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555 Timer Den 555 timerns IC-krets är en integrerad krets (chip) som används i ett intervall av timer, fördröjnings, pulsgenerering och oscillatorn funktioner. Det är en användbar komponent i modellsatsbyggnader och ljusmoduleringar. Det är en tidkrets som ger exakta och mycket stabila tidsfördröjningar eller svängningar. Dessa typer av integrerade kretsar är billiga och pålitliga jämfört med OP-Amp-applikationerna i samma områden. 555Timers används som pålitliga och monostabila multivibratorer i digitala logiska sonder, DC-DC-omvandlare, varvräknare, analoga frekvensmätare, spänningsregulatorer, temperaturstyrda och mätanordningar. IC SE555 kan användas i temperaturintervaller från - 55 ° C till 125 ° C, medan IC NE555 kan användas under temperaturintervaller från 0 ° till 70 ° C. En monostabil multivibrator är en sekventiell logisk elektronisk krets som genererar en utgångspuls. När den utlöses produceras en puls med fördefinierad varaktighet. Kretsen återgår sedan till sitt stabila tillstånd och producerar inte mer utgång tills den aktiveras igen.

Hard Drives (HDD) A hard disk drive (HDD) is a storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information (data) HDD retains their data even when powered off, unlike memory RAMs. ​ There are three types of hard drives: SATA , SSD, and NVMe . ​ In 2003, SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) was introduced as the default interface for most desktop and laptop hard drives and referred to as SATA hard drives, but they are rotary hard drives with spinning platters coated with a magnetic material, with a moving needle that writes data to consecutive sectors on each platter. ​ Most computer HDDs are fitted into an internal drive bay in the computer and connect to the motherboard using a SATA cable. ​ HDDs can also be used as external devices these are reasonable as backup drives reducing the risk of data loss if the HDD fails. ​ The two most common form factors for modern HDDs are 3.5-inch for desktop computers and 2.5-inch for laptops. ​ A single drive can range from 80 GB to 16 TB and are reliable drives if you need a lot of cheap storage and do not need extremely high reads or writes. Since data is physically written to a disk, deleted, and re-written numerous times, it can become fragmented, meaning that different sectors can be spread across different areas of the disk, thereby slowing down the drive. HDDs also are vulnerable to shock or sudden movement since there are moving parts in each drive, which makes them a poor choice for laptops. Pros: Low cost. High disk sizes. Cons: Not good for laptops. Requires regular de-fragmentation. SSD stands for Solid State Drive , SSDs do not have moving parts. Instead, the data is stored on non-volatile flash memory. So, there is no needle that must move to read or write data, and this makes them significantly faster than SATA drives. It is difficult to define exact speeds because it varies by manufacturer and form factor, but the lower-performing drives are comparable to SATA drives. ​ The disadvantage is that they are significantly more expensive and do not come in as many sizes. SSD drives generally range from about 80GB to 2 TB. Since there are no moving parts, these drives are also more durable, and there are form factors built specifically for laptops, making them ideal for storage on the go. But they are still prone to failure. Pros: Fast More durable, especially for laptops Cons: More expensive than SATA drives Lower disk sizes Non-Volatile Memory Express, or NVMe Released in 2013, is a type of SSD that is attached to a motherboard fitted with a PCI Express (PCIe) slot. Incredibly fast, PCIe slots were originally designed for graphics cards. Speeds on NVMe drives can reach an interface rate of 32 Gb/s with a throughput of 3.9 GB/s, useful if gaming or high-resolution video editing. ​ Most older BIOS do not support booting from NVMe, so installing an Operating System on an NVMe, a motherboard upgrade may be required. Having worked for a major IT company and saw the distress on customers' faces when their HDDs failed and they lost their data, I always recommend the Cloud Storage option for important data or photographs. Data recovery on failed drives is awfully expensive and not guaranteed. ​ ​ ​ Protect your data, if you scrap an old computer DO NOT throw away your HDDs as they can be connected to your new computer using a USB adapter. Also, the important data stored on them can be retrieved by a second or third party, meaning they could have access to ALL your personal information, including passwords and bank details, so BEWARE! Dealing with HDD Error messages and issues

Paint Brushes There is one certainty, paintbrushes vary enormously in quality. Cheap brushes will generally be of poorer quality and most paint finishes will reflect that fact. The main influence in brush quality is the type of hair used. Quality brush hairs will naturally form a point and will have a good spring to them, so they can be bent and quickly return to their usual shape. Decent brushes hold more paint and will deliver the paint consistently, instead of a flash as soon as the brush touches the subject. Traditionally, paintbrushes were made with various types of natural hairs or bristles. There is soft or stiff depending on the intended use. These days, many paintbrushes are made from synthetic hairs, and being with synthetic brushes were of debatable quality. The only advantage they had over natural hairs was the cheapness of production. But now, synthetic bristles have improved immensely. Some artists and modellers still insist that the best brushes are Kolinsky Sable hair, but many modellers only use synthetic hair brushes. For myself, I have found the manufacturer is just as vital factor in brush quality. I have had exceptionally good and noticeably mediocre brushes made sable and synthetic hairs. Sable Martin Listed below are the most common hair used by modelers: Sable - is considered to make the ultimate soft brush. It is made from the hairs from the tail of a Sable Marten. Sable hair has a natural taper, so when they are put into a brush, they form a point. Sable brushes are generally the most expensive, they are famed for their softness, flexibility, fine point, and ability to hold paint. Kolinsky Sable from Siberia is generally considered the best of sable. Squirrel – are less expensive than Sable, squirrel hairs are soft, but do not have limited spring, so work better in large brushes. Synthetic - Nylon was often used in the early synthetic brushes. Making the bristles course with thick ends, so did not perform well. The advantage was being cheap and durable. Modern synthetic brushes have improved immensely, being made from a variety of materials. The best specimens closely mimic natural hair very. Synthetic bristles occasionally stay in good condition longer than natural hairs, but increased quality often means increased cost. Sable Marten Squirrel Paint Brush Shapes care vast and come in may sizes, and modelllers can easily use most, although in reality most modeller only use a small fraction. The most extensively used modellers brush is the round because it can be used to make fine lines, block in colour and blending. Flats and Washes are also popular to do edges or fat for wider strokes. Liner brushes hold a lot of colour and can make long continuous lines without the need to reload the brush. While Fans can be used for grass, hair, feathers, fur or squiggles. Paintbrush shapes range from: ​ Angular or Dagger – banding fine lines, leaves or plant stems. Natural Round, Fan and Flat – depending on size and shape, washes, glazes and weathering streaks. Glaze, Wash or Funky Pouncer – adding texture, stains, weathering. Stencil – strong short bristles for dabbing. Bristle Round, Flat and Fan - depending on size and shape, good for fine to thicker lines, blending, blocking in colour, grass, hair, feathers or fur. Wisp or Comb – paint multiple lines at one time, good for foliage, hair or feathers. Wisp Fan – paint multiple lines at one time, good for splattering. Wisp Flat - paint multiple lines at one time, good for grass, hair, feathers or squiggles. Filbert or Wisp Filbert - paint multiple lines at one time, good for grass, hair, fur, feathers or flower petals. Triangular – triple load with colour for blending. Liner – extra fine lines, small strokes and fine detail. Detail -angles shapes, sharp edges and floating colours in tight areas. Script – extra long strokes, lines and scrolling.

