New Battery

With the low-voltage disconnect, I'm hoping for much longer battery life going forward -- and lights that stay on longer. The low voltage disconnect will prevent the battery voltage from going below 12.1 volts when I leave the inverter or lights well into the evening.

Taken on Sunday April 16, 2017 at Big Red.

Tried To Keep Wires As Neat As Possible

8 gauge wire with a 60 amp fuse now brings power back to the truck cap. While right now I only have a 20-amp load, I wanted to have options to add additional accessories in the truck cap, and have as little line drop as possible in my truck cap.

Taken on Sunday April 16, 2017 at Big Red.

April 17, 2017 Evening

Good evening! Partly sunny and 62 degrees in the City of Albany. There is a west-northwest breeze at 15 mph. Worked out to be a little warmer then I expected, with the mercury reaching 65 degrees by mid-afternoon but feels a bit chilly now with the wind downtown.

The sun will set at 7:40 pm with dusk around 8:09 pm, which is one minute and 9 seconds later than yesterday. At sunset, look for mostly clear conditions and 55 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 14 mph. It might be a nice evening at the park, but I’m worried with the wind, it might get a bit chilly. I also got to consider what I make for dinner, which might take a while. If I make burgers, if will take a bit. 

I think I might try cooking out back on the camp stove assuming that it’s not too windy and I decide on burgers when I get home. I’ll have to think about it more. I am out of beer but I could always judge the walk down to the gas station with its beer cave. Although I don’t know, I’m a bit tired. 

I noticed that the headlights are dim and the inside lights are off on the bus, so I wonder if it has a bad alternator although I don’t know. We are making good progress home with light traffic and the bus seems to be running fine. Clearly the air compression tanks are working fine and I think that the pumps are electric. So I don’t know. 

Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low of 39 degrees at 5am. One degree below normal. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming light after midnight. In 2016, it got down to 40 degrees under partly cloudy skies. The record low of 21 occurred back in 1948.

Waning Gibbous Moon tonight with 57% illuminated. The moon will rise around 11:23 pm. The Last Quarter Moon is on Wednesday night with chance of showers expected. The Full β€œFlower” Moon is on Wednesday, May 10th. The sun will rise at 6:08 am with the first light at 5:38 am, which is one minute and 36 seconds earlier than yesterday. Tonight will have 10 hours and 26 minutes of darkness, a decrease of 2 minutes and 43 seconds over last night.

Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high of 60 degrees at 4pm. Typical temperature for this time of year. North wind 3 to 6 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies and a high of 78 degrees. The record high of 90 was set in 1976. 2.7 inches of snow fell back in 1887.

While a few degrees below normal, it looks like the weekend will be nice. Saturday, partly sunny, with a high near 58. Sunday, partly sunny, with a high near 60.Typical average high for the weekend is 61 degrees.

In four weeks on May 15 the sun will be setting at 8:11 pm, which is 31 minutes and 7 seconds later then today. In 2016 on that day, we had rain and temperatures between 52 and 39 degrees. Typically, you have temperatures between 69 and 47 degrees. The record high of 93 degrees was set back in 1900.

Looking ahead, May Day is in 2 weeks, Pack Rat Day is a month away. and Memorial Day is in 6 weeks.

NYS GIS Clearinghouse – NYS DEC

NYS GIS Clearinghouse – NYS DEC

The NYSDEC has posted updated trail, roads, asset (campsite/leanto/parking-area), and land shapefiles as of April 7, 2017. If you do GIS stuff, you may want to update your files. There are some big updates to their files, as the DEC has been doing a lot more GPSing over the past summer into the winter.