Zephyrs

Lifehacker has some good points about pop-top can [wikipedia] technique. Turn Your Beverage Can Tab to Keep Wasps Out.

By simply turning the pull tab around to cover the opening (rather than pulling it off and tossing somewhere), you can use it as a screen to keep wasps and such sugar attracted bugs out of the can or you can use the pull tab as a straw holder to keep it from floating up and out.

SNU Folks,

The May Newsletter has been posted. Links to photo galleries and additional information mentioned in articles in this newsletter can also be found at there, too.

Topics in the May newsletter

Pyramid Lake rally review -|- Notes from the Prez -|- May Rally at Eagle Lake -|- WBCCI news -|- Speaking of Caravans -|- Checklists -|- Welcome Laura Funk -|- Region 12 Rally -|- Send us your news

Eagle Lake, Rocky Point rally

Thursday May 17 to Sunday 21 2012 the SNU rally will be at Eagle Lake, Rocky Point. It is a beautiful location right on the lake. If you have never been you may want to caravan with someone who has already been there. It’s a little tricky getting to it but well worth the effort. Be sure to bring firewood. Check this page for GPS coordinates

SNU 2012 Rally Schedule

For the latest on the Sierra Nevada Unit, check the website homepage

Check Zephyrs and find out what else is new on the SierraNevadaAirstreams.org

–
SNU HQ

Out at Pelican Point with mild weather, good friends, fly-overs, and a lot of rather patient fishermen …

See the photo gallery of the SNU rally at Pyramid Lake in April 2012!

62 cents and a medallion found with the metal detector; a power supply was converted from 240v to 110v input; the dogs prompted a lot of nearby bush exploration; the fire was just right for telling stories; some amateur radio contacts made but the Riverside RACES net couldn’t hear us; RV upgrades, repairs, enhancements, and features were discussed and evaluated; ancient propane bottles filled; awnings exercised; and too much good food to do proper justice – as usual.

Ken sends this link from ‘down under’ by the Campervan Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA). It is about the Self-Contained RV Tourist and Economic Benefits.

“Over the past decade the Self-Contained RV Tourist market has continued to expand, and has now emerged as one of the most important and sustainable sectors of the tourism industry. It is increasingly important to effectively understand this market and its needs, and provide facilities and services that will attract this emerging tourism segment to your region.”

Facts and figures follow and they present an interesting profile of the RV experience that seems to fit with U.S. RVers as well Australian ones. Some of the facts to think about: the RV and camping industry has been growing at an annual rate of about 15% over the past seven years and that is likely to continue due to the ‘baby boom’ demographics; it is one of the most stable markets since 2000. RVer’s do spend money, need few services, and can make a significant contribution to any community that welcomes them.

In the U.S. Walmart seems to have the data presented well in hand. Others seem to have difficulty with the potential. If your community is one of those that doesn’t get the link between economic health and a friendly attitude towards the RV community, the link can help make the case for change. If your RV association is struggling, seems weak in the knees, or has lost its focus, the CMCA is providing an example to illustrate just what an RV association can do to raise the flag, find focus, and garner support and enthusiasm.

Coffee? It get’s people going whether they are into it as a connoisseur of just want something other than water to drink. For a start, see the TT Owner’s Guide chapter on Living: Coffee.

The classic manual method is the Melitta: Melitta Ready Set Joe/Mug 64010 Coffee Makers Speciality. That’s a filtration system to sit on a cup so all you do is to heat water and pour it through.

Another one for hot coffee that provides a concentrated or even Expresso result is AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker with zippered nylon tote bag and an Extra 350 Micro Filters (700 Total). The discussions on just how hot the water should be and the specifics of the technique get quite extensive on the forums for the AeroPress. It does a good job when all you need is a cup or two and is easy to clean up. The amount of coffee you get from it is rather small but quite strong. You can dillute to fill two mugs and come up with a decent cup.

If you are into iced coffee or like to have a concentrate in the fridge so you can microwave a cup of coffee anytime, a cold brew might do. You can go with a ‘make your own’ from a couple of drink glasses left over from your last fast food run: Cold Brewed Coffee on the Cheap. A commercial version of this is the Toddy T2N Cold Brew System.

The cold brew idea is interesting in that it is a room temperature coffee brewing over a long time, like 12 hours or so. That creates a concentrate suitable for 3:1 dillution that can be stored in the fridge for a week or two.

Note: Amazon affiliate links are used here supporting the website. No cost or obligation to you and a potential help with the web hosting bill here. And they do provide an illustration to help you see what is being discussed..

