slicendice

That's exactly the kind of thing I was wondering about. I guess it's like everything else...there's a reason why some are cheaper than others! Better to pay extra and get something that actually fits the bill

I'm looking round for a dashcam for my bro as he's just got a new car. As well as needing to provide decent footage (kinda obvs!), it needs to have an internal cam as well as the ability to be hardwired...ideally it would also include a buffered parking mode. Consequently, I've been looking at the Viofo A229 Plus 3CH as that seems to tick all the boxes. Viofo are generally seen as producing decent quality kit and the performance is also pretty good. Obviously, as with anything, that tends to mean a more pricey route to getting a dashcam, with the above coming in at ~£240 direct from Viofo (my bro is in the USA so this is the USA price converted in £). I know that's noticeably cheaper than, say, a 4K setup, but it's also quite a lot more than some of the cheaper options. I know it's possible to get some very "cheap 'n cheerful" cams on Amazon, etc but the footage from them can look a bit ropey plus sometimes reliability appears to be an issue (reports of random shutdowns, etc). So whereas it would be easy to save a bunch of cash by buying cheaper, I don't know if it would be worth it in the long run. So what I'm wondering is whether anyone has ended up going for a cheaper option and what were your thoughts and opinions? Which model did you go for and how much did you save? And would you say it was worth it in terms of the quality of video? Hope that's not too vague! Any thoughts and input would be much appreciated...

Yes I think it came on relatively quickly...I don't drive it usually, but g/f said it started happening about a week ago. She's been using mine while it was in at the garage, but she did use it again today so I could grab that video of it making the noise. I have a sinking feeling we could be heading towards a bit of a ch-ching moment! 💰☹️

Yes, 5W30 oil used 👍 It's manual and has done 58.8k miles - not sure when sparks/airfilter were last done...I'll see if I can find the service receipts. Will try using 99 RON on the next fill up, see if that makes any difference

So here is a video where you can hear the knocking sound...and completely contrary to what I said above (🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️) , it does seem to go away when you rev it up and then come back when the revs drop down again. Don't know if that helps at all?

It's a bangin little car isn't it?! 😁 I love it (when I'm allowed to drive it, that is!) Yeh it's weird that it only appears when it gets warm. Hard to decribe it in words but I'd say it was more of a tapping than a dull clunky sort of sound. I'll try and get a vid of it when it's happening...not sure if the phone mic will pick it up but I'll give it a go. All the oil, etc levels are fine - it was only serviced a month ago too, so all the "run of the mill" type stuff is OK. It does seem to be linked to engine revs...so it is present when idling and when you rev it, it does knock more quickly, but not more loudly...seems to stay the same volume whatever speed it's going.

My g/f's 65 plate VW Polo GTi has recently started making a slight knocking noise from the engine. It's not a really loud noise but it is noticeable...it makes the engine sound slightly like a diesel. It was serviced/MOT'd about a month ago, so I don't think it's anything related to needing an oil change (though I'd be the first to admit, I have very little knowledge and very few skills when it comes to anything engine-y!). It doesn't start as soon as the car starts and usually becomes apparent after about 5-10 minutes, so seems to be only when the engine has warmed up. There don't seem to be any other symptoms and performance doesn't appear to have been affected at all - it still drives fine. The thing I'm slightly concerned about is that it's an indication of something that could end up being serious (and therefore expensive!) if left unresolved. I took it to my local garage (who I use for all servicing and are pretty good) who spent some time checking it out, but whereas they could hear the noise, they said they couldn't find anything wrong and didn't know what was causing it. They said the only thing they could do would be to start stripping the engine down to try and track it down. They also said it could be worth taking it to a VW garage, as it might be a VW-specific issue that they'd come across before. Either of those options is probably going to start hitting the cash register pretty hard, so I just want to see if there's anyone else who's ever experienced anything like this before, or could maybe suggest a course of action? Many thanks...

The other morning it was -6 and after leaving the engine running for a few mins whilst de-icing the windows, I drove off. As usual, the central locking locked automatically...but then it did it again about 30 seconds later. And then again about 30 seconds or so after that (the boot and all the doors were fully closed). It continued to randomly lock for the next 5-10 minutes before finally stopping. It's not done it since, so I'm assuming it was just something to do with the cold, but it's never done it before in the cold so I was just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced something similar?

Just as a follow-up, I ended up going for the AAwireless 2 and it's been great...doddle to set up and it's worked without any issues.

Am I right in thinking that it's possible to update the firmware on the adapter via the app?

I'm considering getting one of these as I much prefer using Google maps to the inbuilt nav, plus I use Spotify quite a bit whilst driving. There are a ton of options out there but it's the usual battle of trying to determine how many of the positive online reviews are genuine 🙄 So I'm just wondering if anyone has got the new AAWireless 2 adapter and if so, is it reliable? I don't want to have to deal with constant dropouts or keep having to reset my phone, etc...I just want to set it up and forget it.

I'm thinking of getting a cover for the windscreen of my g/f's car (VW Polo) so as to reduce the amount of effort needed to de-ice it on frosty mornings. Just wondering if anyone has one that they'd recommend? I was thinking of just a windscreen cover to start but then I'm wondering if a half car cover would make more sense as it protects all the windows from frost, not just the windoscreen. There's a ton of them on Amazon and many of them have glittering reviews (as usual! 🙄)...but it's difficult to know how good they are without trying them. Some look OK but others look very flimsy. And some of them have the flaps you trap in the doors to stop it blowing away, but I have read these can sometimes lead to water ingress...? Don't know how bad that actually is though. Main requirements are that it's easy to fit (don't want to start having to pass straps under the car), it doesn't blow away if it's windy and it actually stops the windows icing up!

I'm toying with the idea of upgrading my aging PC and I keep seeing articles about mini PCs. I quite like the idea of having something small and compact that doesn't make a noise like a hovercraft whenever you ask it to do more than open a text file. I've been taking a peep at various mini PCs and whilst the specs look very good for the price, I'm just wondering about their long term quality. There are lots and lots of online reviews (e.g. for the Geekom A7, Beelink SER7, etc) that give glowing reports of their spec and performance...and whilst I'm sure most of them are true, I've also seen a number of reports about how the quality control sometimes appears to be a bit iffy, with unexplained bluescreens, non-functioning components, etc. Plus the after-sales support is also sometimes called into question, with some people saying they struggle to get a response from the support departments. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience with these mini PCs? And if so, are they any good? Would you recommend? Or would you steer clear?

Got a friend who's asked for help finding a broadband provider and whilst trawling through various vendors, it looks like Brysk seem to have some good options and also appear to be very well reviewed, which is something of rarity for a broadband provider. I realise they are quite new so that could changed, but I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with them? Are they any good?

Thanks Mort I was trying to keep costs down a bit as the Sonos stuff don't come cheap!! 😲 But that's a good point re the RAID. I'll have a poke around and see what the costs are for more bays. The drive I've got is a Seagate one and pretty much brand new (it originally came in a home surveillance NVR that I upgraded) so hopefully should do the trick.