.. since I've been asked several times what gear the summer photos have been made with, I'll write it here and then refer back...
Pentax K5
Sigma 100-300/4
Tamron 17-50/2.8
Pentax D-FA50 Macro /2.8
and maybe the Monopod (Manfrotto 569+234RC2 head) or Tripod (Manfrotto 055DB with 222RC2 head).
Optional have been the Cokin P series holders and 3 stop ND Grad or ND (though the grad hasn't really been used).
- Bret
26/07/2012
08/06/2012
I haz PSU...
Got a Coolermaster GXLite 500W. According to their calcs, 420W should be enough, but it's "only" got 6 SATA plugs. So let's see what happens when I tear the box apart tomorrow. Need to re-tighten the elastic anyway (the disks are *all* suspended) and then I won't put the new 2TB in the array. So it will be just 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1.5, making around 3.7TB net. That's enough to be going on with (it'll be pretty full, mind...)
Deduplication will *not* be turned on this time. Atime will be turned off. The rest? Let's see how the performance goes for the short term. I need stability first and performance second, 60MB/s is fine, thanks.
- Bret
Deduplication will *not* be turned on this time. Atime will be turned off. The rest? Let's see how the performance goes for the short term. I need stability first and performance second, 60MB/s is fine, thanks.
- Bret
07/06/2012
PSU?!
So, the saga of the data that's not elsewhere continues.
I tried probably 15 times to boot the box yesterday, and every single time after ten minutes or so, it would lock up.
Then I set the PnP OS in the BIOS to "NO" and hey presto, it got better.
Removing one of the disks made it even better. So from here, it looks, smells and feels like there's a heat and PSU issue. I moved it back onto the table this morning (it locked up at 05:11) and in the process took down the NTFS disk attached (grr!) so I've started the copy *again*. If this works, then I'm 99% sure I need a new PSU as the old one seems to struggle under load and again under heat. It's pretty boxed-in back there, so I could sort of understand this.
In the mean time, then, I'll try to re-copy the data for the umpteenth time (lost another NTFS disk yesterday, main file table corrupt so Windows 7 says "NO!") and if I get that fixed, I'll be a happy bunny.
Moral? Sort your backups out before it's too late....
- Bret
I tried probably 15 times to boot the box yesterday, and every single time after ten minutes or so, it would lock up.
Then I set the PnP OS in the BIOS to "NO" and hey presto, it got better.
Removing one of the disks made it even better. So from here, it looks, smells and feels like there's a heat and PSU issue. I moved it back onto the table this morning (it locked up at 05:11) and in the process took down the NTFS disk attached (grr!) so I've started the copy *again*. If this works, then I'm 99% sure I need a new PSU as the old one seems to struggle under load and again under heat. It's pretty boxed-in back there, so I could sort of understand this.
In the mean time, then, I'll try to re-copy the data for the umpteenth time (lost another NTFS disk yesterday, main file table corrupt so Windows 7 says "NO!") and if I get that fixed, I'll be a happy bunny.
Moral? Sort your backups out before it's too late....
- Bret
06/06/2012
verkkokauppa.com rocks!
teh 7200.11s in the previous post; they were remanufactured disks. Bought from verkkokauppa.com.
I had no receipt, but the original "packaging" (antistatic bags). I took them back.
No issues. No replacements, but the "money" back and I've added €40 to it and got an HD204UI. Nice. No requirements on their part - and their customer service is really rather good.
Now, if only they could sort the transport out to their store...
- Bret
I had no receipt, but the original "packaging" (antistatic bags). I took them back.
No issues. No replacements, but the "money" back and I've added €40 to it and got an HD204UI. Nice. No requirements on their part - and their customer service is really rather good.
Now, if only they could sort the transport out to their store...
- Bret
CHS0 / DRDY / ATA issues under Ubuntu
I've been messing with Ubuntu for a while now, but I'm slowly hitting a brick wall. I had some major problems yesterday with my server box, where two Seagate 7200.11s appear to have died, and so I'm trying to pull the last of the data off that I'm not 100% sure is elsewhere.
1.2TB of it.
That takes time. Now, the disks were running OK yesterday - but the box locked up as soon as I tried to access the Samba share at one point. At another, it was running fine with 45MB/s transfer rates... and now? Now it's running 15 locally to a disk that's on the SATA bus!
Anyways, I don't care if the 2011 directory is copied safely.
The reason I write this post; I appear to have been having major problems with the SATA bus, and changing the graphics card appears to have helped. I do not understand this 100%, but if it's the cure for the issue, I'm not really bothered.
I'll keep you updated...
the new ZFS, by the way, will have Dedup and atime disabled from the start and will probably have either five disks in a single vdev for around 3.5TB of space or maybe two three-disk vdevs. Haven't decided yet, need to do some research. The box "only" has 8GB of memory and 6 disks (potentially 7), and performance is supposed to be best with only five disks. Performance would be nice, but 60MB/s is enough.