If you do coffee for your camp group, a 3 liter Thermos type pot as shown in the Owner’s Guide will keep coffee available for the morning depending up how many and how coffee driven your friends are that morning.

Those LED strips can be an interesting arts and crafts project. See LED lighting – DIY strip lights (below in the blog).
The 5 meter, 100 12v module, self stick circuit tape runs anywhere from
around $15 to $100 or more depending upon source and (somewhat) LED
type and waterproofing.

A PWM Dimming Controller For LED Lights or Ribbon, 12 Volt 8 Amp, 3301 allows trimming down light levels (and power draw) to just what
you need. It also provides some over-voltage protection. Use a
‘safety off’ with them, just in case. The dimmer board and pot can be pulled
from the supplied case and installed with stand-offs or double sided tape
in the fixture.

The LED strips work well for many of the lights in an older Airstream. The
originals are often 3 bulbs riveted to an aluminum flashing to serve as
a reflector for both heat and light. That reflector makes for a nice
mounting for the LED strips. The result replaced the 60 watt
incandescent with a 20 watt or less, as needed, dimmable LED.

For connections between strips there are some clips Available. Soldering some wire pulled from old CAT 5 ethernet patch cable or low
power speaker cable also works.

Watch out for sharp cut edges that can cause shorts. Lift the ends of the strips a tad off the flashing and put a dollop
of hot glue underneath. The  hot glue is also useful to help secure the
wiring.

There are three color strips with the fancy remote controls and dimmer that can be used for mood lighting. The 16.4
Ft RGB Color Changing Kit with LED Flexible Strip, Controller + Remote
and 12 Volt 4 Amp Power Supply By Ledwholesalers, 2034rgb Kit ~ $35 makes for a good way to experiment with ‘mood’ lighting options.

A photo gallery is being prepared – more here when it gets posted!

There are other options. An E-Bay search might bring up some bulb replacements that are under $5. These are 36 LED arrays with a set of common bulb bases. The light strips might require a bit more ‘arts and crafts’ effort and skill but the do allow for more options and for spreading the light out.

more, later ….

The weather is beginning to pull on those who have an RV (and aren’t winter sports nuts!). Consumer Reports has Trailer tips – How to get ready for the summer towing season to get you off to a good start.

“If you’re a first timer, have recently stepped up to a larger trailer, or just want a refresher, start with our towing guide for the basics. That has plenty of information about how to match your vehicle to the load. (Also read: “Pulling your weight.”)

And whether you’re an experienced trailer veteran or hitching up for the first time, take a few minutes to read the following tips.”

Flush out the pink stuff in the plumbing, sanitize the fresh water system, and make sure everything works like it is supposed to. Then you can get out and enjoy what the RV offers.

Another Consumer Reports item is about How to prepare for driving without a spare tire. Check the DOT dates on the tires, including the spare if you have one. Inspect the tires for cracks and other problems, Investigate any tire that seems to be losing air faster than the others. Be prepared and check your emergency equipment.

SNU Folks,

The April Newsletter has been posted — Links to photo galleries and additional information mentioned in articles in this newsletter can also be found there, too.

Topics in the February newsletter: Notes from the Prez, Rally in Mason Valley -|- April at Pyramid Lake -|- Jerry’s GPS and Waypoints -|- Video Library -|- SNU Flags -|- SNU Shopping -|- The SNU Diorama

April at Pyramid Lake

Thursday April 26 to Sunday 29, 2012 the SNU rally will be at Pyramid Lake, Pelican Point To reach the campsite for the Sierra Nevada Unit rally drive past Sutcliff and turn right off off 445 at the boat ramp sign. Follow gravel road down to boat ramp area. Turn right (looks like parking area) drive through and around hill to the right. Can’t miss us. Trailers should be visible from hwy 445.

Check here for map to Pyramid Rally site and other info

Be sure and stop at the Ranger Station in Sutcliff to pay your camping fees before you head to the rally site or use their online system.

Bring firewood for campfires.

SNU 2012 Rally Schedule

–
SNU HQ

Ever wonder about what’s left in the battery when off-grid? Worry about running the battery flat on a chilly night?

You’ve got two different measures to consider. One is the state of charge which is like a gas gauge in telling you how much of the battery you’ve used and how much you’ve got left. Another is the battery state of health which, when compared to the original battery specifications, tells you what you can expect from the battery. The state of health is good to know because a battery is like a fuel tank that shrinks as it ages.