Tomato Soup Cooking your own tomato soup is easy and rewarding. There are many benefits from making your own tomato soup, such as, you know what ingredients have gone into it and the lack of additives, like colourants, stabilizers, and preservatives that are used in commercially produced products. ​ This is my recipe; it makes enough for 4 large meals for two people (we freeze unused). You can vary the ingredients to vary your own needs, likes, or dislikes, so, feel free to experiment. Recipe ​ 1000 grams of sweet tomatoes 3 x large carrots 3 x large onions 4 x sticks of celery 2 x whole garlics 6 x fresh mint leaves (or a tablespoon of dried mint) 1 Litre of vegetable stock (either you own, or I use 2 x Knorr vegetable stock pot (112g)) 2x tablespoons of Tomato Puree 20 grams Extra Virgin Olive Oil 8 grams granulated sugar 2g table salt 2g pepper

Operating Systems An operating system (OS) is the system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs. Most computer programs require an operating system to function. Since the early days of Windows 3.0 and 3.1, operating systems for home or business users have evolved into more reliable and complex operating systems capable of undertaking countless tasks. Even so, most operating systems and software programs are upgraded rather than rewritten from the ground up. This lack of commitment and foresight limits operating systems development. What we see in science fiction (SciFi) films is not commonplace in our homes. Yet we have the technology and skills to push operating systems into that age, where: ​ ​ Walls become displays in every room. Desktop computers are integrated systems that communicate with our home and business devices, such as store cupboards, fridges, entertainment, lighting, heating, and security. Voice recognition and instant language translation are commonplace. Contact lenses become the new interfaces and remove the need for mobile phones, tablets, or laptops. ​ The four most common operating systems are: ​ Microsoft Windows Apple’s macOS Linux (Although this is not a commonly used OS for PC manufacturers) Android ​ Methods to identify an OS ​ If you do not know what version of Windows being used, press the Windows key at the bottom of the keyboard, which looks like four squares and the R key at the same time to open the Run dialog box, then, Type in ‘ winver ’, then click Okay . A window should open called About Windows that tells you which operating system you are using. ​ Open the Start menu by clicking the bottom left-hand corner of your screen. If you see a search text box, select it, and then type about or about your pc . If you do not see a search text box, then just start typing about or about your pc . Select About your PC.

Videos - Equipment and Building Model Kits Bottom of page Video appendix ​ 001: Airbrush overview 002: Disassembling and reassembling airbrushes 003: Dehydrator and its use 004: Thorough cleaning and lubricating an airbrush after use 005: Circuit for a pulsating LED using a breadboard and video of Star Wars Destroyer with pulsating engines. 006: 007: 008: 009: 010: 011: 012: 013: 014: 015: 016: 017: 018: 019: 020: 001. Airbrush overview - a brief outline of airbrush types. Watch on YouTube 002. A quick guide on disassembling and reassembling airbrushes. watch on YouTube 003. Using a dehydrator to speed up paint drying and cure times. Watch on YouTube 004. Thorough cleaning and lubricating an airbrush after use. Watch on YouTube 005. Circuit for a pulsating LED using a breadboard and video of Star Wars Destroyer with pulsating engines. List of components: ​ 555Timer 222A Transistor 2k ῼ (ohm) Resistor 20k ῼ (ohm) Resistor 100µf Capacitor LED Watch on YouTube Back to Top

RAID Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) is a group of hard drives, controller cards, and software to increase the reliability and redundancy of data storage on hard drives. RAID comes in multiple configurations, offering enhanced performance and/or better data reliability. Data is distributed across the drives in one of several ways called ‘RAID levels’, depending on the level of redundancy and performance required. ​ RAID numbers are allocated according to the required protection or reliability level required, RAID-5 for example, is not representative of the number of drives involved. The most common RAID implementations are 0, -1, and 5 . RAID can be implemented with and without the ability to hot-swap a drive. ​ RAID 0 ­- The data is written across multiple drives to improve access performance. There is no data redundancy. For example, a 4Meg file would be written across 4 drives in 1Meg pieces. Note that the failure of one drive will render the data inaccessible. The advantage is a much higher throughput. The RAID numbers are, click on each for its meaning: RAID 1 RAID 2 RAID 3 RAID 4 RAID 5 RAID 6 RAID 10 Almost all manufacturers provide a diverse of plug-in controllers that allow RAID execution. These controllers interface with SCSI drives and are available in ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) and PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) configurations, the highest throughput is via the PCI format. RAID support for IDE drives is not generally available. ​ All SCSI drives can be used with a RAID controller, and different drive manufacturers' sizes and throughputs can be used on the same bus. Controller manufacturers provide additional information on expectations. RAID controllers can also act as generic drive controllers interfacing to CD, DVD, and Tape Drives and external accessories like Scanners. ​ RAID drives either be permanently mounted in a chassis, mounted in external drive bays, or externally using Hot-swappable enclosures that each hard drive can be installed or removed without powering down the host computer. eSATA, FireWire, and USB are examples of interfaces that are hot-swappable on computers. ​ Full RAID protection can be realised even in non-removable drive situations where the RAID system provides data protection and time to take the system off-line to replace a failed drive. This can certainly be a less expensive and potentially more reliable option in place of using expensive removable drive carriers.

