It's about damn time

[Calimus]

I'm finally going to do soemthing to the crabby cabby again.

A while back I stated I was going to replace the lifters, well I didn't, just got too busy with other things.

Then crabby desided that it was time to act up again, right before Xmas, so Cristine parked her and hasn't touched her since My guess is that an injector popped out or an O-ring erroded.

So, I now have a set of Injector Orings to put on the car, I've had the lifters for a while and now I have a real good reason to do the work. Yesterday I ordered a nice 270 Autotech Cam to drop in her crabby ass.

So, if all goes well, she should run beter, run quieter, and have a nice lopie idle and more power when I'm done. I'm shooting for the weekend of Feb 3rd to do the work since I have to be out of town on business the week prior.

Also, thanks to the Xmas season, not only will there be hi-rez pics of what went down, but there will now be video to go along with it. Cabby Tech notes should progress finally now that I won't "have" to type things up, I can just flap my yap while I'm doing the dirty work.

[tolusina]

I........ I won't "have" to type things up, I can just flap my yap while I'm doing the dirty work.

You're talking to the Dragon too?

[Calimus]

Ron, I think I totally missed what you are on about. Could be a generation gap thing. Set me straight would ya, I'm really curious.

[1lowcab]

is he talking about dragon naturally speaking?

[Calimus]

Could be, I forgot all bout that app. I beta tested that think in the late 90's, what a POS.

But no, won't be using any speach to text. Basicly what I'm talking about is some of my tech-notes will be watchable only. Small stuff I'll start typing up. But for really complicated crap, I flap my gums and show visiual representation as to cut through the confusion levels.

[1lowcab]

must have been around the same time i had it too....it was a pain in the ass!
to set it up i had to read it stories so it would recognize my voice, but it never worked right.

[tolusina]

Yes, I was talking about Dragon Naturally Speaking, I kind of though William was too when he wrote "I won't "have" to type things up, I can just flap my yap".
I must have mis-understood whatever it was I thought I understood. Understand?

Anyway, I tried several versions way back when, early versions never even came close to replacing or even augmenting a keyboard.
Still, I find the concept so appealing, I had to try again with the latest version, I bought 9.0 Preferred, partly because it's supposed to be able to work with Bluetooth microphones.

Frankly, I think this version is pretty sweet. Even with error corrections, it's still, easily, four to five times faster than I can type. The more it's used and the more the program is used to correct errors, the better it gets. I gave previous versions no more than three or four frustrating attempts before giving up on them, this current version is actually very nice, I'm still working it regularly for my reports.

Part of my current satisfaction with it may be due to the modern hardware I'm running it on, a Core2Duo, SATA drive etc., your mileage may vary.

It's a bit tedious switching audio (mic) sources between a wired headset and Bluetooth, the Audio Settings Wizard must be run at each change. I've modded (surprised?) my Bluetooth headset for a serious improvement in Speech to Noise ratio so I no longer have any reason to run a wired headset.

Of course your experiences may vary, I'm stuck with a common Midwestern transplant to California accent just like on TeeVee. I have no idea if or how well it deals with a Texan's Twang or a Southerner's Drawl.

It doesn't understand language much at all, so syntax shouldn't be an issue. It does seem to be getting used to my automotive tech terms, it no longer transcribes cylinder head as cilantro heat.

Many of the typos it does make are hilarious, then of course it tries to transcribe guffaws and snorts following those typos, leading to more guffaws....

I rate it a solid 4 Dragons and improving every time I use it. It doesn't web surf well for me though, it too often interprets text to a forum post as a request to follow a link or Bookmark, I don't like when that happens.

[1lowcab]

it no longer transcribes cylinder head as cilantro heat

LMFAO!!!

i might have to try the new one out.

[Calimus]

Got ya Ron. An very nice review BTW.

What I ment by flapping my yap, was that sinec I now have a MiniDV recorder, I just set the camera up and start filming.

Already been playing with it a bit, Here you can get a better look at Cristine's "other" blue toy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aviIkLGusHg

It's my first shot convertin video so it's a bit grainy. But thats taking the file from 800mb and bringing it down to 20mb, so it's really not too bad.

[1lowcab]

god that thing sounds good.
really makes me miss having a bike.

[Calimus]

Oh yea, it sound great, till she rev's it. Thats when my big V4 or my dad's 1800cc V-twin make it sound like a rubber band

However, it is a quick lil sumbitch.

[Calimus]

The Cam is in and it's F'ing great.

I did screw up though. I didn't take any pics or video like I planned. Basicly, for the first time ever, things went exactly perfect on this car from start to finish and I didn't want to screw up by stopping to take pics.

An when I say perfect, I mean perfect. Old lifters came out with nor problems, all the new one's dropped right in, when I put the new cam in, I inadvertinly put it in in the exact position for it to be dead on the timing mark. The intermediate shaft didn't move at all, just everything went exactly as it should have. Hell, the damn car even fired right up on the very first hit of the key.

No more lifter tick, there is just a slight hint of cam lope in the idle and as far as how it drives, well, I'll let Cristine describe that.

Total actual work time from tear down to test drive was 3 hours. I did however have to double stack the valve cover gasket as it seems the current valve cover is warped and was letting oil leak by. So, that solved that issue. All thats left now is a nice adjustable cam gear with about 1-2 degree's of advance for just a little extra kick in the pants.

[kuklaki]

as far as how it drives, well, I'll let Cristine describe that.

Let's just let it suffice to say that the Crabby Cabby may have to be re-named, and put a huge smile on my face. Throttle response is amazing-something I was not used to in the Cabby. As for get up and go-I have to slice through the gears pretty darn quick, but it is a small price to pay.

I have a feeling I'll have to wait on William hand and foot for a couple days for this one

[1lowcab]

told ya you would like that 270!

[Briano1234]

I have a feeling I'll have to wait on William hand and foot for a couple days for this one

True Love is a wonderful thing.... AWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Glad to see it working for a change.