Assessing state of charge used to be a matter of sampling battery electrolyte to determine specific gravity. That means lifting and moving a heavy battery to get at cell caps and then pulling a caustic acid sample from each cell for testing. This is serious hazmat territory and OSHA says several thousand people are injured in the U.S. every year from this sort of activity.

A more modern means to determine state of charge is to use a digital voltmeter. Here’s one way to keep an eye on your battery voltage that only costs about $15:

Equus 3721 Battery and Charging System Monitor

One feature that makes this item attractive is that it is a three and a half digit voltmeter. That means it reads voltages out to two decimal places. That’s one digit more precision than you really need which means you can do your own rounding and can easier spot small changes in voltage response to loads and such things.

The Equus 3721 also includes a level graph and indicator lights to qualify the voltage reading. It has 2 modes for the indicators so that they indicate both battery and charging status. Switching to charging mode is not a simple voltage decision where higher voltages are considered charging. It appears that the Equus looks at the voltage it is measuring and switches to charging mode if it sees fluctuations that indicate a charging device is in the circuit. That sort of smarts adds value to the meter but it’s not perfect because a very smooth charge, such as from a good RV converter, will not trigger the mode change.

This DVM is intended for the automobile cigarette lighter socket. That is convenient but not always the best place for assessing RV battery status.

A bit more sophisticated is the BatteryMole Car Battery Warning System (12 Volt Automobile Battery Monitor with Battery Failure Prediction Logic). Made in USA for about twice the price. This one analyzes what engine starting does to battery voltage to infer a battery state of health. The description notes that battery voltage is best measured after 4 hours of no significant charging or discharging. Since it uses engine starting load for its measuring, it won’t help much in an RV situation.

One the high end are items such as Clipper BM-1CW Battery Monitor Compact White
or New Xantrex LinkPRO Battery Monitor and Xantrex LinkLITE Battery Monitor. These are integrating ammeters or ‘electron counters’. They not only watch voltage but also current. They use the data collected to try to figure out the actual state of charge.

“Defining the amount of energy available in a battery is a complex task since battery age, discharge current and temperature all influence the actual battery capacity. High performance measuring circuits, along with complex software algorithms, are used to exactly determine the remaining battery capacity.”

Numbers can be fun but tend to get old after a while. If you use that $15 DVM you can keep an eye on what your battery is doing so you can judge when it needs a recharge or you need to turn off the TV or when the battery just isn’t up to snuff anymore. The $250 class turns a lot of the judgment over to a robot whose conclusions should be properly qualified.

SNU Folks,

The March Newsletter has been posted. Links to photo galleries and additional information mentioned in articles in this newsletter can also be found there.

Topics in the February newsletter — Notes from the Prez -|- First Rally of 2012 -|- Welcome to the Rabold’s -|- A Labor of Love -|- Region 12 Newsletter -|- The Art of Backing Up -|- Wally Byam in Baker City

Rally in Mason Valley — The first SNU rally of 2012 is Thursday March 22 to Sunday 25, 2012 at Mason Valley Wildlife Area. The rally site is off of Miller Lane on the North side of Yerington. From Silver Springs follow Hwy 95 South to Miller Lane. Turn East on Miller Lane and continue to Lux Lane. Follow Lux Lane (a good gravel road) about a half mile past the fish hatchery to the campground. MVWA is a great birding area and there are plenty of places for hiking. It’s also a great place to sit and enjoy panoramic views.

SNU 2012 Rally Schedule

Join now or renew your membership on-line

For the latest on the Sierra Nevada Unit, check the website homepage

Check Zephyrs and find out what is new on the SierraNevadaAirstreams.org

–
SNU HQ

Already the headlines are working on fears of $5/gallon gasoline this summer. You may have also seen stories about the North Dakota oil boom or the political fracas about an oil pipeline. It’s all about what kind of oil is where. Casey Research has a nice story to help explain things: It’s All about Differentials.

We’re talking about oil price differentials, which means the different prices paid for crude oil in different parts of the world. People often talk about “the price of oil” as though there is just one price, when really there are dozens of crude blends that each has a different valuation. Sure, some blends are much more prevalent and therefore important than others.
…
If you want to skip right to the bottom line, it is this: location matters. Bakken producers are getting hammered on pricing because they struggle to get their oil to the nearest refinery and storage hub – in Cushing, Oklahoma. Then, in a cruel feedback cycle, once the oil reaches Cushing it actually pushes its own value down by adding to a supply glut – there isn’t enough refinery capacity in Cushing to process rising output from the Bakken and the Canadian oil sands, and there are only a few small pipes available to ease the glut by moving oil from Cushing to the big, sophisticated refineries on the Gulf Coast.

