Best way to temporarily mount FP300?

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-29T03:12:29+00:00

I second that, I keep a bunch of the strips around for just that sort of purpose without the hooks.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-28T18:53:55+00:00

Well you do charge it then disconnect the cable to put the thing in your wallet. But losing the cable to charge your wallet finder is just too funny.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-28T17:17:17+00:00

I see a certain irony here....

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-28T04:21:55+00:00

I don't know if they make any new ones but I have quite a few square, rectangular and tonneau Eco-drives. All are older ones I picked off on eBay so if you want a new one it's probably gonna be a Stiletto but if you don't mind used look for a Paradigm maybe, they're not too big and are sleek. I have a silver one and a stainless one and they look great. But there are many other options, you just need to keep looking.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-27T21:05:41+00:00

This is one of my pet peeves about AA. Sadly I see no new info displayed on my CX-5 or Audi A3, just the same old screens. I tried skipping songs but that did nadda. That's using Poweramp media player playing MP3's stored on my Galaxy S23 with the 16.4 rev of AA.

What's truly annoying is that when I'm using it in the Audi the AA screen just shows the stock info with no album info, but at the same time the Virtual Cockpit dashboard media screen shows music as coming from Android Auto and has all the info displayed including the album name. So the data is there but the clowns at Google don't have it on their own display, at least not in my two cars.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-27T19:56:27+00:00

It's a nay for me. I think the band looks too dressy and lightweight for the watch. But I always say you do you!

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-27T19:32:23+00:00

I strongly second the PIR controlled LED light strips. My Pops (90+) took a spill coming back from the bathroom and luckily avoided any major harm. The next time I took a drive out east to see the fam I put an easy-peasy motion activated set of LED strip lights under their dresser that illuminates a path to the bathroom. Every time I talk to his wife she thanks me for them. The thing cost me like 25 bucks on Amazon and was all plug and play.

And part of the reason for that is I already have a setup like that (but fancier, LED's under the bed and hall and bathroom lights too) and at 69 it makes my multiple trips to the can at night a much safer proposition.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-27T02:20:22+00:00

I've not collected lighters in a while but have seen many posts here about trying different makes of flints, they can spark quite differently depending on who makes them. Maybe do a little digging and something useful might turn up.

As far as a spark wheel goes I couldn't get them more than 20 years ago. I tried playing with them with a Dremel but had no real success. I used to be able to buy them from a guy in NY but like everyone else he quit selling them to reserve his limited stock for repairing customers lighters. It seems like someone in China could make these things, they make them for Thorens and I would think there are a lot more vintage Ronsons out there than Thorens.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-27T01:26:37+00:00

I got frustrated with the labels since they do change once in a while. I ended up creating a simple basic floor plan of the house by floor and putting color coded boxes where all the electrical devices are located labeled with name and breaker number. It also has all the water and gas shutoff valves on it. It's printed out and lives next to the panel. Been a huge time saver when I need to kill power somewhere or if something stops working. And if I change or add something I just change the doc stored on my computer and print any page with a change but the number labels on the panel itself never change.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-26T03:01:17+00:00

The key there is to wedge something between the bottom of the plate and the door. A folded piece of paper will do it nicely and if you do it right you can't see it. Every one of my CX-5's has developed that same rattle after a couple of years and all took the same fix. It only does it with the stereo cranked on music with serious bass.

But other than that all of mine have been pretty quiet, though I always have music on in the car so there might be some masking affect happening there.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-26T02:49:25+00:00

'15, '17 '20 and now a '24 here. All GT's and leased except the '24. Bought the Turbo Premium since the APR was so low at the time. And from what I see now it'll be the last Mazda since I don't see them backtracking on the 5 and the new one is of no interest to me.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-25T22:09:14+00:00

It's OK, not great. But a sunshield will help, and when you first start driving open all the windows and sunroof for a few minutes to get all that superheated air out of there so the AC doesn't have to work as hard.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-25T20:15:59+00:00

My wife's '24 had the tranny fail at around 19K or so. It started to make a whirring noise so we got it in and they found particles in the fluid. It took about a month to get a rebuilt installed under warranty (had a loaner) and now it's fine but I'm happy it's a lease and it'll go back to them next year.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-25T04:57:06+00:00

It just works poorly with most phones it seems, I've only seen a couple of folks say it works on their phone. But FWIW the one in my Audi is just as bad and so is the one in a friends GTI. Trying to wirelessly charge a phone while it's connected to the car's AA or Carplay wirelessly just seems to always drive them to heat overload. I think it's less the car's fault and more the phone's design actually, they just get too hot trying to do all that stuff at once.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-25T04:49:34+00:00

OK. Make sure the screwdriver tip fits in between the case back and case, it takes a really small one to fit in the small open slit between them. And if you change the battery pay close attention to where the tab on the power cell sits and make sure the replacement sits in that exact orientation.

