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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: Has anybody heard of or used or saw used
I get crystal clear TV though not 900 channels, by simply using the Winegard Batwing (With Wingman) that came with my motor home.
This feeds a pair of digital converters I got back when the world went digital for 10 dollars a pop with the government discount card.
W hen they start talking about 800+ channels it makes me think that it is a video over internet device. "Thousands of Satellite TV channels for free only $49.05" say the sacmmers.
Do not believe it, I mean what part of $49.95 is FREE (Proves the lie right up front) And they are not satellite channels, they are internet channels, not the same thing.
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wa8yxm
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05/22/12 08:09am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Desktop Keyboard & Coffee don't mix
They now make spill proof keyboards
And flow through ones as well.. (The one I'm using is a flow through)
IN theory if you have a flow through and spill coffee black.. It flows through, (In practice a drop or two of rain water made a major mess of mine till it dried)
If you use cream and sugar you can flow plain water to rinse it out.
The spill proof ones have a membrane covering the keys or are membrane keyboards. Those are nice.. when they work (mine did not)
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wa8yxm
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05/22/12 08:03am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Gas water heater ignites but won't stay on
You said it lights up but wont' stay lit.
The sequence for Direct Spark Ignition units is as follows
When the Thermostat calls for heat the control board opens the gas valve and starts the spark generator.. IT appears this is happening.
The flame ignights and heats a thermocouple (Flame sensor) which signals the control board "I'm feeling hot" This.. Sometimes takes a few tires but once it's working it should keep working.
The board senses the current from the thermocople and maintains heat till the T-stat says "Hot enough".
If the Flame Sensor (Thermocouple) is defective, if the connections to the control board are defective or if the control board has issues.
What you see is what you get.
Poor flamle can do it too.
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wa8yxm
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05/22/12 08:00am |
Tech Issues
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RE: can 30 amps run 2 13500 ACs
I have done it.. However there are conditions.
The first time I did it the A/C's were brand new.
The second time they were fresh-cleaned. (I had just cleaned both the evaporator and condensor coils)
Usually I can't run my pair of Carrire V's on 30 at the same time.
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wa8yxm
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05/22/12 07:47am |
Tech Issues
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RE: I still read books, the kind without batteries!
I read them both with and without batteries. I have on E-book I'm in the middle of just now (not all that good but still good enough to want to finish it) and a paper book on the shelf labeled "NEXT" as it were.
In the old days I had to make regular trips to the library with boxes of paperbacks cause..... Well, there was not enough room at the house.
In the motor home.... Less room.
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wa8yxm
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05/22/12 07:44am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Bone Head Move of the Day
eHey it could be worse.. I sometimes tell of a time back in school when 3 bullies teamed up on me, one in front, one on each side, they lowered their heads and came at me like enraged bulls intending to cause me pain when they hit.
Well.. At the last second I moved, and when I did, they found.. the brick wall behind me had not moved.
OOPS.
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wa8yxm
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05/21/12 04:27pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Tivo DVR Which
I might add... There are some computer devices (Assuming you have enough computer) like Win-TV from Hauppauge.
Turn your computer into a DVR.
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wa8yxm
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05/21/12 04:23pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Does the monitor panel show full battery while plugged in?
IS it normal for the panel to show full batteries when plugged in? YES
Why: The panel judges and displays state of charge based upon the system voltage, which is being supplied by the converter when you are plugged in, NOT by the batteires. FULL is 12.6 volts, NORMAL converter output in float mode is 13.6 Somewhat "Over full" far as the panel is concerned.
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wa8yxm
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05/21/12 04:20pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: DirecTV HD and Kingdome
First your kingdome does not have 2 lnb's it has a "DUAL" lnb (One lnb, two outputs) Two LNB"s (Which do not come on the dome type) are called Twins.
Second, NO DOME will do DirecHDTV, Not king dome, Not winegard, Not motosat, Not _______ NONE of them. Some will do DISH HD, but there is a problem there too.
