Jeep build sheet website!

Found this while looking up diesel grand cherokee information:

Website where Chrysler will spit out the original build options

cheers!

Considering a new laptop

looking at buying a new laptop to replace two old failing ones. So far I have found this guy:

2016 Newest HP Probook 15.6" Premium High Performance Laptop, AMD Quad Core A10-8700P up to 3.2GHz, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD, AMD Radeon R6 Graphics, DVD+/-RW, HDMI, VGA, Bluetooth, Wifi, Webcam, Windows 10

Does anybody have any thoughts? leave a comment below! weeeeee!!!

Bike for a cure! the MS150 ride.

Hey everybody!
It is that time of year again, just like on NPR, where I come out and ask for a few of your hard-earned dollars to support what I believe is a good cause. This is the second year that I am riding for a cause and I hope that readers will at least consider making a contribution: Even if it is not to me! Be grateful for what you have and generous with the resources you are blessed with. Whether it is a monetary donation to a campaign like mine or helping an elderly neighbor with their yard-work; be a better person this summer.

thank you,
Gabe Johnston

BMW coding for new(er) models

Discussion of parameters you can change on BMW e46 chassis
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/archive/index.php/t-372299.html

List of changeable parameters
http://www.lindvigs.com/obioban/FSW_PSW.pdf

Beginners guide for installing NCSExpert software and the basics of coding.
http://nutsofamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Guide-to-BMW-Coding-2011.04.23.pdf

NCSDummy program for interpreting files
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1553779-NCS-Dummy-Taking-the-expert-out-of-NCS-Expert

ALSZ BLINKIMPULS_WARNBLK
setting 4 is supposedly the "euro" flash pattern but I am not sure. Woudl like to see what 1-3 look like! 

Curta, a storied computer.

I originally wrote this little piece in February of 2015 and am just posting it now. Enjoy!

This is a Curta. It is probably 45 years old. It probably works about as well as the day it was built. It adds, subtracts, multiplies and divides numbers.

And that is it.

It also has no batteries, yet works in the dark, underwater, in space, underground, up-side-down and sideways. It is one of the many mechanical genius machines of the last century in my opinion.

The Curta is the brain child of Curt Herzstark, a Viennese engineer and inventor. He patented a rotating drum adding device (German patent 747073) in 1938, though did not create the above machine until he was imprisoned at the Buchenwald concentration camp towards the end of World War II. There he took his idea and created a producible machine essentially in exchange for his life.

After escaping the Nazi camp and fleeing the Russians, he found an investor in the royalty of Lichtenstein and the company Contina AG Mauren was formed. The venture was rocky by most accounts but the product was sold and became successful even if poor Curt did not.

Now-a-days there are collectors and enthusiasts for such devices, myself included, who probably wish for life in an earlier era. The value of Curta’s these days is in the $1000 and up range for clean functional models. I have owned as many as two, though currently only have a single Type 1 (SN-39500). I bought it both as a lover of truly mechanical devices but also, as you may have guessed, because I like rally paraphernalia!

These little mechanical calculators are great for the rallyist thanks to their positive displacement actions and their ignorance to the shocks and jolts of typical rally routes. Did I also mention they work in the dark, in lakes, and upsidedown?

Most rallyists are familiar with the larger Curta, the Type II. This model has 11 inputs and 15 results, versus the Type I’s 8 inputs and 11 results. Obviously the more registers you have either the more accurate you can be, or the further you can go!

Operation of the Curta for rally is mostly straight forward. Enter your factor into the inputs, and crank away. The counter now displays your odometer, and the outputs show what time you should be at that mileage. Modern rallyists who have used the Starr method on a scientific pocket calculator will quickly see that you are doing the same operation. Granted this is not the only way to use a Curta but for young bucks, such as myself, catch onto this method right away since I have used the Gary Starr’s technique for years.

While I cannot recommend that anyone purchase these, they are an absolutely amazing piece of history and machine art. They have a long a storied history from soldiers, to surveyors, to aviators and rallyists. If you ever have a chance to try one out, do yourself a favor and give it a twist! (Just be gentle please)

Back to chips and stuff

Its that time of year again where I don't want to go outside, I barely want to ride my bikes, and life is generally slow. Time to get out the Arduino and the chip burning equipment! YAY!

I recently was given some gear by a coworker who built a sensor simulator that connects to his phone via bluetooth and has an Android app to control it. This blew me away especially since it all fits on a half-sized breadboard. So I figured I better try out my Arduino again and see if i can at least get through the "intro to Arduino" book that I bought last year. There are a million uses for these budget friendly boards so i better get crackin. Plus with this sensor simulator I have found out about some of the new generation of even smaller processors that can use Arduino code. Teensy for instance.

