There’s a Hole in the Wall

Now that the outback trip is over it’s time to do something about that door I made.

It’s the first time I’ve removed an exterior glass sliding door and adjacent panel.  It wouldn’t come out after removing the visible screws which meant I had to cut the aluminium baseplate with the angle grinder before proceeding to use brute strength (No! I didn’t use Jan) to rip it out somehow managing to avoid breaking any of the glass panels in the process.  It’s stacked ready for a trip to the tip.

The major reason why I’ve been delaying tackling this project is the weather.  If you are going to remove an exterior wall then it would be better to complete the task after winter and before it gets too hot.

With the door and panel removed I could confirm what Ken had told me regarding the structure.   Unsurprisingly the wall was double brick with a cavity in between.  There was also a rebate in the floor.   My next step was to hand mix some concrete and fill in the rebate.  When the project is complete this concrete will be concealed.  However I need it in order to anchor the bottom plate of my timber frame.

 

The metal anchors for the aluminium frame that had been mortared into the brickwork needed to be cut out.   I used the angle grinder to achieve that.

The wall and door frame need to be anchored to the brickwork and I did this by cutting and gluing some treated timber into the rebate on both sides..

Ken had already informed me I’d probably find the soffit lining would only be sitting on top of the aluminium frame.  Again he was right and the lining sagged once the aluminium frame was removed.

Obviously the soffit lining needs to be secured and I achieved that by getting into the roof cavity where I installed a top plate securing it to the rafters with jack studs.

The concrete was allowed to cure for two days and I then installed the timber framing.

 

I took a great deal of care ensuring the framing was plumbed true as this would make the installation of the door frame easier.

Then the door frame I’d made was fitted.

With the framing completed I cut and glued the formica panel Jan had selected on the inside of the framing.  It was held in place with clamps, wedges and a prop before being left for 24 hours to allow the glue to go off.

Meanwhile I’ve decided to do something about the washing machine’s frequent attempts to runaway from home or disco around the laundry.

Four holes in the tiles behind the washing machine have been drilled and plugged.  I’m going to bolt the storage cabinet under the washing machine to the rear wall and the adjacent bench.

The following morning I cut and fitted the fibrocement sheet to the exterior of the framing before installing the timber trim.  The door was then installed followed by the fitting of the handle and the door stops

The washing machine was then reinstalled.

The outstanding work consists of:

• Sanding and painting
• Fitting a door stop
• Making a front step

I’m so excited about the thought of painting

.

SatNav Issues

In the post of the second day of the trip I mentioned the Samsung Tablet SatNav had a coronary leaving me with the ‘in-car’ navigation system.  This proved to be rather unsatisfactory as it has two major issues.  The first is the map is out of date.  I can live with this!  The second is the lack of detail.  If you zoom right in you can see the roads but on zooming out all the detail rapidly disappears.  The problem with this was I roughly knew where I wanted to go which meant I needed to zoom out.  That meant I couldn’t see places and roads. 

So what went wrong with the Samsung?  Well I think I’ve worked it out and may have resolved the problem.  When Jan told me the tablet had failed and wouldn’t recharge I suspect a faulty usb port on the tablet.  You may remember I used duct tape to hold the cable in the usb port.

July 2021 repair

After returning from the trip I plugged the tablet into the laptop to see if I could gain access.  The tablet would only do the boot cycle quickly showing the Samsung logo and the turning off.  Obviously it had a problem and I went off to clean all the fishing gear.

Returning in the evening I discovered the tablet would start.  The OSMAND navigation app also started.  Then I noticed a line of text at the bottom of the screen stating “charging slowly” and the tablet was also only 20% charged.  Maybe the usb port was faulty?

After removing all the duct tape I inspected and cleaned the usb port.  Not that much in the way of dirt appeared.  On plugging it back into the laptop I could again make it work and the navigation app would run.  However I still had the “charging slowly” message.

I then decided to charge the tablet from a 240V charger and after rummaging around in the boxes of “stuff that I might need one day” I found an old 240V 5W usb Apple charger.  That didn’t help and I still had the message.  More rummaging around and I found a 15W Apple charger.  No.. that didn’t solve the slow charging.  Finally I found a Samsung usb charger with UK pins.  Obviously an original.  Well that solved the slow charging.  Only the Samsung 240V charger worked.  Why?  After some internet searching I discovered Samsung has deliberately configured its tablets (and probably phones) to only slowly charge when connected to a device like a laptop.  This is to protect the laptop.  Samsung will allow the tablet to rapid charge if two of the usb pins are shorted (ie, connected together).  When the pins are shorted it prevents data from being transferred.  Obviously data can’t be transferred when the tablet is connected to a 240V charger which means the pins are shorted inside the charger.

