LED Light Conversion Part II

Remember last month when I spent those frigid cold Maine days inside the house working on converting Winne's fluorescent ceiling light fixtures to LEDs? Well during the January Thaw last week I took advantage of a somewhat warm day and installed the completed fixtures back into Winne. I briefly turned them on to check out the installation and so far I like the change. It was a bright sunshiney day so it was a little hard to judge how they will work at night - but so far so good.

But that January Thaw is history now as the temps have plunged back into the near zero range once again. So it must be time for RV LED Conversion Part II. 

The fixtures previously converted are located in the main living/ dining area of the motorhome. The hallway outside the bathroom and the central bedroom lighting fixtures are slightly different and each contains two 12 volt incandescent bulbs (#1141). Each of these bulbs draws about 1.5 Amps so each fixture draws about 3 amps of power when on. You may remember that the larger fluorescent fixtures drew about 2.2 Amps so these little fixtures are actually worse power hogs!

Following some ideas I found on a few RV forums - I ordered some small panels containing 48 Surface Mounted LEDs (size 5050) in "white" color (as compared to "warm" or "cool white"). The panels I ordered also included bulb bases with pre-soldered leads ready to attach to the LED panels. This makes the installation pretty simple! Take out the bulb - insert the new bulb base with leads - insert the panel (I "glued" mine to the fixture using a few dabs of silicone adhesive) and plug the panel into the base. Done!

With one side done I thought I would compare the light output of both.

Don't get confused by this next picture - the LED panel is on the left and the bulb is on the right (I'm too lazy to flip the picture!).

As you can see ... the resultant light is much whiter.

Here's what the final product looks like ...

The finished fixture draws right around 0.84 Amps for both panels. 

Less power consumption (about 1/3 of original) - more light (close to 1,000 lumens with the LEDs and about 400 with the bulbs - less heat produced (you can't touch those bulbs after a few seconds yet the panels are only warm to the touch) and I like the whiter light. Sounds like a winner to me! 

So how much did it cost? I ordered the panels/pre-wired bulb bases from a Chinese outfit on ebay for about $6.50 each. For these dual bulb fixtures the cost is therefore about $13 - pretty much the same as the fluorescent fixture conversion.

Unfortunately it only takes about 5 minutes to convert each fixture if you really take your time. So what's next on the agenda on this frigid cold January day?

Help Wanted

As I sit here writing this post it is snowing again here in Maine. Today's snow is the big puffy wet snow that sticks to everything and makes the outside world look much like the insides of a snow globe. Really very pretty - until you have to go shovel it! It looks like today's snow marks the end of our January thaw as the forecast temperatures are going back into the negative numbers next week. Oh well - it was nice to get a break for a week or so!

Thursday we had Miss Taylor over at our house for the day as she wasn't feeling totally up-to-par and it was decided she should stay home from Day Care. In spite of feeling under the weather she still had plenty of 2 year old energy and kept Grandma and Papa pretty busy all morning. Fortunately for all of us - she took about a four hour nap in the afternoon that I think she really needed. 

On Friday morning Peggy decided that she had spent enough time cooped up here in the house and that we were going for a ride somewhere. That being the case - we finished up our leisurely morning and then hit the road around noon - heading south on a nice sunny 40 something degree afternoon. We drove all the way down to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to visit the State Liquor store and purchase some of their much cheaper vodka - and then found our way over to the Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch. After a very tasty lunch we continued our Friday afternoon drive by making our way about another 30 miles to Chichester, NH. Why? Well to visit the local Camping World store - that's why! We had nothing on our RVing shopping list but wanted to browse the store anyway. Peggy did purchase a new Rand McNally Road Atlas to replace the rather frayed one she has been using during our travels. Now she will have to spend some time transferring all her notes written on the old one - to the new one. After all - we might need to remember about that difficult to access gas station in who-knows-where, Illinois! We finally made it back home around 5 PM - after a 250 mile day of driving through southern Maine and southeast New Hampshire. A fun day for sure but we both decided we were out of condition for sitting that long in a car!