Just hoping the data comes off cleanly and then I can work on getting it back on again.
The 7200.11s were giving me the above SATA issue; one of them would drop off the bus five minutes after boot and the other would give the DRDY error every three seconds or so, reducing speeds to 2MB/s.
If the PATA system disk is dying, that's fair enough, I'll have to replace that, too, but at least that can be something slow and it's not a problem.
- Bret
1.2TB of it.
That takes time. Now, the disks were running OK yesterday - but the box locked up as soon as I tried to access the Samba share at one point. At another, it was running fine with 45MB/s transfer rates... and now? Now it's running 15 locally to a disk that's on the SATA bus!
Anyways, I don't care if the 2011 directory is copied safely.
The reason I write this post; I appear to have been having major problems with the SATA bus, and changing the graphics card appears to have helped. I do not understand this 100%, but if it's the cure for the issue, I'm not really bothered.
I'll keep you updated...
the new ZFS, by the way, will have Dedup and atime disabled from the start and will probably have either five disks in a single vdev for around 3.5TB of space or maybe two three-disk vdevs. Haven't decided yet, need to do some research. The box "only" has 8GB of memory and 6 disks (potentially 7), and performance is supposed to be best with only five disks. Performance would be nice, but 60MB/s is enough.
Just hoping the data comes off cleanly and then I can work on getting it back on again.
The 7200.11s were giving me the above SATA issue; one of them would drop off the bus five minutes after boot and the other would give the DRDY error every three seconds or so, reducing speeds to 2MB/s.
If the PATA system disk is dying, that's fair enough, I'll have to replace that, too, but at least that can be something slow and it's not a problem.
- Bret
27/05/2012
A2: Wobbles
My A2 has been afflicted for a while with the wobbles at various speeds. Some things have helped (it got much worse around last autumn) and others haven't.
One thing which I'd been assured had been done and obviously hadn't is a decent alignment. My wobbles just got a *lot* better. I'll be taking the wheels to be balanced again this week as we're off up north on Saturday.
So: Alignment can help wobbles, no matter whether you believe it or not. Seems counterintuitive, but that doesn't make it any less true ;)
- Bret
One thing which I'd been assured had been done and obviously hadn't is a decent alignment. My wobbles just got a *lot* better. I'll be taking the wheels to be balanced again this week as we're off up north on Saturday.
So: Alignment can help wobbles, no matter whether you believe it or not. Seems counterintuitive, but that doesn't make it any less true ;)
- Bret
22/05/2012
a2 suspension revisited and extended
Following on from this, I'll expand it : http://kivikuvat.blogspot.com/2011/11/post-on-something-completely-different.html
There are multiple options:
- FSDs are soft-ish
- Bilstein B4s are "standard", B6s a tick harder and B8s shorter
- Monroe reflexes are supposed to be the "same tech" as FSDs, but cheaper
- Spidan springs are as "standard"
- Weitec springs are harder
- Eibach / ABT springs are a *tick* harder than standard
Tyre pressures make a huge difference. I was running 2.3 all round on my car and then changed it to 2.7 or so at the back. The crashiness over potholes increased - and massively, too. I drive a set of gravel roads regularly to the stables and the holes don't change *that* much, so I know where they are - and the difference is amazing.
I much prefer the 2.3 setup.
Wheel weights also make a huge difference, so lightweight wheels with low profile 15s, Spidans and FSDs are probably the softest / most effective "magic carpet" combo you will get. B6s will also be not far behind. You will still get roll and nod, but not too much.
FSDs also seem to not be consistent between one batch and another.
From here:
- minimal roll, nod, squat is probably acheived with Koni Yellows, Oz Ultraleggeras in 17x7 with 205/40R17 and Weitec springs.
Alternative? Silverline with the Stainless parts or it will no longer be adjustable after the first winter ;)
- medium comfort with some roll, nod, and squat: 16" 195/45R16 Oz Superturismo, B6, Weitec or ABT / Eibach
- high comfort with some sportiness left: 195/50R15 on, say TD Pro Race or other 6.5 - 7J x15 *light* wheel, B6 or FSD, Eibach, possibly Weitec
- comfort: B4, Spidan, pepperpots with 185/60R15.
Do not forget to check the droplinks and the antirollbar mounts as if they are loose or worn, you will get crappy handling. You should also think about the lower balljoints and therefore wishbones including their rubber mounts if you want to tighten things up. Rear mounts are more difficult to replace but only about €20 each in Germany.
So:
- Replace your droplinks
- replace the ARB mounting points if you haven't already
- Ensure your tyres / wheels are conducive to the ride you're looking for; note also the relative size of teh tyre to the wheel
- a 195 tyre on 7J will be nearly stretched, on 6J it will be much softer as a result.
