Hop Bines in the sun

Details
Category: Miscellaneous
Hits: 151
I am not a super-serious car nut, but definitely a car guy. Have rebuilt a few from the ground up, do most of my own work, and am interested in all forms of motorsports. I have never had the opportunity to drive an EV and for lack of a better way to put it, was never overly interested because of how hard they are pushing to replace everything with electric. Our electric rates are incredible here, so I questioned the economic feasability. Recently, however, one of our vehicles was off the road for a few days and we needed a rental. Initially tried for. cheap midsize car from Enterprise, only to find out that our 8AM pickup had to be pushed back to several hours after we needed to leave town. So I went to another company, and they had a Tesla 3, for about the same price as the other car. Initial impressions were that it was.. Different. I mean, it's a car, it drives like a car. but it certainly didn't perform like a $40 per day rental car. The acceleration was a welcome surprise, the instant torque, the acceleration from highway speeds, just all around it was a nice experience from a performance point of view. My next concern was charging. I don't do a LOT of long distance driving, but this weekend we were. I had heard stories about road trips on hold due to charge times. I can't speak about all cars, but in our experience this wasn't an issue. I know frequent supercharger use is probably not best for battery longevity, but in the end, a 15 minute charging stop was perfect to stretch, let the kids run around, and get a decent 80% charge that got us another nearly 200 mile drive - Just long enough that we were all ready to stretch our legs again. Now, on to the cost. We were paying around $12 per charge, which to be entirely honest was well below what a tank of gas for the same drive would have cost us. Even less when I was able to charge at home (Which would have been $3-4 per charge Overall, coming from never driving anything electric before it was a really nice experience. I love my gas engines, I can work on them all day - and in the end, the charge is fuel consumed somewhere. But totally enjoyable experience!

Details
Category: Miscellaneous
Hits: 257
First a little history - in the past we had Optimum cable modem service for years. Recently having been tired of the annual increases we dropped OOL and went to TMobile 5G home internet. Boot long after switching Altice was pulling fiber down the street Honestly the 5G from T-Mobile was decent. No issues streaming on multiple devices. Only became an issue as spring rolled around. For whatever reason the speeds dropped. Congestion? Environmental? Don’t know, but I also started getting on and off packet loss. A headache for streaming TV - but a dealbreaker for working remotely. By now Optimum showed fiber availability at my address, so I looked into it. $40 per month for 300Meg. Didn’t order just yet. They reached out several times - the first just one day later - to see if I needed help finishing my order. Finally about a week later offered me a $40 credit, basically a free month, so I signed up. Two days later the truck shows up to pull fiber to my house. (Install is still 4 days out) Might have been an hour or two, pulled from the nearest pole with access, ran to the house, installed a box over my the service entrance and coiled up the excess. — to be continued — Optimum Fiber install - Mattituck Cutchogue Southold area North Fork Long Island

Details
Category: Miscellaneous
Hits: 593

If you have ever had to replace one of the "enter-and-go" keys or whatever Dodge calls them you know it isn't a cheap process and involves a trip to the dealer or your local locksmith.  A few years back we bought a 2015 Durango and it came with one key. They promised a spare key, and we shouldnt have taken it before they made it - but we didn't, and our dealer is over an hour away.

A while back I found out that using AppCarDiag we would program the keys on my Jeep WK, but until recently struggled with the Durango.  I finally found a way, and this should work on pretty much any Dodge, Ram, Chrysler vehicle.  I have seen is used for Challengers, Chargers, RAM trucks and know it works for others,

The software I used is AlfaOBD  It is extremely powerful, having many of the same features as dealership software.  If you are unsure DO NOT change anything. You CAN damage your PCM, ECM, etc. and need to have your car towed.    I used it with a cheap ELM compatible bluetooth adapter without issue.

