My daughter the adult

If you think about how long my daughter was in school, you might wonder how she can transfer into the working world.  I guess she took the first 4 years off for growing, then went to a preschool followed by kindergarten,  elementary school, middle school, high school, followed by 4 years at Oregon State University (BS) and finally earning a BSN (bachelor of science in nursing) at Linfield College.
Yup that's a lot on school to me.  And now she has a day off to go shopping with her mom.  So that's my little girl the RN.

I took Wilbur out for a drive today.  You know that '73 drives pretty good.  And I disconnected the battery charger and inverter .  Those might be going to Smokey since the battery charging converter is not that great on the batteries.  So put that on the list of things to do.  I have been working on the cabinet doors to make them look better.  And I was going to stop by Smokey today and pick up some more doors to work on but I didn't have my keys with me when I was running around.  Oh well maybe tomorrow.

There was some work on one of the rental houses.  Fixed the garage ceiling light and a loose bedroom light.  When I retired I thought I would spend more time working on the rental houses, but that hasn't happened yet.

How to buy a Classic Winnebago

Why do some guys have all the luck and get a nice Classic Winnebago for just a few bucks???
Well I have looked for those super deals and I even have brothers who send me ads and pictures of ones for sale.  Take this latest one.

"No tire kickers! $300 CASH. Ran when parked. Not in bad shape. Livable. Has a 440 engine in it. As far as I know, everything works. I need it gone. $300 is NOT NEGOTIABLE. You would get more than that in scrap. The floor is SOLID."

Well at first I see the front tire is covered with hay.  Now some might think the owner might be hiding something, but I see it as protection for the tire.  All the tires are probably "like new".  And then I see there is no outside rear view mirror.  To an untrained eye you might think this is bad, but then again it is probably like new and is kept inside to keep it in new condition.  
And a solid floor??  Now I like some spring in my floor.  It helps adsorb some of the vibration when driving.

So you can't just take a look at a picture of something and decide how good it is, pictures almost always look better than the real thing.  You need to get in and kick the tires.........Oh this seller said "No tire kickers".   Well good luck dealing with him.  I would probably pass on this one.  Especially since I own two Bagos already.

And how did Wilbur look when I bought him??

How to cut the cord. Free Antenna TV

Remember back in the day when TV was watched in the evening after supper.  And we only had a few stations but there was always something on to watch,  unless the TV antenna needed to be turned to get another station.  Today if you don't have cable you have Dish or Direct TV.  And of course there is the cost of this that seems to be going up all the time.