Yesterday we got to play grandparents again. This time Miss Sophie came over for a visit while her mom and dad took off for a few hours of shopping and a lunch out. Sophie is all the way to 7 months old now. I know - hard to believe! Sophie and Grandpa rocked in Grandpa's chair while she complained about missing her parents until Grandpa convinced her that it was Grandpa's naptime and she needed to help. Yep - another fun afternoon!

So that's pretty much the story here in Maine. Stay Warm, Watch it Snow, Play with Grandkids, Complete a Home/Motorhome Project or Two ... and then do it ll over again. Not all that bad really - but I am starting to think more about our spring travel plans and I may need your help!

The basic plan remains to get ourselves south relatively quickly - spend a few weeks in Lower Alabama - and then wander over to Texas. I am considering staying a few days in Abbeville, LA to visit Betty's RV Park again, partake of some more Cajun culture (food), and perhaps a swamp tour before making our way to the Rockport/Aransas Pass/Corpus Christi area for at least a few days. After seeing/doing whatever we decide to do there I figure we'll head further down the coast and visit the The Rio Grand Valley otherwise known as the RGV or perhaps more simply "The Valley." We understand that a lot of RVers like to winter in both of those areas - and we have not visited either - so we figure we might as well see what's there for ourselves. Since we have no experience in either area I'm looking for suggestions from those of you who have some experience - good or bad!

After the RGV we may decide to keep on going to into West Texas and visit Big Bend National Park ... or we may just head up to the Hill Country near San Antonio/Austin to enjoy that area once again. We have enjoyed our previous stays in that area and I'm sure there is much more to see and do. 

I can almost smell and taste the Gulf Shrimp, Texas BBQ, German, and Tex-Mex food from here! 

But for now - there is snow to be shoveled.

On New Technology

I have commented on how far technology has taken us in past blog posts -- but I feel compelled to address the subject once again. 

I have been a computer user/hobbiest since about 1981. I have owned at least a dozen "Personal Computers" and have probably used a couple dozen additional units in my past work lives. I have written simple to relatively complex computer programs and have built several computer hardware interface devices. I say all this not to brag, but to provide context to my recent observations.

I purchased a new laptop computer yesterday. Not because the new one was going to be faster, could store more data, or could do any more than the previous one ... but mainly because the previous one was starting to exhibit signs of pending hardware failure. My "previous" laptop is a Toshiba that I purchased back in 2007 after killing its predecessor by making a pot of coffee into its interior. Although I have transitioned to using my iPad and/or my Android smart phone for most of my computing needs, I still prefer a laptop - with a real keyboard - for keeping spreadsheets and writing pretty much anything more than a hundred characters. The recently retired Toshiba has operated pretty much every day and usually all day for these past 6 plus years -- and is still working "OK" - but its reliability has started to suffer over this past year or so.

So the latest frustration with trying to print something while the old Toshiba refused to communicate with my printer led me down the street to Best Buy. As I recall - my 2007 laptop cost around $600 ... and they still have laptops that cost that much - and much more ... but then they also have the one I purchased ... a new Toshiba with a faster processor, more memory, and more storage capacity than my old one - and at half the price! I like that!

While we are on the subject of decreased price for computers ... I am also in the process of giving away our old desktop computer/monitor. Now that machine was purchased some 13 years ago, cost about 4 times what this new laptop cost and was much less powerful and capable. Yes indeed - times have changed.

That brings me to the subject of advances in software. As I remember - the last time I replaced a laptop it took several days and several bouts of frustration to finally get the machine software up to the capabilities of the previous machine. Load all the software - Do all the updates - load more software - more updates - lots of CDs/DVDs -- and several trips to the liquor cabinet. My experience this time was much better. 

In spite of the fact that new computers no longer come with an operating manual - the new machine started right up out of the box, asked me a few standard questions, updated itself, and was pretty much ready to accomplish the basics (like access the internet and read/write emails) in minutes. Once I figured out how to trick Windows 8.1 into acting more like the previous versions of Windows I was familiar with - I was able to load the necessary "Office" software I normally use with little hassle - including all the updates! I think we need to give some of the credit for this improved user experience when dealing with a Microsoft based product to the folks at Apple  - but regardless where they learned it - I love it when stuff works the way it is supposed to! 

