Sahara Engineering

A few years back I drove across north Africa with some friends in a pair of old Land Rovers. Along the way I developed the concept of Sahara Engineering. It goes like this ...


We were crossing the desert east of Timbuktu when the radiator in one of the Rovers developed a leak. A couple of the core tubes had split and were leaking. Continuing to drive would only damage the engine. 

We hooked a line to the other Rover which towed it to a nearby village. No electricity, no running water, little but concrete government houses and a well. Since Land Rovers are ubiquitous throughout Africa there was always a chance there might be an old one to donate a radiator. But not this time.

We were pointed to a man who, we were told, could fix our vehicle. We went over to see him and were confronted with a great pile of automotive odds and ends. A junk yard of broken and discarded parts.

We explained the problem to him and he responded, "I can fix." 

When he started assembling a pile of old car batteries I thought he had misunderstood us and I tried explaining that it was the radiator, not an electrical problem.

He just replied, "I will fix" and turned away.

So we pulled the ailing radiator out and brought it over to him. By this time he had assembled a propane burner and an old pot on top of it. With a hatchet he was dismembering the batteries and throwing pieces of each into the pot. Hmmmm

With the radiator laid out on the sand he walked over with his pot and poured a stream of molten lead over the damaged tubes. It formed a giant scab over the open splits and sealed them from further leaks. The lead was the plates from the old batteries he had hacked apart. Ahhhhh

That is Sahara Engineering, making things work when you don't have the tools or resources to do it the normal way. It's the path you find when it's a matter of survive or die.

We replaced the repaired radiator and made it on to Bamako, a thousand kilometers across Mali. I was humbled by what I had learned from this man. I regretted that I had doubted him. I wish I knew his name so I could honor him every time I tell this story.

Replacing the missing connector with shrink wrap and tape

My little fix for the missing plug so that I can continue my trip is a testament to what I learned that day.

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3 does not go into 4 evenly

I put in the new regulator this morning. I was able to test the charging system and it works well now. However they sent me the wrong connector kit. I need a 3 spade connector and they sent me a 4 spade connector. Back to the drawing board! Again!

What has this got to do with a trip to Mexico?

My friends Jason and Erica drove my Miata out to California. Next summer Beth and I will drive it back to Connecticut.
On the way out it developed a leak in the radiator. Before I can give the car to my sister for the winter I'm replacing it.
Tomorrow, the new regulator for the AT is supposed to arrive. Once I install that I'm ready to go theoretically.

Fwd: Made It!

Took a lot longer than it did 25 years ago but I was younger then.

J. Braun
MondayMotoMadness. blogspot. com

Fwd: Day Hike

Off to climb Half Dome today about 20 miles round trip.

J. Braun
MondayMotoMadness. blogspot. com

Another Test

This is Kasper's Hot Dogs on McArthur Blvd in Oakland. I always eat there at least once every time I'm in the area.

New Regulations

The AT fried the wiring and wouldn't charge the battery when the headlights were on. New parts are on the way.

Test of mobile posting

I tried to post from my phone during my trip to Yosemite. It didn't seem to post. This is another try with a picture.

--   J. Braun  mondaymotomadness.blogspot.com  	

A Day At The Museum

Not all the adventures in a trip depend on fording rivers and climbing mountains. Sometimes it's the little discoveries, near at hand, that amaze and delight. The Walt Disney Museum in San Francisco turned out to be one of these.

The traffic getting there was truly horrific and the facade was undistinguished so I was unprepared for the wealth of material that was lurking behind the front desk. However, walking into the first room was the beginning of a tour that Walt himself would have enjoyed. There was history, but it was all presented with the flair of a showman.

My dad examining some early history

The combination of static and moving displays was endlessly informative and entertaining. I was with my dad who knew some of the animators and was able to add details and background color.

Young and old seemed equally enthralled

As we followed the trail of Walt's life each room led to another that seemed even grander than the last. The early days led to his first successes as an artist and cartoonist. Then to the decision to break away and do things on his own.

Steamboat Willy

The first Mickey Mouse cartoon was spread across an entire wall of original drawings with highlights of animation to show how they fit together.

Walt was there to present his first great triumph, Snow White.

Not only were there shots of the movie but there was plenty of background material about how the movie was made.

Making the colors for the artists

An animator's desk - That's a still projector, not a video screen!

