You Can Have the Power You Need Most Anywhere

Recently I’ve noticed several advertisements for inexpensive DC to AC Inverters.  An inverter takes power from some direct current source, usually a battery, and converts it to alternating current.  Most connect to your car battery using the dashboard “Power Port” (nee, cigarette lighter) and output 110 volt, 60 cycle, AC power.  This is what we call house current, as most all lighting and small appliances used around the house are designed to work with this current.

Inverters are not new.  They have been available for many years. Earlier models have been bulky, expensive and somewhat inefficient.  The new solid state inverters are small, very efficient and very reasonably priced.  Having one at home or in your car can come in very handy.

When traveling you can power a laptop or small TV for the back seat passengers.  Many of the new small inverters also have one or more USB ports that can be used to operate or charge a tablet or smartphone.  Many new cars have USB ports factory installed, but for those of us with older cars, this is a way to add a very handy feature.

At home, combining a small inverter with a few LED lamps can provide illumination when a storm leaves you in the dark.  Because LED lamps draw so little current, a single inverter can power several lights for hours without draining your car battery.  On camping trips a few small extension cords and a few LED lamps connected to an inverter can provide all the illumination you need even in the middle of the forest. 

You can get an inverter on line and at many big box stores and auto centers.  I got mine at Costco and paid about $20 for a 150 watt model.   You can purchase inverters with much higher capacity.  Models rated at 1500 watts or more can supply enough electricity to power electric tools when on a job site without electric service.  A word of caution: the higher the wattage output the more power it requires from the battery and, as such, the battery will drain more rapidly.

Determining what unit to buy is done with simple arithmetic.  Total up the wattage required for all the devices that will be plugged in at the same time.  Light bulbs, computer power supplies and small appliances will have the wattage required printed on a label.  For devices that have an electric motor, the starting wattage, which is greater than the operating wattage, is the number to use.

Having one of these small inverters can be a real convenience the next time the power goes out.

   

Lifesaving Stuff for Cyclists

Well, it looks like the long cold winter weather is finally coming to an end and with the warmer temperatures for many will come a return to cycling.  There is nothing like being out on a smooth country road on a sunny day on a bike.  Unfortunately, all journeys on two wheels don’t always end on a positive note.  No new digital device can assure that you won’t get into an accident but there are some that can help prevent one and a very special device that can help you if you should get in trouble.

For any cyclist, an investment in a good set of lights for the front and back of the bicycle is a must.  Even if you never ride at night, good lights can save your life.  I use my lights on the sunniest of days.  One key to safe riding is being seen by motorists.  Because a bike is small and many drivers are not used to seeing one on the road, they often look right through you.  A strobing white LED headlight can be seen even on the brightest day.  The same holds true for a bright red LED tail light.  A car approaching from the rear can’t miss the red blinking light. 

The good news is that LED technology has made very bright lights affordable and, since they consume very little power, they are easy to maintain.  I have a tail lamp that can stay bright for more than one month of frequent riding on the power of two AAA batteries.

You can get light kits starting at about $25 at most big box stores and, of course, on line and at local bike shops.

Another somewhat pricey device is aimed at serious riders who frequently ride alone, either on trails or the open road.  The ICEdot Crash Sensor is a small Bluetooth connected device that is affixed to your helmet.  It is very light and about the size of a half dollar coin.  The device detects motion changes and changes in forces and impacts.  In other words, if the helmet hits the ground it is activated.  

The device connects to an app on your smartphone and once triggered begins an audible countdown.  If you do not stop the countdown your phone will connect with a predetermined person giving them the coordinates of your location.  So if you are indeed incapacitated, the ICEdot calls for help.  It is priced at about $125.   More information is available on the web at www.icedot.org.

I can’t write an article about biking without encouraging all to always ride with a helmet.  In biking circles we have a saying.  There are two types of riders: the first group always wear helmets, the other group are organ donors.  

Facebook Drones Hardly New Idea

I had to chuckle when I read about Facebook’s new venture.  Last week Facebook announced that it had successfully conducted the first test flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle. The drone, a small-scale model, was used to test the characteristics of a larger vehicle.  The proposed solar-powered drones with a wingspan of a commercial 737 aircraft, would fly for months or even years at about 80,000 ft.  If proven viable, the technology would provide affordable and reliable internet access to millions now unserved, especially in third world countries.  Google, Boeing and others have been looking at similar uses of high altitude drones.

The big benefit of such a system is that radio signals from a single aircraft flying so high can cover a tremendous area back on earth.  Using cellular technology to cover that same area would require hundreds or even thousands of cell towers, each requiring electric power and some hard-wired or radio connection back to the internet backbone. 

