Category Archives: Product reviews

The Easy Way To Get Cell Phone Service in Canada for Visitors

CanadaSimCardWalmartCanada is not friendly roaming territory for many U.S. cell phones. Some U.S. providers have excellent roaming in Canada, but in many cases, your cell phone is dead weight north of the border. In many cases, you can probably get roaming by calling your provider before you go. But there’s an easier way.

My plan doesn’t provide any coverage north of the border. My phone read “emergency calls only,” so I assume I could have called 911.  And, of course, I could use it with a WiFi connection.  But voice, data, and text service was unavailable. The problem was easily remedied. I stopped at a Walmart (in particular, the North Winnipeg Garden City store), and the helpful friendly staff quickly got me set up with chatr mobile, an affiliate of Rogers Communications. For about $33 Canadian (about US$24), they sold me a SIM card, installed it in my existing phone, and started my prepaid service for one month.  I’m sure many other retailers could have helped me, but Walmart seemed the most convenient.

I now have my very own Canadian telephone number, and if I visit Canada again, I can simply use the same SIM card.  You won’t be able to receive calls to your U.S. number, but all of your contacts will still be in your phone, and you can call or text, as well as make use of the generous data plan.

Keep your existing SIM card in a safe place, because you’ll need to re-install it when you get back to the United States.  The Walmart employees will put in the Canadian SIM card, but you’ll be on your own putting it back.  But watch them carefully, and you see that the swap is a fairly easy process.  You don’t really need it, but it won’t hurt to get a SIM card removal tool.

You don’t have to change it immediately, since you will still have service in the United States with the Canadian card installed.  Minutes after crossing the border back to the U.S., I received a text informing me that they had great roaming options and I should purchase one.  However, the phone kept working, and it notified me that even without one, service was available, albeit at rather steep prices.  Calls were $1.45 per minute, and texts were 75 cents each.  I did use the service for a bit, and had a sufficient balance to do so.

Ironically, in the U.S. border town of Pembina, ND, I had service with my Canadian number, even though I didn’t have service there from my U.S. provider.  So I was in no rush to change it.  If you want to avoid the hassle entirely, you can bring a second phone with you (perhaps your old one, or a cheap unlocked phone purchased from Amazon).  They can install the SIM card in that phone, and you can just use it whenever you go to Canada.  Another option is to buy a phone there.  They had Android phones starting for about $100 Canadian, although comparable phones would be cheaper in the U.S.

ChatrMapIn Canada, the chatr service was extraordinarily good.  I don’t think I encountered a single dead spot, even though I was further north than most Canadians ever venture.  I drove from the border to Thompson, Manitoba, which is 473 miles (761 km) north of Winnipeg.  But the entire highway had cell phone coverage, even though there were stretches where it was 200 kilometers between gas stations.  Looking at the coverage map, I can see that even a few miles off the highway, there would be no service, but I was impressed with the service.  Your best bet is to check with the local retailer, whether it’s Walmart or some other store, and get their advice on which service is best for where you will be going.

Prices will vary, but probably won’t be much higher than the $33 I paid.  In fact, a few weeks earlier, my son had done the same thing for about $25, and received a $25 Walmart gift card as part of a special promotion.  So in his case, the phone service was basically free.  If you’re going to be there for more than a month, it might be worth shopping around for price.  But for convenience, you can’t beat walking into Walmart and walking out with a phone that’s good for a month of prepaid service.



Winter Field Day 2023 – QCX Mini Review

327057549_420653090238651_583568416017169018_nThis weekend was Winter Field Day, an event in which amateur radio operators set up at a remote location and see how many contacts they can make. Two years ago, many hams stayed home in the mistaken belief that being in a field somehow causes COVID. To dispel that notion, I set up at a state park campground, where I operated while socially distancing myself hundreds of feet from other persons.

Last year, I operated a little bit from home, albeit with battery power, and doing my best to work only portable stations. But the name of the event is Field Day, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to do it anywhere but out in the field. Santa Claus recently gave me a new QRP (low power) radio, the QCX Mini for 40 meters, and this was a good opportunity to put it to work.