So let's review. The new hardware is more capable - the new hardware is cheaper - the new software works and is pretty user friendly. What's not to like about this!

Then there is Healthcare.gov.

Thinning "Stuff" and Travel Plans

Wow - I just noticed it has been 9 or so days since my last post here in Blogsville! Has nothing been going on? Did Mikee fall in a snow bank - never to be heard from again? Whatz up? 

None of the above. Well - I have been pretty busy keeping the snow shoveled off the driveway, deck, and various paths around the house - and we have been pretty hunkered down here in Maine during all the cold and snowy weather over the past few weeks. When it gets this cold/snowy for this long it is much easier to stay put in the house while all those folks who need to be out in the nasty weather do their thing. Retired life does have its advantages!

We have managed to hitch up the horse and wander out into the wintry weather a few times to gather provisions and visit the kids/grandkids a few times. We even made it to the local movie theater to watch the new Hobbit movie on one snowy day last week. See! -- we do get out and about once in a while!

It appears we are going to get a January Thaw starting today. Although we got a bit of freezing rain overnight - it looks like the high today will be near 50 degrees and the highs will be above freezing all of next week. Now that's exciting news in January in Maine folks!

I sometimes wonder how my fulltiming RV friends managed to rid themselves of most (if not all) of their worldly possessions to move into their RV and live in that space for an indefinite time. Peggy and I aren't big time hoarders like you see on that TV show - but we have managed to collect a few things over the past 43+ years. When we moved into our first apartment after getting married we moved our "stuff" over in a small u-haul trailer pulled by a 1964 Chevy II. Today we live in a relatively small house with a full basement, two above ground floors with four bedrooms and 43+ years of accumulated "stuff." 

Our Stuff can be put in 4 categories. 

1. Stuff we use frequently in our daily lives. (This is the same or similar stuff we have with us when we travel in Winne - clothes, appliances, foodstuffs, etc.)

2. Stuff we have collected over the years that we hardly ever see or use but has sentimental value that keeps us from getting rid of it.

3. Stuff we keep because it might be necessary if our kids (or other company) come to visit.

4. Stuff that we don't really need or use and has little to no sentimental value - but has some value (to somebody we don't presently know) and we just can't allow ourselves to get rid of it because we (or they) might need it someday.

I figure that most folks have Stuff in these categories - only the amount varies and that is usually directly dependent on the amount of space available to keep said Stuff (this includes the beforementioned fulltime RVers).

I bring up this topic because I have spent considerable time these last few days thinning out Category 4 stuff in our basement. I get in this mood from time-to-time and it's "time" once again. Each time I go through this thinning process more Stuff finds its way to either the recycling center or to a local charity. Stuff that started out in Categories 1,2, and 3 ... and then made it to Category 4 several years ago .. and then survived several "thinning" moods over the past few years ... finally doesn't make the cut and heads out the door. 

I do find that as I get older the decision to "Get Rid Of It" gets easier to make. "If I haven't used it in the last 20 years - I'm probably not going to use it" becomes "If I haven't used in the last 2 years - I'm probably not going to use it." This makes it much easier for stuff to head out the door.

I made that all sound so easy and precise didn't I? Well ... it mostly works but I still see a lot of Stuff down there that we don't use that didn't head out the door!
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As January continues to tick by oh so slowly, and as the daylight hours start to lengthen just as slowly ... it is also time to start thinking about our 2014 travel plans. Where to go? What to do? When to do it? -- These are the standard questions.

One thing we thought might be fun is to attend another RV Rally. We have only attended one rally in our RVing past - and that was in 2009. The annual Escapee RV Club "Escapade" is being held in Goshen, IN in mid May this year so we thought we would schedule around attending that. Since that event is in mid May - and since we want to be home by Memorial Day - we plan on making that stop on our way home. 