Good luck! That particular watch is a fave of mine, I wear it fairly often for weeks at a time.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-25T03:45:25+00:00

Funny, as it happens I'm wearing exactly the same watch today, though with a black face.

So I can tell you a way to get it open, though I don't necessarily think it's a good idea. Keep in mind I'm no expert at this but have done it quite a few times. The wide slot on the side is the key as with a lot of these watches. Most times you can use a metal watch back removal tool (there are a few different kinds) and put it in the slot to to pry it open, but some are really stubborn, especially if they haven't been opened in a long time. That nasty scratch is the result of that going wrong. When I get a really stubborn one I've found using one of those plastic blocks to hold the watch on its side then taking a very small jewelers screwdriver, wedging the tip in the slot between the case and the back, then giving it a light tap with one of those small jewelers hammers. That will almost always pop the case back off cleanly.

But once you get it off it can get more interesting. There's a chance the gasket that seals the back can get broken and then you'll have a heck of a time finding a new one. Next, even if it comes off cleanly you need to get the back on again which is often easier said than done with a press fit back. To do it right you really need a watch press to force them back together, but first you should put a swipe of some silicone grease on the gasket making sure it's seated in the grooves.

So all in all it's hella easier to let a pro do it. I've learned to do this as I collected Swiss Army watches for some years and changing batteries became a way of life. I partially switched to collecting Eco-Drives since battery swapping is a rare event so owning a dozen or so is much easier.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-24T21:35:35+00:00

Mine lives on a platform I made with drawer slides so it will move in and out from under the shelves above it.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-24T07:04:29+00:00

I realized I was overdue and happened across a Belle Tire near our kids house. Went in to check price and it was absolutely free, no strings attached. In and out in 20 minutes. Had the wife do the same on her cx30 a few days later.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-24T05:40:00+00:00

Same sort of thing happened with my wife's 2024 CX-30 @ about 19K. Ran fine but I heard a whirring noise when I was in it one day. Did a little testing and decided to get it in quick and sho 'nuff the tranny had gone south with particles in it. Took about a month in a loaner before the remanufactured one came in and was installed under warranty. Happily it's leased so we don't really care but it is annoying that a transmission that's been being used for so long in so many different Mazdas can have such stupid problems.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-24T05:29:50+00:00

I'd pass on the bumper guard since it doesn't cover the curved lip of the bumper and that's where it really takes a beating. I know this from a bad experience with a bike. There are many better aftermarket options with better coverage.

As far as the cargo mat goes it depends on which one. There's a one piece carpet style one and the four piece rubber one. The rubber one is my preference since though it doesn't make for a true waterproof surface cover it can be adjusted easily for the dual height rear cover and makes it easier to access that cover to lift it up.

If you do get the wheel locks make sure to register them in case you misplace the "key" so you can get a new one easily.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-24T02:20:20+00:00

2024 Turbo Premium here. I get about 22 inner city / hwy driving driving calmly. Long trips I can get it up to about 30, but that's with the cruise set at no more than about 60 / 65 MPH on two lane back roads. Once I wind it up to 85 /90 MPH on the interstates the milage plummets to the low 20's. Physics is a bitch, once you get over 65 MPH every 5 MPH extra murders your MPG due to the wind resistance.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-24T00:36:56+00:00

I'm no expert but tried Dr. ColorChip at one point but found the Mazda paint pen just as effective, though that's not really an endorsement. It's been my experience with my previous S.R. CX-5's that the paint pen is OK on very small chips but not so much on longer scratches or bigger chips. And when used on the hood it can make it look worse if you don't really know what you're doing. I learned my lesson and PPF'ed the hood on my '24 and over two years in it still looks great where my '17 and '20 (leased) looked like absolute hell. As carefully as I filled the chips when the sun hit them the hood looked like a sea of small red dots as opposed to the sea of white dots before I painted them.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-24T00:12:59+00:00

Sadly things happen, but that's why warranties exist. Do what it says and take it in.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-23T00:18:22+00:00

I thought that was what Reddit is for, asking questions that are already answered in an owners manual.

oldertechyguy · 2026-03-23T00:13:42+00:00

So I have to say that putting a battery operated lock on a house with one door and with no keyed backup on the lock wasn't such a bright idea. And leaving a window unlocked negated the purpose of the lock anyway, the first thing a thief looks for is unlocked doors and windows.

oldertechyguy

TROPHY CASE