Review of QCX Mini

I’ve had the QCX Mini, a product of QRP Labs, a few weeks now, and I’m absolutely amazed at how well this radio works. It weighs less than half a pound, and can easily be held in the palm of your hand. It’s available for multiple bands, but I chose 40 meters, which is almost always open to somewhere, day or night. Winter Field Day is, in addition to being a fun activity, an exercise in emergency preparedness, and this tiny rig is one that you could carry with you anywhere. You just need to plug it into a key, headphones, power supply, and antenna. It’s an excellent CW transceiver, and in many ways, it’s comparable with even the best stations.

The receiver is possibly a little less sensitive than a full-size receiver at home, but it’s more than adequate for QRP use. My best DX with it so far was Austria, I was able to pull in the other station’s signal, and he was able to hear me. Additional sensitivity wouldn’t really add much.

It is, however, extremely selective, and has a narrow filter which is ideal for CW. The downside is that the filter is an analog filter permanently wired in, so it’s really not possible to copy AM or SSB signals. You can hear them, and make them out to some extent, but not very well. For example, the receiver is able to tune to both 5 and 10 MHz, and I can hear the beeps from WWV, but can’t really copy the voice messages.

In addition to the transmitter and receiver, the little radio has a built-in keyer, and even a code reader. The code reader doesn’t work quite as well as the one between my ears, but it actually does come in handy. Occasionally, I might miss a letter, but there it is, right on the screen. And if I forget a call sign before writing it down, it’s there on the screen for a few seconds until it scrolls away.

I haven’t tried it out yet, but the QCX Mini also contains a WSPR beacon that might be fun to play with.  You can read the QST review of the radio at this link.

If someone wants to get into amateur radio very cheaply, and they’re willing to learn Morse Code, the QCX Mini would be a very inexpensive way to start.  Completely assembled, it sells for about $120.  Of course, knowledge of Morse code is necessary, but the code reader makes the learning curve a bit easier.  As long as the station you’re working is sending reasonably good code, the built-in reader will help you catch all or most of what you might have missed.  Even if you’re a little unsure of your abilities at first, you can get on the air right away, and build your speed up on the air, rather than having to worry about “practicing.”

In kit form, the radio is only $55, although you probably want to spend an additional $20 for the case.  (But it would work fine with the printed circuit boards exposed.)  If you get the models for 80, 40, or 15 meters, only a technician class license is required, and that can be done with a weekend of study (perhaps using the study guide I authored).

Winter Field Day Summary

326990256_846822686428782_4363993949095429185_nThe contest incentivizes operating away from home, so I decided to trek a bit further than my own back yard.  I toyed with the idea of just sitting in a folding chair outside, but the temperature was only 5 degrees Fahrenheit, so I opted to sit inside the car for a little protection from the elements.  I found an almost-empty parking lot at Como Park in St. Paul, MN, and decided to operate for a couple of hours from there.

The 40 meter band is best during nighttime hours, but I wanted to avoid sitting in the dark as much as possible.  So I arrived at about 4:00 PM local time, and stayed until a little after 6:00.  Most of my time there was in daylight, but with very good band conditions.

My antenna was an inverted-vee dipole.  The center was held up with my trusty golf ball retriever shoved into a snowbank next to the car, and the ends were tied to the ground.  Normally, I just pick up a stick off the ground and use that as a stake, but when I got there, I realized that all of the sticks were buried under two feet of snow.  A search of my car found a water bottle, which I pushed into the snow to serve as an anchor at one end, and my windshield scraper, to which I tied the other end.  The antenna, made of cheap speaker wire, was up in about 10 minutes.  Since I was in my car, I just plugged the radio into the lighter socket.  But I would normally run it with my fish-finder battery.  In fact, the radio will work just find on as little as a 9-volt battery, although I’m guessing one battery would last less than an hour or so.  A better compromise for small size but reasonable battery life would be 8 AA batteries or 8 D cells.

generateCertificateAs soon as I turned on the radio, it sprang to life, and I made a total of 34 contacts over the course of two hours.  You can see from my log below, the radio does get out.  The log image below was made shortly after the contest and confirmations continue to trickle in, but other states worked included Texas, Louisiana, New York, and Pennsylvania, as well as Ontario, Canada.  Surprisingly, I worked nothing to the west, but there are a couple of explanations.  Forty meters is primarily a nighttime band, and it was still daylight to the west of me.  Also, the antenna had an east-west orientation, meaning that it would get out the best to the north and south, which explains the good signal into Texas and Louisiana.

