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what's the last thing you bought?

Started by billy rubin, November 01, 2019, 09:49:47 PM

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Tank

Quote from: billy rubin on November 02, 2019, 09:07:12 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 02, 2019, 02:50:40 PM


birdwatcher?

Not a 'twitcher' as such. More wildlife in general. In particular the squirrels and wild birds in my garden. It is as cheap as chips but adequate  for the amount of times I'll use it. If I take to it I may upgrade at some point.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

xSilverPhinx

Quote from: billy rubin on November 02, 2019, 09:05:39 PM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on November 02, 2019, 02:32:48 PM
Ha! A thread where I can expose just how much of an impulsive consumer I am! :P Love it! :grin:

Last things I bought (online) were a Stylus pen

. . . what is a stylus pen?

not trying to look dumb, but i guess i am.

I'm not too sure what it is myself (it hasn't arrived yet so I haven't used it yet), but it looks like one of those digital pens people use for drawing on a tablet or smartphone screen. It's for a handheld game console so I'm assuming it's for interacting with the game.
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


billy rubin

Quote from: Tank on November 02, 2019, 09:19:07 PM

Not a 'twitcher' as such. More wildlife in general. In particular the squirrels and wild birds in my garden. It is as cheap as chips but adequate  for the amount of times I'll use it. If I take to it I may upgrade at some point.

what kinds of squirrels do you have?


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

billy rubin

Quote from: xSilverPhinx

I'm not too sure what it is myself (it hasn't arrived yet so I haven't used it yet), but it looks like one of those digital pens people use for drawing on a tablet or smartphone screen. It's for a handheld game console so I'm assuming it's for interacting with the game.

never seen a digital pen either. i recall the old light pens we used to use on computer consoles before the mouse waz introduced, but thats getting way back.


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Bluenose

The last thing I bought was breakfast, egg Benedict.  Delicious!
+++ Divide by cucumber error: please reinstall universe and reboot.  +++

GNU Terry Pratchett


Dark Lightning


Ecurb Noselrub

Pants. One pair of beige slacks, one pair of blue jeans.

Icarus

A battery for my Honda Element.  Turns out that the old battery was not the problem that I thought I had.  Exploring further I discovered that there is a 5 ampere drain in the system when the car is shut off.  Now I have to chase down the many circuits to isolate the problem.  Damned car has two separate fuse compartments. One of them is in a miserably inconvenient place. 

I will disconnect the ground terminal from the battery, install the ampmeter in series with the ground cable and the battery.  The meter will then indicate the leakage.  Pull the fuses one by one. When the the meter shows little or no leakage, I will have found the offending circuit.........that all depends on whether the leakage source is after the fuse in the circuit, not before it gets to the fuse bank.

The other Problem is that at this time I cannot see very well. I had some fairly extensive surgery on one of my eyelids ten days ago.

Dark Lightning

Quote from: Icarus on November 03, 2019, 02:10:43 AM
A battery for my Honda Element.  Turns out that the old battery was not the problem that I thought I had.  Exploring further I discovered that there is a 5 ampere drain in the system when the car is shut off.  Now I have to chase down the many circuits to isolate the problem.  Damned car has two separate fuse compartments. One of them is in a miserably inconvenient place. 

I will disconnect the ground terminal from the battery, install the ampmeter in series with the ground cable and the battery.  The meter will then indicate the leakage.  Pull the fuses one by one. When the the meter shows little or no leakage, I will have found the offending circuit.........that all depends on whether the leakage source is after the fuse in the circuit, not before it gets to the fuse bank.

The other Problem is that at this time I cannot see very well. I had some fairly extensive surgery on one of my eyelids ten days ago.

My wife has a '15 Kia Soul. The battery died after two years. The car would have sat for a week until the dealer could get to it. I took the battery to a local parts store and had it tested. Dead as a door nail. I put a new battery in and discovered that there was a 6 Amp drain! Turns out that some of the electronics are still active after the vehicle is shut down. I went to the dealer and the service manager allowed me to place my inductive ammeter onto the main battery cable of several other Kia Souls, and they all showed significant current flow, one as high as 10 Amps, while it was just sitting. When they did the current drain test on my wife's car, they did it with a battery cable disconnected first. That places all the electronics in a state where they no longer draw a current. I was also told that the Kia Soul's batteries generally only last two years, by the service manager. Their electrical tech also informed me that the charging system doesn't immediately start in on charging the battery on start-up. Crazy shit, where I come from! So, once you pull a battery cable off the battery, you may have lost the utility of the test you want to perform...and it may well be that your vehicle is like my wife's and the battery is only going to last 2 years. Tech is supposed to make things better!

