Even The Simple Things - Indirect Read Thermometer

    Temperature, so many things rely on the accurate measurement of it. Cooking, mechanical repairs, creature comforts, safety inspections....the list could possibly be endless. Also endless are the myriad ways you can find out what a temperature is. In my RV I have no less than 13 temperature gauges! Start with the ones on the dash. There's one for Oil, Water/Coolant, and Transmission. Then I have a weather station that reads inside and outside temperatures. Another, smaller one does the same thing, but is in another location. My Solar Charging system reads the temperatures of my batteries. The refrigerator and freezer have their own as well. And mounted on my range hood is a magnetic stick-on LCD one. And lastly I have 2 probe type versions that I use when cooking and BBQ-ing outside.Let's not forget the many temperature sensors that don't have readouts...like your water heater automatic shutoff. Well, there's an incredibly handy type of thermometer that I now have..one of those things you wonder how you lived without? That makes 14!

The new one really does something unique. It allows you to see what the temperature of any surface is without actually touching it! It's a pretty amazing party trick that is really useful around an RV. How's it work? "Simple" really:


        "An infrared thermometer is a laser thermometer which infers temperature from a portion of the thermal radiation sometimes called blackbody radiation emitted by the object being measured."

Yeah..that's simple. Better explanation? Every object emits some kind of heat. This device gathers that heat into a detector and then reads out the temperature in degrees on the back of the unit. It also has a handy laser pointer to aim the unit properly. So this is all well and good, but what can you USE them for? How about cooking? Ever see a recipe that calls for a temperature in a pan? Or something like "reduce the oil temperature to 350 degrees." Simply point the device at the oil in the pan, pull the trigger and read the actual temperature! You won't even have to clean it since it never touches anything.

How about diagnosing overheating issues? Point the device at various thing in the engine compartment. Like radiator hoses, thermostats, the block, the AC compressor, the radiator, the transmission oil cooler, even the transmission! Check the air temps coming out of your air conditioner! Verify that your furnace thermostat works. Figure out just how warm it gets in your RV! I use it to check and verify Tire temps before and after a trip. Takes about a minute for all of them and could save you a ton of hurt. I check my Solar Panel temps to make sure they are not overheating in direct sun. I use it to check my generator operating temps. Heck, you can even use it to check if you have a fever!

I'm always amazed at how much of the world around us revolves around the temperature of things. With this nifty gizmo, you can have a window into those workings without getting your hands dirty, so to speak. I've really only touched on the usefulness of this product. There are so many more things you could do....check for overheating wires in your electrical system for instance.... I'll wager you've thought of quite a few more while reading this article. The remote read thermometers are available all over the place and range from about $20 to well over $100. Mine was $25 online. I wanted the biggest temperature range I could find. More uses that way!

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com

Even The Simple Things - Tire Pressure Gauge

My TPMS Readout On The dash

    It's really important to make sure your tires are inflated properly! My RV has only 4 tires, so it's ESPECIALLY important. If I lose one, it would be catastrophic. A while back I replaced all four of my tires since they had gone well past the manufacturer's expiration date. They likely would have been fine for a while longer. Exhibited no dry rot or cracking and had plenty of tread depth left. Nope. Better safe than sorry. Before every trip, I check my tire pressures. Even though I have a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) it pays to be sure everything is OK. Last week I found out that my traditional mechanical gauge was WAY off...so I went to find a digital replacement.

Cheap, But It Works!

Oh My! There are so many to choose from! I went to the local Wally world and a couple of automotive parts places. Each one had at least a dozen different types, mostly digital with a few analog/mechanical versions thrown in. There was the "traditional" slide style. This is the kind that the pressure is read from a sliding plastic piece that extends from the end of the gauge when you apply it to the tire valve. I had one of these that read up to 120 PSI, but was wildly inaccurate. They are inexpensive at $4 apiece. I guess you get what you pay for! The digital models ranged in price from about $6 all the way up to $29.99. As usual, I figured I'd start at the low end and bought the least expensive (cheapest!) one they had.

It is a simple plastic tapered oval that has an LCD (unlit) display and a single button on the face. Press and hold the button to turn on the unit. Once on, it will set itself to zero and it's ready to use. If you then press the button, it will switch from PSI to BAR and even kP (KiloPascal) readings. Leave it alone and it will shut off after a while. Since I'm in the United States, I'll stick with PSI, thank you very much! On the back is a fitting that will fit over the tire valve. It's at a 45-degree angle so it will be easier to read and use. I didn't have any issues with it at all; however, it looks like it MAY crack or split where the plastic is thinnest. Won't look very nice, but will likely still function.

