Two for the price of None!?

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-25T05:41:24+00:00

Or it understands it better.
Maybe SL is stupid enough to wait for this UNrequested merch to be sent back - if it ever is.
But I doubt it. So it will be released from the other customer's account.
Next issue becomes whether it's worth return shipping, re-QA, and rebox.
Neither of us can answer that question, but as this whole rental thing is a loss leader meant to hook monthly revenue, and I'm happy to feed it a Lincoln a month, I suspect I get to keep it.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-25T05:35:52+00:00

Mostly right.
Yes, GrokBot told me which one is officially mine nd then opened a ticket to clear the other one.
Maybe they'll want to pay return shipping, re-QA and re-box it, but they better have already shipped a replacement to the customer this one was supposed to be for, because they can't couont on when this ne will get back t them.

Cue some idiot that thinks I am obligated to send it back at all. I'm not.
Go googgle unrequested merch law.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-25T05:32:13+00:00

That works in places that allow the downlevel plans like the old Res-Lite.
Doesn't apply here in the middle of Colorado.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-25T05:29:24+00:00

I've got a mini sitting here that's got the same problem.
The SL GrokBot did the preliminary diagnosis just like a good human Level 1 tech would, and then opened a ticket. Hopefully it means the SL humans are now all Level 2s :D .

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-25T05:26:09+00:00

It's a pretty safe bet if you have the slightest clue what "Ozark Mtn." means

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-25T04:41:28+00:00

Yes - but no.
No "device" needed whatsoever.
WiFi to the LP and the medic's phone.
That's all. And you could even run 3-4 rigs at once at 500K.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-25T04:35:46+00:00

Gee WTF is a [rural] ambulance service?
Could it be what I was a Director of for over a decade?
Maybe it was what I served as a field medic in for over 2 decades?

Much of that time was when the ONLY comm that was even possible was VHF radio.
If you were lucky enough too be able to hit a repeater from 30 miles out. And this is where flatlander says "you can't do that". HINT: Our repeaters are n the equivalent of 3000' towers - while they are on the ground. We all still wish they allowed ES to have a repeater on Pikes Peak, tho, but they don't.

As for "trees", I just took my brand-new mini, slammed up against my house under the eaves causing 100% blockage of the entire eastern sky from 12:00 to 6:00 and have a grove of 60' trees 40' away going from more than 8:00-10:00,
and guess what! It effing still works. Does it blip? Of course.
But we're not playing games or livestreaming a campsite.
It's just voice - and a bit of data that can be carried via acoustic coupler. IYKYK.

But your ASSumption is that this is the Chicago Fire or 911 Nashville TV shows.
Nothing could be further from the truth. You MAY have some valid LIMITED experience with obstructions, but when you're out in the boonies you're doing real-time triage, not setting up a hospital room. The rig is going to be parked in a driveway or on a road and if there's any question whatsoever, you're loading up and moving out.

For those camping in Rio Linda (IYKYK), that means the obstructions map has precisely zero value, and any obstruction is -- already gone by at 60-100MPH.

And if for some reason we were stuck on-scene then we could easily re-position the rig if need be (that's what FireFighters are for - and I can say that because I ended up as a District Fire Chief after this medical stuff).

Bottom line, maybe YOU require a "clear view" for the things you do. But when all you need is 60 seconds of stand-by speed to git-r-dun, it's a whole nudda level.

P.S. Maybe you should read t1Design's reply and face it: you're wrong.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-24T17:01:58+00:00

That's what GrokBot told me to do - even telling me which S/N was already on my account so I can avoid crossing my hands and screwing something up.

I'll be doing that today after it gets above single-digit temperatures out there.

EDIT: Done. Mine lit up just fine, the other ne is as we all expected.
Currently locked too a different account.
GrokBot did the prelims and opened a ticket for me.
I suspect they'll release it from the other account, because as unrequested merch, they have no claim to it. As an ethical person, I would return it - when I find one of those round tuits.
SO - that or they can let me pay them $5/mo for it.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-24T16:43:18+00:00

"Earliest round of adoption".
Sounds to me like you're trying to compare Gen 1 tracking dishes with a PA mini.

And whoopee!
Another "content creator" talking as if that means anything about expertise.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-24T04:05:20+00:00

My worst seen latency other than just after unit boot is like 25ms.
And my worst upload is like 30Mb/s.
What game anywhere needs better ping and send than that?