Is this man smarter than you? He legally enjoys all of the major national TV programs from ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, ION, Univision, Telefutura, The CW, and many more, as well as local stations, and he pays nothing. Best of all his signal quality for both the video and the audio is better than he had with his former cable company. He receives over 40 channels that include 24-hour a day weather, old movie channels, educational channels, several PBS so there is lots of programming for his children and the whole family. He knew that he was not really enjoying the best his new HDTV had to offer as long as he hooked it up to the cable or satellite services that re-condense their signals before they broadcast them. Now with his Free Over The Air TV Antenna, that he bought from www.FreeOverTheAirTV.com, his family is actually enjoying the true value of the investment they made in their fabulous new HDTV and there is no monthly cost. That is pretty smart. With the substantial amount of money he saved every month not paying for the TV programming he now gets for free, he purchased a new media center DVR/Computer System and he uses www.titanTV.com to easily record his favorite programs like he used to with the expensive DVR his cable company rented to him after they made him pay several hundred dollars down and another $20.00 a month. But now instead of being made to buy the cable company a DVR that they took back when he canceled his service, he now owns his own equipment that is technologically advanced and offers many more functions and capabilities. Now he can go to www.netflix.com and for a few dollars a month he can watch an unlimited amount of movies online whenever he wants without being charged $6.00 or more each. They play right to his HDTV or he can also order movies to watch on his DVD player too. That's all pretty smart. He can choose to go to www.Itunes.com and watch for free almost any current program from the TV shows he used to pay the cable company to watch. He can go to www.hulu.com and watch free movies there or go to www.youtube.com and watch any of the content you will find there for free. The truth is, thanks to Free Over The Air TV and the explosion of free sources to watch video on the Internet, his family's entertainment options have vastly expanded and they are saving over $1,000.00 per year! That's pretty smart too. Don't you agree? Now he wonders why he ever paid all of that money every month to the cable and satellite companies to limit his options with programming that came in inferior signal quality. In fact, he is buying a new HDTV for every room in the house since the installation we did for him powers ever outlet in the house with digital and HDTV signal just like the cable company powered all of the RJ45 jacks in the house. He, like the 60% of people in Hong Kong who switched to Free Over the Air Digital TV, is wondering why everyone doesn't take advantage of the new, better technology? Isn't it time you got with the future and stop paying for the TV you can get for free? In America, the cable and satellite vendors do not want you to know it but there are millions of households that have already switched to FreeOverTheAirTV and tens of thousands of additional households switch every month. They are making the smart choice. Shouldn't you? There are some people who watch Free Over The Air TV in order to get the superior audio and video experience for the major national Network channels as well as their local channels and they also keep the cable for access to their favorite cable program they want to see in real time, like Speed Channel or ESPN. If you can afford it and it means that much to you, it is an easy matter to have both services hooked up to your HDTV and we can easily show you how. Although we know if you give one of our Free Over The Air TV Antennas a try all by itself, you'll probably realize you really don't miss the cable and the bill, especially if you attach a DVR capable computer to your system and take advantage of the best that technology has to offer. Some people ask if they can utilize a DTV antenna with their old analog TV since the economy is bad, money is an issue an they just can't afford to buy a new HDTV yet. The answer is yes. We can equip you with a converter box that will convert the Digital signal provided by our antennas to analog. Then when you do buy a new HDTV you'll have the best digital HDTV antenna that money an buy. How much do you pay for cable or satellite TV. Chances are that you could afford to buy a very nice HDTV in less than one year with the money you will save by taking advantage of the Free Over The Air TV signal. Either way, whatever your situation, we hope you will join the millions of smart Americans who have already switched to Free Over The Air TV and begin to save yourself a small fortune too. Just imagine what you could do with the extra $1,000.00+ per year that you needlessly pay to the cable company. That kind of money could do a lot for most families these days or be a great start to a child's college education fund. Think about it and then order a FreeOverTheAirTV Antenna from the experts here at FreeOverTheAirTV.com.

So I have been ask how can I watch FREE TV.  Well it can be as simple as getting rabbit ears and hooking them to the back of the TV.  Yes when I did that in my motor home people looked at me and could not belive that works.  They say "didn't the TV stations stop working when they went digital"  Oh if you had the older TV it wouldn't work unless you had cable TV.  WRONG.  There is a digital converter box you can buy to fix that too.

And if you want to see what TV stations you can get there is a website for that.

http://www.dtv.gov/


The Wall Street Journal even shows info on how popular TV antenns are getting.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204059804577229451364593094.html

It's cool to have rabbit ears again.

Largely relegated to obscurity decades ago, old-fashioned television broadcasts—over the airwaves and not via cable or satellite—are enjoying an unexpected revival in the digital era.

With an increased array of online-video programming now drawing viewers' attention, companies are starting to pitch consumers on complementing online video streamed from the Web with broadcast-TV signals as a way to save money on cable subscriptions.

If it gains traction, this trend could undercut part of the rationale for selling off TV spectrum in voluntary auctions, approved by Congress on Friday, aimed at freeing up spectrum for wireless broadband.

There are signs that consumers are responding. TV-antenna seller Richard Schneider of St. Louis says sales at his company are soaring. Mr. Schneider's Antennas Direct sold 70,000 antennas in January, and he expects to double last year's sales of about 600,000. That was up from 400,000 antennas in 2010.

So what are you waiting for.

Dish TV is for the birds (bath).

And when I fist tried antenna TV, again, I used on old antenna that was around on a TV in the garage.  Here is what I used and it works.

This was my set up.  And it worked fine.