From there it went on to display the greater triumphs that he and his team went on to achieve. By now we had spent over 3 hours and hadn't even gotten to the Disney Land section. Overwhelmed would be an understatement. I'll leave it to you to visit and discover what joys await. However, I'll leave you with one of the things that was one of my favorites.

Not hard to guess which movie this special Oscar is for!

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Tool Time

If real estate is all about location, location, location then adventure travel is all about preparation, preparation, preparation! No detail is too insignificant to neglect. If you think about it you should do it. It's that simple.

I started with changing the oil and filter, then the fuel filter. That all went easier than it would have on my Transalp. If you haven't read my post on car vs motorcycle oil I recommend it. You can read it here.

To be really prepared I used only the tools I would be taking with me on the trip. Now is the time to find out that I'm missing something I need rather than when I'm broken down in the middle of nowhere.

This is also the time to figure out what is the best way to perform certain tasks. This is a new bike to me so I have no experience on which end of a fuel line is the best one to take off when tracking down a leak. Everything gets Loctite and tie wraps to make sure it's still with me for the entire trip.

Then began the real work, new shoes. The tires Eddy was using were Michelin Anakee II which are good tires but are 80/20 tires biased towards the street. I'm switching to Continental TKC-80 which is 40/60 in favor of dirt riding. I chose these over my favorite Dunlop 606 because I wasn't planning on anything that aggressive and I've always wanted to try the Contis.

So I found that I didn't have a valve core tool and hiked over to the parts store to get one. Then I found that the tire pump I had still works well, and still takes 200 pumps to fill the tire. Tomorrow I'll get to the back tire. That takes 350 pumps!

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Because bad things can happen to good people

Dirty hands and skinned knuckles were the order of the day as I installed the crash bars on the AT. Because the plastic panels are nearly impossible to come by and very expensive if I could find them the work was well worth it.

Looks simple but these things never go as well as I'd like them to. Let's see, just put the rear bracket under the engine bolt in back, then attach the front to the skid plate, and insert into the clamp on the frame. Hmmmm ...

This doesn't seem to line up quite right ...

Maybe a little nudge from a hydraulic lift will push it into place.

Of course the wrench won't fit so we'll have to make do with the old standby - vice grips!

Finally it all comes together.

Now it's time to go riding!

The Africa Twin with Eddy's Transalp

We went over Mt. Madonna on some paved and class 1 dirt roads to get to the shore. Tight twisty roads that really gave me a chance to see what the AT could do. Not quite a sport bike but very capable with a very willing engine.

We stopped for lunch at a bay front restaurant and watched the otters cavort around the kayakers. It was perfect weather for a ride and it was with some reluctance that we turned homeward.

Only 75 miles today but I'm very happy with the bike and ready to be on my way. But first, family matters tomorrow and another few days. I get to re-teach my dad black and white photo printing after he's been away from it for many years. Stay tuned for that one!

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I'm here, It's here, First ride

Yeah!!

More travel. After arriving at the airport I took BART to meet Marty and we went to dinner where Gretchen met us. Great sushi. Then to bed at their home.

Yesterday I took BART again to get the CalTrain south to meet Eddy. Another dinner and off to bed. I'm not jet lagged but my bio-clock has not adjusted to west coast time yet so it's early to bed and early to rise.

This morning I woke up to have coffee with Eddy before he went to work. And then I ran out the door to check out my new toy!

After taking a moment to check out everything and thoroughly familiarize myself with the bike (approximately 0.002 nano-seconds) I jumped on it and started it up. 

Music to my ears! The familiar Honda V-Twin sound that I know so well. Eddy lives on 8 acres up in the hills. Time to explore. A Class 2 path lead up a hill from the house so there I went. 

No doubt about it, this is a BIG bike. It's a bit taller than the Transalp so I'm up on my toes. However, once I got rolling it felt just like the TA. It went up and down grades without trouble although the tires slipped a bit on the loose stuff. Easy to control with a touch of the brakes and a nudge from the engine.

I rounded a corner to find a family of deer out for a stroll. They looked at me with curiosity and then wandered off into the woods in no particular hurry. I was the visitor in their domain but they were willing to share. A quiet muffler helps put me at one with the surroundings.

A mile further I ran into a chained gate so I decided head back. Remember that tippy-toes thing? Well, I needed all my balance skills to back up and turn around. I'm sure I just need more practice but I don't want the thing to fall over and break something. Owning a rare bike means that I won't be able to get parts at the corner Honda shop.