As with the last installment of my discussion about proto, chip, and hack material my goal is to expand my own knowledge of hardware/software integration along with my continuing Bosch ECU de-engineering and engine simulation.

Right now i am working with a BMW 525 DME for hardware, but sadly I have not done much more than discover a table list in the .hex and my TunerPro is a bit rusty again. I do know that I need a small enclosure and some variable resistors for the simple sensors. Another aspect of my Arduino exploration is the ability to simulate the CKP and CMP signals that are needed by most Engine controllers in this vintage.

Some of my reading lately is the same as previous discussions:

FixKicks Engine Simulator
ArduStim Wheel Simulator

Traveling to Belize!

Pack at least two swimsuits. Pack very light and airy clothing. Avoid heavy cottons, though the trendy "performance" shirts ( like underarmour and the like) are usually polyester based and will stink by the end of the first day. For this reason I strongly suggest loose fitting tops and bottoms of lightweight cotton or other natural fibers. Preferably of light colors that stay cooler longer in the heat. I brought my UA fishing shirt and wished I had brought two! I also packed heavy cotton/denim cargo shorts and they were largely useless.

Pack lots of sunscreen and some bug repellant. If the wind dies down, especially at night, the bugs will eat you alive. This is a perk of traveling during the hurricane season as there is nearly permanent wind.
A downside to the wind is that the coastal waters are almost never clear but rather murky out to 20-odd feet deep.

Don't let people move your bags around, they expect to be paid and usually for nothing.

Culture shock is day one. Just stay hydrated at all costs and find one of the suggested dining locations that is nearby and eat there. It will not be cheap but it will be the price of convenience and hopefully your entrees will be savory and sound. Have a beer and relax. It gets dark early so don't stay out too late if you have a ways to hoof it back to your resort.

Speaking of hoofing it: take the complementary bicycles whenever
Possible. Your resort doesn't have these bicycles? You didn't do your homework! Everywhere I looked at booking offered bicycles and kayaks for free(some had more for free!) Which are free entertainment options. Especially if you stay in the south of amergris and can paddle around the Hol Chan Reserve for free.

Golf cart rentals are pretty convenient but not cheap. WSC offered hourly and half day(35usd) and full day(85usd) rentals. This is a good option if you want to adventure north, but expensive if you just want to run in to San Pedro Town.

Food is very expensive. Stop at a small local market in town and at least buy breakfast and lunch supplies. We had "the burrito guy" ($5bz for burritos or some days tamales) who sold breakfast burritos but that was it for local options. American breakfast is only served at about half the food places.

We befriended a couple from TX (Christian and Christine) and went adventuring with them one day. We took a golf cart north to "secret beach" which was an awesome beach since the water was clear and shallow but had almost no marine life aside from some small fry schooled under the docks and a few ribbon fish(maybe?).

We lunched at Portofino after we figured out how to get there. We met a general manager (Paul or Matt?) After lunch and he told us that the road we drove up on had only been built 5 months prior. That was a shocker! Getting to secret beach without the roads that are there today would definitely have been quite a journey! The concrete roadway only extends to about mile 4, then there is a bumpy narrow section of maybe half a mile, then back to a fairly serious road bed that extends up to about mile 8 or 9.
I cannot suggest riding a beach cruiser out to secret beach but on my mountain bike from home I wouldn't have thought twice about it. On our way back from the beach we did pass a pair of I trepid touristas on cruisers headed there. Bring lots of water if you go this route!!

Thursday we did the "Day Sail to Caye Caulker" courtesy of Searious Adventures.
They have a 30something foot McGregor catamaran with most of the trapeze replaced with decks. James Bond, Nick and Captain Junior were awesome! The most disappointing part of the trip was probably the snorkeling sessions. For these they just pull the boat up to the parking lot where everybody else is and you snorkel around this overcrowded tiny area for a bit. It was fun and there is lots of marine life but it would be way better if they just parked a bit away from everybody else and gave swimmers some room.
James and crew were great;   they kept the alcohol flowing and when the rains came the second time they covered all the customers up while they roughed it out in the cold tropical deluge.

Rain rain rain
Drinks at the cococabana pool bar, then coffee at our bar after we got swamped on the way back. Then Palapa Bar for lunch where we met Kirk and his ladyfriend, from Edmonton Alberta. They gave us a beer for our information and gave us a ride home on their golf cart! Cheers!

Stormy day. Dinner at Portofino was pretty awesome. Only 3 parties at the restaurant and $100 for two plus a generous tip for Raphael the awesome waiter! Not an every day thing but very awesome date night. ...just wish it wasn't a storm the whole time!