The right kind of oil has to get to the right kind of refinery to distil to the right kind of gasoline (or diesel) you need to get your rig on down the road. The price you pay at the pump reflects all of this and much more.

SNU Folks.

The February Newsletter has been posted — Links to photo galleries and additional information mentioned in articles in this newsletter can also be found there, too.

Topics in the February newsletter

January lunch review -|- Notes from Judy -|- Prez Notes -|- Rally Planning -|- Thanks to Dave -|- LED lights -|- February lunch in Gardnerville

Lunch Gardnerville

The SNU lunch will be at the Overland Basque Restaurant in Gardnerville on Saturday February 25, 2012. The Overland is just North of J.T.s and on the other side of US 395 (1451 N. Main St.) The lunch will be at 11:30am. Please contact the SNU to let us know if you plan to attend. Email:hq (at) SierraNevadaairstreams.org or call 775 972 5011

SNU 2012 Rally Schedule

Join now or renew your membership on-line

For the latest on the Sierra Nevada Unit, check the website homepage

Check Zephyrs and find out what’s new at SierraNevadaAirstreams.org

–
SNU HQ

Cool Tools, Flexible LED Strip Lights, has some nice pictures of LED strip lights installed as counter lights in a kitchen.

One problem with the LED strips is that you might want a housing so they aren’t installed bare but protected inside a fixture. That might make mounting easier and result in a less ‘industrial’ look. Here’s the Amazon link to one:

Superbright LED’s as linked by Cool Tools has a selection of these housings in both aluminum and MDF with lenses, end caps and other accessories. The problem is that they seem rather expensive. The Amazon item is nearly $10/foot and doesn’t include the LED’s.

An aluminum U channel extrusion can be found at the hardware store for less than $2 a foot. It might be possible to use one of those to make your own LED strip lighting housing. There appears to be a lot of this for 3/8″ thick glass edges and that is about the right width to handle one LED strip. The prices are all over the map. National Mfg. N342295 U Channel is a half inch wide, .08 high and 4 feet long for $6.19. Check your local hardware or big box home improvement store with a chunk of your light strip and see what might work. These stores will often have a selection of plastic sheets and things you could use for a diffuser.

For now, the PowerTrekk is clearly as much of a lifestyle product — it comes in a choice of red, yellow or green — as a practical alternative to rechargeable batteries.

Extreme Tech says Portable fuel cells arrive: Will your next battery be a water fountain? — but it’s all about charging cell phones and such. 4 watts just isn’t that big a power level to do much.

One problem is that Fuel Cells need a rather clean hydrogen supply. The Signa Chemistry fuel cell uses a compound that will react with water to outgas hydrogen for its $199 fuel cell. A ‘puck’ with this compound will be sold at REI at a cost of about $4. The puck is equivalent to 6 AA batteries. They do plan on larger fuel cells like their briefcase sized DPS300 due at the end of 2012.

The article does have a nice table that compares capacity and cost between these fuel cells, gensets, and batteries. That indicates the fuel cell energy density by weight is about 13 times that of a rechargeable lithium battery. The prices in the table indicate that SiGNa Energy plans a fixed cost of $125 and a 3 kWh variable cost at $19 for their fuel cell. For comparison, 3 kWh is about 5 times the usable energy capacity of the typical RV lead acid battery.

If SiGNa pulls this off, they might make an impact in the RV market. Don’t hold your breath, though, as promises like this have been made for years and years.

Update Note: One drawback of fuel cells compared to batteries is that the power level is only a couple of hundred watts. To run an inverter for a microwave or similar appliance would need a much larger power rating.

Ever wonder about that idea of ‘digging to China’ ? Free Map Tools has a map tunneling tool that will show you your antipodes on a map. For the SierraNevadaAirstreams.org territory, the antipode is in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar.

The site has a few other tools that might be fun to play with …

SNU Folks,

Happy New Year!

The January 2012 Newsletter has been posted

Links to photo galleries and additional information mentioned in articles in this newsletter can also be found there, too.

Topics in the January newsletter

December lunch review -|- January lunch in Fernley -|- SNU Community Service -|- Prez Notes -|- SNU website  -|- WBCCI song book

Lunch in Fernley at the Black Bear

Saturday December 17, 2011 The SNU will have lunch at the Overland Basque Restaurant in Fallon. Time, 11:30 am. Please RSVP to hq@sierranevadaairstreams.org or call 775 972 5011. We need to know how many people to reserve a table for. The Overland is located at 125 E. Center Street Fallon, NV Off Hwy 95 in downtown Fallon, NV

SNU 2012 Rally Schedule

Join now or renew your membership on-line

For the latest on the Sierra Nevada Unit, check the website homepage

Check Zephyrs and find out what else is new on the SierraNevadaAirstreams.org

–
SNU HQ

Nowadays, with computers and stuff, the memorabilia made to remember participation in events and activities can get rather flashy. Not so long ago, it was hand crafted and had an appeal of its own.

