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ardfarkle

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Posts posted by ardfarkle

    Casual CITO

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    I've been using an older top of the line "FoodSaver" by Tilia (similar to the new Professional II at ~$270.00 U.S.). It belongs to a friend, and it screwed up about 6 years ago. I repaired it for him and said I'd keep it in good shape if I could use it whenever I wanted. He said yes.

     

    Recently I was buying some bags for it at my local Walmart when I noticed a new unit by Black & Decker called the Freshguard VN-200. It was only $58.99 so I was skeptical at first, but it had a real vacuum pump (some use a turbine - stay away) and they showed a picture where it crushes 6 soda cans in a bag. I know this takes a vacuum of at least several inches of mercury, so I decided to give it a try. To my delight, it seemed to compress things every bit as well as my friends Tilia did, and now I would not need to borrow it when I wanted to pack up a few items.

     

    I've had it for about a month now, have packed several hundred items, and it seems to be just what I was looking for. Unfortunately, a month is not enough to comment on the mechanical longevity of it's design, but it comes with a 1 year limited warranty so we shall see. As good as it seems to be for the money, there are a few cons..

     

    Pros:

     

    Costs less than $60.00

    Uses a real vacuum pump

    Has enough vacuum to tightly compress items and form the bag around complex shapes

    Has a removable liquid catching tray for easy cleanup (meats, etc.)

    Has a port for canisters and will use the Tilia mason jar sealer

    Works with most other brands of vacuum bags (Tilia FoodSaver bags work great)

    Mine came with a 'bonus' 11" x 18' roll of bags (~$10.00 at Walmart)

     

    Cons:

     

    Takes 2-3 times as long to pack and seal an item as the top end Tilia

    Requires constant hand pressure during sealing process (ie, no lid lock)

    Runs vacuum pump when just making a bag (ie, sealing the cut bag, or custom sizes)

    Uses wire verses band sealer. This yields a narrow seal (1/32"-1/16")

    Works better with Tilia bags than its own (see below)

    Vacuum chamber is farther from sealer wire than I'd like (wastes ~3/8" of bag for each seal)

    Rounded shape of front lid disallows sealing close to thick objects (another ~3/8")

    Has no internal roll storage or built in bag cutter

     

    Putting the cons aside, the VS-200 seems to be an excellent value and most of the cons are more my personal complaints than things that will affect the overall operation of the unit. However, there is one exception to this that should be mentioned.

     

    The bags that were supplied with the unit are 3 ply bags with 2 outer plies of smooth sheeting and internal textured strips that only extend inward a few inches on either side of the bag, whereas the Tilia 'FoodSaver' bags are 2 ply where 1 ply is smooth and the other is textured. This means most of the bag area on the Black & Decker bags are just 2 ply consisting of the 2 outer smooth sheets. While this should not be a problem in many cases, I found the bags difficult to seal properly if I was doing a tight seal directly against the contents. I'm not sure if it's the lid deforming a bit or for some other reason, but these bags work best when you allow a bit of flat area between the lid and the contents. In addition, cutting the bags to make smaller sizes is difficult since you always need to have a percentage of textured bag to allow the air to be removed properly.

     

    One more note: The instructions say to apply pressure on the lid until the light goes constant green. I've found the best and most consistent seal is achieved by holding pressure on the lid for 3-4 seconds after the light goes green. This appears to be the same for either bag type, but is essential IMO for the Black & Decker bags to obtain a good seal.

     

    I've ordered another bag type that sells sells for $20.00 for 3 - 11" x 33' rolls. If these work well it will reduce bag prices by about 50% after shipping costs.

     

    [This message was edited by ardfarkle on September 18, 2003 at 07:36 AM.]

    Casual CITO

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    I am new to Geocaching and have yet to log my first cache, but I do quite often collect and haul out trash on hikes.

     

    I use plastic grocery bags also. I individually vacuum pack them so the are about 2" x 2" square, and about 1/4" thick at their thickest point. This makes it easy to stash them almost anywhere, and they're waterproof too. I vacuum pack many of the items in my packs to compact them and to provide protection from the elements.

     

    Vacuum_Packed_Stuff.jpg

     

    In the image above, the AA batteries are protected from moisture and will not leak onto other objects if their seals should fail when stored. The pack in the upper right is the trash bag and the one at the bottom is 10ft of MD TP. It's 3/16"-1/4" thick also...

    Repeater Primer?

    in Ham Radio

    Posted

    Criminal, here's a block diagram of a system in my area. It's a bit more complex than a basic repeater since it has voting receivers, but it's not that overly complex.

     

    The repeater receives on 147.795 and simultaneously re-transmits on 147.195. This means you set your HT, mobile, or base to receive on 147.195, and transmit on 147.795. The main transmitter is on Mt. Vaca (~2700 ft.) which gives it a very large coverage area, hence the need for voting receivers.

     

    Imagine you commute to work 50 miles from home and would like to be able to keep in contact with those at home using just an HT. This system will allow that assuming you're within earshot of one of the voting receivers. This is but one of the reasons for using repeater systems.

     

    Block diagram:

    http://www.n6icw.org/blockdia.htm

    One of my caches was removed by the police....

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    Congratulations Vacman. You have the only cache that has been detained for drug possession, incarcerated, had mug shots taken, and then released on its own recognizance to its guardian without any duty to return.

     

    To be honest if this had happened to my cache, I'm just twisted enough that I would have played it for whatever I could. I probably would have edited the cache record to indicate the location had moved to the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department evidence room, and explain the way to access the cache is to enter the Police Department and ask for it. If they are wily enough to get the property clerk to bring it to them (unlikely), then kudos for them (take a picture of the cache as proof). If they are able to add to the log book, then they could be serious grifters if they had a mind to. If they are able to remove something from the box and add something else, then they should be considered super-geocachers. When done, they should tell the property clerk to return the cache to the evidence room so others can request it in the future.

     

    On a serious note, I'd make sure that all traces of the so called offending substance are removed before re-hiding the cache. It doesn't take much in the way of smell for someone to get in trouble if the history of the cache is not known by local authorities.

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