WFDLog2023

 

 

If you see your call sign here, thanks for the contact.  And if you don’t see your call sign here (or if you don’t have a call sign yet), I look forward to seeing you on the air next year!  Maybe by then I’ll try out QRP Labs’ QDX digital transceiver.   Starting for just $69, it’s a multi-band digital transceiver.  It plugs into your computer, and you can immediately start bouncing your signals off the ionosphere into other states and countries.  If you get the entry-level technician license, you can use it immediately on 10 meters.  While that band is very hot right now, that’s not always the case.  Therefore, I would recommend also taking the test for the slightly more  difficult general class license.  But you’re in luck, as I’m also the author of a study guide for that test.



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Product Review: Justin Case Car Emergency Kit

326466552_964154944991438_2065030262964904119_nBottom Line:  Better than Nothing, The Price is Right, and Free Roadside Assistance.

If you’re looking for a rudimentary set of emergency gear to toss in your car, this one is by no means the deluxe version. But the price is right (click this link to see it on Amazon), and it’s all certainly better than nothing. It won’t take care of all of your emergency needs, but it might help if you’re in a tough situation and nothing else is available. Santa Claus brought me one, and I’m honoring him by putting it in my car.

The two biggest pieces of gear are the jumper cables, and a tow strap. The jumper cables look good, but it’s hard to tell how thick the conductors are under the thick insulation. Chances are, they’re much smaller than they appear. But if you have a dead battery, and someone willing to give you a jump start, they’ll probably work, although you might need to let your battery charge for a little while.

The tow strap is 12 feet long, and says that it has a 1500 pound working load. If your car is hopelessly mired in mud, that’s probably not good enough. But if it’s slightly stuck in snow, maybe applying 1500 pounds might get it out. Again, it’s better than nothing. (But I would make sure that nobody is standing near it when in use. If it snaps under 1500 pounds of load, I bet it would sting if it snapped you.)

The set also includes a little first aid kit (no more than a few bandages), a headlamp, complete with AAA batteries, a thin but serviceable blanket, a set of cloth work gloves, and a cheap rain poncho. It comes in a fairly durable looking carrying case, which sports a reflectorized triangle to mark your car in case of emergency.

JustincasePossibly the best value, though, is an automatic membership in a roadside assistance plan, named, like the product itself, Justincase. It purports to be a AAA-style assistance plan. After sending in the card that came with the kit, you can call a toll-free number, and they’ll come out and provide roadside assistance at no cost. A card is included, which you are directed to send in care of Vehicle Administrative Services of Dallas, TX.  If you want to read the fine print of the details of the plan, click the image at left for a full-size image.

The card asks for your name and address, as well as the vehicle description and VIN. It doesn’t ask for credit card numbers or anything, so it doesn’t look too risky. We already have AAA, but it won’t hurt to have a second number available to call in an emergency. Again, I have some doubts, but the price is right. And it looks like it’s better than nothing.

Update:  I sent in the card to sign up for the roadside assistance, but after a few months, I never heard anything back.  I wasn’t really counting on it, but I wouldn’t buy this kit for that reason.

Of course, while better than nothing is, well, better than nothing, if you’re going to be out and about in your car, you should have more supplies at the ready.  See our earlier post for a suggested kit for food and heat.  But it won’t hurt to supplement those supplies with the Justin Case Car Emergency Kit



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Book Review: War Diaries by Volodymyr Gurtovy

My friend Volodymyr “Wlad” Gurtovy, US7IGN, has published a book about his experiences living in Kyiv, Ukraine, in the middle of a war. Wlad, like me, is an attorney, and lived a middle-class existence similar to mine, until Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in 2014. He and his family then relocated to Kyiv, but with Russia’s 2022 invasion, he was once again in the middle of the war. His wife and teen son and daughter evacuated to Poland, where they were able to find an apartment, thanks in part to the generosity of friends in America and elsewhere.