- Check your wishbone mounts front and rear, they may be OK, maybe not. Replace for optimal results.
Parts list:
8Z0 412 301 - front bump stop (2 pieces)
6Q0 512 131 B - rear bump stop (2 pieces)
6N0 412 249 C - strut bearing (2 pieces)
also recommended to exchange especially in case of high mileage:
8Z0 511 149 A - rear, bottom spring yellow PUR rubber seat (2 pieces)
1J0 512 149 B , rear, top spring black hard-rubber seat (2 pieces)
6N0 413 175 A - dust protection for the front damper piston rod (2 pieces)
1J0 513 425 A - dust protection tube for the rear damper piston rod (2 pieces) -
8Z0 411 315 D - droplink (2 pieces) (REPLACE with MEYLE HD version, but make 100% sure you have the correct tool to tighten them!)
suggested to exchange due to possible rust pitting:
N 019 530 3 - screw (6 pieces)
N 101 064 02 - nut (4 pieces)
N 101 389 02 - screw (4 pieces)
N 102 078 03 - screw (4 pieces)
N 102 613 10 - nut (2 pieces)
N 102 861 10 - nut (2 pieces)
N 104 018 01 - nut (2 pieces)
N 905 173 02 - screw (2 pieces)
N 906 484 02 - screw (4 pieces)
N 909 081 01 - nut (2 pieces)
- Bret
There are multiple options:
- FSDs are soft-ish
- Bilstein B4s are "standard", B6s a tick harder and B8s shorter
- Monroe reflexes are supposed to be the "same tech" as FSDs, but cheaper
- Spidan springs are as "standard"
- Weitec springs are harder
- Eibach / ABT springs are a *tick* harder than standard
Tyre pressures make a huge difference. I was running 2.3 all round on my car and then changed it to 2.7 or so at the back. The crashiness over potholes increased - and massively, too. I drive a set of gravel roads regularly to the stables and the holes don't change *that* much, so I know where they are - and the difference is amazing.
I much prefer the 2.3 setup.
Wheel weights also make a huge difference, so lightweight wheels with low profile 15s, Spidans and FSDs are probably the softest / most effective "magic carpet" combo you will get. B6s will also be not far behind. You will still get roll and nod, but not too much.
FSDs also seem to not be consistent between one batch and another.
From here:
- minimal roll, nod, squat is probably acheived with Koni Yellows, Oz Ultraleggeras in 17x7 with 205/40R17 and Weitec springs.
Alternative? Silverline with the Stainless parts or it will no longer be adjustable after the first winter ;)
- medium comfort with some roll, nod, and squat: 16" 195/45R16 Oz Superturismo, B6, Weitec or ABT / Eibach
- high comfort with some sportiness left: 195/50R15 on, say TD Pro Race or other 6.5 - 7J x15 *light* wheel, B6 or FSD, Eibach, possibly Weitec
- comfort: B4, Spidan, pepperpots with 185/60R15.
Do not forget to check the droplinks and the antirollbar mounts as if they are loose or worn, you will get crappy handling. You should also think about the lower balljoints and therefore wishbones including their rubber mounts if you want to tighten things up. Rear mounts are more difficult to replace but only about €20 each in Germany.
So:
- Replace your droplinks
- replace the ARB mounting points if you haven't already
- Ensure your tyres / wheels are conducive to the ride you're looking for; note also the relative size of teh tyre to the wheel
- a 195 tyre on 7J will be nearly stretched, on 6J it will be much softer as a result.
- Check your wishbone mounts front and rear, they may be OK, maybe not. Replace for optimal results.
Parts list:
8Z0 412 301 - front bump stop (2 pieces)
6Q0 512 131 B - rear bump stop (2 pieces)
6N0 412 249 C - strut bearing (2 pieces)
also recommended to exchange especially in case of high mileage:
8Z0 511 149 A - rear, bottom spring yellow PUR rubber seat (2 pieces)
1J0 512 149 B , rear, top spring black hard-rubber seat (2 pieces)
6N0 413 175 A - dust protection for the front damper piston rod (2 pieces)
1J0 513 425 A - dust protection tube for the rear damper piston rod (2 pieces) -
8Z0 411 315 D - droplink (2 pieces) (REPLACE with MEYLE HD version, but make 100% sure you have the correct tool to tighten them!)
suggested to exchange due to possible rust pitting:
N 019 530 3 - screw (6 pieces)
N 101 064 02 - nut (4 pieces)
N 101 389 02 - screw (4 pieces)
N 102 078 03 - screw (4 pieces)
N 102 613 10 - nut (2 pieces)
N 102 861 10 - nut (2 pieces)
N 104 018 01 - nut (2 pieces)
N 905 173 02 - screw (2 pieces)
N 906 484 02 - screw (4 pieces)
N 909 081 01 - nut (2 pieces)
- Bret
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