So I have this huge smile on my face. I'm going back to Marty's today to get the rest of my gear and then I'll start getting the AT ready for the trip. YEAH!!

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The Rules

I'm flying to San Franciso in a couple of hours so I'll quickly post The Rules.

1. No iPod or any player! Traveling is about listening to others, not yourself. This is the most important advice I can offer.
2. Be willing to expose yourself to solitude. It's amazing what the world has to offer if you open yourself to the experience.
3. Put your mobile phone in a plastic bag and wrap it in 20' of duct tape. If you can't fix the problem with the duct tape THEN you can call for help.
4. Minimalism — lay out everything and then remove half.
   Wait 3 days and then remove half of what’s left.
5. The slower you go the more you see. If you see the word "Old" in a road name, take it!
6. Imagination will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no imagination.
7. Make a plan, set a date, stick to it.
8. Everything will wait until you return if it's truly important.
9. Do not be route obsessed. If it says "West", and you're heading west, go exploring.
10. When you meet someone along the way offer to send them a postcard.
11. Yesterday's t-shirt can make a pretty good towel in a pinch.
12. Never get a room at a motel next to a stop light. Always try to get a room on the top floor.
    Note: Gretjen says that you should avoid a camp site 50' from the Union Pacific main line.
13. Nothing beats camping under the stars but sometimes a hot shower in a cheap motel is worth every penny!
14. Don't wear black in the summer.
15. Ask the locals for interesting things in their area. If you are traveling alone they will seek you out to talk to you.

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Cleared For Lift Off

Buying a motorcycle in another state is not for the weak of heart.

First you need to find a bike to buy and form a bond of trust with the seller. Ebay offers some protection, Craigslist none at all. Know a guy who knows a guy might be ok but knowing the guy is even better.

I know Eddy and I know the way he treats his bikes. In fact, it is much better than the way I treat his bike as the crash on the Transalp he loaned me will testify.

Oops!

When he said he would sell me the Africa Twin I jumped at the chance. There was the added incentive that it was in CA and I was in CT. Road Trip!

This started the venture into registration hell. Connecticut was willing to give me a new title and plate if I filled out a VIN validation form. Just have it signed and dated by any law enforcement officer in the selling locale. Unfortunately, none of said officers wanted to do that.

The local (Morgan Hill,CA) town police said that it "wasn't a service they offered." As if putting down their doughnut and walking outside to look at the VIN stamped on the bike was going to ruin their karma for the day. They referred me to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

The CHP admitted that it was something that they might do but that the officer (Officer Walizer) was on vacation and wouldn't be back until the following week. The entire state of California is supposed to wait while Officer Walizer works on his tan.

Eddy called back and spoke to Officer Walizer but he stated that he didn't like to do VIN verifications because in state people might try to register their cars out of state. I was about to call him up and ask if he would either do his job or charge me with conspiracy to commit fraud. It had to be one or the other because he was not a judge and had no business making that judgement.

However, time was running out and there was no time for a pissing contest with an a$$h0le.

Although Eddy was willing to let me ride the bike back to CT on his license plate it would mean not going through Mexico because the paperwork and insurance would be too much of a hassle.

Time for Plan B.

Without revealing too much let's just say that I knew a guy, who knew a guy, who might fill out the paperwork for me. It was a last minute shot in the dark but I decided to go for it. I got all the paperwork together and gave it to the guy. Who gave it to a guy. Who filled in the relevant information and waved a magic wand. A day later I got back the paperwork with all the required forms and signatures.

This morning I went over to the CT DMV to pray that the registration gods would smile on me. The wait was relatively short but there was, of course, a problem. The clerk was willing to accept the form for the VIN verification but it seems that my town had put a hold on any registrations because of some unpaid property taxes.

Eileen, the DMV clerk, was sympathetic and suggested that I take the paperwork and go talk to the town clerk to get a release. So off to the town clerk and this silly Catch-22. It seems that the previous vehicle property taxes were underpaid. I don't remember any notice of this but who knows? When I paid the property taxes this year they used part of the money to pay off the last year's taxes, plus penalty and interest. They then assessed a new penalty and interest because I didn't pay the new taxes in full. I had to pay a penalty and interest on the penalty and interest!

The clerk said I could appeal but I didn't fight it. I just wrote the check, got my release, and headed back to the DMV. Eileen was nice enough to not make me go to the back of the line again. She waved me ahead when she was free and started the process again. It went quickly and with the swipe of my credit card I was registered and legal. When people say bad things about the people who work at the DMV I always set them right.

