BBL
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Posts posted by BBL
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Ron,
Great report, we are picking up in March! Seems like forever from now. We are over in Western TN, near Paris. If you are ever passing through and need a driveway to overnight, we have connections and will host you guys.
Best to you and your wife and we sincerely hope you get to visit all sites, and more than you ever imagined.
Brian & Brandelyne
Paris, TN
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On 8/30/2022 at 12:59 PM, SteveCr said:
Hello Hull 812,
I have Hull 806 and had the same issue with the tv antenna pulling in zero channels. I found a work around until I took 806 back to Oliver for annual maintenance. Oliver confirmed what I found....the cables behind the switch in the "attic" were reversed. They corrected the connections on the back of that switch and I now am able to pull in over the air channels with no issues.
(the work around I used before Oliver corrected it was to run a coax from the front of the"attic" switch to the back of the tv....you just have to experiment with the push button switch to determine which coax position to use) Let me know if you want more info.
Steve,
We have placed our order for our LE II and I am still on the fence about the omni-directional antenna and the "new" placement on the back of the trailer. Is your antenna on the back and are you generally happy with the performance (now that the polarity has been corrected on the amp)?
I have been working in communications all my life and to move an antenna from a perfectly "quiet" area up front to back behind the a/c where motors and fans are running (radio hates motors and fans), and also where the A/C can physically block signals, makes little to no sense. Only thing I can think is that they were trying to cut down on the wire run from the front to the back of the trailer.
I would like to have it in the off-chance that we have weather coming in and there is a TV station close enough to provide weather reports to augment our normal suite of communications devices and weather data.
Thanks for your input.
Brian
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Agree, we are getting into the territory of too many apps to do similar things. However, that being said, the Victron security does not obviate the need for a pass code on the batteries nor does it prohibit it. They (the batteries) are independent because BT was designed into them and as you mentioned before, someone in your campground can just look at and make changes to your batteries. I don't even like the fact that my batteries will be advertising their presence to anyone with a Lithionics app on their phone.
I will secure access to anything I can secure access to, just like locking my trailer when I leave. I won't be using my hull number or my license plate number either. I think the access is a good tool in the tool bag but we have to keep the tool bag secure.
A Smart Shunt would be a nice option but I think access to the batteries obviates the need for that as it provides the same information.
Brian
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15 hours ago, Steve and Deb said:
I guess we'll be back in the cheap seats. 😉
Steve, you might be in the cheap seats but you won't be in a cheap travel trailer...looking forward to seeing you there.
Brian
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We won't have the trailer until March but I will see you there in '24.
Brian
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We are going to the Overland Expo East in VA next month and look forward to seeing Oliver there. I really like the Kimberly, hopefully they don't steal me away from Oliver! We will not be camping as we no longer have a trailer. We still have the option to tent camp but I don't see that happening on this trip.
Brian
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On 8/29/2022 at 11:23 AM, Steve and Deb said:
Since we will be picking up our Oliver in March, we would like to attend the 2023 rally. You all took most of the spots already, and there's only a few available in section B. Is this more or less a parking lot? Can't seem to find any photos of the area, and any drone video I find online looks like its over the ridge from the rest of the campground. What's the best area in section B if we end up there?
For some reason, site A01 has been open for a long time. Something wrong with it? It is the closest site to the entrance, but is it worse than section B?
We can always wait until closer and hope to snag a cancellation, but that might not happen, and we'd be out of luck.
Thanks for any input,
SteveWe will be picking up in March and attending the Rally in May as well.
Brian
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We love it there, my wife's Aunt and Uncle live in ARCO, ID (I know, who does that?). We towed through there in 2020 but it was full (and we had a 30' trailer) so we camped just down the street.
Brian
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18 hours ago, Jim and Chris Neuman said:
I have been using zip ties for years on my sailboat. They are a fine way to make a light fastening but do have the drawback of degrading in sunlight to the point where, after a season or two, their resistance to abrasion and breaking is seriously compromized. Replacing these plastic ties would be on my annual to-do list. I have looked for UV restant zip ties but no luck so far ... would like very much if someone here could post a source.
In this application stainless or monel seizing wire would be a superior option.
I use these ties all the time on my tower and antenna cables. They are UV proof and releasable!
Not saying this is the only source for them, I shop with KF7P often and he is good people.
Brian
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10 minutes ago, John E Davies said:
It is not at all hard to install the Victron smart shunt, which indeed gives the owner excellent info and it also networks with any other Victron parts like solar. It would be nice if they did it at the factory so the cabling issue is not the limiting factor for a DIY installation.. Getting most of the cables out of the battery compartment would certainly improve it visually.
John Davies
Spokane WA
John,
I agree, it is not that difficult to install one but, with the current system, I don't know that there would be much added value by doing so. Of course, if I was designing an all-Victron suite, it would include a Smart Shunt, Inverter/Charger, and MPPT Solar Charge Controller. But I'm not...
Brian
Paris, TN
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Steve - I don't disagree with anything you have stated here. Right there with you. IMHO FWIW - a move to Victron should have included all components.