I had to laugh at the reports claiming this idea was so innovative because the concept and a working system, using basically the same components, was in operation right here in the tristate beginning in the 1960s. 

Dubbed MPATI (Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction) the initiative provided broadcasts of educational TV programs to schools unserved by a terrestrial station.  To accomplish this, the programs were broadcast from two DC6 aircrafts flying in a figure eight pattern about 25,000 ft. above Muncie, Indiana.  The planes, based at Purdue University, each had equipment on board capable of transmitting to an area of about 500 miles in diameter.  The local PBS station, CET, was a major supplier of programming for MPATI which operated from 1961 thru 1968.

Earlier experiments of this system were conducted by CBS.  The commercial network was investigating a way to provide pay TV and movies to viewers in the New York area.  Think of it as an HBO before satellites and modern cable.

Obviously the technology has improved exponentially over the 1960’s experiments conducted right here in our backyard.  But it does point out that innovation and creativity did not begin with the digital age.

Fake News

Perhaps it is the aging process but I find myself becoming more aware of little white (or perhaps grey) lies creeping into TV commercials.  My main gripe relates to commercials masking as news.  I’m not talking about those late night 30 minute infomercials where a studio audience is videotaped as they are mesmerized by a digital juice maker or turbo-charged vacuum cleaner that can suck the air out of the Goodyear Blimp.  Those TV shows are blatant and anyone thinking they are watching a real objective news show may have had that vacuum connected to their brain.

The ones that get my attention and ire are the commercials running adjacent to local news shows.  I am sure you have seen them.  One is set up as a news interview with a “host” and “guest” seated in chairs. They are in a “serious” discussion about the increased number of home break-ins and how people are “really worried.”  The “guest” thanks the “host” for inviting him and goes on to make a one-time offer to install a security system.  He goes on to discuss how he wants everyone to feel safe.

Another spot running often is for a new ointment that will make you look younger instantaneously.  The spot begins with a young lady standing on a news set.  She begins with the line, “Welcome back…” as to infer that we are now back to the news reports.

Then there is the guy who wants you to be among the first 50 callers in the next 30 minutes.  There is a little count-down clock on the screen and the spots run three or four times within the news show.  The guy even remarks that he is getting lots of calls.  How someone who is on videotape knows that calls are coming in is truly remarkable.

I remember when I was on TV doing pitches for public TV and the phones were not ringing.  Some of the crew suggested that we insert taped phone rings in order to add excitement.  We never did since we were live and we wanted to tell the truth.  The same held true during the annual auction.  If the phones did not ring, so be it.

It is bad enough that the local and national news shows often plug some upcoming entertainment special that will be on the station later that evening.  The fake roof fixers, walk-in tub installers and alarm salesmen posing as news reporters are just wrong. Just how wrong is it?  Here is what the FCC Rules require.

§ 73.1208Broadcast of taped, filmed, or recorded material.(a) Any taped, filmed or recorded program material in which time is of special significance, or by which an affirmative attempt is made to create the impression that it is occurring simultaneously with the broadcast, shall be announced at the beginning as taped, filmed or recorded. The language of the announcement shall be clear and in terms commonly understood by the public. For television stations, the announcement may be made visually or aurally.

New and Old Come Together

In a world of iPads and iPhones, Pandora and Spotify, YouTube and Netflix, you might think that radio is an anachronism.  But the 100-year-old technology is still enjoyed by millions.  Just this last week in Cincinnati, the announcement that iconic radio host Jim Scott would retire sparked comments from people young and old who report they still listen each morning.  And, until recently, the automobile and radio were joined at the hip, or I guess I should say, the axle.  Drive time is still often the most valuable time a radio station has to sell.

Most people listen to radio the old fashion way—using a standard radio tuner in their car or home.  But since most radio stations also distribute their broadcasts on the internet, you can listen using your computer, tablet or smart phone.  In some ways using the internet is preferable if your favorite station is a long distance away.  Anyone who drives long distances appreciates the frustration of listening to your favorite program on the radio only to have it fade away as you drive further from the station.  Listening online enables you to listen no matter where you are, provided you have a decent connection to the internet.

This feature is especially appreciated by people who may have moved to a new city and want to stay in touch with what’s happening back home.  Or perhaps you have a favorite radio personality or program that is only available on one station and it is thousands of miles away.