What Do I watch???  Oh the ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS and a few other of the biggies.
And then,
http://metvnetwork.com/
http://www.myretrotv.com/
http://www.thistv.com/

And have you seen the Rabbit TV device?  Don't buy it because it really doesn't work. Go to this FREE website to see the same thing http://titantv.com/default.aspx

Walking a 5 K

Yea I know this is no marathon, but still Sophie and I did finally have good weather and the time to walk a course at Bush Park in Salem.  There is a running club called Roadrunners and on their website is where I found the map.  Here is their website http://www.wvroadrunners.org/ and here is the map

Some of it is on paved, wood chip and even grass trails.  On my pedometer it said we went 3.3 miles so we must have gone on every trail we were suppose to.

And the weather was almost warm with some sun thrown in.

There is a walking club in Salem called the Willamette Valley Wanderers Walking Club http://willwander.weebly.com/gallery.html
And for those hard core walkers, if there really is such a thing, there is a search page at http://www.ava.org/ava_search.asp That is a American Volksport Association.

If you want to do a Sunday Stroll with the Albany walkers here is the info. http://www.ava.org/gen3/data/event_details.asp?eventid=95149
Their Website is http://www.albanyfitwalkers.org/


Tomorrow I want to put together a post on cutting the cord on pay TV.  Yes you can still put an antenna on the roof, or even inside,  to get TV stations over the air (OTA) for FREE.

The key-less door lock is working

So I got the cheap key-less door lock system for my wagon and installed it today.  When it arrived the box was kind of crushed, not the outside box, so I took a few pictures in case it didn't work.

Then the actuator is installed in the drivers door.  The kit came with actuators for all 4 doors but you only need the one.

I found a spot to mount the actuator where it attaches and clears the inside door cover.
The kit comes with brackets and  rods and connectors that can attach in several places.

I only mounted the one actuator in the drivers door and it opens all the door locks from this one door.

So this is my latest Subaru update since I was not able to unlock the drivers door with the key.
And for less than $30.00 on Ebay I bought the kit that came with 2 remotes.

Working on my cabinet doors

When I first got Smokey I saw what looked like glue applied to some of the cabinet doors where the frame was put together.  Now this is different than on the '73 where the cabinet doors are just a single piece of partial board with a vinyl covering.  On those you had to worry about the door turning into sawdust once they got wet from the roof leaking.  But these doors now a days are made out of real wood.  And with time it looks like I will be re-gluing about every door some.  So I took the largest door off Smokey today and will try to figure out how I can clean up and fix them.
It looks like the titebond II would be a good choice, unless someone tells me otherwise.

I'm tired of the cold

How many days of freezing fog can we have????
Today we had lunch with family and friends in the Portland, OR area.  The sun was out and life seemed good, but on the way home it was back into the fog.  And I have wanted to wash the car all week.  Something about washing the car in freezing weather that keeps me from doing it.

And I want to take Wilbur out for a drive but since there is water in it I don't want to freeze it up so it sets in the garage.

It's still COLD outside.........

Well it's kind of COLD inside too.......... I can't say that I have really done much of anything lately.  With is not getting above freezing during the day I have not been busy with much.

The key-less entry for the wagon should show up in the next day or so.  And then I plan to pull it into the garage and see if I can install it.

I did spend some time in the garage today looking for something I never did find.  How can an old........sort of old guy get anything done when I can't even find the tools to work on things?????

A key-less entry for the wagon?

After looking at the timing belt I decided to fix the door lock that doesn't work.  It would be nice to not have to unlock the passenger door, reach over to the other side and unlock the drivers door.  So I ordered a key-less entry system.  Kind of a modern thing to do but at less than $30.00 it is cost effective.   That was how I fixed my daughters Camry that had a similar thing going on.  But on her car I put in a car alarm.
So next week the key-less system should arrive and I will have another project to work on.  And with it so cold outside I can do it inside the garage.
Today was the WW meeting and I was at the same weight as last week, which is good with me.  I am so close to losing a total of 40 pounds I can taste it (well maybe not taste it if you know what I mean).


This is what I bought.

Another thing I have been looking into is walking a 5 K course.  Well this is not really my idea but WW gives you a sticker or something for doing a 5 K walk.  So look forward to warmer weather and you might find me huffing and puffing around some park.

At the storage place. A '76 Custom?

Since I took Smokey to the storage place I have had a chance to look at some of the other RV's parked there.  So here are some more pictures of some of the Winnebago products.

This is the front of the Custom.  I guess I will have to look up what year it is.

The Custom.

 Check out the  1976 Custom new info.

Parked in front of the Custom is this Itasca.

Do you think the blue tarp under this MH looks good??

Working on the Wagon

One thing I have been thinking about on the Wagon is, how old is the timing belt?  So today I pulled off one of the timing belt covers and took a look.  The drivers side is the one off.  I turned the engine over with a wrench on the cam bolt.  Hope I didn't break anything.  But it runs just fine.
So how old do you think this belt is??

I looked up the belt at Napa and they have a #250172.  That must be it.

It looks like a Napa 250-72.

So do you think this belt should last awhile???amshaft / Timing

 

   

Part Number: NBH 250172

Product Line: NAPA Belts & Hoses

Attributes:

# of Teeth : 211

Timing Marks : Sí

Features and Benefits:NAPA’s Supplier Is The Largest Global Manufacture Of OE Timing Belts.
This Means That NAPA Is Able To Cover The Aftermarket w/ Timing Belts That Are OE-Equivalent, Or Better, In Service Life & Performance.
Our Timing Belts Are Manufactured Using The Same High Grade Materials & Processes As The OE To Ensure Superior Heat & Contamination Resistance.
Import Or Domestic, NAPA Timing Belts Provide The Most Extensive Coverage In The Industry.
Features and Benefits PDF 

Warranty:Materials Workmanship Only. Repair/Replace Only At Gates Option.See Full Warranty Exclusions.All Other Expressed Implied Warranties Disclaimed, Including Merchantability Fitness Particular Purpose.Consequential Other Damages Excluded,Except Per State Law.
Warranty PDF 

Material Safety Data Sheet:MSDS INFORMATION

Have questions about this item?Call your local NAPA AUTO PARTS Store at 800-LET-NAPA (800-538-6272)

Buyer's Guide:For a list of specific cars that this part is compatible with, please visit our Buyer's Guide.

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Smokey is in lock up.

I did the storage thing for Smokey today.  And of course there are some older Winnebago's there to look at.

Here is Smokey's spot..

Kind of sad to leave him, but when the weather gets warmer I will take him out.

And here are some cell mates.  There are more to look at but for this trip to the lock up this is what I looked at.

And what is this Custom Bago?

Parking Smokey in a storage spot

This cold weather that we have been having is another reason to park Smokey for awhile.  So today I checked out a few storage places close by and decided on one.  Of course I am looking for the cheapest place that is still somewhat secure. Right now I am not doing any repairs or much of anything on Smokey until it warms up.  The front left tire was low, but not as low as when I first looked at Smokey.  It had the bead broke so that was flat.

I haven't even taken Wilbur out for a couple of months so that will be something to do when Smokey is not parked behind him.

And the Wagon could use a little attention too.  I did change the oil in our Camry today and it could use a wash and cleaning up but not until it warms up some.
So that's the news today.

Frosty pictures

I found these spider webs on Smokey's ladder this morning.

So what do I like about Smokey?  After we use it more I am sure things will be more important.  We love the space but it seems to big.  We like the large fridge, beds, storage both inside and outside.  But I still need to take it by the truck scale to see how much weight I have to play with.

And I tried the spycam as a dash cam.  What do you think?

Playing with the spy cam

So this is a test of the spycam at night in Smokey.  I hooked up the RGB LED lights I got today.  Not much of a video but at least I got it to work.  Oh and the camera cost less than $9.00

I just got this camera off Ebay and plan to try it out tomorrow.

The new LED lights are here

I have a roll of LED lights to try out.  These are RGB (red green blue) lights that have a remote control and can be changed to only have one color on at a time or different flashing settings.  But it's so cold out right now that I will be waiting to try them out.  The best thing to do is after dark plug them in and see where I should place them.  Either along the top of the cabinets or maybe along the floor.  I think my wife will have to look at them and make the decision.
And I got my spy cam but need a faster larger mini sd card to really try it.  That might be tomorrow.

The Coast is wet

My wife and I are on the Oregon Coast for a couple of nights.  It's a long story but we are using a hotel that was bought for someone else and here we are.  The weather is the usual grey and windy and wet.  Some GWB shopping today and time to watch movies.  Can't wait to get home,  well we can wait, but my new spy cam is suppose to be delivered now.  That means I will have a new toy to play with.  Maybe some model airplane movies.
 Stay tunned to see what I can do with the little camera.

