Diary April, 2007

4-29-07; We're buttoning up the next episode of "This Old Shack" for Associated Content, which should be available of on demand viewing this coming week. Right now, I'm in the middle of an actual serious news story involving a major university here in the United States that will probably have a lot of legal ramifications and get a lot of attention - I have been planning on going to the shack to shoot the next exciting episode of "This Old Shack" on the weekend of May 4th, but it may have to be put on hold. Just kidding, I'm going hell or high water; they can call me on my cell phone.

4-23-07; Sunny and warm. Our second trip of the season to the cabin went well. The large bank, which we left at the cabin, was at float voltage when we got there - the Harbor Freight panels are still working well after a full year installed outside. The next project is to remove the panels, rewire the factory wiring (it's like they used cheapo speaker wire on the things) and moving the panels to a sunnier location. Now that we're moving into the second phase of the solar powered cabin, a new addition will be a product review page which should be up an running in a week or two.

4-17-07; Well, the battery got here as promised on Monday (4-16-07). With great fanfare and taping for the next episode of "This Old Shack" we got the thing, all 90 pounds of it, in the garage. Opening it on camera I noticed once I got it out of the box that there was a crack in the case. Well. Hooking up the meter, the battery was putting out 1 volt. Dead, broken no good. I contacted the vendor and they sent out a replacement on the spot. We probably won't get the testing in on the next show but it'll be in the third Associated Content episode.

4-15-07; I'm trying to get more traffic for "This Old Shack", that's why the banner at the top of the page is there. The new battery is scheduled for delivery on Monday! If you recall, I've always wondered about purchasing a very high quality (and expensive) pure deep cycle battery used. That is, one taken out of service by a telecom, railroad or other system. Well, I found a company that sells quality surplus items and ordered a Marathon AGM 90 amp hour 12 volt battery. The thing weighs 90 pounds, so it doesn't lend itself to portability. Once it gets here, episode 3 of "This Old Shack" will revolve around testing this thing out to see what's what.

4-12-07; The new battery has shipped. Just in time for production on the next exciting episode of "This Old Shack", so you'll see it as it arrives, is unboxed and tested for the very first time.