Movies from Digital Photos with Photo Story 3

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Photo Story 3 is a free program that will make movies from your digital photos. You can download Photo Story from Microsoft’s website. That’s right, I said Free. And, I also said Microsoft. Those are two words that normally don’t go together!

Take advantage of it. This is a great program. It takes your digital still photos and turns them into a movie, complete with movement, music, and narration. Here’s a sample using photos we took at the Grand Canyon. Notice how the images pan left and right or zoom in and out, it feels like you’re watching a video when it’s actually still photos. You can use music clips from your library, or you can let Photo Story 3 compose the music for you. Notice how the music even ends right on time!

This links to a .wmv file, it may take a minute to download. PCs will play it using Windows Media Player. If you’re using a Mac, you may need to download a Media Player.

Another example is located on our website - this one is of one of our favorite RV parks and it includes some narration. It was uploaded to Google Video and should play on any computer.

We mostly think of Photo Story 3 for taking our travel photos and making a nice show. Adding some other graphics, and plenty of narration, you can create any kind of presentation. Here is an introduction to Geeks on Tour created completely in Photo Story 3. This one has been converted to Flash and should be viewable by any computer if you have the Flash player installed.

Of all the seminars we teach, Photo Story 3 is the easiest - you’ll find the class handout at the bottom of the Geeks on Tour Articles page. Just gather your photos together, and follow the wizard in the program. You’ll LOVE it.

Load Up the Back, What Happens Up Front?

What does the load in the back of your rig or truck do to the way that the front wheels sit on the ground?

That is the question that Curt asked; “It would be neat to know the difference between pickup front ends when pulling that 16,000 lbs. down the road.”

Wow does that open Pandora’s Box. There is no one answer as it effects the front wheels in different ways and not just depending on the style of front suspension, IFS or beam axle. One thing that effects it more is the type of load and where it is placed on the chassis.

The first thing that we need to know is that the alignment angle most effected by load or rear chassis height or deflection is caster. Caster is forward or backward tilt of an imaginary line drawn down through the center of the king pin or ball joints. The best indication of caster is the swivel wheels on a super market shopping cart. When you push the cart along the wheels trail behind the pivot between the wheels and the cart. This means that the center line down from the pivot point leads the wheel and it trails so it is positive caster.

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Go RVing Kicks Off ‘08 With Super Week

It’s not only a big week for football fans across the nation, it’s also shaping up to be a super week for Go RVing and the RV industry.

Go RVing’s $16 million 2008 media plan will kick off this Sunday (Feb. 3) with the industry group’s first-ever Super Bowl buy. The 30-second version of the popular “Imaginary Friends” commercial will air just prior to kickoff during the 5:30 to 6 p.m. final half-hour of the FOX Super Bowl XLII Pregame Show.

Ratings for Super Bowl XLII are projected to be the highest ever, surpassing last year’s 94 million viewers, with the resurgent New York Giants seeking to thwart the New England Patriot’s’ quest for perfection.

“The Super Bowl is one of television’s most powerful viewing events,” said RVIA Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Gary LaBella in a news release. “We believe this is the perfect venue to launch this year’s campaign and to anchor a media plan designed to generate 2 billion consumer impressions.”

Go RVing’s Super Bowl advertising is part of a FOX “power buy” that also includes advertising during the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17. Advertising on these two events allows Go RVing to enter approximately 127 million homes and boost awareness in the midst of the busy retail show season.

For the third consecutive year, Go RVing will also be a featured advertiser in the Super Bowl program.

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It Helps to Be Handy

Terry and I have been fulltiming for over 8 years. We have always been able to fix most things, but know when not to try. Along the way we have learned to fix many things on RVs, our current fiver included. We just had an opportunity to repair the water heater.

Last winter while hosting at McGrath SB in Oxnard, CA, the gas portion of the water heater failed. After trouble shooting, Terry came to the conclusion that the board had failed. We ordered a new one and after several days it arrived and he got it changed out. Whew…now we would have hot water, right?….wrong. OOPS…$130.00 and it did not fix the problem. To make a long story short, it turned out to be the orifice. Something was plugging it, but after a bit of cleaning, it worked just fine.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. We were making an emergency run from E. Texas to So Cal and would probably boondock some along the way. For those not familiar with the term, boondocking, or drycamping, is camping without any hookups. Propane factors into the equation in a big way. We run the fridge, stove/oven, furnace and water heater on propane when not on hookups. Our first night out we were at a campground that offered only 30 amps, so we switched the water heater to gas. I discovered, about halfway through my shower that the water heater was not working! Bummer! So we switched to electric and dealt with curbing the ‘trons use. Of course that meant that we would not be able to boondock, but not a problem.