Photography Photography has always been a large part of my life. My first camera (when I was about seven years old) was a Kodak Brownie 127, a plastic box camera for eight 4x6 cm pictures on 127 film, a paper-backed roll film format. Then, I only shot black and white film. Through the years my cameras became more complex and expensive. But it was not until I signed up to a local photography course that I really appreciated the additional advantages of processing one’s own film and quickly built a darkroom and purchased the equipment required. This opened a whole new world of darkroom highlighting, shading, Solarization (the process of re-exposing photographic paper during the development process), and playing with chemicals to get certain effects. Nowadays, this can be done using digital software, but the experience is not the same as experimenting yourself. Whether you use a conventional film camera or have just purchased your first DSLR and want to learn the basics or are looking for simple ways to update your existing photography skills, the following tips might help build a strong foundation. However, photography is an art, so the learning never stops. So, what is Photography? ​ Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light electronically using a digital sensor, or chemically using light-sensitive materials and chemicals, like photographic film. It is used in numerous fields of science, manufacturing, and business, and has more direct uses for art, film and video production, recreational purposes, hobby, and mass communication. Some cameras can also capture wavelengths of light invisible to the human eye, including UV, infrared, and radio. Having been a senior Shotokan karate instructor I quickly learned that to keep improving the best way is to practice often using varied techniques, make mistakes and be open to learning from others. Essential photography tips ​ 1. Hold your camera correctly - Sounds obvious, doesn’t it, but many photographers do not hold their camera correctly, which can cause camera shake that produces blurry images. Tripods are the best way to reduce camera shake, but in truth, how many people carry a tripod, unless they are shooting in low light situations or have learned the hard way? If not using a tripod it is important to hold the camera correctly to help to reduce unnecessary movement. ​ Most people will sooner or later develop their own way of holding the camera, but it should always be held with both hands. Grip the right side of the camera with your right hand and place your left hand beneath the lens to support the weight of the camera. ​ Also, the closer you keep the camera to your body, the more stable it will become, so keep it close to the body mass. Additional stability can be achieved by leaning up against a wall or crouch down on your knees, but if there is nothing to lean on, try adopting a wider stance. 2. Composition - understand the rule of thirds, fifths, or sixes Old artists deeply understood the composition rules. Most older photography books discuss the thirds, which is based on the idea that pictures are generally more interesting and well balanced when they are not centred. Imagining a grid placed over your images with two vertical lines and two horizontal lines that divide the picture into nine equal sections. ​ Rule of thirds is a photography guideline, dissecting the image into 9 parts, with two evenly spaced horizontal lines. ​ So, following the rule of thirds, rather than positioning your subject or the important elements of a scene at the centre of the photo, place them along one of the four lines, or at the points where the lines intersect. Many cameras even have a grid option you can turn on, which can be useful when composing images. ​ However, rules are made to be broken. Photography is about creativity and personal expression, so sometimes choose to break this rule and place the points of interest elsewhere in the photo. This is fine, but before breaking these rules, it is important to understand them and are in the habit of consciously thinking about composition, the points of interest, and where to place them. ​ These days, professionals, artists, illustrators, or photographers often use the rule of fifths or sixes for composition. Looking at the Dutch and Flemish painters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who used fifths or sixes rules for grand naturalistic landscape and seascapes composition, to empathise dramatic a sky or ocean. 3. Eyes must always be in focus ​ When shooting portraits, the focusing area is small, so it is more important to get the image sharp. The eyes are an important facial feature, and they are often the first thing people look at, especially when it comes to close-ups photography and headshots. ​ So, the subject’s eyes should be the main point of focus. To get both eyes sharp, choose a single focus point and aim it at one of the eyes. Once the first eye is in focus, keep the shutter button pressed halfway down and move the camera to recompose the photo and include the second eye. 4. Consider the background ​ Normally, the background ought to be simple and as clutter-free as possible, so it does not pull the viewer’s attention from the main subject of the photograph. Muted colours and plain patterns often work well, no one wants viewers in being more interested in the colourful building or church tower in the background than your main subject unless a photographer wants to make a statement. ​ Fixing a distracting background can be as simple as moving the subject matter or changing an angle, but if that does not work, try to obscure it by using a wider aperture and getting in as close to the subject as possible. Whenever possible, keep the background neutral, especially if placing the subject off to one side of the photograph making the background more visible. 5. Play with perspective ​ The best way to up creativity levels is to experiment with perspective. Any scene will look remarkably changed when approached from a different angle, while, capturing your subject from above or below can change the feel of a photograph. ​ Of course, changing angles may not work for every photograph, but unless considered or tried how do you know what works. Experimentation is the key factor to help improve your photography. Make mistakes, try new things, and think out-of-the-box. When shooting small objects, animals, or children, get down to their level and view the world through their eyes. If shooting a portrait, consider standing on a bench and shoot your subject from above, or, have them stand on a bench and shoot up. 6. Shoot in RAW ​ RAW is a file format like jpeg, but unlike jpeg, it captures all the image data recorded by the camera’s sensor rather than compressing it. Shooting in RAW provides higher quality images but also allows for more control in post-processing. For instance, correcting underexposure problems or adjusting aspects like colour temperature, white balance, or contrast. ​ However, one negative aspect of shooting in RAW is that the files take up more space, so I advise using larger SD or Micro SD Cards. Furthermore, RAW photos need some sort of post-processing, so photo editing software is essential. 7. Understand the exposure triangle ​ While it can seem intimidating at first, the exposure triangle simply refers to the three most important elements of exposure, ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. When shooting in manual mode all three of these things need to be balanced to get sharp, well-lit photos. ​ ISO - controls the camera’s sensitivity to light. A low ISO setting means the camera will be less sensitive to light, while a higher ISO means it will be more sensitive to light. Conversely, the quality of the image will decrease as the ISO increases and you may see 'noise (grain)' on the image with a higher ISO. So, an ISO setting of 100 to 200 is usually ideal when shooting outdoors during the day, but when shooting in low light situations, such as indoors or at night, using a higher ISO of 400 to 800 or higher may be necessary. ​ Aperture - is the opening in your lens, it controls how much light gets through to the camera’s sensor as well as the depth of field. Depth of field refers to the area surrounding the focal point of the image which remains sharp. A wider aperture (indicated by a lower f-number) lets more light through, but it has a narrow depth of field. While a narrow aperture (indicated by a higher f-number) lets less light through but has a wider depth of field. A wide aperture is terrific when you want to isolate your subject, but when you want the whole scene to be in focus, such as with group shots, a narrow aperture is required. ​ Shutter speed - controls how long the shutter stays open when you take a picture. The longer the shutter stays open, the more light gets through to the camera’s sensor. A fast shutter speed is great for freezing action like a horse jumping a fence, while a longer shutter speed will blur motion. Long shutter speeds can give interesting effects, like flowing river water over rocks but require a tripod. 