Samsung UK 240V Charger

Now I know why the tablet was slowly charging when connected to the laptop. 

Then I realised what had actually happened was the tablet had slowly discharged on the first day of the trip despite being continuously plugged into the usb port on the dash.  The usb port on the dash had too lower power rating to keep up with the energy demand of the tablet and the navigation app.  By the second morning the battery was quickly fully discharged and the tablet was turning off only for a small amount of charge from the vehicle to reboot it.  Hence the coronary.

More research revealed the usb ports in vehicles frequently have a very low app rating.  Often as low as 500mA.  So despite being plugged into the vehicle the tablet battery was being drained faster than it could be recharged.

Now I know what the problem is I can source a solution.  I need a 12V usb charger that can produce sufficient power.  Back it the boxes of stuff you might need one day and I found one of these.

 

A dual usb port 12V cigarette socket charger rated at 2.1 Amps.  Unfortunately even this doesn’t produce sufficient power.  I’ve realised that whilst it is rated at 2.1A that is shared by both usb outlets.  A single outlet only produced 1.05A which isn’t enough.  I’ve found a 12V cigarette socket usb charger on eBay rated at 2A but the cost is over $30.  I have another solution.

I will fit a 12V to 5V usb converter to the vehicle dash.

This has a rated output of 5V 3A and was under $6 from eBay.  If my analysis is correct this will have sufficient power to charger the tablet whilst it is being used for navigation.  I’ll also no have a repeat of the outback navigation problem.

This has probably been a long and boring port.  but I’m rather pleased that I may have solved the problem of a tablet not recharging.  Ironically it appears there may never have been a problem with Jan’s Samsung Tablet.  She just had it plugged into a low power usb port.

 

Southern Safari – Day Eight

This was supposed to be another short day of driving with the intention of reaching Betty’s Beach located approximately 50km east of Albany.

What should have been a relatively simple trip turned into something different when the Isuzu GPS decided I should go off-road.  I didn’t realise I was being led astray until the GPS told me in 300 metres take a left turn.  That proved to be an overgrown track with a farm gate.  <grrrr>

I backtracked 20km and configured a new route with intermediate waypoints in an effort to force the GPS to take a sensible route.  I thought everything was going well until the gps started directing me around a 200 metre triangle of road.  If I’d kept following the voice instructions I would have rear ended myself

Backtrack 12km and make the gps work in small steps.  Eventually I reached the camping ground at Betty’s Beach finding a vacant site beside the long drop toilet block.  Ideal location for an old man!

 

My en-suite

Time for a late lunch of pasta cooked by Jan before I left on the trip.  Then it was down to the rocks for a spot of evening fishing.

My fishing spot on the far side of the bay.

Not a single bite.  It was going on dusk when I made it back to the trailer to cook dinner.  Tinned potatoes and mixed veg with the last of the pasta.

I was up before dawn and back on the rocks fishing.  Again no bites!  Back at the trailer I was cooking bacon and eggs for breakfast when my camping neighbour asked how the fishing had gone.  “Zero luck” was my reply.  He then informed me he had been here four days and had only caught two herring.  He attributed the poor fishing to the recent “fresh”.  That is; the recent rain which has run into the ocean reducing the salinity and discouraging the fish.

I spent a couple of hours wandering around Betty’s Beach considering what I might do.

Eventually I decided it was pointless fishing for no fish and decided to drive the 450km back home arriving in the late afternoon.  Tomorrow will obviously be taken up with unpacking the trailer and 4WD before some serious cleaning.

 

Southern Safari – Day Seven

Woke at dawn to low cloud cover and did the old man’s walk to empty the reservoir.  No one was around and I had a quiet breakfast of Weetabix in the kitchen on my own.

Other camper were just starting to rise as I closed down the clamshell tent and did my final packing before checking everything was secure on the trailer. 

Only a 20km drive to the junction to Bluff Knoll.  There was a lookout parking area beside the road and I stopped to take a few photos.  Bluff Knoll was concealed by cloud so all you see are more wildflowers beside the road.

  

One significant difference I’ve noticed between Oz and NZ is here you pay for access to National Parks.  You then usually have to make a second payment if you want to camp in the park.

The National Parks have become very sophisticated, they even have ‘pay and display’ machines that take cards.  The cost of my entry was $8 (senior’s concession).