He remained behind, partly because he was prohibited by law from leaving, but mostly because he felt the need to stay behind and defend his native land.

The most compelling part of his book is his account of the mundane details of life in the middle of a war. Wlad lives in a fifth-floor apartment building in the middle of a city of 2.8 million (prewar population). Some days, the supermarkets are open, and some days they are not. The mail continues to go through, but some days, it’s too dangerous to go to the post office to pick it up.  Power, water, and heat are sometimes turned on, but they’re often unavailable. When he needed dental work, he was surprised to find the dental office near his home open, staffed by dental students.  There are even a few accounts of his visits to court on behalf of some pro bono client.  To me, the descriptions of how he navigates this dystopia are fascinating, especially since his life prior to the war wasn’t too different from mine.  Many who follow this blog have an interest in emergency preparedness, and I’m sure they will also find this book compelling.

Of course, since Wlad is a ham, radio is a main character in the story. He gets much of his information from the broadcast radio, and one of his main roles has become that of radio repairman so that others can remain in touch when their radio has problems. He also recounts listening in directly to Russian pilots and both Russian and Ukrainian troops.

As the title suggests, it’s written in chronological format, and you’ll have a hard time putting it down, wondering what’s going to happen the next day.

The book is available at Amazon, as a paperback, hard cover, or Kindle.

If you feel moved to provide additional assistance to Wlad’s family, please see our crowdfunding campaign to help with their needs at GoFundMe or GiveSendGo.

 



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Combination Handwashing Sink/Toilet Tank

Sinktwice

A basically good idea for some situations, but with some serious limitations

More than once, I’ve seen a meme extolling the virtues of a product similar to the one shown here. The accompanying text is usually along the lines of:

In Japan, a sink is built above the toilet tank for hand washing. The water drains into the toilet tank to be used for the next flush, and saves millions of gallons of water each year.

This is usually followed by many gushing comments stating what a great idea it is.  Along the way, it usually turns into a discussion of how stubborn Americans refuse to adopt this idea, or that a conspiracy by the Big Toilet Companies has suppressed the idea. Invariably, when I point out the disadvantages, everyone wants to argue with me, although nobody actually wants to buy one, even though they are readily available.

It’s actually not a bad idea, and there are certain niche applications where it could really come in handy. For example, if you wanted to install a toilet in a room that simply did not have room for a sink, it would be a good choice.

The people who take a strong position about what a good idea this is often don’t seem to understand exactly how it works, and their comments often reflect their confusion. When you flush a toilet, the water to flush is expelled from the tank, and runs through various pathways in the porcelain and into the bowl. Simultaneously, the tank starts refilling with water for the next flush. This product runs that refill water through a faucet on top, through a drain, and into the tank. So in the minute or so that the tank needs to refill, the little faucet on top of the toilet is running. It uses the same amount of water as any other flush. But since it’s now running outside the tank, if you want, you can wash your hands with it. Again, this is an excellent idea, and probably has some niche applications.

But there are a few problems, and depending on your solution to these problems, you might cause more environmental problems of the type you were hoping to solve.

First of all, in most parts of the country (other than areas with very high humidity), you flush the toilet with cold water. But most people wash their hands with hot water. There are two solutions to this problem. Interestingly, one viable solution is to simply resign yourself to the use of cold water. The CDC in its wisdom, for example, provides handwashing instructions calling on you to “wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold)” before applying soap.

However, most Americans probably prefer the familiar warm water when washing hands. So the other alternative is to connect the toilet to the warm water, instead of the cold. But this means that every time the toilet gets flushed, you are heating up 2.5 gallons of water, whether or not you wash your hands. And even if you wash your hands every single time, you use much less than 2.5 gallons in the process. So the net effect is that by making this change, you are unnecessarily heating up a lot of water, which you will literally flush down the toilet. That doesn’t sound like a very “green” thing to do.