8. Use a narrow aperture for landscapes ​ Landscape photographs entail an atypical approach because everything in the foreground to the mountains in the background should be sharply in focus. So, when shooting a scene where everything needs to be fully in focus, select a narrow aperture rather than a wide one. ​ A larger f/ number means a narrower aperture, so aim towards f/22 or higher, depending on what the lens allows. Using Aperture Priority Mode (Av or A) will allow experimentation with different apertures without having to worry about adjusting the shutter speed each time. 9. Experiment using Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority Mode ​ Only using automatic mode will limit anyone’s photographic potential, so, experiment using Aperture Priority Mode (A or Av) and Shutter Priority Mode (S or Tv), as they are two valuable options that are available on most cameras. ​ Aperture Priority Mode allows the selection of the aperture and then the camera adjusts the shutter speed accordingly. So, when shooting an object and want to blur the background, select a wide aperture, and let the camera decide the shutter speed. ​ While, Shutter Priority Mode, allows the selection of the shutter speed, and the camera will select the correct aperture. So, for a crisp shot of a racing car speeding past, select a fast shutter speed (a high number, 2000 or higher) and let the camera choose the aperture. 10. Raise the ISO ​ Many photographers try to elude shooting in high ISO as it will lead to grainy-looking photos or ‘noise’. But, while using a higher ISO can lead to lower image quality, grain in some photographs can be beneficial. ​ If the shutter speed cannot be lowered due to motion blur, and a tripod is not an option, it is better to obtain a sharp photo with some noise than no photo at all, anyway, much of the noise can be removed during the post-processing. ​ Furthermore, camera technology has improved so much in recent years, so it is possible to produce great photographs with ISOs of 1600, 3200, 6400, or higher. ​ Either way, using a wider aperture can help to minimise noise when shooting at higher ISOs, and slightly overexposing your image can also help, as making light areas darker in post-processing will not increase noise, whereas making dark areas lighter will. ​ Bearing that in mind, always check the camera's settings before going on a shoot. Discovering that the whole shoot was shot at an ISO 1000 on a bright sunny day can be exasperating, especially if the photos were taken to document a special occasion or other events that cannot be recreated. ​ It is an easy mistake to make (Yes, I learned the hard way), so, to avoid unpleasant surprises, make a habit of checking and resetting your ISO settings before shooting anything. 11. Learn to use the white balance ​ White balance can help you capture colours more accurately. Different types of light have different characteristics, so not adjust the camera's white balance will result in the colours in your photography taking on a marginally blue, orange, or green hue or ‘temperature’. ​ Of course, white balance can be fixed in post-processing, but it can become tedious if you have hundreds of photographs that require small adjustments. Some of the standard white balance settings on a camera include Automatic White Balance, Daylight, Cloudy, Flash, Shade, Fluorescent, and Tungsten. ​ Each is symbolised by a different icon, so check the camera’s manual. Automatic white balance works okay in many situations, but it is best to change the setting according to the type of light shooting in. ​ When shooting indoors I use daylight bulbs for photography and videos, actually, all the bulbs in the house are daylight rated. 12. Flash can be overused or not adequate ​ Built-in camera flash at night or in low light can lead to some unpleasant effects, such as red eyes or harsh shadows. Generally, it is more advisable to better to increase the ISO and get noisier photos than to use the on-camera flash and risk ruining the shot altogether. ​ However, occasionally there may not be enough light, and if you do not have off-camera lighting, there is no other choice but to use the built-in flash. If in this situation there are a couple of things that can be done. First, find the flash settings in the camera’s menu, then reduce the brightness as much as possible. ​ Secondly, use a diffuser, parchment paper is a good option, secure it with tape. Or bounce the light off the ceiling by holding a reflector or white cardboard in front of it at an angle. ​ Nearly all hot-shoe flashguns come with diffusers. 13. Invest in a tripod or two ​ To get sharp photos in low light without raising the ISO, a tripod is an essential accessory. It also allows experimentation with long exposure photography, when the shutter is open for seconds or minutes at a time, this can produce amazing effects when photographing like the sea, rivers, or waterfalls. ​ However, when purchasing a tripod , there are several things to consider, such as weight, stability, height, and flexibility. ​ Weight is important because carrying a heavy tripod around is not fun, but it also needs to be stable enough to support the camera and the lenses. Tripod buying guide . 14. Be selective ​ An important factor to realise is that every photographer, no matter how experienced or talented, will get mediocre shots. However, the reason their portfolios are impressive is that they only display their best work; they do not bore you with the twenty other photos depicting a virtually identical scene. ​ So, if you want your work to stand out on Facebook, Instagram, website, or photo-sharing sites like Flickr or 500px, narrow it down to a couple of extremely good photos from each shoot. By showing the mediocre shots you obscure the three or four great shots obtained. 15. Learn by mistakes ​ Getting overexposed, blurry, grainy, or badly composed photos may be frustrating, but use them as a learning tool, analyse them, what did you do wrong, what do you do right. Keep notes of each shot and the associated factors, like lighting, flash or no flash, handheld or tripod, strong winds with an insubstantial tripod. ​ Most of the time there will be a simple solution such as changing the composition or using a faster shutter speed or changing the aperture. 16. Invest in decent photo editing software ​ This brings us back to shooting in RAW: When shooting in RAW, post-processing will become essential rather than an afterthought, so invest in some photo editing software that will allow basic editing tasks such as, cropping, adjusting exposure, altering white balance and contrast, and removing blemishes. ​ Most professional photographers use programs like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, but less pricey options are Photoshop Elements, Picasa, Paint Shop Pro or GIMP (Gimp is a free powerful open-source software). 17. learn to shoot sunrise or sunset ​ Lighting can make or break a photo, and the early morning and evening are widely thought to be the best times of day for taking photos. In photography, the hour just after the sun rises or before it sets is called the ‘golden hour’, because the sun is lower in the sky and the light is softer and warmer. ​ Whether shooting landscapes, portraits, or still life, using the early morning or evening light can give photos a serene feel with its warm glow and the long shadows it casts. 18. Bracketing ​ One of the most useful techniques in photography is called bracketing , in other words, taking multiple photos of the same subject with different camera settings. Normally, bracketing is about changing your exposure: one photo at the meter’s recommendation, plus one under and one over. But exposure is not the only variable at play here. Why Bracket Photos? ​ Bracketing means you capture a sequence of photos while changing your camera settings from shot to shot. This means you end up with two or more photos of the same scene, with only a couple of differences in each shot. ​ Exposure bracketing is the most common kind of bracketing in photography, will usually ending up with one photo that is too dark, one that is too bright, and one with a correct exposure. But bracketing the focus distance will resulting in one photo that is front-focused, another that is back-focused, and one that is accurate. ​ Some people consider bracketing takes up memory and wastes time. Especially if one knows what settings needed for an image, so, why bracket shots? There are two important reasons why bracketing is beneficial in photography.

