[Canada_Rockies]

The cost of a decent OBDII reader is almost exactly the same as the cost for the garage to read it. The most common errors are emissions related, and often are simply that the gas filler cap is not tight. If that is the case, turn the air blue for the lazy attendant, tighten the cap and reset the warning with the reader.

[AgentL]

The cost of a decent OBDII reader is almost exactly the same as the cost for the garage to read it. The most common errors are emissions related, and often are simply that the gas filler cap is not tight. If that is the case, turn the air blue for the lazy attendant, tighten the cap and reset the warning with the reader.

OBDII readers were expensive when the hardware had to contain all of the cataloguing system for the codes. Now that bluetooth readers can rely on a smartphone app to do it, the cost is so low that it's dumb not to own one. It took me a while, though, I just bought one. Wish I had sooner. The only downside is that many of these app-makers swipe a lot of your data if you're not careful.

[slartibartfast01]

The cost of a decent OBDII reader is almost exactly the same as the cost for the garage to read it. The most common errors are emissions related, and often are simply that the gas filler cap is not tight. If that is the case, turn the air blue for the lazy attendant, tighten the cap and reset the warning with the reader.

I can't remember the last time I visited a filling station with an attendant. Mind you in the current circumstances I can't remember the last time I visited a filling station

[ThorSanchez]

My newer Jeep... is more sophisticated.

That may be the first time those words ever appeared in the same sentence. One of the appeals of my wife's Jeep is that it almost revels in its un-sophistication. The entertainment head unit appears to be from a 2004 Chrysler. It rattles and has air and road noise like a 1970s British roadster. It's harsh on pavement. The plastics are hard as rock. Changing the oil takes 10 minutes because everything is right there, don't even have to jack it up. I think you can take most of it apart with a few Allen wrenches.

[gaweidert]

A Porta-Trace / Gagne 1118-2 Stainless Steel LED Light Box (11 x 18") for bringing some old b&w glass negatives back to life.



I am underwhelmed what I got for the price. The stainless steel is so thin that the box would probably collapse under it's own weight if it were any thinner. The box is riveted together and they even scrimped on that. When I took it out of the box I:noticed something rattling around inside it. When I plugged it in it would not turn on.



So I opened it up removed the rattling piece of snipped wire that was left inside. Then I found that one side of the 120V line was not even connected. A wire nut only had one wire in it. The thing cost $108 and it probably contains all of $25 worth of parts. For the price they list it for (about $140) one would have hoped that they would have at least turned it on to see if it worked.



The light itself is very evenly distributed with no hot spots. It works fine now that I repaired it.

[AgentL]

That may be the first time those words ever appeared in the same sentence. One of the appeals of my wife's Jeep is that it almost revels in its un-sophistication. The entertainment head unit appears to be from a 2004 Chrysler. It rattles and has air and road noise like a 1970s British roadster. It's harsh on pavement. The plastics are hard as rock. Changing the oil takes 10 minutes because everything is right there, don't even have to jack it up. I think you can take most of it apart with a few Allen wrenches.

Hey, I'm talking a 2017 relative to a 2012 car's computer. There was a bunch of changes that came down the pike in that time. The Jeep (more Italian-built Jeepette, actually. You know the one) is still pretty simple by 2017 standards. And the simpler the better. I could upgrade Jeeps at some point in the future, but, you know, that new 2-door Bronco looks pretty choice! My father's never-say-die F150 from my childhood makes me a bit partial to Ford. But I'm picking up what FCA has put down in the past half-decade with Jeep.

[jeallen01]

Tyre pressure "indicators" (which my car doesn't have"!)? - personally, I just simply look at the tyres EVERY WEEK to see if the walls have "sagged" a bit , which was/is most of us have had to do for "decades"

OTOH, having looked at my tyres a few days ago, I think I will be checking the pressures early next week when the temps are a bit more "amenable" to working outdoors.

[Canada_Rockies]

I can't remember the last time I visited a filling station with an attendant. Mind you in the current circumstances I can't remember the last time I visited a filling station

I never pointed at a paid attendant ...

[AgentL]

Tyre pressure "indicators" (which my car doesn't have"!)? - personally, I just simply look at the tyres EVERY WEEK to see if the walls have "sagged" a bit , which was/is most of us have had to do for "decades"

OTOH, having looked at my tyres a few days ago, I think I will be checking the pressures early next week when the temps are a bit more "amenable" to working outdoors.