Once we got to Apple Valley, Terry tore it apart again. He diagnosed the problem to be the board as the problem and changed it out with the new one . OOPs….not the board…. He then found the solenoid that controls the gas valve was not opening. He ordered a new one and several days later installed it. Nope, that did not solve the problem, either. He removed the new board and tested it…it was fried, as was the old one. Hummmmmm….it seems the old solenoid fried both boards. OK…he ordered another board. In the meantime, today he started playing with the two fried boards…and repaired them both! We now have a fully functioning water heater, and spare old board and a new one coming! We will be prepared if the board goes out again, for sure! Lesson learned? Check everything that could be bad before installing a new board…..

Once again we have realized how important is is to be handy when fulltiming. So many times there is no one else to help and we are on our own. There are not too many things that we will not tackle. All those tools Terry brought along have sure come in handy!!!!!

Weather Stations: Form and Function for RV’s

I have to admit that I have never owned a weather station, but after playing with one that we received as a gift this year, we got hooked on its uncanny ability to predict the alternating rainy and sunny days of January, that we have had here in Northern California. There are several major players in the weather station business; Oregon Scientific and La Crosse Technology. Their weather stations have a similar core feature-set, which includes indoor temperature, remote temperature from up to three different locations (most come with one remote sensor, additional sensors must be purchased separately), weather prediction for the next 12 to 24 hours (based on barometric pressure), and a clock that synchronizes itself to the NIST atomic clock in Fort Collins, Colorado. Not close to Fort Collins? Don’t worry. Provided you are somewhere on the continent between the equator and the Arctic Circle, you can probably receive the NIST signal.

As happy as we are with the Oregon Scientific weather station in our home, when we went looking for a unit to put in the RV, we ended-up with the model WS-9075U from La Crosse Technology. This unit had several features that separated it from others, not the least of which was that it was a good match to our RV’s interior décor! We also liked the front-mounted function keys, which make it much easier to switch the outdoor temperature display between sensors (more on this later) and the ocean tide display, since we do a lot of camping at the beach. Another important feature for us, and one that is too often overlooked when purchasing camping products was that both the main control panel and the remote temperature sensors use the same AA-size batteries. I try to only use electronics in the RV that can be powered by AA-size batteries, because it simplifies my inventory and they can be found almost anywhere.

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LP Appliances- flame safety devices

My main troubleshooting philosophy has always been that in order to figure out what is wrong with an appliance or system, you need to understand how it works. Over the next few months, I’ll try to cover

LP Appliances in RVs all- with the exception of the stove top burners- have some sort of flame detection and safety circuit, which senses whether a flame is burning, and shuts off the flow of gas if it isn’t. Through the years, there have been 4 major types of systems- all of which are still in use.

The major types are:

• Mechanical
• Thermo-electric
• Thermo-electric hybrid
• Pure electronic (a.k.a. DSI)

Today I will concentrate on the thermo-electric type, which , which uses a pilot flame and a thermocouple…. Read more

Handling Holding Tank Odors

RV dump stations everywhere are closing down operation due to several reasons. Some, but not all of these reasons are the costs and headaches involved to keep them operating and properly maintained, the wrong types of chemicals used by RVers and because of neglect and poor housekeeping by people who use these dump stations. RV holding tanks are used to hold, or store waste water until a sewer system is available to empty the tanks. Because little water is used, in comparison to a domestic waste water system, RV holding tank wastewater is far more concentrated. Adding to the problem are the chemicals required to assist in breaking down the waste and controlling odors. This requires more treatment than a regular house type waste system and it complicates disposal of RV holding tank waste. In many cases it is much easier to just close the dump station.

