Sometimes something that seems obvious when you’re handicapping a horse race isn’t as obvious as it may appear. One example is the horse that is going from a sprint to a route race that appears to be unsuited for the distance change. The same may be true of a horse switching from a route to a sprint.

The reason(s) that a trainer is moving a horse to a difference distance has to be considered when you’re trying to evaluate the horse’s chance of winning and also whether it will actually be “sent,” for the win, as it is sometimes called. One way to determine that is to check if it has ever won at the distance before. If so, it may be in it to win it, but that is only a guess.

One problem that sometimes crops up is the horse that seems to have faded at a shorter distance. It appears to have no chance in a longer race at first look. That, however, may be untrue. Perhaps it battled fast fractions in that shorter race and burned itself out. In a longer race with softer earlier fractions it may actually hold on much longer with enough left in the tank to get the job done.

Pace is the key to how well a horse will do when switching distances and it is often overlooked. While the breeding of a runner is a big factor and cannot be overlooked its running style and pace will often dictate how well it fares in any race no matter what the distance. If it is forced to go too fast in the beginning, even in sprint, a good router will not finish well.

The best way to spot these angles is to look back at previous races the horse has raced well in and see what the pace scenario was in those races. Then compare that scenario to the projected pace of today’s race. If you find a race that suits the horse and its style, as long as it isn’t coming back from an extended layoff, then it may be fit and ready and handle the race very well.

Pace often makes a contender out of a horse that seems to have raced poorly in its last race. Whether a horse is switching from a route to a sprint or a sprint to a route, learn to look at pace as the determining factor in performance once you have ruled out breeding.

One of the handicapping situations a horse player often faces is a horse that has been racing on dirt that is now switching to turf racing. This is one of those times that points out just how complex horse racing is and how difficult it is to make decisions. What usually happens to a handicapper is that he or she eventually comes to conclusion that rather than making an assessment of every factor, it is better to look for spot plays because it is just too difficult to quantify all the nuances of a horse race.

Let’s look at this one situation for an example. Let’s say a three year old horse is trying the grass for the first time. It has never run on turf and now it is in an allowance race against others who have raced on the grass. How can a prognosticator forecast how this horse will race?

The first place to start is with the breeding. Checking the sire and dam’s sire will help and it also may help to see if the dam has any other foals who won on the turf. Pedigree is a huge consideration when handicapping a horse racing first time on the grass. It is not, however, the only consideration, because horses only do what the jockey and trainer want them to do.

Therefore, the next step is to check the connections, the trainer and jockey. Does the trainer win with horses going first time on the grass? Many trainers will give a horse a race over the grass just to get used to the surface. Like trainers who give a maiden a first race just to get acclimated to racing some will not go for the win in the first grass race, even if the horse has good turf breeding. Seeing that the runner has a pedigree that suggests an affinity for the grass is therefore not enough, the connections must also be planning on going for the win.

That leads us to the jockey. There are times when the choice of rider by the trainer can indicate his or her intentions. For instance, was the jockey in the last race one of the trainer’s go-to jockeys? If so, has that rider stayed on the mount? If not, that may be a sign that the horse isn’t going to be sent for the win. On the other hand, a switch to a better jockey or a go-to rider may indicate that they are serious about winning first time on grass.

As you can see, one simple change in a horse race can have many implications and that is why horse racing handicapping is so difficult and requires a systematic approach.

Even if you hail from a sun-kissed city which receives abundant sunshine throughout the year, you must look for solar arrays with the perfect size and orientation for optimum production. A photovoltaic (PV) system can be your biggest disappointment if not correctly set up. This is the reason why you should consider factors such as panel size, shading, panel angle, and roof inclination. So, to derive the optimal value out of solar panels for your home, make sure they’re installed at an appropriate angle to get maximum exposure to the sun’s rays. The best angle depends on a number of factors. Here are a few of them:

Structural Accuracy of Your Roof

The most important thing to remember while installing solar arrays is to understand your roof’s structural precision. You must learn about the roof angle and the direction in which it inclines. For maximum efficiency, you can repair the structural inaccuracies before you set up the panels. However, you cannot do much about the roof angle or pitch. This is the reason you must know where, how, and when the sun’s rays hit the panels.

The Right Angle

If you are installing a fixed, roof-mounted PV system, it must have an angle equivalent to the roof’s location where you plan to install the panels. Ideally, inclinations between 30 and 45 degrees should work fine. You can expect optimal production when a PV system faces south at an angle of 30 degrees. Even if the roof’s inclination gets reduced by five degrees, production of energy will go down by approximately 10 percent. In fact, your roof’s angle has little impact on the efficiency of the panels. If you ask professional installers, they will tell you that your roof’s direction has a greater effect on solar performance than its angle.