Modern radial tires/tyres are far less easy to notice pressure loss than the oldey-timey "tall" ones. I didn't check my wife's tires for a while despite the warning light coming on, when I finally did, the culprit tire was at 19 PSI (down from target 35 PSI)! New leaky tires that needed to "settle in."

[slartibartfast01]

Modern radial tires/tyres are far less easy to notice pressure loss than the oldey-timey "tall" ones. I didn't check my wife's tires for a while despite the warning light coming on, when I finally did, the culprit tire was at 19 PSI (down from target 35 PSI)! New leaky tires that needed to "settle in."

One of mine was down to 10psi when I finally checked. I thought I'd noticed more drag on recent short journeys.

[Marcus Rowland]

A couple more job lots - nothing especially exciting but three nice Adaptall lenses, some weird accessories, a 1.6x autofocus teleconverter which is unfortunately for the weird Kyocera-Yashica 35mm autofocus system I was asking about a few months ago rather than anything digital, and so forth. I won't bore everyone with the details, it's just stuff to keep things ticking over until I can go out and hunt things down for myself once the lockdown ends, will make a small profit but nothing spectacular.

Also a new battery for my Macbook Pro - fortunately it's a 2010 model, old enough that it's still possible to do it myself, rather than paying Apple a small fortune. I've done it before, it's a sod to keep track off all the teeny screws in three or four different lengths but otherwise not too difficult. I'll probably sort it out on Sunday.

later - small error - the Kyocera-Yashica thing is a converter for using Contax-Yashica lenses on the Kyocera-Yashica cameras, which for some reason is also a teleconverter. Not sure if it makes the lens act as autofocus, but it's possible I suppose - there are adapters like that for e.g. Minolta MD on Minolta A-mount AF bodis.

[Gary H Perth]

My rice cooker is a Malaysian-made National brand that my wife has used almost daily since we married 30 years ago. My car, a 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan, has been incredibly reliable until it stopped on a freeway a few weeks back. Now it has two new fuel pumps and new fuel lines, as well as a cleaned-out tank. That exercise cost more than a new K-1.


Here, I am reporting a photographic acquisition, not a rice cooker or a car part.
On local trading website (Gumtree) I saw a very cheap Spotmatic II with super multi coated takumar 50mm f1.4 that the seller confirmed before sale has haze and/or fungus. Camera seems generally OK and the lens looks shocking with a light behind it, but shoots fairly OK. I have attached a few test shots on K-30, as proof that even a very imperfect lens can take reasonable shots.

[eddie1960]

Scored a very nice tripod today for $400 Canadian ... it would cost about 1200 with tax for the new versions Benro c457n6 carbon fibre base with Induro BHD3 ball head rated at 55lbs. I will end up moving this head to another tripod when the Benro Polaris arrives . Meanwhile I will put it to good use . A little heavy for long hikes but rock solid and would give the big Gitzo units a run for the money

[Racer X 69]

Remote tire pressure gauges are definitely double-edged. On the one hand they warn you when a tire is soft, a condition that can creep up slowly so that you don't notice the gradual changes in the car's handling. On the other, they operate on a battery independently of the car's electrical system. If the battery goes bad, as best I can tell, the warning light is activated and remains on until the battery, or sometimes the entire sensing unit is replaced so that you aren't driving with a non-functioning sensor and would not be warned if that tire went soft. BUT, which wheel has the detector with a dead battery? At least in cars I've driven, when the soft tire light comes on, you can only determine which tire has the problem is to go around and test each one with a pressure gauge. If one pressure gauge has a dead battery, all the tires have correct pressure, and SFAIK the only way to find it is to remove each tire from its rim so you can access the gauge and test its battery. If I'm wrong about this and there is some way to locate a pressure gauge without getting your hands on it, please alleviate my ignorance.

The newer vehicles with TPMS systems will identify each sensor bit its unique serial code, via the wireless link to the ECM. The information display should identify which tire has low air pressure. It should also identify which sensor has a low or dead battery.

If the tires are rotated during routine service, the mechanic needs to reset the position of the sensors.

Yes, to get at the sensor for repair or replacement the tire must be dismounted from the wheel.

Also, if one sensor battery goes bad, all the sensor batteries should be replaced. They are all the same age, so only replacing them as they fail will have you visiting the repair shop more times than you would like.

[boriscleto]

Getting closer to a working RE Super. My other body is cosmetically fine, but the film advance doesn't fully snap back. The lens on that body has needs more work than this lens, which just has sluggish aperture.





There is a guy in Michigan who worked for Beseler and has parts, so I think the other body and this lens will be going to him soon.