Subj : Solar TV Battery Test To : Nancy Backus From : Barry Martin Date : Fri Mar 27 2020 11:39:00 Hi Nancy! NB>> I may be a bit sketchier than usual for a while... I've started in NB>> on figuring out my taxes, and have a few other things pushing at me NB>> as well... but I'll try for at least a minimal presence... ;) BM> OK - you can use the messaging as a mental coffee break! NB> As long as the brain wasn't too frazzled... Taxes are NB> finally all figured now, but not quite finished yet.... And I NB> keep getting long phone calls from people (or calls that I NB> initiate that end up being long calls, too), especially in this NB> time of social distancing... :) My Mother said she had called a few people earlier this week she hadn't talked to in a while. Our people are either local, somewhat of a distance but talk to regularly, or in my case aon the other side of The Pond and so e-mail or talk to every so often. Glad your taxes almost done -- hopefully a bit of a refund after all thar work! ...There's talk of a $1,200 stimulus check because of the COVID-19 -- will be nice for the now but I'm thinking will be counted as an income next tax season (so don't spend all of it!). Maybe was a good thing I ended up postponing donating my books until this year: can counter-act the stimulus check tax! BM>> As I mentioned in an earlier message it's been warmer this past week BM>> and a definite on those March winds! They have issued fire bans; not BM>> sure where it was but semi-locally someone was doing a burn, thought BM>> the fire was out, went inside. Neighbour noted later a section of BM>> woods was on fire. NB>> Now that would be scary... When I was at lunch with my sister Monday, NB>> she got a fire risk alert on her phone.... her stepson is a volunteer NB>> fireman, and he'd explained to her before that this time of year NB>> there's more oxygen in the air, which makes fires a lot more likely NB>> with just a little warmth, dryness and inattention... And the March NB>> winds just make it spread quickly.... BM> I didn't know about the extra oxygen. It would make a little more BM> sense if the trees were starting to releave (photosynthesis). Know BM> wind will fan a fire, effectively giving it more oxygen. NB> Possibly there's more ozone production from the sun, too... I NB> hadn't known about it before either (that I remember, anyway)... NB> one can keep learning new and useful things... ;) Learning and experiencing new things is good! :) Even a 'variation on a theme' ==> new way to do an old thing is good. BM> As for the woods catching on fire, always a good thing for people to BM> be a little nosy and at least glance out the windows to check. Or at BM> least admire Mother Nature for a couple of seconds! NB> That's for sure... :) And as well, not to be too sure that one NB> has totally extinguished a fire too quickly.... I've seen fires NB> that just were tamped down and burst into flame again later, NB> despite a night of heavy rain on it..... Which I guess is one reason why firefighters stay on the scene even though it appears the fire is out. BM>>> Do need to find a permanent home for the TV and associated parts; BM>>> batteries and charger.... NB>>> A place to tuck it all away when not needed to be in use...? BM>> Right. Right now thinking ideally in the basement where I'd like to BM>> have the solar charger (in the window) - also store the battery- BM>> operated lanterns in same area (those batteries need charging also!). NB>> That seems reasonable... :) BM> Now to do it! NB> Yup. ;) Side-tracked myself while I was waiting for a part; ordered a few as inexpensive for some other potential projects. "Buck-boost" regulator which cuts (so 'bucks') a high input voltage and boosts a low input voltage. (Cheaper to buy than build!) Will be set so the output voltage (powering the TV or other project) will be 12.0 volts regardless of if the input voltage is 15 volts or 5. One thing I didn't like was a freshly-charged 12-volt battery could put out 14 volts which is waaaaay over the usual 10% tolerance -- don't want to fry the TV! Relatively easy way to correct the overage. Then we have the problem of if not paying attention and allow the battery to discharge too much - TV would probably work until it fried itself the other way. (I'm trying to avoid being too techical,) Figuring the same potential issues with the solar cell power project: overcast is producing low voltage while a bright sunny day could produce too much voltage, NB>>>>> ... Major University Scientific Report says you need to buy Our NB>>>>> Product! BM>>>> Sounds like good marketing to me! NB>>>> Only if it actually produces the sales of the product.... ;) BM>>> They think my money is better in their pocket than mine! NB>>> But you can keep it in your pocket if you aren't swayed by their NB>>> rhetoric... ;) BM>> And I have! Also have been swayed but on checking out reviews is BM>> barely useful. NB>> I tend to be mostly impervious to advertising.... unless I'm already NB>> considering something, and have been already checking it out, their NB>> rhetoric doesn't get to me... :) BM> But-but-but: it's New _and_ Improved!! NB> And.........??? And?! But it's 'New' and 'Improved'!!' What more could one want?!! BM> I'll tend to glance at the electronics (more computer) advertising, BM> sort of to see what's out there, sort of for planning future computer BM> builds/expansions. NB> That somewhat makes sense... not so much planning on buying as NB> keeping abreast on what might be happening... The 'buck/boost' device idea derived from a 'technical advertisement'. Will admit it took a few postings of the ad to finally catch. BM> As for the insurance ads - some are entertaining! More what perks up BM> my ears is the "you could save up to", which did get me to consider BM> and eventually change my insurance -- ten years ago?! Right now BM> still at a reasonable rate, no dissatisfaction, so no need to BM> consider switching. Will probably do a review again in a year or two. NB> I look at the print ads sometimes, but not been inclined to check NB> anything out yet.... I've noticed that the company we're with NB> tends to have the least savings by switching, which tends to NB> reinforce my idea that we're probably best off where we are... :) That would seem logical. Not a bad idea to have a review every five or ten years: things change. You might have purchased a ...ummm... (y'know being relatively easily satisfied has drawbacks when trying to come up with examples!).... Aw, jacuzzi! Maybe you thought was covered under homeowners but isn't, or barely is and for a few dollars can get a decent rider. BM>> As for clothing, food, ...furniture.... Don't really need anything. BM>> Well, food on a regular basis but satisfied with Hy-Vee; do check BM>> their ads for sale items. NB> Likewise... :) Wegmans doesn't have food ads anymore, as NB> such... but I do keep an eye out in the store at things we buy NB> regularly to see if they go on sale, and if so, if one should get NB> it a little early to take advantage of the sale.... and I NB> regularly check out the digital coupons for anything I might be NB> getting.... :) Hy-Vee announced last week they were temporarily discontinuing their print ad because they couldn't guarantee sufficient stock due to COVID-19 issues. Did have the on-line ad, at least for this week (effective date March 25), though IMO wasn't much in it; I probably would have skipped if it wasn't for me being across the street for the cards, etc., at Dollar General and needing a few things which rarely go on sale. Will be interesting to see what next week's electronic ad offers. ¯ ® ¯ Barry_Martin_3@ ® ¯ @Q.COM ® ¯ ® .... ...And the celery stalked out of the kitchen. --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .