| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: Gelcoat to far gone to hand wax????
You might want to try PoliGlow. It is a two step process originally designed for fiberglass boats. The first step uses a mild acid mixed with water that scrubs off the old wax and grime. The second step applies a new coat but this step needs to be done about five or six times. By then the finish is usually factory fresh and good for a year or so in harsh weather. It also withstands washing with detergents and such. If found it at the Boat Store:
http://www.poliglow.net/?source=goog&kw=poliglow&gclid=CMTKyvHA6ZYCFRhhnAodB3wwPA
|
bob_nestor
|
03/13/10 06:00pm |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: DirecTV and single LNB with dome
Almost all of DTV standard definition comes from 101 except locals. Your locals are probably on 109. Pluging into one input on the receiver will get one tuner on the receiver. No watching one chanel and recording another.
not sure that's entirely true. Here in the DFW area all SD including locals are on 101 or I wouldn't be able to receive them on my old original dish. I believe when HD was being rolled out the signals were on 110 and 119 -- 119 also contains the Program Guide info. When HD was first rolled out it used a 5 LNB horn that covers 99, 101, 103, 110 and 119. However there are some problems receiving signals from 110 and 119 for some subscribers in the lower latitudes so the HD channels are being mirrored on 99 and 103. According to the info in the DirecTV Forums they're telling people who have problems receiving the Program Guide to swap the 5 LNB horn for a 3 LNB horn that only receives 99, 101, 103. These three cover almost all programming with the exception of Spanish Language channels and any location that receives their SD locals on the 119 over a spot beam.
|
bob_nestor
|
03/08/10 05:35pm |
Technology Corner
|
|
RE: Cell Phone Numbers go public!!!
I registered the home phone on the National and Texas Do Not Call lists as soon as they became available. It stopped some calls, but there are so many exceptions that make these lists almost worthless. Charity, bill collectors, political, non-profit, and other types of calls are exceptions and most telemarketers use these to skirt the "law". My solution was to switch my home phone to a cell phone (forced by other reasons), and to add the Call Block application to my phone. Any caller not in my contact list automatically rolls over to allow the caller to leave a voice or text message. If the call is valid, say from someone I'd like to talk to, I add them to my Contact list to unblock them. If the caller is obviously a telemarketer I tag the number and block them from leaving future voice or text messages. It took a couple of weeks to "train" Call Block, but it has stopped unwanted calls dead cold.
This solution won't work for everyone, but if anyone is interested in trying it there is a free version of Call Block available for most smart cell phones. The full featured version costs about $15 and the support from the author (not me!) is fantastic. www.wishsolutions.com
|
bob_nestor
|
02/14/10 07:29am |
Technology Corner
|
|
RE: Satellite Help Needed
If you check the DirecTV forums and look for postings about reception problems you'll find some responses indicating that they've been moving channels to different satellites. I believe they've been doing it to improve reception for dishes that are lower on the horizon, i.e. closer to the equator and to redistribute bandwidth to handle local HD stations. Most of the channels were on satellite 119, at least that's what my original DirecTV setup at home indicates. Satellite 119 is in an orbit that is very low on the horizon. I haven't tried my old/original receiver as I replaced it years ago with an HD one but never updated my dish. So I get standard non-HD channels using an old round dish and an HD capable receiver. I recently reactivated my service at home and there was some concern whether my old dish and HD receiver would work, but it did (I'm in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area).
So I think the service guy was on the right track but just didn't get it all done right. If I understand the information on the DirecTV forums you might need a Slimline dish and a newer 3 LNB feed horn. That should give you the capability to receive any SD or HD broadcast and should work with either an SD or HD receiver anyplace in the country. This will be able to access all three main satellites. With the old round dish and the single feed horn I think you're limited to satellite 119 which creates reception problems in some areas due to it's low orbit.
|
bob_nestor
|
02/09/10 07:57pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: RESOLVED: Won't boot from anything but HDD
I've upgraded the BIOS in my old eMachine to support a larger HD so this is from memory.
