UCCP continues to receive funding from the CDC for breast and cervical cancer screening. Additionally, the UCCP receives funding to implement comprehensive cancer control strategies that were identified by the Utah Cancer Action Network (UCAN) statewide partnership.
Page Content Updated On 02/04/2019, Published on 02/05/2019


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The county of Yorkshire was so named as it is the Shire of the city of York. North Yorkshire is the biggest county in England, formed in part by the old North Riding of Yorkshire. The term 'riding' is of Viking origin and derives from Threthingr meaning a third part. Historically, there were three ridings in Yorkshire - the East Riding, West Riding and North Riding. Today Yorkshire is made up of South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire (after the introduction of the 1974 Local Government Act).
South Yorkshire has a population of around *1.34 million and consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.
North Yorkshire covers over 8,000 square kilometres of non-metropolitan Dales and Moors, making up over 40% of Yorkshire's National Parks area. Local government districts consist of: Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby.
West Yorkshire (where my ancestors hail from) has a population of around *2.2 million and has five metropolitan boroughs: City of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, City of Leeds and City of Wakefield.
East Riding is a ceremonial county of England which includes the city of Kingston upon Hull and the non-metropolitan county of Humberside.
*N.B. Population statistics as from 2011
|North York Moors
|Yorkshire Moors
|Old Cote Cottages, Oxenhope
|Horbury Town Hall and Library
|Cusworth Hall, Doncaster
Things I personally associate with Yorkshire:
My Preston ancestors who lived in: Horbury : Thornton : Hull : Huddersfield : Wakefield : Dewsbury : Thornhill : Ossett
Yorkshire Terriers : Yorkshire pudding : Moors & Dales : The Bronte sisters (especially Wuthering Heights) : All Creatures Great and Small : Heartbeat : Emmerdale : Pulp
|Yorkshire is definitely on my Bucket List