Brian
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15 hours ago, SeaDawg said:
So, I'm still questioning if the battery functions are controlled via victron, vs lithionivs, or if they can work together?
I know I'm late to the game, but still curious
I don't have a dog in the hunt (none of this gear). Just curious.
SeaDawg - understandable, basically they can work together to provide the end user with information though they don't "work" together in that sense of the term. It also depends on what you mean by "controlling battery functions". The lithionics interface is one of the best I have seen for staying informed about the health and performance of your batteries. The Victron app is going to tell you how your solar system is performing. Keep in mind, when someone says Victron app with respect to an OTT, they are only referring to SOLAR. Victron makes many, many more products that could be used but are not currently going into the OTT.
One such product is the Inverter/Charger. OTT uses the XANTREX PRO series, a very good product on its own, but does not show up in the Victron or Lithionics App, it has it's own app.
So, if you want to fully understand a 2023 "Electrical System" you should have an App for the Victron Solar, Xantrex Inverter/Charger and Lithionics batteries. And, to be clear, the Victron Solar and Xantrex Inverter/Charger have remotes on the wall so you don't have to have their apps to get the information but if you want to check detailed battery information, you will have to BT into the battery and check it out. Here is a good (the drawing gets a little tedious) video of how the Lithionics battery app works.
Here is a video on the Victron system for the 2023 models. Significant point to note, Xantrex used a PWM charging method, Victron uses MPPT. I won't get into those details here but suffice it to say, MPPT is more efficient (and usually costly). I prefer MPPT on all my solar chargers.
Cheers,
Brian
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The 2023 EII will have a Victron Solar Charge controller replacing the Zamp controller and it will be Bluetooth capable. That will give you access to your charging parameters and most of the battery information that you would want/need. You can also access the Xantrex Pro 3000 via BT and get inverter and battery information from there.
Accessing at the Battery level is good because you can get fault codes and check the individual battery health and temp. This would not be something I would do often but if BT access is there, I want it to be access protected. I have seen many Victron systems that incorporate the "Smart Shunt" where they are very clear that every ground has to be connected to the shunt in order for it to report accurately to the controller. Since some batteries are not close to this shunt, I have seen things like tongue jacks and powered stabilizers wired directly to the battery and not being reported by the smart shunt, even while in use.
Oliver doesn't use the Smart Shunt so direct access to the batteries could be helpful in identifying parasitic draws, albeit fairly insignificant. It can also be helpful, since the batteries are in parallel, to see if both batteries are healthy.
The bottom line is, most everything will be connected soon and we will have to choose which path we will take when assessing our power reserves.
Options are a good thing as long as they don't drive the prices up to where we can no longer afford to have them.
Brian
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John,
All good questions. First and foremost, this will not open your phone up to hackers if you do not do this. That said, it can open you up to your neighbor exploring your Victron and making changes, even shutting it down. I just want to lock down anything that has settings that can be changed via remote app. I work in IT so that might just be me saying don't look at my stuff and don't change my stuff.
Has this ever happened? My guess would be yes but I don't know of any cases where batteries or solar have been hacked and manipulated. I can say, when I first saw the Lithionics app demonstrated and it showed all the batteries within BT range it concerned me. The guy doing the demonstration said, you might have to know your battery's serial number if there are a lot of them around. Yikes. (being the paranoid IT guy).
Just passing a new feature along for the consideration of others.
Brian
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I was always curious as to why this was not done early in the release but am VERY happy they are incorporating it now.
Brian
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5 hours ago, KenB said:
Though I’ve owned my own ham radio receivers since Junior High School, I didn’t have a license until three years ago. My wife and I went on a group Land Cruiser 4x4 trip in the Colorado mountains around Ouray that required 2M communication, so I got my Technician and a hand held Kenwood radio. FRS only reaches so far. I should have taken the General test at the same time. An engineering undergrad degree and 20 years of teaching high school shop class made the Technician exam pretty painless. That was the end of my recent radio experience, so you could say that I’m not very active. Thanks for the kind words.
Ken
KE0VTG
Very nice! My wife and I met in Ouray on a 4x4 expedition (FJ Summit) and I learned she had her General class. When she heard I was an Extra class (from the 20wpm code days) she had to get hers so I coached her into taking and passing the test first time. She is not as active as I am but not shy on the radio either.
Brian
AF1US
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3 hours ago, Zodd said:
I was wondering how my HAM operators would chime in here. I am also one (again not really active but would like to get active again. W3EZY). That was my first thought tough. Fire up the HAM radio and tune into NOAA. I had never heard of POTA so thanks for that call out. Going to read up on it.
POTA or Parks on the Air, in my opinion, is one of the greatest things to happen to HAM radio in 50 years. You can be either an "Activator" where you go out to a Park and set up a radio and call CQ POTA and log as many contacts as you can (make the call and they will come!) or you can be a "Hunter" and look on the POTA.app website and "Hunt" parks. I just earned my Worked All States (WAS) for POTA - NOT an easy thing to do. HI was really tough because when they are in the parks, they are portable and low power but I have a good antenna at home!