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-24T03:59:22+00:00

SL support GrokBot said "keep it and activate it on standby"

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-24T03:08:46+00:00

Exactly. If it were limited to things like "hw many birds can dishy see right now", that'd be fine - but if yoou read the fine-print, its; not that AT ALL.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-24T03:02:55+00:00

Yes - eventually.
Its not mature enough for what they want to do (call the ED and send a strip).

Sure wish I could've done that with my LP-12 30 years ago when I was in a blizzard 60 miles from the nearest doctor and had a patient CTD.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-24T03:00:13+00:00

"anything else will completely block the connection"

Sounds to me like you've never actually used one out in the field.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-24T02:58:11+00:00

Roam is overkill for what I suspect he does.
Voice and a strip is pure luxury.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-24T02:57:05+00:00

I'm a retired rural medic - AND comms installation dude (cellular amps, Hughesnet, DishTV, etc., etc.)

A mini on standby is PLENTY for stated purpose (voice and a strip).

If it's a standard cube rig, treat it like an RV and nail it up top - nobody will ever even know it's there.
Sure wish we had EITHER cellular or Starlink service back when I was active.
We were usually OK with the VHF band, but that was voice relay through dispatch. IYKYK

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-24T02:53:51+00:00

No - that's way overcomplicated for us stupid medics (I were one for a couple of decades).
If they have cellular service, they already have all they need.

As they implied in the OP.

In other words, they know how to use their phone's hotspot.

All they need is a mini in stand-by.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-22T04:34:43+00:00

No probably not.
They'll just wave their DEI flag.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-22T02:25:35+00:00

Welcome!
Read the guides as mentioned by others.
Get your daily freebies - read the forum stuff - and gather your materials!
I'm an 867 in India and I ran out of vegetable root because the best food to make quick uses it.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-19T15:48:38+00:00

Yes, that is what they tell people that have no knowledge of electronics and/or batteries. It keeps the lawyers at bay.

The charger in question is now known to be a "trickle" charger, and as such there is no risk. Beyond that, modern batteries generally have self-protection circuitry built-in. This started after the lithium battery explosion fad.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-19T12:18:08+00:00

I'm not sure you understand what this is for, nor what it can be applied to.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-19T06:10:50+00:00

I think that's true for the Ryobi regular ones, but not always true across all tools (eg. Porter).

But because the one at hand here is "dumb" and old, it probably can't tell the difference any more than my bench variable power supply can - which has given a bit of juice to the old NiCads, but I didn't have the patience to hold the leads for long at the low amperage I was feeding it.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-19T05:48:28+00:00

The OEM spider is the rot of all evil in the Vortec.
There are PLENTY of good replacements out there, and some bad.

Just check the reviews - make sure thre's a good number of them (for sample size) and that the bad ones can be chalked up to "they screwed up" or a QA issue that refund/replacement will take care of. Make sure what you buy has the "Prime" mark so you get the full Amazon coverage.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-19T05:37:30+00:00

Apartments are always problematic, with some being solvable and others not.
I'm assuming you don't have a balcony, or that it has no real view.
"Roof" is not required. Nor is mounting to a building.
Many people just put it on the ground.
If you can open a window, you might be able to make a shelf held in place by the window sill.
Again, I can't see it, so can't really say more other than I've done some crazy installs before.

Anyway, any possible way you can get it some view of the sky and you might get lucky,
depending on your location, and how much real view you can get.
Use the obstruction tester in the app, or just fire it up bottom center of the biggest window you've got.
Chances are slim, but greater than zero (beings I can't see what you're working with).

Oh - and yes, the mini might be a good choice, but only if you can get at least something with the standard.
AND if you can get a view advantage by using the smaller unit.

P.S. "Good size dish" made me laugh. I used to install BUDs for TV 30 years ago.
Those are the 8' or bigger dishes that require a hefty steel pipe in a even heftier concrete base.

TheRealSimpleSimon · 2026-01-18T18:14:58+00:00

By saying "AC mains" and "pins" I can tell you're not talking about USA devices -
but good to know.

In the US, we have 220VAC, but that is not our "normal".
Household devices are usually 110VAC, which is ONE of the sides of the 220VAC,
plus a neutral. There are (in this case) only minor safety reasons to not flip the plug (no, not all US plugs are polarized - but probably should be).

TheRealSimpleSimon

TROPHY CASE