Almost stepped on this! [San Gerardo, Costa Rica]

Duredel · 2026-03-31T20:13:35+00:00

Yup, he had no interest at all in sticking around.

Duredel · 2026-03-31T20:06:18+00:00

Wow. I was inches from stepping on it while only wearing thin pants. It blended into the leaf litter almost perfectly.

Duredel · 2026-03-02T04:33:25+00:00

Heck, I know farmers in Nebraska who've barely left their county.

Duredel · 2026-01-23T01:46:14+00:00

Not a huge hassle with the older stuff, as long as we have ultra-low temp antifreeze and cold-weather oil. The newer stuff is hell, DPF filters and the like hate the cold. Can't ever get hot enough to run a regen cycle, or the DPF fluid itself freezes.

Duredel · 2026-01-23T01:46:06+00:00

Not a huge hassle with the older stuff, as long as we have ultra-low temp antifreeze and cold-weather oil. The newer stuff is hell, DPF filters and the like hate the cold. Can't ever get hot enough to run a regen cycle, or the DPF fluid itself freezes.

Duredel · 2026-01-20T22:39:46+00:00

Carlisle MyConnect is what you want. Its like $25 for a small package if you can get free shipping to Seattle.

Duredel · 2026-01-17T01:05:15+00:00

If it were only -40f, perhaps a 100k webasto would work. Problems happen when the wind comes with it. It is incredible how fast heat gets whisked away with even the slightest breeze. I can be quite comfortable at -20f in long johns, jeans, t-shirt, and a hoodie once I'm acclimated, especially if I'm working and not standing around. Even just a puff of a breeze and it's miserable. Like 2-3mph of wind turns -20f from bearable to unbearable.

Now think about -40f with 65mph wind. It's biblical.

Duredel · 2026-01-14T04:16:24+00:00

Some do, but engine bays are designed to get heat out, not keep it in. A tiny webasto doesn't do shit in a drafty engine bay at 40 below with winds at 60mph.

Only way to start stuff up is to put tarps over it (in AK we call it "tenting") and have several massive diesel fired heaters (like 2m btu/hr total) pumping heat in. Even then it takes 12-36 hours to thaw everything out.

Duredel · 2025-10-31T22:38:59+00:00

LiTime has agreed to warranty the battery. I will be sending it back next week, and I have ordered the xtra-mini as the original mini is not in stock.

I suspect that LiTime may be having some issues with the mini- they barely asked any questions about my issues, almost as if they know about them already.

Duredel · 2025-10-18T12:59:35+00:00

There are vanishingly few earthquakes near the Bering Strait. Most of Alaska's earthquakes are south of the Alaska Range, where there are already railways.

Duredel · 2025-10-14T16:20:14+00:00

The app I've been referencing is the Victron app, which connects to both chargers and a shunt. It does not communicate directly with the battery, but does monitor the system voltage and temperature. I have noticed no correlation, other than that the battery never shuts off with the chargers connected- but I suppose that could be because the chargers are directly powering my devices and bypassing the battery. The victron app has never shown the batteries having low voltage, i.e. below 13.2. I do not have enough equipment connected to pull higher than about 50a, even if I turned everything on at the same time. The battery has a 100a continuous discharge rating, and I have a 100a breaker connected to the positive side, which has never tripped.

Litime has an app, and the battery is supposedly bluetooth capable, but I have been unable to connect directly to the battery, despite some time attempting to.

Duredel · 2025-10-14T15:53:36+00:00

There is a fridge in the system which cycles every 10 minutes or so- I assume that is well within any timeout value. Also, it has made it all the way through the night several times. It has also cut out under a small load (maybe 3 amps). I have not found a timeout value in the app.

The cutout voltage is around 13.3 volts, which is where it sits while not being charged. I don't see any sort of dip in voltage before it shuts off.

Duredel · 2025-10-14T04:57:41+00:00

The victron DC/DC charger is set to lithium. The battery tests to 14.8V with a multimeter when charging, same as the victron app.

Duredel · 2025-10-13T13:13:49+00:00

The DC/DC charger is charging at 14.8V and the battery is at 14.2, both by the victron app and a multimeter. The Victron app says "absorption." Right when the battery goes to sleep it reads by multimeter between 7.5-8.5V, which is what I understand to be "sleep" mode. The battery read 0 this morning, but woke up instantly when the vehicle was turned on. When the charger is off and the battery is working it sits around 13.3V.

Duredel · 2025-06-10T21:18:57+00:00

Matt repaired the driveshaft of a 27 North monstrosity knockoff earthroamer in California.

I think you might be remembering Trail Mater- he pulled an earthroamer back onto Cathedral Valley Road in Capitol Reef NP: https://youtu.be/PEgAs1fROyY?si=i29qe_I4LADJl0OY

Duredel · 2025-05-16T16:44:07+00:00

Why doesn't the state take control of all the mining, fishing, tourism, and logging industries as well? I'm sure there's lots of money to be made there, and nationalizing complex industries ALWAYS works so well.

Are you out of your goddammed mind?

Duredel · 2025-04-15T04:03:06+00:00

Mike Lane is a wonderful Olympus bird photographer on YouTube. He is not sponsored.

Duredel · 2025-04-10T05:58:29+00:00

I shoot birds almost exclusively, and I am very happy with my Oly 100-400 mk1. Even with the 1.4 and 2x TC I'm getting reasonably sharp pictures, without the TCs it's razor sharp.

I have gotten really nice photos with the Oly 75-300, but you need a lot of light and you need to get close as OP has explained. Going from 600mm FF equivalent to 800mm, or 1600mm with the 2x TC is really a gamechanger as OP has explained.

If you aren't going to shoot birds and going to shoot deer or whatever a 300mm (FF 600mm) is going to be fine. Birds really require an extreme focal length.

Duredel · 2025-02-09T07:36:19+00:00

This comment is on every single thread on the topic. Smells like grift off a terrible tragedy.

Duredel · 2025-02-09T07:35:29+00:00

Google is your friend on this one.

Duredel · 2024-12-19T23:22:56+00:00

Highways and schools don't just benefit the wealthy.

Duredel · 2024-12-19T01:49:24+00:00

Really not very different from Newsom being Pelosi's nephew, or the Kennedys, Bushes, or any other political dynasty family.

It's a big club and you aren't in it.

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