We should have a meet up at the Rally in May to see what kind of activity there is out there. I plan to bring radios to show off to anyone who will listen LOL.
73 de AF1US (Best Regards from AF1US)
Brian
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13 hours ago, Patriot said:
We live near Shelby, NC approx 50 mi west of Charlotte. The Zarcor shade is not one of our first mods, but it’s one of our favorites. The install is for the most part straight forward. PM me if you have any questions that I can help with. 😊
We went to Shelby often, nice little town. We especially liked the old red barn (Used in the Hillshire Farms ads) that is now a winery and events venue.
Thank you for the offer to assist, I might need it.
Brian
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On 8/7/2022 at 3:40 PM, KenB said:
The OP should do this too. Here is a map of the coverage. https://www.weather.gov/media/nwr/NWR_Propagation.pdf
Here is a description of the weather radio service, a service provided by NOAA. https://www.weather.gov/nwr/Here is a description of NOAA as a whole. https://www.weather.gov
Most of the time I just use my cell phone for a weather report, but other times I use the weather radio, my shortwave receiver, or my 2M handheld, all are pretuned to the NOAA frequencies.The NOAA is the primary source of weather information in the country and is broadcast everywhere. Local forecasts are included.
@KenB Ken - you got me a 2M handheld! We are new to the forums and waiting on our LE II to be built. My wife and I both are licensed hams and are thinking of starting a thread to see how many more are out there. We are big into POTA (Parks on the Air) and always travel with an HF radio (for long distance) and 2M/70CM radios. I carry a Chameleon MPAS 2.0 vertical antenna for HF.
Are you very active in radio? What is your QTH? My call is AF1US (Retired USAF communicator).
Look forward to hearing from you - and this is a great post.
Brian
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On 7/5/2022 at 5:22 PM, Patriot said:
I believe they will be getting the new Truma combo AC, Frig, and Furnace if it’s a 2023. This is what we saw in a demo Ollie at this past summers Oliver Rally.
The new Fridge is a 110vac/12vdc Isotherm model and is 4.5 cu ft. It's funny, it is very similar to the Isotherm my brother in law has on his boat. They are very popular in the marine community.
Brian
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On 7/6/2022 at 9:27 AM, John E Davies said:
Are you positive that it is the water heater/ furnace combo model? Have you spoken to Oliver Sales about that? I sure hope so, I would be interested in a factory installed retrofit, because the old furnace is a true PITA to service, especially if there is a board failure. I am sure propane consumption will be stellar with the combo unit. And hopefully stellar maintenance access too, depending on where they choose to position it. And way way quieter. Any details will be very welcome!
I agree with your decision to wait! Your drive home may be challenging, don’t rush if the weather turns bad.
John DaviesSpokane WA
John,
The Truma furnace is standard in 2023 and it is the Vario-Heat model. That is why it is not mentioned in the Truma "package" where you get the A/C, water heater and winter ops filter (if you want it). We ordered all 3 Truma pieces.
I spoke to Truma before I visited the factory last week and they asked me how Oliver was running all three on the wall control because you can only connect two devices to it. When I got there and checked, the Furnace and Water Heater are controlled on the wall unit and the A/C is controlled via a handheld remote control. Hmmmm... seems there could have been some additional thought put into that one.
Maybe changes are coming.
Brian
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On 6/9/2022 at 8:29 AM, Patriot said:
I thought I would bump this post since I was asked about the Zarcor window shade while at this years Rally by a few new owners.
It’s a nice mod passed on to me by TopGun and naturally allows us to see who is knocking at the door. As mentioned we ordered tinted glass to match the Oliver tinted windows. A top five mod of ours. Hope this helps those that asked about it at the Rally.
Happy Camping!
@Patriot Thanks for this post. We are waiting on our LE II and this will be one of the first things I do. We are in TN but moved here from Mooresville, NC and I am originally from New Bern, NC - where are you in NC?
Brian
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Interesting…as usual, there was no direct answer as to why they were going with one versus the other. All I know is that we are supposed to get Fiber Granite in Midnight color scheme.
Brian
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On 8/13/2022 at 9:35 AM, AZ Wonderer said:
Thanks for all this info. It's very helpful. I'm doing the reverse of you...doing a plant tour after order. Our tour is scheduled for Sept 11. Did Anita show you samples of the new countertops for 2023? I understand they no longer will be fiber-granite but instead will be solid surface acrylic. Congratulations again on your order.
We just did the factory tour (8/19) and the Solid Surface counter tops are OUT, Fiber Granite is still going to be installed in the 2023. Not sure where they will go after that.
We were looking forward to a more “Corian-type” of feel but we still like the standard counter tops.
Brian
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Population spike map shows where people live, so you know where not to go camping.
in General Discussion
Posted
Very nice map and have experienced this as well. There is a stark difference between EC and WC. I was doing a communications project many years back and we came up with a stat that said, over 1/2 the US population lives within 50 miles of the coast! That means there is a lot of unoccupied land in the center.
Thanks for the reference.
Brian