 

A further seven kilometre drive to the Bluff Knoll car park where; to my surprise; I found three rather wet looking  men with head torches.  They had just completed a three hour return trip to the summit leaving at 4AM.  The top half of Bluff Knoll was covered in cloud which meant their plans of seeing a rising dawn had been a failure.

Ever optimistic, I thought the cloud might have lifted by the time I reached the summit.  Not wanting to be caught high up by the weather I had bought a day pack containing two fleeces, raincoat, camera and beanie.  I also had a 750ml stainless steel water in one of the open side pockets of the pack.

The summit path was well defined and sealed.  I thought “This will be a doodle!” and set off at a rapid pace to warm up the body.  After 350 metres the seal ended and I was on a smooth unpaved path with the occasional step.  It’s three kilometres to the summit and at 800 metres the steps started to get closer together and higher.  Thigh muscles that have received little serious exercise in the last decade started to burn.  The steps became even closer together and steeper.  At the halfway point a small voice inside me was questioning my decision (this is starting to hurt….. you don’t want to do this… there will be nothing to see at the top) I ignored the small voice determined to carry on. 

Several minutes later the toe of my right shoe caught on the top of a step and I tumbled forward.  The water bottle flew out of the pack side pocket and I was instantaneously concerned it would get damaged impacting with the rock.  fortunately its impact was cushioned when it hit the fingernail of my out stretched right index finger.  I said “Gosh that hurt” (or words to that effect).  Picking myself up I ignored the voice exclaming (I told you something would happen) and watched my fingernail turn black.

At two kilometres the voice was shrieking at me (idiot…. you’re old… what are you trying to prove…… turn back now, no one will be any the wiser….. remember you have to come down and that will be even more painful). 

Blocking out the shrieking I decided to press on for another 100 metres before reviewing my plan.  That’s when out of the cloud ahead of appeared a father and son slowly heading up.  Well I couldn’t turn round now!  One silent screaming step after another until I reached the summit where; as I anticipated; I could see nothing but cloud.

Father & son at the summit

Within a minute of me reaching the summit a ‘Fell Runner’ appeared behind me with a spring in his step and a smile on his face.  He wasn’t even sweating… Bast@rd!  He was dressed in a white T-Shirt and shorts with a small bum pack.

After a 10 minute recovery I stripped off the rain jacket and one of the fleeces before heading back down.  I’d only walked 200 metres when the Fell Runner came bounding past with a big smile on his face.

At the halfway point the car park started to appear

Hell, it looks a long way and I’m carefully doing one step at a time in an effort to ensure I don’t take a downhill tumble.

Zoom

The thighs are starting to feel like they are made of jelly.  At least I can still feel them and they work.  By now I’m meeting people coming up…. Do I look as exhausted as them?

Now I’m out of the cloud and it’s possible to see something

Reached the car park and looking back I can see the summit is still covered in cloud

It took three hours and twenty minutes to completed the trip.  Another off the bucket list!

Southern Safari – Day Six

Waking at dawn I quickly closed up the clamshell rooftop tent and made breakfast.  No dust or flies…… Sausages and eggs… Great!.  Then it was just a case of washing up and closing the camper trailer tailgate kitchen.  The old soldier in me means I pack things away as soon as I’ve finished with them.  A habit Jan will tell you I don’t have at home.

Having driven a significant distance yesterday I only had three hundred kilometres to todays destination.   Trio Bush Camp on the edge of the Stirling Ranges.  This would be the one location where I paid to camp.  An honesty box system at $16 pp senior’s concession.  The campsite had a kitchen, toilets and showers.

There was low cloud cover, however I considered flying the drone until I noticed the “No Drone” sign <dammit>.

A sign outside the kitchen proclaimed guided wildflower tours would depart in the afternoon at $25 per person.  I decided to go for a walk thinking the wildflowers can’t be too far away.   I was right!

Saved $25

The weather became very intermittent with a changing mix of sun, cloud and gusts of wind.  I decided to setup camp in a clump of trees in an effort to get some shelter from the wind.

The Stirling Ranges occasionally appeared when the cloud lifted.

I’ve decided to walk to the top of the highest hill, Bluff Knoll.  However that will be tomorrow morning as I don’t trust the weather. 

At 1099metres Bluff Knoll is the highest hill in the Stirling Ranges. 

Dinner was cooked in the camp kitchen.  A tin of Irish stew which appeared to be mostly potato and ‘gloop.   Poor choice on my part!

After dusk I spent several hours in conversation with a couple from Derby, UK who now live in Perth.  They were explaining they usually travel back to the UK each year to see their aging parents.  However COVID and ‘Fortress Australia’ has placed a dampener on that in the last couple of years.