The problem that the average RVer is confronted with is how to control holding tank odors. Formaldehyde based chemicals do a better job of controlling odors. The problem with this is the organic strength from the mixture in an RV holding tank can be fifteen to twenty times stronger than a typical wastewater system. This leads to more complications for dump station owners. This problem is compounded when the RVer gets some odors from the holding tank and dumps even more chemicals in the holding tank in an attempt to control the odors. Environmentally friendly enzyme based chemicals use natural organic chemicals. They have a lower organic strength, which is better for the dump station but they don’t control odors as well as formaldehyde compounds.

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Let your kids help make the plans

One tip I have for those of us with older kids is to let them get more involved.  Sometimes kids would rather stay home and hang out with their friends than go on another family camping trip.  If you haven’t run into that issue yet, chances are you will.  Our sweet children who would follow us anywhere turn into surly, pouty kids who we can’t figure out.  Don’t give up though, there are still good trips to be had, they just require a little more work.

 Give your child a choice of 3 destinations.  (I’m going to go ahead and say “her” since my oldest is a girl, but this could just as easily work for a “him”). If possible give her brochures or websites so she can see everything the campground has to offer.  Make sure you include nearby attractions.  You may also want to make sure you only include places that you are willing to go.  The world’s largest shopping mall may not be your idea of a relaxing weekend !

After she has picked the destination, let her get involved with the details of the trip.  Meal planning, mapping out a route, picking out a site if possible.  These are things that are useful for all future campers to learn anyway.

 While in route, show her how to follow a map.  If it is a longer trip, print out a map for her and let her use a highlighter to mark the route as you go.  She may even find points of interest along the way that you didn’t know about.  If you use a GPS, show her how to use it.  She can find restaurants and gas stations for you along the way.

 If all else fails and she still isn’t into it, let her bring a friend along.  It’s amazing how different our kids can be when with their friends.  Bring a tent to pitch next to the RV so they can have a space all their own.  Hang in there, these years go quickly and before you know it she will be asking you when you can go camping again. 

Anxiously awaiting spring,

Shannone

 P.S. Don’t forget the marshmallows.  It’s impossible to pout with a S’more in your mouth !

What is electric current???

(alternating current)

ELECTRICAL CURRENT

As we explained in our last post, voltage in an electrical system is analogous to pressure in a water system. In a similar manner, current in an electrical system is flow in a water system. We used the analogy of a water hose and demonstrated how you can test for pressure by placing your finger over the end of a dripping hose. If you leave your finger off of the end, and the water drips out, that dripping is the flow in the system. Similarly, electrical “current” flows.

As an aside, current flow is made up of electrons, moving past a particular point. Just as we classify water flow in gallons per minute, we classify current flow in terms of the amount of electrons which flow past a point. Specifically, one coulomb of electrons in one second is equal to one ampere, where a coulomb is a really big bunch of electrons, probably more than we want to count. This leads to a problem of how to measure amps since we really don’t want to count all those tiny electrons. In order to measure amps we will need some kind of amp meter. There are many types, but primarily two main types. First is a multimeter which has the capability of measuring amps, and the second most common type is a “clamp on” type, with spring loaded jaws which clamp around a wire which is carrying the current we need to measure.

Both of these common amp meters are readily available at hardware stores such as Home Depot, or Sears. A multimeter can measure amps, but to do so you must break the circuit by cutting the wire and inserting the meter into the circuit. The main advantage of the clamp type meter is that you don’t need to break the circuit. You simply clamp the meter around the wire and set the meter scale to read the current flowing in the circuit.

Summary: current in an electrical system is the flow of electricity through a wire. We can measure the amount of current flow with several different kinds of meters.

(direct current)

Our next “lesson” will be about electrical “POWER”.

Your Photos: Quality for what Purpose? The Upshot

Here’s what I woke up to today. This only happens a once or twice a year in beautiful Vancouver, BC.:

Winter’s Day

I’m excited and rush to capture it on my trusty digital camera. Now, what am I going to do with this snapshot? Hmmm, if it’s like 99% of my photos, it will never be printed. But when I’m on the road, I do intend to upload ALL my decent photos - sometimes hundreds in one go - to my current Trip Journal.

In parts 1 and 2 of this article, I discussed how, in my opinion, amateur photographers often take much higher quality photos than they’ll ever need.

So, What’s the Upshot?

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