
N7KGA
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N7KGA started following The Great American Total Solar Eclipse of 2017
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Good morning, all; One other point to be considered is to have your older system that may still have in it the old Freon Type R-12 or Type R-22 serviced withing the next year or so. I seem to remember something about 2015 will be the last year that R-12 and R-22 can be sold or used in this country even by certified A/C technicians. I need to check on this to confirm it. That is 20 years from the time when the OEM phase-out in the USA of R-12 air conditioners took place. Yes, having someone put reclaimed or old stock R-12 or R-22 into your system is expensive at this time (I remember buying 14 ounce cans of R-12 for $0.70 and a 30 pound cylinder for $17.00), but it will be even more expensive to have your older system converted to the new R-134a refrigerant, plus the new oil that is compatible with R-134a and must be used with it. If you can find an A/C tech who has it, the R-420a or possibly the R-414b would be a better substitute than R-134a without requiring all the changes that are necessary with the conversion to R-134a. R-409a is another possibility. And you will not experience the reduced performance level that you get with the R-134a in a system designed for R-12. Check with a certified and experienced A/C technician to see what is available at this time and will work best with your system. There are other things that are compatible with R-12 and R-22 and do not require all the changes that the conversion to R-134a will need. Enjoy; Ralph Latte Land, Washington
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Good morning, Bruce Dixon; OK. There is not too much time before your departure. I am not yet a recognized member of the FMCA, but I am working on it. When I bought my motor home, I had no of all the different motor home groups there are out here. It may be that until I am a recognized FMCA member with an "F" number, I will not be able to send a message to you through their system. Until then, please contact me directly by e-mail and let us see if we can work out something with this antenna. If the e-mail address does not come through as shown down below (some systems have sentries that will truncate the domain name or something equal), you can probably interpret the following to get something that will work to get a message to me. Then we can get down to seriously working on this thing. Enjoy; Ralph Latte Land, Washington
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Good morning, Ray - huffypuff; I have an observation on the subject of "combination CO-propane detectors." I am not sure that I can recommend them. The optimum location for a CO (Carbon monOxide) detector is up high, and the CO gas, being also a by-product of incomplete combustion, is lighter than air and will rise and collect up near the ceiling. The optimum location for a propane detector is down low, and the propane gas is heavier than air and will collect down near the floor. The optimum location for one gas will be the worst location for the other. They have conflicting operational requirements for a detection system. For that reason, I chose to go with two separate type units in my motor home; one propane detector down low near the floor in the galley area where the heater is also located, and one separate CO detector up near the ceiling also in the galley area. There is also a smoke detector in the ceiling in the living room area just forward of the galley area. Then there is another smoke detector and a second CO detector both in the ceiling back in the rear bedroom. Also, the propane detector is powered with a separate, fused, constant 12 VDC power source connected to the coach batteries. My propane detector is an audible alarm unit only; it is not interconnected with the propane supply line. Well, at least not at this time. Enjoy; Ralph Latte Land, Washington
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I am not very experienced in working with the specific systems used on motor home RV. My question is one that I cannot find in searching the forum topics, so I am asking here: How do you remove the top cover on a Coleman Delta TX Air Conditioner? I can get the four acorn nuts off the studs to lift the cover, but it seems to hit something a couple of inches up at the front. The light colored top part of the cover seems to be firmly attached to the brown colored bottom part, so I cannot just lift off the light colored top part and see what is happening underneath. Is there some special process or maneuver that is required to get the cover off so that I can do some maintenance on the air conditioner itself? I found the long holding bolts underneath inside the motor home were quite loose, so I at least want to check the torque on the top hardware to keep everything together, and also to clean the assembly, lubricate the fan bearings, and check the condenser cooling fins to see that they are clean and the unit will work efficiently, but I do not know how to get the cover off. Enjoy; Ralph Latte Land, Washington
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Good morning; You might check first to see that the problem is really with the camera or the monitor. You can easily get to those and take them down and set them up close together and see if they work fine over a protracted time period. If they do, then you may indeed be looking at a wiring problem. Yes, I know that you do not want to get into this, but it may be necessary. And, yes, pulling new cables will be expensive if others do it for you. Sorry, but that seems to be a fact of life at times. However, it is also possible that you do not need to have the cables replaced, but you might need some maintenance on the cable connectors. You did say that it was failing intermittently, so the fact that it comes and goes may be saying that there is a problem with either the 12 VDC power going back to the camera, or there is a problem with the video cable bringing the signal up to the monitor. Especially look at the connectors on the outside of the motor home where they attach to the video camera. Look for any sign