Friday, January 14, 2011

Another sunny and 70 day!

Sandra wanted to know how the camera broke, and the short story is we don't know.  It kind of looks as though the display was struck with something, because it is like it is torn across the middle and one side. But we have always kept it in a padded bag.  We have never dropped the camera and have guarded it with our life so to speak.

But none the less, it was damaged after we got here in Arizona.  And the box and related paperwork is back in Kansas City, so even finding out how to mail it in is beyond the scope of our ability.  At somewhere around $250 for a replacement, I'm not so sure what a practical repair cost should be, before it makes more sense to just get another one.

Today was another super nice day!  It was 72 degrees again in the afternoon, and I was able to take the liner out of my motor cycle pants and jacket.  Back to the summer thin mesh with no liners at all.  Of course the armor and the ripstop of the fabric is still available to keep you safer.

When it was 100 degrees in KC last summer, I had my shorts on under the pants, and I haven't done that quite yet, as it is still cool at 50 mph.  Today, I headed out to find where the Interstate Battery facility is here in Mesa.  Our starting batteries on the coach are not as good, as they once were, and I was trying to find out how expensive they will be should I need to do that before we leave.

They are quite fine when we travel every day, but seem to be weak when we park for several weeks at a time.  I'm still not sure, but I think they are group 31s like a heavy truck.  I tried to call Tiffin, but couldn't get thru in several attempts.

And even the Interstate folks wanted to see them before they would tell me for sure.  But the most expensive group 31s are around $140 each, and we have two of them.  I may defer the problem to next summer, but perhaps I may need to charge them before we leave.

Just because we are plugged in, the house batteries seem to be the only ones that are charged by the converter.  And I am sure they are being cooked to death in that process.

Batteries just don't seem to last very long once they have met their third birthday!  At least in my world they don't.  The 6 volt golf cart batteries would be the exception to that rule.  We have two of those as coach batteries.  With only two, we can't boondock very long either.

Once I returned from a long bike ride, this afternoon, I sat outside in the sun and enjoyed the sunny and 70 weather until the sky turned orange again.  That is the essence of Arizona!

Retired Rod

5 comments:

  1. Rod, I'll look in my box for our Lumix and see what I can find as far as numbers or e-mail addresses go, you may have a shot at them fixing it, Don't know what model you had but like I said there were some good deals on the cheapest prices website on them a couple months ago.Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

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  2. Rod, you need one of these...
    http://www.lslproducts.com/TLSPage.html
    It will keep your start batteries up.....That is what most of us use. Sure solved my problem. Hook it up and forget it.....
    Happy riding to ya!

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  3. In my coach the converter also keeps the chassis batteries charged. My last one was the same.

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  4. If you had to pay for your camera repairs yourself I can't imagine that it would be worth the cost given the camera was purchased for $240. I still think a call to the Panasonic hotline might be worth it as they may be able to tell from the serial number about any warranty.

    Glad it's warming up in Arizona too!

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  5. Rod I purchased the BatteryMINDer® Model 12248
    from VDC Electronics for my chassis batteries. I have been using it since Sept 2009 and my chasis batteries have always been up. I plug it into an electrical outlet in the bay next to my battery compartmet.

    ReplyDelete

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