To do either right, takes a DISH type antenna. One with MULITPLE LNBs
In the case of DirecHDTV, the LNB's are of 2 different types (Frequency ranges) which is why no dome can do it.
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wa8yxm
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05/21/12 04:17pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Need Advice on Generator
I have a PD9180 with wizard feeding a pair of GC-2 size (Interstate U-2200) batteries, With the batteries in the OH !!!! discharge state (Way too low) I have used a GENRAC 1000, to power the converter.
The Genrac 1000 is a TRUE 1000 watt generator, not 1000 peak, but 1000 sustained, in fact the one that someone stole from me could do a bit better than 1000 watts continous.
I would like to recommend at least 1500 watts of portable power for that converter.
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wa8yxm
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05/21/12 04:14pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: New Battery Question..
There are several things that need to be looked at,, I see folks have talked about how much power you need.
A pair of six volt in series (Standard GC-2) give 220-230 amp hours at the 20 hour rate. A single Group 24 about 75, Group 31, about 130 as I recall.
Now, Some folks (Myself included) Like the GC2 because we believe it is a DEEP CYCLE and we feel that DEEP CYCLE is better for "house" use. . Others either show why DEEP CYCLE are bettery (I won't bother doing that) or argue that there is no difference (I believe there is and I've researched a lot).
But the bottom line is this.
Was in camping world and they ahd a rack of "Deep cycle" not one of them had a 2 digit price tag
Sams sells six volt GC-2's for around 70 bucks each.
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wa8yxm
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05/21/12 04:11pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Color Code and Solar Install
The problem is clear to those of us crosstrained in both electrical and electronics. WHITE is neutral, which is bonded to ground at the service entrance in your house. So in a house white is indistinguishable from ground.
and more importantly, the Black wire is the HOT one.
Thus the folks who wire RV's and are trained in house type wiring think BLACK HOT and White as "Chassis ground"
Yes, as a certified electronics technician I know that's bass ackwards. but hey, I did not wire the RV.
The moral is "Grab your meter and TEST TEST TEST"
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wa8yxm
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05/21/12 04:00pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Bone Head Move of the Day
Do not have that kind of tile but ... Well, My wife just opens doors with no
thought of what may have shifted during transit.
Then, of course it is my fault she has to clean up a mess.
I tend to do so with great caution. (But even I forget on occasion)
(in which case I clean up the mess, or more often than not catch the item on teh way down).
Had two bottles (One metal one plastic) fall when I opened a cupboard today, of course I opened slowly so they only fell from top to bottom shelf. Then into my waiting hand.
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wa8yxm
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05/20/12 05:23pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Tivo DVR Which
I believe TiVo has a number of offerings that may work
I have Replay TV units. they need access to the internet, either a lifetime subscription (Which mine have) or a monthly fee. and they only do NTSC, not High Def, but .. Well, TiVo did not catch up to 'em till just before Replay went out of the manufacturing business.
I'd shop E-bay/Craig's list,
(my replays have been modified (Read that hacked) so they control my digital TV converters.. Very nice, We can record 2 shows at once (just like the DishNetwork dual recorder) and play them back on either Replay (Via my in-house LAN) again much like the Dish Dual. Very nice.. The Dish Dual was based on the Replay unit or so the law suit alleged)
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wa8yxm
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05/20/12 05:19pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Sometimes financing makes sense
There are 3 numbers you need to be concerned with, And one problem with all 3.
First is the interest rate on your loan. (NOTE: This is after adjusting for the tax deduction you may be able to take if any)
Second is the rate of inflation
Third is the rate of return (interest) on investments. (likewise tax adjusted)
If the loan interest (adjusted) is less than either of the other two it pays to finance.
If inflation is greater than the investment return, it pays to SPEND .. The only time investment pays is when the rate of return (adjusted) is greater than inflation... Which with a good investment program is most of the time.
