Projects

Two projects completed and three new ones.

The bulk of the scrap timber has now been used.  I’ve probably made my usual error and built an oversized cradle.

 

I shall have to remember to warn the little girl’s parents not to allow her to place her new baby brother in the cradle

The second completed project was the alternative 12V power supply for the laptop.   It came with a 240V power brick which converted the electricity to 5V DC with a USB-C plug.  I thought to myself “Great…. when I go away I won’t need the 240V power brick as I’ll be able to recharge the laptop using a 12V USB cigarette adapter and a USB cable with a USB-C plug on one end!” 

How wrong I was   A standard USB cigarette adapter provides insufficient power.  Moreover, the laptop has a special rapid charging functionality using the USB-C port.  I discovered all of this after my initial failure along with some subsequent research.  A standard cigarette 12V to USB 5V adapter only produces 2.1A, which means the power output is just over 10Watts.  The laptop requires considerably more power.  Moreover with a special rapid charge USB-C cable the laptop will accept up to 20V.  After more searching I was able to purchase the necessary 12V cigarette USB charger and high capacity cable.

 

You might be able to read the rated output on the shaft of the charger (118W).  It does recharge the laptop, although I noted the charger also gets very warm during the process.  However I now have a way of recharging the laptop from the 12V battery in either camper trailer or 4WD.

Three new projects have been identified.

I’m going to replace the 8 speed derailleur on the e-bike with a Shimano 11 speed internally geared hub.

The price of the hub in Australia was extortion and as a consequence I end up buying it from a retailer in Germany.  They wouldn’t ship to Australia so it went to our son in Manchester who forwarded it on. 

I have decided I would like to attempt to walk the “Ring of Fire” track in New Zealand.  It’s located on the volcanic plateau in the middle of the north island.  The 78km walk circumnavigates Mount Ruapehu. 

There is an annual “Ring of Fire” event where the runners attempt to complete the track as quickly as possible.  I believe the record in 8½ hours.  Whilst I am silly enough to attempt the walk, I not that silly to consider completing it in a day.  I plan on taking 5 days spending each night in a National Park Hut.  It will be interesting to see whether the body can cope with the physical demand.

My last project is more of an intellectual challenge.  I’m attempting to configure Docker on a Raspberry Pi.  If successful; I’ll then configure a Docker Stack.  No doubt young people can do this in their sleep, however it’s proving to be quite a challenge for me.

Robin the Load functionality on the MPPT controller is configurable.  I can program it so the Load terminals are only powered when there is sun on the solar panel.