Look, It's My Thumb

I have a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) I've tested with a few pressure sensors and have found out it's accurate to within +- 1 PSI or so. My front tires are inflated to 65 PSI and my rear tires to 70 PSI (best compromise for handling, ride comfort and tire longevity on my RV). My old slide-style gauge was WAY off: it said the front tires were at 75 PSI and the rears at 80 PSI! Obviously that would never do. The new digital gauge was reading 64.5 PSI for the fronts and 69.5 PSI for the rears. Close enough! The digital gauge does require battery replacement, but I'll wager it lasts a long time. I'll let you know just how long.

I've seen some pretty nasty disasters related to improper tire inflation. It's REALLY cheap insurance to check your pressures before each trip. I do, even though I have a TPMS...you know, belt AND suspenders approach.

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com

I Want My RVTV! - Installing A 12V TV Amplifier

    Finally! I got around to installing a +25dB TV antenna amplifier. I've had it for well over a year, and simply haven't gotten around to it. Been watching digital media from a USB drive mostly or some DVDs I still use. Now that HD signals are OTA (Over The Air) which means free...I figured I should try and get them on screen. I've already got a "Boomerang" antenna and there used to be an amplifier installed long ago...before I owned the RV, I also have a digital TV receiver box. Make sure you have one! Or your TV receives digital channels. So how hard could it be to put a new one in?



I've been putting it off mainly because I didn't want to remove the LCD Monitor I use as a TV display. It's been rattle free...so I've been procrastinating! Well...not anymore! With the proliferation of HD OTA signals floating around, I should be able to receive SOMETHING in many of the places I visit. Without some type of amplifier I had to be almost on top of the antenna to get any picture at all. Unlike old style Analog TV signals, Digital is an "all or nothing" affair. Either you have a nice picture or no picture at all! So I did some research and found a nice 25dB amplifier online for around $20.00. It's small, runs on 12 Volts and can be mounted almost anyplace.

So, here we go! Since I have A LOT of space behind my flat screen LCD monitor (the old CRT Tube-type TV took up MUCH more space, I try and install anything I don't have to get to easily behind it. (Of course, eventually I'll be adding some kind of hinge and latch assembly so it can actually be USED for additional storage.) First, figure out where you want to put the amplifier. It's best to find out where the antenna coax cable ends and locate it pretty close by. Make sure it will be easy to find 12 Volt power nearby as well. This may not be possible with your setup, so you may need to run power and/or coax cable around.

Disconnect your NON-POWERED antenna lead from your receiver or switch-box and connect it to the amplifier's IN terminal. Then run a new cable from the OUT terminal back to where you removed the original antenna cable. Sounds complicated, but really isn't. You may already have a power switch for an amplifier installed, if not....buy one! You should NOT leave this connected 24/7 as it will be a drain on your batteries. Connect the ground wire to ground (DUH!) and then run the power lead from the amplifier to the switch. You can use crimp-on terminals or you could solder it on.

The Switch And Amp Connected For TESTING!

If your wiring will NOT be accessible when you are done it is ESSENTIAL you have a solid connection because I will guarantee that once you close everything up and drive down the road, it will begin to disconnect itself. Now take the other terminal on the switch and connect it to your 12 Volt power source. This device uses very little current, so almost any "hot" 12 volt lead will work.  In my install, I located the leads and the box very close to the switch, so I wouldn't use too much wire. I had lots of coax antenna cable around, so I used that to get the signal to the digital TV receiver.

My switch was also internally lit, so it required a little bit more wiring so it would actually LIGHT up when it was on. This way I don;t forget to turn it off when I'm done using it. (Don't ask...)

Then affix the amplifier to a convenient spot using two small screws. I used self tapping wood screws as it was the easiest. The amplifier is only a few ounces, so they will be more than strong enough, even with all the road vibrations.

I cannot stress this enough:


TEST THE INSTALLATION BEFORE YOU CLOSE EVERYTHING UP!!! 

I ended up re-opening everything, because I forgot to tighten the coax connections and tape the connections.

Results? Not too bad. In the location that I am parked, I was getting ZERO channels with my digital TV receiver. Now I have four. Hey, it's better than none, right? I imagine if the RV was turned (the antenna is FIXED in place), I could get more. Hmmm...How about figuring out a way to be able to rotate the antenna?? Maybe in a year or two!

The picture looks really nice in HD coming from the digital receiver. I have the audio going through the stereo system. Sounds great and uses very little power.

If you have an antenna and it ISN'T connected to a powered amplifier, this is a really nice retrofit. Don't be scared of the lengthy instructions. It was very simple. if you have access to the wiring without taking your RV apart, it will go much faster.

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com