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wa8yxm
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05/20/12 05:15pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Gauge of wire for paralleling 12 Volt Batteries?
Two answers, choose the larger wire.
First: Assume one battery will fail "High resistance" and thus the other battery will provide ALL the current.. Now the odds of this happening are low, but this is called "playing safe".
The recommendation for this is "The same size as the wire(s) attached to the existing battery (Go with the negative cable size, there is usually only one of those).
The other answer is "Standard starter cable" (That is usually 4ga) as that is very easily obtained, low cost, and comes with lugs already attached.
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wa8yxm
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05/20/12 05:06pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Shelf Life and AGM Question
The fresher the better, No matter what the battery type.
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wa8yxm
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05/20/12 05:04pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Furnace not putting out heat; fan works
I saw a thread like this in another place it seems.. I recently went through this with my furnace.. So I will post a sequence of events, Since this is from memory if I miss a step, Sorry.
T-Sat calls for heat (No problem here)
Control board starts blower (likewise)
Blower comes up to speed (Bad motor, clogged ducts, low battery voltage)
"Breeze" from blower closes sail switch (Dirty switch, bad switch, obstruction to sail movement)
Signaling control board (Bad board) to
Open gas solenoid (Bad solenoid, no gas, gas valve closed, excess flow valve set, obstructed orifice)
and starting Direct Spark Ignition if so equipped (Bad control board/ignition coil, wire, points, point spacing wrong) ignighting gas/air mix.
Thermocouple in flame area senses heat and signals control board "All is well" so flame continues (Bad thermocouple bad wire bad control board)
IN addition there is an "high temp cut off" thermostat, bad sensor (T-Stat), wire or connection.
IN my case it was a bad control board, New OEM 250 bucks, New Dinosaur Fan-50, delivered 108, new board has a much better "Quality feel" than OEM (NOTE: that is just the opinion of a certified electronics technician... ME). plus there is a safety device to prevent what **I** think happened to the OEM.
However, that was MY problem.. I listed several possible issues above, About the only thing I'm sure of is the Thermostat, it's working.
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wa8yxm
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05/18/12 09:45am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Progressive Dynamics Power converter question
Ok, I will do the basic thing.
The PDI converter convertes 120 volt to 12vdc (Well 13-15 volt depending on the mode and those are rounded off). this should charge a battery in need, run lights, run the 12 volt side of things (Fridge uses 12 volts for it's computer, so does water heater, on my coach so do the air conditioners (many use it for control) however these devices do not RUN off 12 volts,, just their computers).
Now, as I recall the model you have has the fuse block (And possibly the 120 volt breakers) attached to the same chassis. This means that when it is plugged in to 120 volts it runs lights and such, When unplugged that is the battery's job.
IF there is no current on teh leads to the battery, then either the battery is fully charged, (not likely in your case) DEAD in "Very high resistance" mode, Missing, or disconnected.
YOu need to do a full trouble shoot of your 12 volt systems.
You may also (From what you posted) wish to upgrade, You can replace just the "Guts" of that converter with an improved unit, perhaps a 9245 (Last two numbers should be 1/3 the 20 hour amp hour rating of your batteries, or less).
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wa8yxm
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05/18/12 09:38am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Victron BMV-600 - Which side of Shunt to put Chasis Ground?
The ground bus-bar **IS** the chassis ground. So yes, it goes on that side.
I do not know how that shunt is designed so I will cover both posibilities.
if the wires to the meter are fixed (attched at the factory in such a way you can not unattach them) install the shunt, Turn on some lights (No shore power or generator power) if the meter shows + amps, remove it and install it the other way around.
if the wires are attached to the shunt by you.. Hook it up and turn on some lights, if the meter as above,,,, If the meter shows + AMPS you did it wrong,
If it shows - AMPS (in both cases... Good job!
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wa8yxm
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05/18/12 09:30am |
Tech Issues
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