Raid 5 to 10 RAID 5, 6 and 10 RAID 5 is block-level striping with distributed parity that allocates parity with the data and needs all the HDDs but one to be present to operate. In this configuration, the array is not destroyed by a single drive failure. When an HDD fails any successive reads can be calculated from the distributed parity, so, the HDD failure is masked from the end-user. RAID 5 requires at least three disks and is often and is reliable a good system to use because if an HDD fails your data is safe on the other HDDs. ​ Also, if you replace the failed HDD with a new HDD it will automatically take over the function of the failed HDD. RAID 6 is block-level striping with double distributed parity that provides fault tolerance up to two failed HDDs. This makes larger RAID groups more practical, particularly for high-end systems. These days this is increasingly significant as large capacity HDDs prolong the time needed to recover from a single HDD failure. ​ Similar to RAID 5 , a single HDD failure results in reduced performance of the total array until the failed HDD has been replaced and the data has been rebuilt. RAID 10 , sometimes mentioned as RAID 1+0 mirroring and striping occurs. Data is written in stripes across primary disks that have been mirrored to the secondary disks. ​ This is the best RAID system, one I have used for a long time.

Airbrushing If you are committed airbrushing will give you more options. ​ Airbrush - there are many airbrush variants and many manufacturers, it is often personal preference. Double or dual-action airbrushes are considered more flexible than single-action airbrushes because they allow users to modify paint volume accordingly. This is more beneficial when building scale models. However, this does not imply that the single-action brush cannot be used for painting models. Some users prefer single action because they are easy to use and handle. There are a number of types available: Single action - Press down the trigger controls airflow, basically, it is an on-off device, so do not try to control the airflow or pressure. That is done using the regulator on the compressor. Twisting the knob at the rear of the airbrush counter clockwise starts and increases paint flow until the knob is twisted completely out. ​Advantages: The separate air and paint controls make single-action airbrushes easier to use than double-action airbrushes. Allowing users to concentrate on moving their hand instead of concentrating on how far back the finger moves. Provides repeatable actions as everything is pre-set. Keeping air pressure and paint flow steady. Double action - Press down on the trigger for air release - pressing down further release more air. Pull back on the trigger for paint release - pulling back further will discharge more paint. Dual-action, sometimes referred to as double-action, allows modellers and artists greater control. Dual-action airbrushes provide the user to produce incredibly fine lines and provide greater control of fading and blending for more detailed work. Good dual-action airbrushes are more expensive than single-action airbrushes because of the greater accuracy. Dual-action airbrushes also have a steeper learning curve than single-action airbrushes, so can take longer to develop full control and a disciplined technique. Trigger or Pistol grip style airbrushes are one of the most useful types of airbrushes available, but they are not so popular amongst the average modeller. There are plenty of trigger or pistol grip airbrushes on the market today, like the: Grex TS. Iwata - TRN1, TRN2, Neo TRN, HP-TR1, HP-TR2, HP-TH, HP-TH2. Sparmax – GP-35, GP-50, GP-70 and GP850. Harder & Steenbeck – Colani. Mr Procon Boy - PS-275, PS-290. Zoukei - Mura PM-C. PointZero. Despite the number of Trigger or Pistol grip style airbrushes available the interest in this specific style of airbrush is minimal. Some manufacturers denote the ‘T/TR’ as ‘Trigger’ other ‘P/PS’ as ‘Pistol’. ​ The benefit of these types of airbrush is being a dual-action airbrush, it works somewhat like a single-action one. Pulling the trigger automatically mixes the air and paint, the more you pull the trigger the richer your mix becomes. Advantages Variations in finger or hand motions benefit people who do not have the dexterity to use a normal trigger. The trigger mechanism stays cleaner for a longer period. Tighter tolerances are obtainable. Disadvantage Trigger mechanism is more problematic to maintain. Sparmax GP-50 Grex Tritium TG Iwata TR1 ​ Gravity-feed - Gravity-feed airbrushes have a paint cup at the top of the airbrush where the paint is poured. With the aid of a compressor, gravity pulls small amounts of paint into the mixing chamber where atomization occurs. ​ Side-feed - Side feed airbrushes are in-between, with the aid of a compressor, they can use a side gravity cup or side siphon-feed bottle. Most side-feed airbrush sets include a cup and bottles. ​ Siphon-fed - Siphon-fed airbrushes feature a bottle or cup connected to the bottom of the airbrush with a tube running through. With the aid of a compressor, the air is drawn into the top of the tube causing the paint to be ‘siphoned’ into the mixing chamber where atomization occurs. I have separate airbrushes for different tasks I do not like mixing airbrushes with different types of paint, primers, or varnishes and each of my airbrushes is labelled for a specific task. Examining the list below, yes, I have a lot of airbrushes, but these were purchased over many tears to see if one airbrush is better than the other, like many of my pieces of equipment. And, yes, there is a great disparity between airbrush manufacturers and models of airbrushes. Often it is personal preference what airbrush you use, an airbrush recommended by one person may not be suitable for you. Airbrush parts vary greatly in quality. I have two cheap-no-name airbrushes that I have been using for many years that provide extremely good results and three expensive ones that I do not like. I have found that the two most important features when considering an airbrush are the quality of the tip and the needle. I have found that many expensive airbrushes have poor quality needles and when examining a tip under a microscope have found that the quality is not as good as one might expect. Airbrush tips also vary greatly and I have had two tips from €250 airbrushes with damaged tips and a number high end needles not Unlike the expensive airbrushes where replacement parts are easily accessible, cheap airbrushes replacement parts are almost non-existent, so over the years I have learned to interchange parts and modify the cheap models with great results. All my airbrushes are thoroughly cleaned and lubricated after use; I do not leave dirty airbrushes on my workbench. If you spend money buying a good product, it should be looked after. ​ I use - ​ Harder & Steenbeck 2 x infinity CRplus – one with a 0.15 mm needle, and the second with a 0.2 mm needle used for fine detail work, used for acrylic paint. 