Not exactly a vanity plate but legal at last!

Tomorrow I fly out to San Francisco to start getting the bike ready for the trip! Through Mexico thanks to a guy who knows a guy ... And Eileen!

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In The Beginning ...

Every trip starts with some concept. Usually it's a destination - I want to go to Moab and ride the White Rim Trail. Or, I want to ride the length of the TransAmerica Trail.

This time the trip started with a bike. My favorite bike of all time is my Transalp but I've always had a desire to own it's bigger brother, the Africa Twin. Although popular in Europe, Honda never brought the AT into the U.S. The only ones here were privately imported and thus very rare.

My friend Eddy had one along with a couple of Transalps. In fact, it's because of the Transalps that we met and went riding in the Sierras. So when he said that the AT was up for sale it was only a matter of when could I get there to pick it up.

Eddy on the Africa Twin

Eddy is in California and I'm in Connecticut. I suppose some people would have called a trucking company and arranged for transportation. For me, it seemed like a great opportunity for another adventure. Fly out, ride it back, smile a lot!

But what route? I've done US 50, I-80, and the TransCanadian Highway. Rt 66 is such a cliche that I never considered it. The lure of Mexico called again which naturally lead to the Copper Canyon.

Copper Canyon Map (not to scale)

So the route was set. San Francisco to Yosemite to Death Valley to San Diego. Cross into Mexico and process paperwork in Ensenada, then down to La Paz. From there I could take the ferry to Topolobampo at Los Mochis.

Choosing roads to the Copper Canyon I'll be picking secondary roads that will keep me away from the touristy places and allow me to experience the surroundings first hand. With the Africa Twin I'll be able to ride dirt roads to the bottom of the canyons and just camp out in the middle of nowhere. What could be more perfect?

Leaving the canyons I'll travel across northern Sonora and Chihuahua to cross back to the U.S. at Laredo. Then Austin, Memphis, Cheohala Skyway, Blue Ridge Parkway, and home. With a few side trips to see my friends of course. I depart Yosemite on the 25^th of Sept and expect to take 6 weeks to cover ~4500 miles.

I leave next Wednesday (3 Sep 2014) to pick up the bike and get it ready for the trip. So subscribe to this blog, follow along, and enjoy my adventure with me.

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A New Adventure!

 Copper Canyon Tour 2014 

The Route

The Bike

The Dates: Leaving 3 Sept for San Francisco to pick up the bike.Returning sometime in November.

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How does a digital camera work - Part 4

Note: Please forgive the long hiatus between blog posts. Much has transpired, including a bout of Lyme Disease that took me off the grid for quite a while. I am back, planning a new adventure, and will be posting on a more regular tempo again. Thanks to all who have been ever so patient.

 In Part 1 we saw how millions of tiny bits of silver can make up an image. In Part 2 we explored color filters and their role in seeing some things and not others. Part 3 showed how light levels could be converted into proportional electrical energy.

The scenic information created by the photo sensor we created had two major problems. It lacked relevance and persistence. My friend could point the sensor wherever she wanted and could create a picture of the scene before her in her mind. However, she could never be sure she was pointing at the same spot twice in a row with much precision. One spot had very imprecise relevance to any other spot.

Additionally, even if a perfect picture could be constructed it was only as good as her memory. As they say, "Out of sight, out of mind!"

Let's see if we can fix both of these problems, relevance first. When a movie wants to show the view through a telescope or periscope it shows a black screen with a circle of light in the middle.

What if we lined up 10 rows of 10 tiny telescopes in a 10x10 grid? We would carefully align them in parallel to cover areas that conjoin one another. We would then put a light sensor behind each one of them. The result would be a real picture like the one we imagined before but with circles instead of squares.

spac	spac	spac	spac	spac	spac	spac	spac	spac	spac
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.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
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.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.

Now my friend can see the tree, a cloud, and a stream in a meadow! We have achieved relevance!

This is a major advance but let's face it, one of the great assets of photography is the ability to look at an old picture we took in the past. Whether it's the old photo album you have on the shelf or a picture gallery on your phone the whole purpose of taking a picture is to preserve the moment.

Let's start by calling each square/circle a picture element to give it a common name. In fact, we could shorten picture element to pixel to make it easier to remember and for me to type. Now let's number each pixel from 1 to 100 startling in the upper left and ending in the lower right. All that's left to do is to get a note pad and write down the value of each pixel from 0 - black to 5 - white in the picture above.