The original eMachine BIOS has two options for setting boot order in the Advanced BIOS features section. As I recall you need to set both of them correctly. Also if any of the boot devices specified are connected via USB and are either powered off or disconnected when the system is booted, the BIOS will automatically revert to booting from the HD. I don't remember if it also resets the order in the BIOS.
Hope this helps,
|
bob_nestor
|
01/22/10 05:43pm |
Technology Corner
|
|
RE: Park WIFI Services
Some of us prefer a minimalist approach on campground services. I'd rather not have to pay for access to the pool, playground, showers, mini-golf, WiFi, etc if I'm not going to use them. That's why a lot of us end up staying in WalMart parking lots when we're traveling from point A to point B. Now if the campgrounds could figure out how to price a-la-carte for services maybe they'd be attracting more customers at WalMart's expense. So bundling another service that I don't really need doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Besides, when I'm RVing I'm trying to get away from the rat-race at home and work, not trying to bring it all along with me!
|
bob_nestor
|
01/12/10 08:38pm |
Snowbirds
|
|
RE: Gulf Coast "winterization"
Generally it has to get down below freezing for a few hours to cause problems with pipes. I've camped at Big Bend over Christmas for the past couple of years when the temps get down into the high teens and I haven't had serious problems in my RV, and I generally don't run the heat or have hookups. (Although the water was slow running first thing in the morning.) Make sure you open the faucets when you drain the lines and don't forget that outside shower hookup. Blowing the lines out with compressed air is a real good idea too.
BTW, here in Dallas I used to drain the water in my RV. This year I have it stored in an RV barn in my backyard that was insulated with closed cell spray foam. That stuff is fantastic! Outside temp this morning is 10, inside temp (in the barn) is 44 with only two 1300 watt electric heaters!
|
bob_nestor
|
01/09/10 07:16am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
|
 |
RE: Knights of the road my a@%
As a motorcycle rider one thing I've learned is that _everyone_ out there is trying to kill you whether they know it or not. I may be less likely to get killed in the roll cage (car) or the RV, but that doesn't mean they aren't still trying. You've always got to keep in mind that half of all drivers are below average, and that includes the "knights of the road". In fact one of those so-called "professional drivers" did come pretty close to doing me in when he hit my RV in the rear flipping it end-for-end and rolling it about six times. Thankfully I walked away and his insurance company ended up buying me another brand new RV.
As the CBer's used to say, keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down and keep on trucking.
|
bob_nestor
|
01/04/10 05:49am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Garmin POI Loader for Mac
The Garmin POI Loader (both Mac and PC versions) is very picky about GPX format. You may need to manually edit the GPX file to make it conform before it will load. One excellent source of Garmin information is:
http://www.bigfraud.org/mac/MacGarminTools/gpx2gpi.html
In fact, the tools here pre-dated the Garmin tools for the Mac, although the Loader you'll find there probably won't work for your Garmin GPS since it tries to write directly to the Garmin disk rather than communicate with the Garmin as their Loader does. However, his tools may help you find out what is wrong with your GPX files and maybe even fix them.
|
bob_nestor
|
11/30/09 08:18pm |
Technology Corner
|
|
RE: "You can't stay here, your trailer is too old."
Well you could camp at the nearest Walmart -- oh wait, the RV Resort owners don't want to loose $'s so they got cities to enact ordinances against that.
Could park in a friend's backyard -- oh wait, the homeowners associations prevent that so they can keep their communities looking "nice".
Could pull into an RV Rest Stop -- but not in Arizona since they were closed to save money and many other States prohibit "camping".
COE, NP, State Parks -- maybe, if the Campground Hosts haven't blocked out all the sites for their friends.
Don't ya just love the freedom you have when you're RVing these days? :h
|
bob_nestor
|
11/21/09 08:41pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
|
|
RE: Funny cat stories (nothing mean allowed!)
Had a roommate in college who was a cat fancier. One day I picked up a small stray kitten and brought it back tot he apartment for him. He taught it to play fetch and how to play pinball on the machine we had. The cat loved the flashing lights and movement and learned how to turn the machine on by hitting one of the flipper buttons.
|
bob_nestor
|
11/11/09 05:12pm |
RV Pet Stop
|
|
RE: Where to spend Thanksgiving on the TX Gulf Coast?