1 x Evolution ALplus with 0.2 mm needle used for fine detail work, used with enamels and lacquer paint. 3 x Evolution CRplus with 0.15 mm, 0.2 mm, and 0.4 mm needles used with enamels and lacquer paint. 2 x Evolution Solo with 0.2 mm, and 0.4 mm needles, used for acrylic paint. ​ Sparmax GP-50 – 1 x with 0.3- and 0.4-mm needles, used for acrylic paint. ​ Badger - 2 x Sotar 20/20 Fine 0.21 mm needle, used for acrylic paint. 1 x Patriot 105 0.33 mm needle used for acrylic paint. 1 x Patriot Extreme 105 0.33 mm needle used for acrylic paint. 2 x Renegade Velocity with a 0.21 mm needle used with enamels and lacquer paint. 1 x Renegade Rage with a 0.33 mm needle used with enamels and lacquer paint. ​ Iwata - 2 x Hi-Line HP-BH 0.3 mm needle one used with acrylic paint, second used with enamels and lacquer paint. 1 x Custom Micron CM-B with 0.4-mm needle used with acrylic paint. 5 x Revolution Neo with various needle sizes used with acrylic paint, enamels, lacquer paint, primers, and vanishes. 1 x Neo TR1 with 0.3 mm - 0.4-mm needles used enamels and lacquer paint. 1 X Neo TR2 with 0.3 mm - 0.4-mm needles used with acrylic paint. ​ MIG Ammo - Aircobra with 0.3 mm needle used with acrylic paint. ​ Grex TS - 0.2 mm, and 0.4 mm needles used with acrylic paint. ​ Mr. Procon Boy PS-290 - with 0.5 mm needle used with acrylic paint. ​ Zoukei - Mura PM-C with 0.3 mm needle used with acrylic paint. ​ PointZero – with 0.35 mm needle used with acrylic paint. ​ 8 x Cheap, no name - airbrushes used mainly for primers and varnishes. I do not have or have never used either of - ​ ​ ​ Paasche ​ AK Interactive Harder & Steenbeck iwata TR2 Harder & Steenbeck Airbrush Nozzle Wagner Portable Paint Booth Portable Spray Booth Spraybooth - Airbrush spray booths help remove unpleasant odours and noxious fumes while airbrushing your model kits/parts. They have large fans with filters and long flexible hose pipes to help suck harmful paint particles and fumes from the booth and filter them out of your house through the window or extraction system. But I still advise wearing a respirator mask for best safety. They also protect pets or people close to the spray environment. Airbrush spray booths can also protect items kept near the spray area, reducing over-sprayed. ​ Air compressor - a compressor specifically designed for model makers or artists is vital as the gauges are marked for the ease of lower pressures. Also, purchasing a compressor with a larger air tank will help reduce excessive noise. There is a colossal amount of no-name compressors available, but some of the best-named compressors come from: ​ ​ ​ Badger Iwata Sparmax ​ I use a Sparmax TC-620X Compressor with a 2.5 L tank that is connected to a Sparmax 5 L tank with regular and water traps. And have an older Badger Aspire Pro TC910 compressor as a backup. ​ I have used cheap unbranded compressors, with and without air tanks and apart from the noise, they work well. But I would not recommend a compressor without an air tank as the air pressure fluctuations vary greatly. ​ Cleaning equipment - whether you opt for a named or no-name airbrush, cleaning, and maintenance of airbrushes on a regular basis is a priority to ensure reliability. ​ I clean my airbrush thoroughly after each spraying session, but only deep clean my airbrush when weekly. Laqauers and varnish is a different matter, I always deep clean after use because lacquer and varnish tend to stick everything together if not removed entirely. ​ I use Dental absorbent paper points (the same dentists use to suck out moisture when doing a tooth root canal) to clean out the nozzles, these come in various sizes and fit through the smallest nozzle nicely. Each dental stick is colour coded according to size. White the smallest and black the largest in this pack. ​ When deep cleaning I place my airbrushes in a heated ultrasonic cleaner for 10 minutes, this helps dislodge any persistent residual. I do not use chemicals in the ultrasonic cleaner to prevent damage to the 'O' rings and springs. Sparmax TC-620X Compressor Cheap No Name Compressor Airbrushes needles come in several sizes and qualities: ​ ​ Why have so many, and what do they do? Airbrushes are sophisticated devices used for the application of mediums onto a surface. The main element of paint atomization is an airbrush needle. An airbrush needle is responsible for the mixing of paint with air and forming a spray pattern. Because of their sharp tips, needles are the most fragile parts of airbrushes. They can be easily damaged when knocked or dropped. At best, the needle will bend, and I have lost count of how many airbrush needles I have damaged, and often you may not notice the bend in the needle until it affects the spraying results. How to choose airbrush needles ​ There are a vast variety and quality of airbrush needles from many manufacturers. And each offers a vast number of needle sizes for all types of airbrush models. ​ The main factor influencing needle choice is what is it intended to be used for, the type of airbrush you are using, and the size of the surface being airbrushed. ​ So, changing an airbrush needle will determine the amount of paint or varnish sprayed onto a model. Or will it? There are other factors to consider. The nozzle, also known as the tip, and the needle size of the airbrush will determine the amount of paint that can be sprayed through it. Most airbrushes come with one nozzle and needle already fitted. ​ When you change an airbrush needle size, the nozzle and often the needle cap will need to be changed to allow the correct working of the spray amount and pattern. Also, forcing a large needle into a smaller nozzle can damage it. Another factor is the type of paint being used. Although the likes of Vallejo, AK Interactive, MIG Ammo, Games workshop, etc provide paint ready to be airbrushed straight out of the bottle, I have found that not all paint is equal, it varies between manufacturer and even by the same manufacturer in the pigments of different colours. Many people advise, ‘thin your paint, primer or varnish’ others suggest ‘don’t bother'. Personally, I have found you can not equate a ‘do’ or do not’ paint thinning as it depends on the colour pigment or type of paint being used. ​ And if you decide to thin, buy how much? Over-thinning can breakdown the pigments, while not or under thinning may increase the incidence of tip drying or block. ​ How much to thin? Again, there is a wide consensus, and I have heard: ​ Consistency of ‘single cream’ (found this method too thick) Flows like ‘ milk’ (I find this difficult to visualize) 1:1 Ratio (Does not work for thicker pigment paints) So that it runs down the airbrush cup easily without the pigments breaking up (my method, I can easily see how the paint reacts in the airbrush cup). Airbrush Parts Airbrush and spraying troubleshooting Needle Caps help protect the tip of the needle from being damaged. There are a few designs, some enclosed, and others are partly open to ease needle tip cleaning when in use. Most experienced and professional users remove the needle cap entirely to make needle cleaning easier and to get better views while spraying.

