Fixed THAT before it becomes illegal.

Tedsoldbus · June 23, 2022, 11:15:12 AM

In the bus barn I put two spotlights on the wall pointing at the bus. They have a big sensor on the bottom that looks like an alien scanning device. Two dials on the light need to be set: distance from the light for the motion detector to work, and how long the light stays on. I fiddled with it for three months because electrons and I are not buddies, but the lights kept going "off" for no discernible reason. I called my electrician, played with all possible settings, read the directions 4 times. Same result. Called the company and they said if there is enough existing light, the "energy saving" feature turns them off. I usually have the shop door open when I am there. Mystery solved. I got out the ladder, cut the wires, and took them down.
The not nice guy part of me thought to give them to someone I do not like, but I tossed them in the dumpster. I looked at H Depot and saw nothing I wanted. I went to Lowes and mostly the same thing. EVERYTHING had a sensor. I finally found a plain old fixture with 2 spotlight bulb holders with nothing but wires on them. I Installed them in about 15 minutes, put bulbs in them, and... ta da.
Wax on, wax off....
I'm glad I got them before having a light without an "energy saving feature" becomes illegal.

Next electron problem: The shop has an exhaust fan that has a brain box that does about 15 things. Rita is a computer wiz, but she has re-set it 6 times so far. I want it to run at speed 3 at night when it is cool, and speed 9 during the day when it gets hot. It has a thermostat setting. It works for about 5 days but then the settings flip. She got the company to send a new brain box for free! It took a month to start doing the same thing. I show up at the shop in the morning when it is 60 degrees and it is running on 9. When it gets hot around noon, slows down to three. I just manually over ride it now. I fixed the lights in full view of the fan brain box and I actually talked to it. "You watching this action on the lights Mr. fan brain box! You seeing what happened to these lights!".
I bet that will work..... I'll let you know.

robertglines1 · June 23, 2022, 11:28:27 AM

K>I>S>S> kiss principle= keep it simple stupid!

I should do that more....

Tedsoldbus · June 23, 2022, 11:32:59 AM

I agree Bob, but they quit selling simple. Can't buy a bus now without 85 computer chips in it. I bet your phone does 158 things you never use.
Mostly I think I should have been born a lot sooner so I could be gone now.....

Busted Knuckle · June 23, 2022, 11:52:11 AM

Ted it's too late now..... but there is a simple solution for those light sensors! It's called duct tape! You can either just cover the sensor with duct tape or tape a piece of cardboard over it.
Yeah BTDT with one of them that turned off when I wanted it to stay on too!

BK

Van · June 23, 2022, 01:00:04 PM

Too funny! My smart azz phone is constantly doing 158 things I didn't tell it to do, go figure!

sledhead · June 23, 2022, 03:35:26 PM

my big window exhaust fan is dumb as it is pluged into a switched
( top 1/2 receptical and lower 1/2 is constant power )
most times I use the old turn timer switch ( 30 min ) give it a spin and walk out the door and it turns it self off, but if I plug the fan into the lower part of the receptal the fan stays on untill I unplug the fan

only problem is it is realy hard to find the old spin timers ( the old ones that you can hear them clicking like a clock ) when on

KISS

Tedsoldbus · June 23, 2022, 03:52:38 PM

Thanks Dave,
We keep the adopted Hound in the shop so I am there every morning and evening to feed and walk. We have some of those timers in our Christmas supplies boxes but I don't want it to shut off. I just set it at 3 when I leave in the evening to keep fresh air coming in for the hound. We keep the window next to her couch (Rita bought it) cracked so she gets fresh air. After I walk her in the am, I just bump it up to 9. We got that fan on purpose thinking we wanted it to automatically do what I just said if we take a bus trip and friends are feeding the dog - and it was highly rated for low amp pull for CFM air moved. Not a big deal I guess. I just hate to pay for automation that doesn't. It is Ted's world when it comes to electrons. I have grown to expect it.
KISS. I will just do it until Rita gets the help line on the phone again.
I fixed the lights because it is just wires. And that is why I have a 1980 bus!

freds · June 23, 2022, 06:38:38 PM

Quote from: Tedsoldbus on June 23, 2022, 03:52:38 PM
I just hate to pay for automation that doesn't. It is Ted's world when it comes to electrons. I have grown to expect it.
KISS. I will just do it until Rita gets the help line on the phone again.
I fixed the lights because it is just wires. And that is why I have a 1980 bus!

And how did you handle Avionics as a jet jock LOL!!!

Tedsoldbus · June 24, 2022, 04:33:11 AM

Well Fred, I think God new not to let me near computer chips,
I flew the A-4 Skyhawk. It is the little jet you see the instructors fly in the first Top Gun. The same thing John McCain ejected out of. Twice!
It was about 10 years newer than me and leaked about as much as my Detroit Diesel. It had hydraulics to assist with the flight controls, but pull one handle and it still had cables, pulleys etc to get you home if hydraulics were lost. NO computer chips or TV screens. All old school. I got out of flying just before the F-18 was coming on line and the Marine Corps was getting them after the Navy got all of theirs. The F-18 and all the newer stuff was cool, but if they take almost any kind of hit, you have to "Reach up and grab the yellow and black ejection handles Lieutenant, pull down hard, and read the instructions on the back side of the face curtain...".
Knowing my luck with electrons, I would have ejected out of 4 or 5 of the new ones.....
The only TV screen in my bus is the Garmin, and Rita programs that.
Like Clint Eastwood said, " A man has to know his limitations...".