See the photo gallery!

This collection was from the Wally Byam Caravan Club’s Monterey Bay Unit ca 80′s.

LED lighting is an attractive option in RV’s. LED’s aren’t necessarily the most efficient in terms of battery draw for light output but they do allow for a more focused light that is tailored for what you want to do. Most LED’s run at about 50 lumens per watt:

LEDs are efficient for some applications – “Compare to 14-17.5 lumens per watt for standard “A19″ 120 volt 60 to 100 watt incandescents, and typically 16 to 21 for most halogen lamps rated to last 2,000 hours or more, typically 50-70 (at optimum temperature) for most compact fluorescents rated 13 to 26 watts, and 85-100 for 32 watt T8 fluorescents operated with electronic ballasts.”

You can get battery operated LED ‘puck’ lights, strip lights, lights on a gooseneck, and all sorts of other innovative lighting solutions. The FLEXIT light (says its at Home Depot stores) puts a bunch of LED’s on a flexible pad with a magnetic base that holds 3 AA batteries. That allows spreading the light out a bit as well as shaping the light source for a particular need. You can also see the variety when browsing through the big retail outlets.

One common issue with lighting is the color. Most of the ‘white’ LED lights are like miniature fluorescent light bulbs and have the same color options and concerns as standard fluorescent light bulbs. Jason suggests using a CD you might have handy to see the color spectrum of a light (How do LED lightbulbs compare to CFL and incandescent? | JasonMorrison.net)

You can get LED lights designed as replacements for the common light bulbs in your RV. There are even models designed to replace fluorescent tubes. These tend to be rather expensive. If you have a bit of a do-it-yourself bent and some creativity, you might be able to supplement your RV lighting with LED’s without too much effort. One way to do this is to get a 5 meter (16 foot) reel of LED lights and go to town. These LED strip lights are very common and provided in many varieties with costs running from a bit over $10 to more than $100.

The LED strip lights are long flexible circuit boards with an adhesive strip on the back. They are usually configured as 100 separate 12v LED light circuits. You can cut the strip between the light circuits to configure how you want to make your light source – from 100 small lights to one long light source. The typical 3258 SMD (surface mount device) strip circuit used in these has three white LED’s that drop the voltage about 3.4 volts and a 150 ohm limiting resistor. At Amazon – HitLights LED Flexible Lighting Strip Cool White or Bright White, 5 Meter or 16 Ft, 3528 Type, 300 SMD, 24 Watt (sponsored link – new idea here being tried out!) is a $14 item that has a clip for a coaxial power connector.

A strip of LED’s like this has a total light output just about on par with that of the typical 2 bulb T-8 18 inch fluorescent fixture used in many RV’s.

For household use, you need a 12v power supply. One $38 offering that includes both the power supply and a dimmer is 5 Meter Reel Warm White 3100k Flexible LED Ribbon 300 Leds 16 Ft with Free Dimmer and Free Transformer By Ledwholesalers, 2026ww-31k. You can use the dimmer in your RV 12v system.

The simple LED light control for ~$7 is PWM Dimming Controller For LED Lights or Ribbon, 12 Volt 8 Amp, 3301. The whizbang version with a remote control $11 – PWM Dimmer for LED Lighting with 12 button Wireless Remote 12 to 24 Volt 6 amp, 3317-DM. These dimmers use PWM or pulse width modulation just like a lot of solar charge controllers.

note: SierraNevadaAirstreams.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. — check the links and you help support the website.

Several tests have been run with inexpensive LED strip lights – pictures to show color differences and how a camera adjusts for light output will be provided soon.

Into fossils? Death Valley? Maybe guitar recordings? Check out the Fossils in Death Valley National Park website. It is another one of those ‘busy’ pages with a lot of pictures and a lot of information. Check it out.

Dale and Virginia Leipper did a skit at a Monterey Bay Unit rally about how to take a shower with minimal water use. It was so funny and such a hit they were asked for a repeat performance at the March 1994 Region 12 Rally in Los Banos, CA. For this performance MBCU member Joe Gorman assisted.
See the web page in travelogues.