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k4rs

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    RV Travel, Amateur Radio, Computers

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k4rs's Achievements

  1. This will create a real traffic mess. The last I knew, RV's were prohibited from the tunnels. 695 around the west of Baltimore is quite a bit longer. I wonder if US-1 / US-40 is a viable alternative. Safe Travels...
  2. Our cats absolutely hate riding in the truck. On travel days all 3 get on the bed. Two get under the covers and the third on top. We have never had an issue with temperature. We typically travel during the summer months so don't have to be concerned with cold weather. We try to travel early in the morning arriving before the hottest part of the day. Safe Travels...
  3. I have experienced this same problem. I never determined the cause but found resetting the thermostat seemed to fix the issue. On mine, you press the mode button until it is off then press the mode and up buttons together until you see -- on the display. Safe Travels...
  4. I thought I would post an update. We have had T-Mobile home Internet for almost a year now and have been very satisfied. We brought it with us while traveling this summer. It has worked everywhere we have been except one location that was WAY out in the boonies and down in a valley. Speeds have varied quite a bit but was always adequate for web browsing, email, and video streaming. Most locations were slower than what we get at home but one spot was MUCH faster. I believe we made the correct choice getting T-Mobile rather than Starlink. It works well for us at a much lower cost. Safe Travels...
  5. k4rs

    CB Radio users ?

    No. CB operates at 27 MHz. FRS and GMRS is 462 - 467 MHz. Some antennas for the amateur 70cm band will work but the SWR will usually be on the high side. Safe Travels...
  6. k4rs

    CB Radio users ?

    Yes, in addition to being a ham, I also have a GMRS license. The loss of communications in Florida after Hurricane Ian really opened many eyes. There has been a large uptick in people who see the need to communicate without the infrastructure but do not want to get into amateur radio. The semi official travel channel for GMRS is 19, just like CB. We have heard people on this frequency while traveling and on other channels in campgrounds. Of course those are most likely FRS users. Safe Travels...
  7. k4rs

    CB Radio users ?

    I have not heard much activity on CB in years. GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) is really becoming more popular, especially off road'ers. Many truckers are switching from CB to GMRS, which may explain the decline of CB. These radios work on the same frequencies as FRS but can use more power, better antennas, and repeaters (similar to amateur radio 70cm). The advantages of FM on UHF band is better range and clear audio. GMRS requires a license but unlike amateur radio, no test is involved. The license costs $35 for 10 years but covers your entire family. Safe Travels...
  8. I had a portable AC unit to supplement the cooling in our 38 foot 5th wheel. It needed all the help it could get because the rig was poorly insulated and the single 13.5 rooftop AC struggled in the summer. I was able to remove an outside speaker, leaving the grill in place and hooked the exhaust hose to the hole. When we wanted to use the portable AC we simply opened the outside speaker hatch door and powered up the AC. We have not needed the extra cooling with our current rig. We learned our lesson and got upgraded insulation. I have a vent that should be usable in case we ever do need it in the future. While portable units are fairly easy to install, they are really not as efficient as the rooftop AC or window units as they draw in warm outside air rather than recycle the inside air. The convenience and low profile of a portable unit out weigh that negative for us. Safe Travels...
  9. If you have enough hose, you may want to create a small "U" before sticking out the grate. This allows a little water to accumulate like the P trap under the sink. This works better than the little holes to keep out insects and warm air. Safe Travels...
  10. I thought I was the last person still using Streets & Trips. I guess I was wrong. A few years ago I noticed that the accuracy of road info was getting worse and worse since it was no longer being updated. I finally gave up and started planning my trips using Google maps on the computer and then uploading it to my phone for in vehicle navigation. There have been a couple of oh $&^#t moments but I am slowly learning the finer nuances. I really like the real time traffic info. Safe Travels...
  11. I have been using an LTS version of Windows 10 that never gets feature upgrades, only security updates. I think this is a big plus rather than a negative. The fewer things Microsoft messes with, the fewer things to break making it a more stable system. Of course most of my computers run Linux. On the subject of upgrading Linux: Most of the time upgrading minor point versions are really easy (ie 19.2 to 19.3). In my opinion, upgrading major versions such as your Tina (19.2) to the current 21.2, it would be best to save your data and do a fresh install. Fortunately Mint is based on Ubuntu LTS versions so they come with 5 years of support. If doing a fresh install every 5 years is too much, there are rolling release distributions that install once and never worry about it again. Here is a list from Distrowatch.com: https://distrowatch.com/search.php?ostype=Linux&category=All&origin=All&basedon=All&notbasedon=None&desktop=Cinnamon&architecture=All&package=All&rolling=Rolling&isosize=All&netinstall=All&language=All&defaultinit=All&status=Active#simple Safe Travels...
  12. Living in Florida I wear shorts and t-shirt about 95 percent of the time. That makes it difficult to conceal carry but it can be done. After 28 years in law enforcement I don't feel fully dressed without a sidearm. It is like a fire extinguisher or seat belt. You hope you never need it, but if you do, you NEED IT NOW. Safe Travels...
  13. I know that this is an old thread, but I said I would post an update when something changed. Well, something has definitely changed! Previously I posted (in another thread) that when Windows 11 updated from 21H2 to 22H2 it deleted several of my applications and reset all configurations back to their default. It has happened again. This last Tuesday (patch Tuesday), as soon as I applied the updates, the laptop would not boot to the desktop. It would constantly boot loop. Even safe mode was useless. I was unable to roll back the update because I never got to the user interface. I was able to get to the command prompt. I could type things but nothing would run (WMIC, SFC, etc). As a last resort I did a reset. When it was done I could boot normally, but ALL of my applications were deleted and ALL configurations were back to default. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. I wiped the drive and installed Windows 10. The only reason I had Windows 11 was to be familiar enough with it to provide proper support. Later I learned that the problem with this faulty update was known by Microsoft for weeks and yet they still released it. Way to go Micro$haft! I intend to stay with Windows 10 and NEVER use Windows 11 again. I know that Windows 10 reaches end of life in 2025 but I only have a few programs that must be run on Windows (mostly for programming ham radios) and do not need to be online. For everything else there is the uber reliable Linux. Safe Travels...
  14. Hard disk encryption only provides protection from someone with physical access to the computer. It does nothing to protect from the much more common online threats. I recently had someone bring me a computer that was so infested with malware that it was basically unusable. It was VERY slow due to 100% CPU usage, constant lock-ups, and frequent unexpected reboots. I see this often so I proceeded as I usually do. Boot from a flash drive, backup user files, wipe the hard drive, then re-install the operating system / applications and restore the data files. In this case I discovered that the hard drive was encrypted with bitlocker. The owner had no idea what bitlocker was and certainly had not turned it on or backed up the recovery key. Fortunately I was able to get the computer to run stable enough to turn bitlocker off and proceed as usual. It was a long, slow process that was touch and go there for a while but was ultimately successful. I believe that the possibility of data loss due to bitlocker is far worse than any potential reduced attack surface. Safe Travels...
  15. In my experience, encryption by default is a BAD idea. First most people do not need it on their home computers. Second, I doubt if the typical user knows how important is is to back up the recovery key. Third, hard drives DO fail and most users do not backup their files regularly. Things are different in a business with a good IT team for support, but they are probably not running the home edition. Safe Travels...
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