1..17   - 4
18      - 5
19..23  - 4
24      - 1
25..26  - 4
27..29  - 5
30      - 4
...
91..94  - 3
95..96  - 2
97..100 - 2

and on and on - I'm sure you get the idea.

Any time I wanted to recreate this picture all I would have to do would be to get out my note pad and color in the squares/pixels according to the values I had written down previously. Thus we have attained persistence.

Believe it or not, this is all that a digital camera does. It has a grid of sensors that register light and write the values to the memory chip. When you want to see the picture you camera or computer goes to the chip and reads the values and displays them on the screen.

Because a digital camera is nothing but a computer with a lens it can do these things very fast. Since the sensors are microscopically small there can be millions of them. Mega (millions) Pixels (picture elements), get it?

Are more (mega)pixels better? To some degree, yes. But there is an upper limit dictated by the laws of physics. 10-12 megapixels is usually as many as you need for fine prints up to 13x19". The quality of the lens and the sensor are really more important as they capture the best details and the truest colors.

Now you know how a digital camera works. I hope that this has illuminated the subject and captured your interest. Post a question and I'll answer it promptly.

TOMORROW - A NEW ADVENTURE!!

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Car vs Bike Oil

Here is a reprint from the May 2014 Sport Rider magazine (p70). An excellent discussion of why motorcycle oil is better than automotive oil.
I've always been a big fan of Castrol GTX since it first came out but I think it's time to move on after reading the article. Considering the number of times I change my oil each year applied to the difference in price adds up to only a few $$ more for what appears to be a lot more protection.
As always, your mileage may vary ...

Sport Rider Magazine May 2014

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Sorry about that!

Don't know where the weird post came from but it wasn't me!

I've changed my password and hopefully it won't happen again.

J.

How does a digital camera work - Part 3

In Part 1 we saw how millions of tiny bits of silver can make up an image. In Part 2 we explored color filters and their role in seeing some things and not others. Today let's take a baby step into the electronic world.

Everyone knows about photo-voltaic (solar) panels and how they generate power. Claims that they will save the planet are, of course, ridiculous since I found they couldn't even charge my mobile phone reliably. We would have to pave the planet with them to generate enough power for all our needs.

That rant aside, they do create a voltage when exposed to light. Best of all it is roughly proportional to the amount of light falling on them. That is, at high noon they produce some volts, at midnight on a moonless night they produce zero volts, and in between they produce some value between the two.

Ambient light like…	Ambient light (lux)	Photocell resistance (?)	LDR + R (?)	Current thru LDR+R	Voltage across R
Moonlit night	1 lux	70 KΩ	71 KΩ	0.07 mA	0.1 V
Dark room	10 lux	10 KΩ	11 KΩ	0.45 mA	0.5 V
Dark overcast day / Bright room	100 lux	1.5 KΩ	2.5 KΩ	2 mA	2.0 V
Overcast day	1000 lux	300 Ω	1.3 KΩ	3.8 mA	3.8 V
Full daylight	10,000 lux	100 Ω	1.1 KΩ	4.5 mA	4.5 V

From Using a Photocell

If we took a photo cell and hooked it up to a meter we could see the voltage it produced. Then we could point it at things and see if they were bright or dark by looking at the meter. Not very practical since we could just look at the object we were pointing at but stick with me for a minute more.

Suppose you were blind and couldn't see visually. I could try to describe something but it would be very difficult. However, you do understand warm and cold from touch. You have a vocabulary for warm and cold. What if we were to translate what I saw into that warm/cold vocabulary so you could create a representation you could understand.

I might say "Upper left corner, cold zero. Upper right corner, warm 5. Lower left corner, warm  5. Lower right corner, hot 10". This would describe a box that was black, grey, and white.

Black	Gray
Gray	White

For more precision I would point my photo cell at the object to get exact readings to help my friend see the best image possible. To make an even better picture I could increase the locations I was pointing the photo cell at and get a better defined picture for her.

spac	spac	spac	spac	spac	spac	spac	spac	spac	spac
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.

Can you now see a tree, a cloud, and a stream in a meadow?

Since I like my friend a lot and don't want her to be dependent on anyone I could hook the photocell directly to a small heating element and give it to her in a box. She could point it to anything she wanted and create her own vision of the surrounding world by putting her finger on the heating element.

Think about all this and I'll be back soon.

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