jrose

Are you using the electronic button or the release valve?

Hi all, Did a job the other week with Stop/Go boards, we were using a set of Cobra walkie talkies like the ones below over a distance of maybe 100m max, but over a curve in the road with woodland in between either person making visibility of the other man somewhat poor. I thought they'd be OK, but even over a short distance there was a lot of crackle, not being able to distinguish what the other person was saying and a few times had to resort to shouting! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cobra-Walkie-Talkie-Batteries-Charging/dp/B00FJYN9Q4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1524637036&sr=8-2&keywords=cobra+walkie+talkies We have a couple more jobs like this coming up, and I'm after a good set of 2 way radios that don't need a licence. I'm not after helmet mounted comms at the moment, more a set or two of hand held radios that can be shared between people. What's everyone else using? Was assuming Motorola might be a good bet, anything else worth looking at? Cheers Joe

Should arrive Tuesday, will use it for a few days and then stick my views up.

If I understand right Steve, there are three holes you can fit the bridge to which adjusts how your body weight sits in the harness, so in the pic the bridge is through the middle hole and the one you show would be the top. From watching the promo video, you can also run dual bridges? I could be completely off though!

Slightly annoyed to read this, as I've only just ordered myself one from Honeys this afternoon. Will post my own experience in a week or so, once I've tried it out. As an aside, I'm a 34" waist and wasn't sure which size to order, so went with M-L to accomodate saw trousers, jumpers etc. Anyone reckon I would be better off with a S-M, in which case I'll email Honey Bros and ask them to change it before it gets sent out?

As said, spudulike on here would be a good one to start with. Otherwise eBay, avoid anything that looks very tatty or "needs the carb doing"

Get a machine that's 40cc plus, Stihl FS460 is a good bet and what most people round here seem to use. Unfortunately the best brushcutter I've ever owned is no longer made, but if you can get hold of a Kawasaki KBH43 in good condition secondhand they're brilliant Probably need a couple of heads, a 3 pronged grass knife and then a clearing saw head (bit like a circular saw).

Yours truly is a story of survival against all the odds, I look forward to the film adaptation ?

I agree it would be good if more maintenance was covered, but in reality the owners manual is worth far more than a chipper course to cover this. IME the course is a box ticking excercise, and until you need to tick that box I wouldn't worry too much about it.

The official line is you should do a chipper course before even looking at one. In the real world, I have never met a small firm that insists upon chipper ticket for domestic work, and the big firms will put you through it anyway. So I wouldn't worry too much about it, unless you're asked for it specifically. Basically, you put wood in one end and it comes out smaller. Don't put bit of you in! Chipper training complete...

I'd say get your cs30/31, basic PPE (boots, trousers, helmet) and contact all local companies to you seeing if they have any work as a groundy going. Don't worry too much about other tickets until you've had a chance to do a few days and decide if it's really for you or not! Your own saw would be a bonus but not essential to start with, as you'll mostly be dragging brash and feeding a wood chipper, in arb anyway. If you're looking to go into forestry, a saw then becomes a priority. Look for a decent secondhand 50/60cc pro saw, rather than a new homeowner obe.(assuming you don't want to drop £600 on a new pro saw.) Stihl ms261 or ms362, or husqvarna 550xp/560xp are the most commonly used. In terms of the next ticket to make yourself more employable, what a lot of companies seem to struggle with more and more is people who can tow (legally!). I would spend the money on the towing licence before any more NPTC, as everyone has cs38/39 but it gives you something in some ways more desirable.

Wild Trackers in Crickhowell run them pretty often

What I found works for me is buy a cheap Nokia for £10 from tesco, and have a SIM only with phone/text allowance but no data, that can be used for calls, always in your pocket and battery lasts most of a week. Then buy a pay as you go WiFi dongle (mine's Vodafone, about £50) and keep that in the truck. I have an old smartphone with a speaker that got wet, but you could just get a tablet or have a posh smartphone for the weekend. No SIM card, just use it for internet. The best bits are that when you're working you only get interrupted by actual phone calls, and you can answer with wet hands, gloves etc as no touchscreen. And, you can be on the phone while reading an email/looking something up/playing on facebook, etc etc without having loudspeaker on. The other benefit is that by having the data you use on pay as you go, you're not paying for data you don't use on a contract, or if you go over one month you're not charged through the nose. £25 for 15GB lasts until you've used it all.

What do you climb on these days Steve? I seem to recall you didn't take to srt, you still on a hitch?

I usually buy it in 3m lengths to give me two bits of cord, or multiples of 3. I find that 1.5m is slightly too long, but allows a bit of adjustment of cord length and then cut the final few inches off when happy with it. That's for a sporty 3/2 hitch, so you may end up using the full 1.5m but should be enough.

You may well be better off looking for a decent pickup Landy and converting it yourself - probably work out cheaper money wise, and you know it hasn't been overloaded every day for who knows how many years!

What Mark said, Coleman camping stove. Keep a little bottle in the truck for neat petrol, and top it up when you fill the cans. They will run on two stroke if you're desperate, but too much and they clog up with unburnt oil. Mine has been going for 4 years, boils the kettle at break times and today it easily cooked a full fry up (sausage, bacon, black pudding, eggs) for 4 men hiding in a shed from the rain! Plus no problems with cold gas/empty cartridges

Don't think there is specific top handle training Steve. We all like to think we're the greatest thing since sliced bread the minute we get CS39, and lesser mortals may only look on in awe as we sling top handles about like light sabres To the OP, your choice of a MS180 or other small lightweight ground saw is fine, combine this with a decent Silky and you'll be able to do anything that any other climber can do. When I first passed my climbing tickets, I coudn't afford a top handle and so my climbing saw for over a year was a Husky 365 with 18" bar, used that for everything over 1" diameter. Not really recommended, but possible!

Thanks for this, interesting reading and results. Glad to see it's not a knee jerk reaction of fit more guards to everything, and rather an emphasis on proper work positioning, emergency planning and behavioral issues.

Don't forget the stopper knot in the other end

From memory I think it was this chap, probably worth a quick phone call to check though before you rock up with a load! http://mountpleasanttrees.com

There was a chap down that way who took chip, ran a tree nursery? Can't remember the name, will try and find out.

Hi, After attending the prep workshop in York last week, I've been trying to sort out some record of CPD so it's nicely listed, and am struggling a bit! Is there any set guidelines of how it is best to record this, rather than "I went on this course, hang on let me find the ticket... and I sometimes go on Arbtalk!" I need to record both formal training, and informal (i.e. Arbtalk, attendance at trade events, staying updated with relevant documentation, etc etc.) Many thanks Joe

I can't make it to the arb show but interested in knowing more about this please Sent from my XT1700 using Arbtalk mobile app

I know next to nothing about rock climbing, but in this application assuming you are climbing on a doubled rope and not straying into SRT territory then the prussik is only taking 50% of your weight, with the rest being transferred to your anchor point via the termination end of your line. As mentioned, you can use many gadgets to climb that are more efficient - spider jack, zig zag, hitch climber, etc. Personally, I'd learn the basics with a prussik loop and move onto the more advanced systems once you are more comfortable up a tree. Sent from my XT1700 using Arbtalk mobile app