Bluenose

Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 03, 2019, 03:04:19 AM
Quote from: Icarus on November 03, 2019, 02:10:43 AM
A battery for my Honda Element.  Turns out that the old battery was not the problem that I thought I had.  Exploring further I discovered that there is a 5 ampere drain in the system when the car is shut off.  Now I have to chase down the many circuits to isolate the problem.  Damned car has two separate fuse compartments. One of them is in a miserably inconvenient place. 

I will disconnect the ground terminal from the battery, install the ampmeter in series with the ground cable and the battery.  The meter will then indicate the leakage.  Pull the fuses one by one. When the the meter shows little or no leakage, I will have found the offending circuit.........that all depends on whether the leakage source is after the fuse in the circuit, not before it gets to the fuse bank.

The other Problem is that at this time I cannot see very well. I had some fairly extensive surgery on one of my eyelids ten days ago.

My wife has a '15 Kia Soul. The battery died after two years. The car would have sat for a week until the dealer could get to it. I took the battery to a local parts store and had it tested. Dead as a door nail. I put a new battery in and discovered that there was a 6 Amp drain! Turns out that some of the electronics are still active after the vehicle is shut down. I went to the dealer and the service manager allowed me to place my inductive ammeter onto the main battery cable of several other Kia Souls, and they all showed significant current flow, one as high as 10 Amps, while it was just sitting. When they did the current drain test on my wife's car, they did it with a battery cable disconnected first. That places all the electronics in a state where they no longer draw a current. I was also told that the Kia Soul's batteries generally only last two years, by the service manager. Their electrical tech also informed me that the charging system doesn't immediately start in on charging the battery on start-up. Crazy shit, where I come from! So, once you pull a battery cable off the battery, you may have lost the utility of the test you want to perform...and it may well be that your vehicle is like my wife's and the battery is only going to last 2 years. Tech is supposed to make things better!

Geez!  What the hell is running that draws that sort of current when the car is shut down?  I can imagine a few milliamperes to keep memory settings in the radio etc, even a few for an engine disabling circuit etc, but Amps?  Who designs these systems, do they not have a brain?
+++ Divide by cucumber error: please reinstall universe and reboot.  +++

GNU Terry Pratchett


jumbojak

Security systems, nav, and the various ecu scattered about the vehicle all draw power with the key off. Volkswagens make a hell of a racket when various sensors are resetting themselves and most late model caddilacs need several hours before any parasitic draw tests can be performed.

Your best bet is a clamp meter or voltage drop testing across fuses, if your meter is sensitive enough. You also have to disable any door sensors while everything "powers down" to avoid starting the cycle all over again when you open the door to check fuses.

I've gotten very creative with bar clamps over the years...

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

joeactor

The last thing I bought (awaiting shipping) is a pair of Hoka One One shoes.

Tank

Quote from: billy rubin on November 02, 2019, 10:27:50 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 02, 2019, 09:19:07 PM

Not a 'twitcher' as such. More wildlife in general. In particular the squirrels and wild birds in my garden. It is as cheap as chips but adequate  for the amount of times I'll use it. If I take to it I may upgrade at some point.

what kinds of squirrels do you have?

This one  :D

And at least one other. We are so bereft of wildlife in the UK that a squirrels are 'exotic'  :(

If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Tank

Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 03, 2019, 12:38:55 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on November 02, 2019, 09:07:12 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 02, 2019, 02:50:40 PM


birdwatcher?

We have one for the gun range. [ducks]

Well that's what it is, it's a 'spotting scope' for watching fall of shot. My 'bucket list' has 'Learn to shoot properly' on it. There is a shooting supplies shop a mile or so away so in the spring I'm going to find a course on small bore rifle and maybe shotgun. I doubt I'll ever buy a weapon as my wife would totally freak out.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Bad Penny II

Quote from: Tank on November 03, 2019, 08:19:06 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on November 02, 2019, 10:27:50 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 02, 2019, 09:19:07 PM

Not a 'twitcher' as such. More wildlife in general. In particular the squirrels and wild birds in my garden. It is as cheap as chips but adequate  for the amount of times I'll use it. If I take to it I may upgrade at some point.

what kinds of squirrels do you have?

This one  :D

And at least one other. We are so bereft of wildlife in the UK that a squirrels are 'exotic'  :(



Oh that's cool.
They don't have pouches do they? how bizarre.
Take my advice, don't listen to me.