Malquite Beach (inside the National Seashores Park) has a dump station and a paved parking lot if you're into dry camping. It's right on the beach. If you'd prefer parking on the sand you can also do that, just drive onto the beach (south of Malquite) and pick your spot. The first 5 miles south of Malquite are is excellent shape and can be driven without 4wd. The parking lot doesn't start filling up until Thanksgiving Day which is when some of the Snow Birds start pulling in. There's also open parking on the inland side. Parking at Malquite is about $8/nite plus the park entrance fee of about $12 for 7 days. There is wind surfing equipment available for rent on the inland side and surf fishing, beach combing, hiking, shell collecting, etc for fun activities. If you've got bicycles, motorcycles or 4wd you can trek 50 miles down the beach to the old shipwreck. Oh, there also a little store at Malquite if you've forgotten something. I've spent the last two Thanksgivings there and plan on going again this year. Have to find some of the "hamburger nuts" that washed up on shore from Brazil.
|
bob_nestor
|
10/29/09 07:16pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
|
|
RE: Wax ?????
The finish on my RV was kind of dull and no wax seemed to bring it back to that factory look. I found a product called PoliGlow, originally made for restoring the finish on fiberglass boats. It's a two step system - first a good wash and scrub with a cleaner solution that removes old wax, black streaks, etc. The second step is applying the finish coat. It takes five or six applications but it goes on real easy. The end result is a factory finish. On boats it's said to last for up to two years in sun and water. The kit contains enough to do a couple of large RVs and includes all the equipment needed except a water bucket and some "elbow energy".
I'm not a dealer, just a satisfied user. It may be available from multiple sources, but the one I found was: http://www.myboatstore.com/poliglow.asp
|
bob_nestor
|
10/19/09 05:33pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Cascade Caverns RV Park, Tx
The RV park is just a big gravel parking lot with full hookups. Not much shade except in the tent camping area which is usually where I park with my little B+/-. Nice place and the folks there are really friendly. One unusual attraction is the deer feeder they have set up near the RV parking lot. Every evening the deer will come right down to the feeder.
|
bob_nestor
|
10/10/09 05:50am |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
|
|
RE: wood preservative
Thermin-8 by Jasco is a brown wood preservative. Resists rot and bugs. I got it at Lowe's but it should be available at most home repair places.
|
bob_nestor
|
09/26/09 06:43pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Solar on a RT 170
I think I'd work on the math before investing too much in solar. My RV has two 12v batteries with a solar array. On a nice sunny day with most of the sun high in the sky it will do a pretty good job of keeping the batteries charged and I can dry camp for days without worrying about electricity if I'm frugal. Can't run the refrigerator off it and if it's cold out I have to be careful with the furnace as the blower does take a lot of 12v power. You mentioned that you have to run your generator for hours to recharge your one battery. That sounds to me like you're really drawing a lot of power out of that battery and based on my experiences, I'm not sure you'll get enough out of solar to get you where you want to be. Unless of course you cover the entire outside of your RV with solar panels.
Al Gore and friends would like to have everyone believe that we can run everything for free off the sun, but I think we're closer to dilithium power cells than we are to a green, solar powered world.
|
bob_nestor
|
09/24/09 05:02pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
|
|
RE: Generator failure
What are the symptoms? Are there any error codes? What are they? Clicking sound but won't crank? Crank but won't start? Starts but doesn't stay running? Runs but doesn't produce electricity? Stalls or stops when load is applied?
|
bob_nestor
|
09/19/09 09:20pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Weight and balance, cantilever effect
You might try adapting this formula. The fixed numbers in the formula represent the weight and width of the motorcycle hitch adapter. For your calculations you can probably just zero them out.
http://www.motorcyclecarrier.net/motorcycle_carrier_cruiser_formula.html
|
bob_nestor
|
09/16/09 05:49pm |
Class A Motorhomes
|