Landscape Photography Choosing lenses for landscape photography is the same as having numerous paintbrushes for a painter. Lenses allow photographers to transform how a location or subject is portrayed. Depending on the lens you can have, wide-angle views, tight close-ups, the capacity to isolate subjects, and the option to keep everything in a scene in or out of focus. Particularly regarding landscape photography, lenses are one of the few means with which you can really impart personal vision into an image. Apart from lens choice affecting how you portray a setting in nature, landscape photographers also should be concerned with the practicality of such lenses they choose to work with. Remember, less is more, carrying a large selection of lenses for landscape photography is counterproductive and apart from the weight factors having too many lenses can waste time and confuse people. I carry four: ​ Prime 25mm f1.7 lens Zoom 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 Prime 45mm f2.8 Zoom 45-200 f4.0-5.6 (rarely used, mainly to focus on a topic when I cannot get close enough) ​ Zoom lenses are great for difficult topics, like a tree in a lake when you cannot get close enough, but prime lenses make you move about the landscape to compose a subject. Prime lenses make you think more, move in, move out, or perhaps change an angle. Focal length When considering a lens for landscape photography, the most common advice often suggests buying a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses are suitable for landscape photography because of their extensive field of view and far-seeing depth of field, both desirable attributes for landscape photography. Wide-angle lenses allow you to fit an entire mountain in the background, or lake in the foreground of the frame, they can also be used to show a great deal of land, sea, sky, or forest. The extra depth of field they provide helps to ensure consistent sharp focus from foreground to background, which can be beneficial when photographing large expanses. Considering wide-angle lenses are the alleged standard for landscape applications, this must not deter a photographer from considering a normal (50mm, similar to human depth-of-field) or telephoto focal length for photographing landscapes. Occasionally, using a telephoto lens can provide a little extra reach for visual compression, thereby, creating interest in an image. Zoom or prime? The debate between zoom and prime lenses will continue, and the discussion is particularly ironic in the sphere of landscape photography. The merit of zoom is the ability to zoom into a landscape or topic when restricted to a specific location. Conversely, zooms can increase complacency or laziness when photographing an area, whereas prime lenses will force a motivated photographer to hike more, move about the area, searching for a more rewarding viewpoint to photograph the landscape. ​ The image-quality differences between zoom and prime lenses are debatable, there are many high-quality zooms (at a cost), and there are high-quality prime lenses. Many wider focal length lenses are available in zoom format, like my zoom 12-60mm f3.5-5.6. It gives a little leeway in the composition, but it does not mean I will not walk about first to find the optimal spot for composition. It just helps to emphasize the tree in the lake, or a boulder with the evening glow of a sunset, rather than having it off in the distance. Of course, you will need a sturdy tripod, perhaps filters, or reflectors, so, their weight should be considered. ​ I use a Bergan that carries two camera bodies, four lenses, an external monitor, filters, spare batteries, a large steady tripod, and an extra-long quick-release rail plate with spirit levels. Deciding between zoom or prime lenses depends on your own needs, such as the distance or access to walk around a subject, how much weight, how many lenses to be carried, and personal preference for focal length. Links: Long exposure landscape photography

Motherboard A motherboard, system board, or colloquially, a mobo is a printed circuit board (PCB) found in computers and other expandable systems. ​ All motherboards have socket name that corresponds with the CPU that can be used, a few are: ​ AMD AM3+, AMD Ryzen™ and AMD FX Intel i7 series LGA 1156 socket H Intel i9 - LGA 2066 A Motherboard holds a few crucial components, such as, ​ Central Processing Unit or the CPU socket. Memory (RAM) slots. Contains important sub-systems . Many have embedded HD video facilities and 7:1 sound . Holds the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) installed. Provides connectors for peripherals, sockets, connections, and slots for: ​ Mouse Keyboard Speakers Network port USB ports Firewire port Hard drives Monitor Video cards Sound cards Network cards TV Tuner cards Motherboards provide several external connections, so users are able use the computer. It is PCB with expansion capability - the board is the ‘mother’ of most of the components attached. Different types of motherboard ports and their functions explained. ​ RJ-45 (Registered Jack 45) LAN port – The RJ-45 port allows connection to a Local Area Network (LAN) through a network hub using an RJ-45 cable. ​ Analog Audio P orts – allow connections like speakers, audio devices, and microphones. ​ USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 or 3.0 Ports - are located on each motherboard and used for connecting mice, keyboards, printers/scanners, external hard drives, and tablets. ​ PS/2 Keyboard Port (purple) - used for a PS/2 keyboard. PS/2 mouse port (green) - used for a PS/2 mouse. ​ 1394a Port - used to connect firewire devices. FireWire has largely been displaced by USB. However, some professional audio hardware devices still use FireWire. ​ Optical S/PDIF - used for sound connections to home audio receivers or powered PC speakers with optical connections. ​ eSATA Port (External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) - It