of corrosion on the connector contact mating surfaces. Check to see that the connectors go together with some pressure and that they are tight, and not loose or worn. You may be able to reform the larger outside body so that it again makes a snug contact with the mating connector. Bend just a little, and do not over-do it, or you may crack the thin sheet metal outside body if they are the old RCA phono plug style video cable connectors. You can replace the connectors on the existing cables if required and the cable itself tests OK. With the cable connectors clean and snug, you can put some silicone grease on the contact mating surfaces to keep water out and reduce corrosion. Try to put some weather sealant over the connectors and that junction when you are putting it back together after your tests are complete, and any required work has been done. That may help to keep the connections reliable and continue working into the future. If the cables must be replaced, you may be able to tie the new cables onto the old cables and pull the new cables into place as you pull the old cables out, or you can tie a pull line onto the old cable that will go in as you pull the old cable out, and you have the pull line as something to use to pull in the new cable If you can do a good job of making the place where the two cables go together, the old and the new, physically small so that it does not hang up on other things inside as you are pulling them through, then you can pull the new cable in directly, and you will be OK. If it does hang up, do not just yank on it. You may pull apart the cable junction and then have both cables inside with no way to pull the new cable through with the old cable. Then it does become much more difficult. Just pull back a little on the new cable, and try it again. If not, then pull back and take off the new cable and tie a pull line onto the old cable you have just pulled back in, and try again with that method. The best way probably is just to go ahead with the pull line method. Once you have the new cables installed, check to see that the connectors do go together snugly, and use the same treatment with the silicone grease to prevent oxidation and help keep out water, and weather seal the connector junction. Again, it is rather likely that you have a connector problem or some similar cable problem that is causing the intermittent. The "bench testing" of the camera and monitor will show whether the problem is in the camera and monitor, or it is still in the cables, and there is more work to do. If it does it on the bench also, then go ahead and either repair or replace the camera or the monitor, depending on which one seems to have the real problem. Here is a place where having a second compatible camera or monitor will help in identifying which one has the problem and needs work. If the camera has the same problem on both monitors, then look at the camera. If the camera works properly with one of the monitors but not the second monitor, then that second monitor may have the problem. If you can get a second camera, and the second camera works with your monitor, then you probably can say there is a problem with your camera. This modular testing process will at least tell you where the problem is. Enjoy; Ralph, N7KGA Latte Land, Washington n7kga@arrl.net
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Good morning; DesertDeals69 is right. The name "Light Emitting Diode" does imply that there is a forward biased and reversed polarity possible with the devices. Yes, if the socket is wired "backwards" (and many of them will have two wires coming off the metal base that are to be attached to the source of the electrical power), then the LED light assembly will not work. Normally the center contact in the bayonet base will be wired to the positive or "plus" side of the battery or DC power source. And, if you are wondering about the "color" of your LED lights, see if one of your friends who is a serious photographer (not necessarily just a "professional") has a light "color temperature" meter that he can aim at your lights and read out the "color temperature" in degrees Kelvin. As mentioned also by DesertDeals69, the "color temperature" should be around 2700º K. or so. Enjoy; Ralph Latte Land, Washington
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Good morning; This topic did get my attention. I bought a Winnebago Elandan through an estate sale, and one of the things noted was the condition of the upper windshield molding and gasket. I quickly made a temporary patch. While it is something that concerns me, I had also thought that I could have it repaired. It may be that it will definitely need to be repaired, and from all of the suggestions offered here, I have a much better idea of how to proceed. Thank you for that. One thing I did not realize is the point that a Winnebago dealer or repair shop has no obligation nor incentive to be careful with the existing windshield while they are working on the watertight integrity of the rubber molded gasket and seal for the windshield. If they break it while working on it, then it is my responsibility and financial obligation to pay full list price for a new one, does seem a bit unusual in the repair industry. I do not recall a similar policy with any of the service industries where I worked at times in the past, and several of them were with motor vehicles. If I had ever made an error to the extent that it caused a problem with the customer's vehicle, it would be at my expense to correct that problem to the customer's satisfaction. While the mechanical parts of this Elandan seem to be in pretty good condition, there have been an awful lot "little things" inside the coach part that have needed attention. This has turned out to be a "project." Oh, well. It actually is cheaper than golf or visiting the taverns, so I guess it is still a good thing. Enjoy; Ralph Latte Land, Washington