Many of us like the convenience of a radio.  You turn it on and tune in the station you like.  It is really simple.  Listening on a computer requires booting up the computer, launching the software and of course making sure you are connected to the internet.  The speakers in a laptop are not all that good.  It is a little easier with a smartphone or tablet.  But even the speakers on those devices are at best adequate.

There are several models of internet radios that look and feel like your mom’s old Philco, but connect to the internet via Wi-Fi and allow you to “tune” in most any radio station in the world.  They are not really radios, of course, but rather special purpose computers that make finding and listening to radio stations distributed on the internet effort free.  Once set up, they stay connected to your home Wi-Fi and with the touch of one button allow you to begin listening to your favorite station no matter if it is located down the street or on the other side of the world.  These devices also connect to Pandora, Spotify and a number of other internet-delivered music services.

Prices begin at about $100 and go up to about $250 depending on the features like remote control, high quality sound reproduction and even recording capability.  You can find internet radios at the big box stores and of course online at Amazon.com.  The really pricey models are sold by Chrutchfield.com, a high end online audio dealer. 

It is about time CIA!

The Central Intelligence Agency announced last week that it is creating a new top-level directorate called the Directorate of Digital Innovation.  This is one of the most sweeping changes to the agency since it was established in 1947.  According to reports, the directorate will combine several existing units, including the Information Operations Center, which evaluates threats to U.S. computer systems and also engages in its own cyberespionage.  The new structure also incorporates the Open Source Center, which, among other things, monitors social media and foreign websites.

When I first read the announcement I was amazed that it has taken the CIA so long to identify cyber war as a critical threat to the United States. Or as Bart Simpson might interject, “DUH.”  Yes, cyber-security indeed deserves “top-level” attention.

Cyber-attacks might well be much more devastating than more traditional guns-and-missile attacks that we have been spending billions of dollars to defend against.  With most every aspect of modern life controlled by some digital device linked to other digital devices, any interruption in that communication could be devastating.  Our ability to carry out financial transactions or our ability to flush our toilets could be prevented by a strategically placed line of malicious code in some computer or network.

Many of us have experienced what happens at work when “the server goes down” or when the internet connection is off line.  At most offices, productivity drops to almost zero.  We are paralysed. I know of several instances when employees were sent home.

If some foreign miscreants were able to successfully hack our key networks and interrupt the flow of information on the internet, we would be cast into chaos.  Planes wouldn’t fly, electricity wouldn’t flow and commerce would cease—all without one bullet fired or one bomb dropped.

I am sure that the CIA and other government agencies are well aware of the high stakes of preventing such an attack, but I don’t think that most Americans place enough importance on this issue.  For many, an interruption in internet connectivity means an inconvenience of having to wait to see the new episode of “House of Cards.”  Hmmm, a “house of cards”: how appropriate!

Read the Instructions…You Will Be Amazed

If you are like many folks, you love to take home a brand new electronic device.  Be it a new MP3 player, game console or a slick new flat screen TV, many can’t wait to get it unpacked and plugged in.  Taking the time to read any sort of instruction manual is seen as nothing more than a delay in enjoying that new toy.  So for many, those instructions find their way to the bottom of some junk drawer or left in the packing box.  As a result, many cool hidden features go unknown and unused.

A great example can be found in your living or family room.  That 55” LED flat screen TV most likely has several features you never use and some of them are really cool.  Sure you can watch your favorite TV program on cable, satellite or over air.  You can also connect it to a DVD player.   However, a look at that instruction manual may surface more options.

Many new flat screen TVs have several different inputs.  Most are for standard connections to the cable box or DVD player.  If you look closely you may find that your TV has a USB port.  That port allows you to use the TV as a very large picture frame for all the pictures locked up in your computer, iPhone or iPad.   There are several ways you can display pictures that can enhance your next party.

Perhaps you are having a birthday party.  You can gather up photos of the person being celebrated and store them on a USB thumb drive.   Once you plug that drive into your TV set you should be able to display those photos on the large screen.  Most new TVs already have software installed that allows you to create and display a “slide show.”  Some TVs also allow you to insert special transitions between each picture and to play music.  This can add a really nice touch to a party or gathering. 

If you have a laptop computer you can connect it to that TV as well.  If it is an older laptop you may need to use the VGA port on the TV.  Many TVs have them as a standard input.  The newer laptops and TVs use a HDMI cable to connect.    Once connected, you have a very large screen that makes sharing anything you have on small laptop screen a breeze.

You will be amazed at some of the features you will find on even the simplest of new electronic gizmos.  All you need to unlock them is the patience to read the instructions.  The challenge now is remembering where you put them when you opened the box.