is an external interface for SATA technologies and competes with FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 to provide fast data transfer speeds for external storage devices. ​ HDMI Port (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) - is a digital interface for transmitting audio and video data in a single cable. It is supported by most HDTVs and related components, like DVD and Blu-Ray players, cable boxes, and video game systems. ​ DVI Port (Digital Visual Interface) - is used to send digital information from a computer to a digital display, such as a flat-panel LCD monitor. There are several types: ​ DisplayPort (DP) - is a digital display interface developed by a conglomerate of PC and chip manufacturers. The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device, a monitor, it can also carry audio , USB , and other forms of data. Initially, the DisplayPort was designed to replace VGA, FPD-Link, Digital Visual Interface (DVI), and the interface is backward compatible with HDMI and DVI, using adapters. ​ VGA (Video Graphics Array) Port - VGA is an older video format and it allows an analog signal as opposed to a digital signal (ones and zeroes). Using higher frequencies, it is possible to reach a relatively high range of video resolutions. However, video quality directly responds to cable quality, and particularly with higher resolutions. Because of this, the quality of a VGA image can fluctuate with different makes of cable. ​ ​ Bus Sub-Systems The motherboard is a circuit board that connects the CPU to the memory and all the other hardware. Buses are circuits on the motherboard that connect the CPU to other components. There are many buses on the motherboard, bus systems move instructions and data around the system. Bus speed is measured in megahertz (MHz), The faster the bus, the quicker data is communicated, therefore, the motherboards speed is defined by the bus speed. ​ Bus systems are limited by their width in bits and are usually 8, 16, or 32-bits wide. This indicates how many bits can be sent by the bus at any one time, so, a 32-bit bus can send 32 bits or a 16-bit can send 16 bits at once. ​ The bus that connects the CPU to the memory is called the front-side bus (FSB) or system bus. CPU cores share Level 2 and Level 3 cache across the front-side bus and will usually connect to Level 2 cache through the back-side bus (BSB), the back-side bus is faster than the FSB. ​ There are two types of Bus sub-systems: ​ Internal – Buses that connect to internal components. ​ External – Buses that connect to external components. ​ The FSB contains two types of bus: ​ Address bus - this sends information about where data needs to go by sending an address to the memory. The address bus only sends data in one direction - from the CPU to RAM. ​ Data bus - this sends data to the memory or receives data from the memory. Data can flow both ways along the data bus. ​ ​ A Bus Sub-system transfers data between computer components. Separate to point-to-point connections, a bus system can logically connect several peripherals over the same set of connections. ​ Every Bus defines its set of connectors to physically plug devices, cards, or cables together. Because of this, there are various kinds of slots used to connect internal and external devices. North Bridge : The northbridge typically handles communications among the CPU, in some cases RAM, and PCI Express (or AGP) video cards, and the southbridge. Northbridge is directly connected to AGP video, thus providing higher transfer rates. SouthBridge : The southbridge is one of the two chips in the core logic chipset on a personal computer (PC) motherboard, the other being the northbridge. The southbridge typically implements the slower capabilities of the motherboard in a northbridge/southbridge chipset computer architecture. A southbridge chipset handles all the computer's I/O functions, such as USB, audio, serial, the system BIOS, the ISA bus, the interrupt controller, and the IDE channels. PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) There are many kinds of internal buses, but there are only a few popular ones. Various motherboards have different kinds and a number of slots, so it is vital to know what kind and number of slots a motherboard has before purchasing a sound or video card and match the type of slot to the motherboard. ​ PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) was common in PCs several years ago, now PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) has succeeded this type of bus. Usually, PCIe cards used were: ​ Network card or NIC card Sound card Modems Additional USB or Serial ports TV tuner card Additional SATA disk controllers Video card ​ PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) PCIe was designed to replace the general-purpose PCI expansion bus and the aging AGP graphics card interface. PCIe is not a bus, but a point-to-point connection of serial links called lanes. Because PCIe cards have faster bandwidths than PCI cards they make an ideal option for high-end video cards. ​ AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) is a high-speed point-to-point channel for attaching graphics cards to motherboards to help in the acceleration of 3D graphics. Connectors and Motherboard Pins Motherboards require connectors and Pins to work. Some power the motherboard, while others provide connections for: ​ SATA and IDE (old type connection) Hard drives SATA and IDE DVD/CD writers/players and IDE floppy drive (no longer used) USB, Firewire, Audio (analog and digital), connections for the front of the case, and DVD players Power for fans (including the CPU cooling fan) ATX 24 pin and ATX 6 12-volt motherboard power Front panel pins – computer cases have fitted leads for front USB, Firewire, audio, microphones and: Power Switch Speaker Reset Switch Power LED Chassis Intrusion Header Hard drive activity LED Message/Power Sleep LED ​ Front panel pins are a conundrum because case manufacturers have not decided on a standard. Some manufacturers use plain coloured wire, others dual coloured and they hardly ever identify with is positive or ground leads. If lucky they put an information sheet in the box, but the cheaper cases tend not to have these. ​ Luckily, some motherboard manufacturers are more accommodating. However, all manufacturers do indicate which lead is which by abbreviating on the connector, such as: ​ PWR – Power Switch SPK - Speaker RES - Reset Switch MSG - Message/Power/Sleep LED CH - Chassis Intrusion Header HD - Hard drive activity LED PWR LED ​ The pin assignments for the front panel header may differ by model. Refer to the motherboard user's manual for the actual pin assignments.