Flexible Racking System

Homeowners keen on improving solar performance during the summer and winter months can opt for a flexible racking system for maximum energy production. If you tilt the solar panels 15 degrees down during the summer months and 15 degrees sharper in winter, your rooftop PV system can absorb maximum energy from the sun. If this adjustment does not suit your requirements, there are other ways to adjust the angle for optimal efficiency.

Best Panel Orientation

If you want maximum efficiency out of your PV system, you must decide on its orientation. You must decide where exactly to mount the panels on the roof. We recommend that you install them at a spot that receives the sun’s rays perpendicularly. The ideal panel orientation is towards the south.

Roof Space

How much roof space do you have for installing solar arrays? The quintessential factor is the availability of space for the right-sized panels that fit your energy consumption needs and budget. Homeowners with multiple-plane roofs cannot set up an entire PV system at the same inclination. This is the reason why a few panels require installation at different angles.

Keep these factors in mind whenever you plan to install a new PV system Even if you are installing solar panels for your home, a city that receives plenty of sunlight, it would be wrong to assume that the panels would automatically work great and function to their maximum level. For optimal energy production, choose a high-quality PV system and make sure a certified installer sets it up.

I have seen the right angle gear box as a solution to driving the go kart. It seems simple enough.

Well there actually are about 8 different ways you can route the drive system and the right angle gear box is just one of them.

Option #1 Right Angle Gear Box

The right angle gear box, takes the vertical rotational movement and translates it 90 degrees to the horizontal. It typically has flanges that mount the gear box to a plate. The gearbox has an input and an output side.

Where Do I Find It?

Finding a gear box like that however is another story. They are not your garden variety type of units that just happen to show up in a junk yard. If anything you will have to access McMaster Carr, Grainger or some other big name industrial supplier to actually purchase a right angle gear box. They run around $200 to $300.

For most this is already the budget of the gokart making the right angle gear box out of the question. But more to the point, a right angle gear box can weigh more than other systems and poses some packaging mounting problems in some cases. Additionally, the duty cycle of the gear box needs to be taken into consideration. In other words, can it spin all the time or will it overheat? Also, is the amount of horsepower you are putting through it too much?

Power To The Gear Box

There are several ways to get the power through the gear box. You can mount a clutch to the engine, and then drive the right angle gear box or you can mount the clutch at the output side of the gearbox. Clutches range from belt drive style, chain drive style or even a belt clutch.

A word about belt clutches… Belt clutches are essentially belts that are suddenly tightened to engage the load. The problem with a belt clutch is that it should be in disconnected mode as a default. In other words, when no human interaction is being made with the go kart, the belt clutch needs to be disengaged.

The reason for this is safety. If the engine were inadvertently started (with the belt clutch engaged), the drive system would be engaged and you could have a run away go kart. This is a very serious problem.

To Recap…

So to recap, if money is no object go to McMaster Carr, Grainger or some other industrial house buy yourself a 90 degree gear box. Or if you happen to come across a 90 degree gear box sitting around, you may want to just use it.

To power it, clutch either the input or the output side.

Next time…What about a transaxle off of a riding lawn mower?

Wide angle lenses are a huge part of landscape and seascape photography and are used extensively within the field. They are extremely popular and quite often produce amazing results if used correctly. Just like any lens that is used in landscape and seascape photography it also has some disadvantages and limitations that you need to know about.

One of the big disadvantages of wide angle lenses is that when you are up close to an object, they tend to distort and stretch the subject out of proportion which is not a desirable effect. Unless of course you are actually trying to achieve that effect but most of us as landscape and seascape photographers aren’t after that effect. It’s easy to avoid this effect if you know about it, but if you aren’t aware of it, it can catch you out by surprise.

Another disadvantage of wide angle lenses is that they are prone to vignetting and can often produce photos with soft edges. The entire photo may be sharp except for the edges, again this is an undesirable effect but it’s easy to avoid. Your wide angle lens will be particularly prone to vignetting if you have a thick filter holder on it. You should always try and get a really thin filter holder so as to avoid the vignetting.

The last real disadvantage of a wide angle lens in landscape and seascape photography is that it has a very limited zoom. They are fantastic for taking close up photos of objects but are almost useless when trying to capture objects that are a fair distance away.

The advantages of a wide angle lens far outweigh their disadvantages but as with anything that you buy, you just need to be aware that there are some downsides to them. As with anything as long as you are aware of their limitations you should have absolutely no issues with them. They play an important part in landscape and seascape photography for good reason, they are such an effective lens and can capture so much information.

If you are looking to buy a wide angle lens, you shouldn’t stress out too much about the disadvantages as the advantages far outweigh them. Go for it!