On our way home from where? Well ... let's see ... it definitely needs to be south, it could be southwest - like Arizona - but we were just there, it could be southeast - like Florida or Alabama, or someplace in between  - like Texas. Next question - Should we go places we have already been - and like ... or should we go to new places to see if we like 'em?

As is usual - I think we will fit together a combination of competing interests. How about we head kinda southeast with a stop to see our RVing buddies at Rainbow Plantation in Alabama for a spell -- and then head west to Texas to visit a few places we haven't seen along the Gulf Coast - and then meander our way through the Hill Country of Texas that we know we enjoy. By the time we've accomplished that it will be time to start heading towards Goshen so we can loop over to the Nashville, TN area and then head up to Indiana. Yup - I think that works -- and Peggy seems to agree -- so that's the "plan" for now.

Next question -- When do we leave Maine? We're not done enjoying the lovely Maine winter yet so I recon we will stay here until the fun part of the winter is over (tongue removed from cheek here) ... and then we will shovel out Winne and head south right before Spring makes it to the southland. The calendar says Spring starts on the 20th of March so I figure a leave date on the 13 of March looks about right.

There -- we now have a tentative plan and schedule -- time to start changing it as we fill in the details.

Maineiacs In Motion 2013 Review - Part II

Part I of this post was completed and posted yesterday - way back in 2013. When we last left ya'all - it was June of 2013 and Miss Sophie has just joined us here in Maine!

Shortly after Miss Sophie's arrival Brian, Nicky, Alyssa, and Emily came north from NJ to welcome our newest addition to the family. While they were here we enjoyed the nice weather and together with the Johansen family - we spent a fun day at the Maine Wildlife Park.

Summer continued - with more summer type projects ...

mixed in with plenty of breaks for Mikee.

And plenty of visits to and from Miss Sophie

and Miss Taylor

But come September it was time for the Maineiacs to hit the road once again - this time heading west - with stops in New York to see some glass being made and displayed

and then there was the big celebration as Winne turned 100,000 (miles)

and on to Forrest City, IA to see some farmland and Winne's birthplace

We continued our tour through the midwest checking out some icons along the way like the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD ...

and Wall Drug in Wall, SD

We also made stops in a few National Parks / Monuments ...

like the Badlands in SD

Devils Tower in Wyoming

and The Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana

We also spend some time in Deadwood, SD in the Black Hills - checking out the legends - including those of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok.

We also set sights on visiting Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah ... traveling by Independence Rock, WY on the way.

Then we finished up our westward trek to my sister Marcie's place near Carson City, NV - arriving right around Peggy and Mikees wedding anniversary. We celebrated with a visit to nearby Virginia City.

We spent most of October visiting with family and friends in Minden, NV. We even participated in a wonderful seafood dinner at the Redeker Ranch - complete with crab and sourdough bread direct from San Francisco.

We started our trip back home in late October. We were once again directionally challenged as we drove south to go east.

We enjoyed our short trip to Death Valley and plan to return for a longer visit in the future.

And then we drove further south to Saguaro country - to Congress, AZ where we stayed for a few days - also visiting Prescott, AZ.

But then it was time to make miles eastward - along I-40 and sometimes Route 66. Flagstaff, Holbrook, Gallup, Albuquerque, Tucumcari, and then Amarillo.

And then there was the fateful coin flip ...

Taking us all the way to the Gulf of Mexico - The Rainbow Plantation once again - and more shrimp!!

But those grandkids were drawing us northeast -- so off we went. Up to NJ once again to visit the NJ Evringhams and then back to good ol' Maine - just in time for Fried Turkey Day!

Followed shortly by snow, ice, and Christmas!

Whew - we made it!

It certainly was a busy-fun year. So what's in store for 2014? 

Ya'all will have to stay tuned for all the Maineiac In Motion Travel Plans and New Year Resolutions. We'll get right on that after we survive a few days with high temps in single digits, after we finish digging out from the last snow storm, and after we gather provisions in preparation for tomorrow's snowstorm.