And soon my color LED lights will be in.

The fridge repair is working

Not much going on today.  Another no flying day since it was cold and damp this morning.
I have been trying the fridge a few times today and it has worked every time.  Now I am thinking that the green ground wire behind the fridge might have been the problem.  Right now I think it looks like it might have been just loose enough to not work all the time.
And this week I might have my new spy camera that I bought to see if I can take some pictures from a model airplane.  And I also might be getting some color LED lights.  Now these LED's will be just for fun,  or should I say for mood lighting.  That will be a whole new type of use in Smokey.

With the cold weather I like to think back on places we have been.  Here is a nice church camp in Oregon that we plan to visit again.  Very close to the ocean and very quiet.

You can read about this place on my Blog Camp Wi-ne-ma.

The power center.

So today I did look into something going on with the fridge.  A couple of times it didn't start up when I pushed the on button unless I turned on a fluorescent ceiling light.  So my first thing I did was to clean up the ground wire on the back of the fridge.  the screw holding it to the fridge frame was kind of loose.  Once that was done I tried the fridge and it started right up.  Then I tried it a couple of other times through the day and no problem with it.
Now I have been reading about what fluorescent lights do to control circuits when they are turned on.
The power center was replaced once and none of the AC breakers of DC fuses are labeled.

I guess I should check out everything and label stuff, before I have to do it someplace and sometime where I don't want to.

A new toad????

A little over a year ago I bought a Subaru wagon to tow behind Wilbur.  Of course I didn't pay much for it but if I liked towing a car then I might buy something nicer.  Here it is, a year later, and I still have the wagon.  So I have been thinking on what  to do.  Should I fix up the wagon, buy another newer car, or just drive the wagon until the wheels fall off.
So today I went looking at cars and parts for my car.  The wrecking yard I did some business with a year ago doesn't have a fender for my car,  and a car lot I stopped by didn't have a manual trans either.  So I am thinking about what to do.
I did buy some more damp rid and put it in Smokey.  That's about all for the RV type of stuff.
The BBQ we bought for our son for Christmas got delivered with the wagon and we did look around at some GWB's (Goodwill type of thrift stores) today.  And the wagon does drive nice on the freeway.

Here is a link to Thanksgiving 2011 When I got the wagon.

Another non flying day

Thursday and Sunday are my flying days.  A group of guy's with toy airplanes fly at the State Fairgrounds in Salem when the weather is good and fly.  And on cold days like today we just meet at the club house (McDonald's) and talk about flying.
I did spend some time looking at places to visit on the Oregon Coast.  We haven't taken Smokey to the coast yet but are planning to visit some of our favorite places as soon as the weather warms up some.  We are members of the Elks and have found several Lodges with RV sites around the Northwest.  You can find Elks Lodges we have stayed by using the search box at the upper Left of this site and type in "Elks".

Another cold day

I think people enjoyed the pictures I posted yesterday, since there were more people looking at my Blog than usual.  Did you know I earn money when you click on one of the ads that show up on my Blog?  Yea some days I earn a penny and some days are a few dollars.  Now that's cool.
Here in the Willamette Valley we don't get a lot of freezing weather, but it has been getting below freezing the past few nights.  But it is a dry cold day today.  My cold is getting better and we did go out today to shop for a new fridge for one of our rental houses.  And I did do a toilet repair too.  I would always enjoy a job where all I did was replace the flap valve inside a toilet tank.  No muss no fuss.
But with it so cold all I did in the way of RV stuff was to buy a couple of plug strips for Smokey.  The closest plug in for the kitchen is under the fold up

I might mount the plug strip to the wall but for now we have a place to pug the coffee pot in when it sets by the sink.

Happy New Year everyone

Even with a cold I am up until the magic time of midnight.  And with a new year starting there is time to think forward to some happy times.  Times filled with joy and laughter.  So off we go into a new year.  Maybe I will be up and feeling better later today so I can post some more stuff.
Here are some pictures from happy times in the past.

WOW that was a close call.

Don't you hate those crowds at the beach.