Goodyear metro milers

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Call it a draw?

[bevans6]

It's yin and yang, two sides of the same coin.  No reason to have a fuss, in my view.

Sean, I wasn't intending to correct you with malice aforethought, I was trying to have a little fun with what was, in my school days, a lively topic of kind of fun debate and horseplay.  Picture a physics lab, tennis balls on strings, measuring centripetal force and oops, lookit that, Johny in the corner just got a tennis ball in the head, better tie the string tighter next time.  We also did scientific experiments documenting how big a wire the big capacitors in Electric Circuits lab could explode if you charged them up and put a short circuit on them.  I felt your correction of my light-hearted point was a tad heavy-handed and took some small offence from it, particularly because my position did seem to have some points on it's side.  You don't have to always win by killing the other guy.

And I do sincerely thank you for your advice that you have tendered to me from time to time.  Helps me a lot.  I was actually planning to ask you what you would use for a Xantrex Path-maker these days, since they don't seem to make them any longer.

Brian

[Sean]

We stowed our satellite dish right after my last post, and then drove for four hours and I've been ruminating about this the whole time.  So let me just apologize for (1) not being clear in my first answer to Brian, and (2) getting all touchy about the whole issue.  Should not post when I am under a time constraint.

It's yin and yang, two sides of the same coin.  No reason to have a fuss, in my view.

Sean, I wasn't intending to correct you with malice aforethought, I was trying to have a little fun with what was, in my school days, a lively topic of kind of fun debate and horseplay.  Picture a physics lab, tennis balls on strings, measuring centripetal force and oops, lookit that, Johny in the corner just got a tennis ball in the head, better tie the string tighter next time.  We also did scientific experiments documenting how big a wire the big capacitors in Electric Circuits lab could explode if you charged them up and put a short circuit on them.  I felt your correction of my light-hearted point was a tad heavy-handed and took some small offence from it, particularly because my position did seem to have some points on it's side.  You don't have to always win by killing the other guy.

You're absolutely right and on re-reading and reflection, I should have said it a very different way.  I don't always "hear" how my words are coming across; a fault of mine for which I have had to apologize more than once on this board.

Let me just say it was not intended to be heavy-handed (although I see that now) but strictly factual.  I fondly remember many of the same physics lab experiments (we had air tables, which can take both lessons and pranks to a whole other level).  I also remember being sternly lectured in both high school and college by more than one physics professor on the "non-existence" of centrifugal force.  As a consequence, I (and probably hundreds of other engineering freshmen) excised it from my vocabulary.  Which is why I chose the word "centripetal" instead, and I probably should have just explained it that way.

And I do sincerely thank you for your advice that you have tendered to me from time to time.  Helps me a lot.  I was actually planning to ask you what you would use for a Xantrex Path-maker these days, since they don't seem to make them any longer.

As you may know, I have a PathMaker on my bus, and after trying unsuccessfully to brow-beat it into doing what I wanted it to, I finally gave up and now just use the high-current solenoid inside it.

What I recommend instead is a 200-amp, continuous-duty solenoid with the coil driven by a signal from a center-off, double-throw switch.  Connect the common lead to the coil, one side to +24v (or +12v as the case may be) and the other side to the "blower" circuit on the coach (driven by the alternator Relay signal).  Optionally, put a ~30 second time delay in this latter signal.

Now you have a system that bridges the banks either never (center off), always (+24v) or only when the alternator is charging (relay signal).  Leave it in this final position normally; the other positions are useful for troubleshooting or emergency jump-start of the coach.

That will get you charging of both banks from the alternator, but not the 120-VAC charger.  IMO, this is a good thing, but if that's a problem for you I can follow up with further.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[bevans6]

Sean, thanks for the advice, I have such a solenoid and a manual system is fine for me, i don't trust automatic systems much anyway, and I have such switches around as well.  Trust you had a nice drive on your Independence Day, we went for a nice drive on our day on Thursday (although we never committed independence, so to speak, we do seem to be sneaking up on it).  Also, I do hope your cat is feeling better.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.  I leave you with this, that I found quite appropriate and very funny, in today's context...   I hope you do too.  I might have been able to "construct Newton's laws in a rotating system" for about 6 minutes in 1977, if at all...

http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Sfigs/centrifA.png

Brian

[scotty_vince]

Anyone want to trade some highway rated 22.5 tires for my metro milers, there in excellent condition with plenty of tread. I am moving and need six tires to put on my 4104 to make it the 500 miles to Virginia condition is not super important. Just need enough tread for the trip.

[luvrbus]

Scotty, I would just drive and not worry about changing I have a friend that has that tire on his RTS and he goes all over the desert southwest 112 here today he drives at 62 mph his top speed with no problems and the only thing he doesn't like about the tire is the ride



good luck

[Sean]

..  I leave you with this, that I found quite appropriate and very funny, in today's context...   I hope you do too.  I might have been able to "construct Newton's laws in a rotating system" for about 6 minutes in 1977, if at all...

http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Sfigs/centrifA.png

I thought of that comic during our discussion... it's actually from one of my favorite comic strips, XKCD.  Original is here:
http://xkcd.com/123/

I especially like the Goldfinger quote at the end, one of my all-time Bond-villain favorite quotes.  As an amusing side note, Gert Fröbe, who played Auric Goldfinger, did not speak a word of English, and so that (and all his lines) ended up being overdubbed by Michael Collins.

It was not in Goldfinger but rather in Moonraker where Bond does end up in a centrifuge, and like seemingly every villainous sci-fi movie centrifuge set, the seat is mounted in the wrong orientation, a detail that I could not overlook.  Later in the same film we are supposed to believe the space station has centripetally generated artificial gravity, also going in the wrong direction.  Considering the Kubrick classic 2001: A Space Odyssey got this (and nearly every other technical detail) 100% correct more than a full decade earlier, I found it inexcusable.  Rolex wrist-watches with metal-cutting lasers or 100' long, 300lb-test grappling lines inside (or anything else Q Branch invented, for that matter) I had no problem with.  Go figure.

Anyone want to trade some highway rated 22.5 tires for my metro milers, there in excellent condition with plenty of tread. I am moving and need six tires to put on my 4104 to make it the 500 miles to Virginia condition is not super important. Just need enough tread for the trip.

I'm with Clifford on this.  If you only need to make it 500 miles, keep what you've got, and just watch your speed.  The trip at 55 will take you about an hour and a half longer than at 65, no big deal.  If you have qualms about driving 55 on the freeway (something we do all the time, with no ill effects so far), I can help you with planning alternative 55mph roads that are bus friendly.  Lots of ways to work around this without spending money on a set of shoes.

All that being said, I personally would not run those tires much above 55mph longer than a few minutes at a time, such as making a pass, or taking advantage of some downhill momentum.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[RJ]

Sean -

All that being said, I personally would not run those tires much above 55mph longer than a few minutes at a time, such as making a pass, or taking advantage of some downhill momentum.

Just an FYI - The transit agencies I'm familiar with have their coaches driven to the property (i.e. running down the Interstate) on these tires.  Very, very rarely does one fail.

Granted, a lot of transit coaches are geared so that 57 - 62 is "flat out", but the point is that the tires do hold up to sustained freeway speeds.  Drivers take a few minute break every two hours or so (highly recommended), and that gives the tires some breathing room.

I do agree with you, tho, that for long-term Interstate travel, Scotty should invest in tires rated for 65 or 75 mph.  But I think, for this trip anyway, that if he weighs his coach fully loaded, ready to go, and adjusts his tire pressures accordingly, he should be fine.

FWIW & HTH. . .