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Good morning; There were also some references to "ground wires" for the speakers. Please note that there are many radios made in recent years where both sides of the speaker connections ARE NOT connected to ground, but are floated off ground on the output connections of the final audio amplifier in the radio for each speaker. Connecting either side of such an amplifier directly to ground can damage the amplifier in a way that will not be covered by any applicable manufacturer warranty. Either get the radio manufacturer's installation and servicing information for the radio and understand and use that information, or take the vehicle with the radio to a shop which does work on that kind of equipment, and might even be a recognized service center for that manufacturer. Enjoy; Ralph Latte Land, Washington
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Good morning, Skip, K4EAK; Thank you for providing your list. There are more than I had thought, although I also admit that for nationwide net coverage during the day, I had been concentrating mainly on 20 Meters. However, I think that the FMCA-ARC Net on 20 Meters follows the RV Service Net on 14.3075 Mc mainly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at this time. 40 Meters is a possibility down into California, but I am not sure that I can get much further east than Idaho, Western Montana, Utah, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, part of Nevada, and maybe Wyoming and Colorado. I know that I can cover those states on 80 Meters at night fairly often, and usually down into Arizona, from my location here in Latte Land. For me, 20 Meters has been my main long range band most of the time during the day, although it does not really seem to wake up during the Winter until perhaps around 0700 PST or 1500 UTC in the morning. Of course, this is from the home station. I have the feeling that true mobile operation, or even operation from a parked motor home, will not be as easy. There will be a Hi-Que screwdriver type vertical on the front of the Winnebago Elandan for mobile operation, and I will mount a Hustler-Newtronics Type 6BTV vertical antenna on the 2 inch square tube receiver on the back for parked or "portable" operation from 80 Meters to 10 Meters. The 6BTV is only about 27 or 28 feet long, but it is better than the mobile antenna, and the assembled 6BTV without the capacity hat sections will slide very nicely into the 30 foot long 4 inch diameter plastic tube along the right side of the roof. I can also put out more radials when parked. One nice thing about a vertical antenna is that it is always aimed in the right direction. The radios and everything else are pretty easy. At least I know that there is a selection of radio nets out there for us to play with and for keeping in touch. Thank you, Skip. Enjoy, and 73; Ralph, N7KGA Latte Land, Washington
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Good morning; A small possibly minor point of correction: The main publication for traffic signals, signs, lane striping, and other "traffic control devices," is a Federal publication commonly known as the MUTCD, or the "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices" published by the FHWA. The current version is the 2009 Edition with the 2012 updates. And there are sections in there applicable to Red Light Cameras and other non-attended photographic devices. The minimum Yellow light or amber light time period is 3.0 seconds. However, there can be a longer time period as a function of the posted speed limit and other factors. And local jurisdictions may adopt a variation to a longer time period. For example, here in the State of Washington, we used two (2) common minimum time periods for the length of a Yellow light. For speeds under 45 MPH, it was 3.5 seconds, or maybe 4.0 seconds. For speeds of 45 MPH and higher, the minimum time period we used was 5.0 seconds. I believe that this practice is still in use here. A similar practice is followed by many counties and cities. I still have my old copy of the MUTCD that I kept when I retired after working on traffic signals for about 30 years. For several years, I had "The Most Hated Traffic Signal in the State of Washington" (dubbed that by KOMO radio, 1000 Kc AM) in the group for which I was responsible for maintenance, on US Highway 2 in Sultan, Washington, on the way to Stevens Pass. Enjoy; Ralph Latte Land, Washington and HamRadioHFMobile on the FMCA forum
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Good morning; There has been some progress. The main frequency of interest on 20 Meters now is 14.3075 Mc. Both the Recreational Vehicle Service net (or the RV Service net that started as a part of the Wally Bynum Caravans back in 1963), and the FMCA-ARC net can be found on that frequency. The RV Service net comes on beginning at 1800 Zulu or 1300 EDST or 1400 EST, on 14.3075 Mc USB at least on Monday through Friday, but often there does seem to be people there on an informal basis on Saturday and Sunday. I believe that the FMCA-ARC net comes on following the RV Service net on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so that will be probably in the range from 1830 Zulu to 1900 Zulu or so. But not on days beginning with a "T." At least the frequency is the same. There is at least one VHF net out there, including an EchoLink Net on Tuesdays at 9:00pm ET (6:00pm PT) on Conference Node *FMCA-ARC*. I do not know about the repeater in what city that may be associated with that EchoLink Node. This has been an interesting activity searching out the nets. Larry Hayduff, N7LWD (who used to live out here), and who can be found in the FMCA-ARC [ www.fmcaarc.com ], provided a lot of this information. I am still looking. Enjoy, and 73; Ralph, N7KGA Latte Land, Washington
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Good morning; Is the ham radio "Family Motor Coach" net (FMC net) on 20 Meters at 14.262 Mc still around somewhere? It used to be hosted by Leon who lived down in Texas, but I have learned that Leon died about two years ago. Is the net still active? Did someone else take it over? Where is it now? The last time that I checked into that net was probably about five years ago, and it was only as a guest. I did not have a motor home RV back then. I do now, and I was hoping that the net might still be around, noting that now I can be a fully participating member of the net. Enjoy, and 73; Ralph, N7KGA Latte Land, Washington n7kga@arrl.net .