As for the replacement keys. A few words of warning.  First off, while it is posisble to use the inexpensive imported aftermarket FOBs, I had no luck. I got three that matched as far as supported models, FCC ID, yet would not start my truck.  The lock, unlock, liftgate and remote start buttons worked, but I always got the dreaded "Fob not detected"  It turns out a lot of these imported clone remotes don't have the right proximity chip in them.  The price was GREAT - I was getting them for under $20 - but I had 3 ut of 3 that were useless!  Do yourself a favor, spend a couple more dollars and get an OEM one.  I needed a 5 button - OEM part 68150061AC I got one from KeylessEntryRemoteFob.com - I highly recommend them.  I had a couple questions before I bought and they got back to me faster than any online seller ever has. Awesome company! (And no, they don't give me a commission)

Second warning about keys. Once they are programmed the VIN of the vehicle (or some other serial number, UID etc..) get written to the key and it can not be programmed to another vehicle.  Some companies have the ability to reset them (re virginize them, unlock them) but be careful with "used" keys. If they came from a wrecked vehicle and not reset by some means, you can NOT use them.  Again, spend a couple extra bucks and get a new one, or be sure the seller guarantees their programmability

Once you get your keys the process is smooth fast and painless. You do need a PIN for your vehicle.  Dealerships might give this to you, or there are other means of obtaining it.  I used the "Chrysler pin puller" app on my phone to retrieve mine.   I have to get some creenshots but essentially you connect your laptop (tablet etc..) to the ELM adapter, and connect to the RF Hub - his is the device that talks to the FOB.  in the Active Diagnostics there are a few different FOBIK options depending on model and key type.  Baseline are the keyless keys, Highline are the enter-and-go - and on those you will see two options depending on model.  It walks you through the est. Enter PIN. Start the procedure - it will tell you when to press the lock or unlock button on the remote to be programmed and after a minute or so, you will get the message that it completed.  Test your key out and you should be good!  Then research the other options in AlfaOBD and see what you can tweak!

 

Details
Category: Miscellaneous
Hits: 686

For years you have been able to purchase NY Lottery subscriptions online, and recently found out that yiu can buy most of not all tickets online up to a little while before the drawing.   There's a company called Jackpocket that is officially licensed to handle the transactions.  You do have to be a NY resident and in the state when you purchase. 

You pick your numbers or choose a quick pick and buy.  Quick and easy.  A little while later you get your confirmation and a scan of your ticket.  

 

If you win a small prize it goes right back into your Jackpocket account.  Larger prizes there is a different procedure.  

Check it out with this link and get a bonus deposited in you account to play! 

Oh in addition to the NY Lotto games you can buy Powerball and MegaMllions tickets too! 

Details
Category: Miscellaneous
Hits: 860

Here I am going to build a state by state summary with links to official pages where possible.  This is mainly geared towards handheld radio use while driving - I will attempt to include not jusy ham radio but CB and GMRS as well 

 

State Allowed when Driving Links to documentation 
Alabama  Gray area, see below  - not a "telecom device"  Alabama code on Findlaw
Alaska    
Arizona  Amateur and CB radio exempt  https://www.azdps.gov/handsfree
Arkansas    
California    
Colorado    
Connecticut    
Delaware    
Florida    
Georgia    
Hawaii    
Idaho    
Illinois    
Indiana    
Iowa    
Kansas    
Kentucky    
Louisiana    
Maine    
Maryland    
Massachusetts    
Mississippi    
Missouri    
Montana    
Nebraska    
Nevada    
New Hampshire             
New Jersey    
New Mexico    
New York Gray area - has been defended in court  NY VTL on ELaws
North Carolina    
North Dakota    
Ohio    
Oklahoma    
Oregon    
Pennsylvania    
Rhode Island    
South Carolina    
South Dakota    
Tennessee    
Texas    
Utah    
Vermont    
Virginia    
Washington    
Washington DC    
West Virginia    
Wisconsin    
Wyoming    
     

 

Regarding the states that have regulations for "telecommunication devices"  This is going to be a bit of a generalization and please look at the state code and make the call for yourself.  SOme stated regulate devices by function - for example if your handheld device that can write, send, or read text from a handheld device - so in theory a radio that can get APRS messages, for example, would by the letter of the law be restricted.  Use your judgement..  My assumption would be that this would be a non issue, unless you were clearly distracted by your radio - in which case they aren't going to need a handsfree law to charge you with something.

 

Have details on your state? Submit to statelaw -at- mas321.com

  1. New York - Make your electoral vote count! (California, you too)
  2. Air traffic dropoff from COVID restrictions
  3. Easily save 15-20 cents per gallon on gas
  4. Programming Jeep keys (the easy way)
  • You are here:  
  • Home
  • Misc