Another potential problem is buildup of dirt or soap scum in the rim jets of the toilet. When you flush the toilet, water goes through various pathways in the porcelain, and into the bowl. Some of these, particularly the rim jets at the top of the bowl, are rather small. They are designed to have clean water run through them, and it seems to me that if you run grey water through them, there’s a potential for them to get clogged up.  (And of course, if anything else ever gets poured down the drain, it runs the risk of clogging those little openings.)

It is possible to clean the jets, at least to some extent, by getting down on your hands and knees in front of the bowl, and reaching in with a small brush. But since most of the water’s path is buried in the porcelain, it seems to me that there’s a potential for clogging in an inaccessible area. Of course, you can probably clean them by pouring in toxic chemicals, but if the whole point of this exercise was to “go green,” that doesn’t seem like a good alternative. And if you have to eventually replace the toilet, sending the old one off to the landfill doesn’t sound like a particularly environmentally sound thing to do.

Another issue is washing your hands other than after using the toilet. The only way to get the water to flow is by flushing the toilet. So whenever you want to wash your hands for any reason, you must either find another sink, or else send 2.5 gallons of water literally down the drain. Also, if you are in the middle of washing your hands, but you didn’t quite finish rinsing, you have no choice but to send another 2.5 gallons of perfectly good water into the septic system.

The final issue is that the tank isn’t located very conveniently for washing your hands.

Despite these issues, this is actually a rather good idea, as long as you understand these limitations. If you can live with these downsides, you’ll be glad to know that the Big Toilet Companies are not suppressing this invention. Indeed, like anything else, you can get them at Amazon.

There are a few different brands.  Some are plastic, and some are ceramic.  And more importantly, they come in different sizes, so find the one that fits your tank.  You can find them at this Amazon search result.

 



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Product Review: Great Value Pulled Pork in BBQ Sauce

PulledPork3CarSurvivalKit

Bottom Line:  Relatively expensive, but good way to add some variety to your survival kit.

We’ve previously reported about the importance of a car winter survival kit, to make sure you have enough food in the car to keep yourself reasonably comfortable if stranded. Recently, for example, a winter storm stranded motorists on Interstate 95 in Virginia for over 24 hours. As we showed previously, the kit in our car contains mostly dry food, and we have water and a means of cooking in the car.

One item that was lacking from the original kit was meat, or any type of protein for that matter. I corrected that after Christmas by buying a Hickory Farms meat and cheese gift package at a steep after-Christmas closeout discount, similar to the one shown at right.

PulledPork2Another item recently caught my eye, and that was the pouch of Great Value Pulled Pork in BBQ Sauce from Walmart. Its already cooked, so it only needs to be warmed up. Of course, in an emergency, it could be eaten cold. It’s best on a bun, but any kind of bread or crackers would work fine.  You could also eat it right out of the pouch, or together with one of the other dishes in the survival kit, such as the rice or mashed potatoes.

To test it at home, I was originally going to heat it up in the microwave, but I realized that I should just warm it up as I would in the car. Since I have in the survival kit an emergency stove and a pan, I decided to duplicate this at home. To keep from getting the pan dirty, I heated up water and simply placed the pouch in the water. Of course, in an emergency, if water is short, you can still use the water for drinking or cooking. More likely than not, if I had to heat it up in the car while stranded, I would be using melted snow.

The finished product was better than I expected. It made a reasonably filling lunch, and in an emergency, a hot sandwich (or even just hot meat out of the pouch) would seem luxurious.

This product wouldn’t be viable for a large portion of your emergency food storage. The 2.8 ounce pouch cost $1.28. It provides 11 grams of protein, and only 130 calories. By contrast, a jar of peanut butter, for only a little bit more money, provides 2520 calories and 98 grams of protein. According to Harvard University, the recommended daily protein intake is 0.36 grams per pound. So a person weighing 150 pounds should get about 54 grams per day. This means that for long-term storage, the peanut butter is a much better value. But for a day or two, the pulled pork would add a few calories to your diet, provide a welcome hot meal, albeit a small one, and provide you with some protein. And it’s quite possible that the contents of the car witner survival kit will be frozen when you need them. Thawing a pouch of meat is probably a lot easier than figuring out how to thaw a jar of peanut butter.

The package I bought had a “best by” date of November 2024, almost three years in the future. So I’ll definitely be tossing some in the car survival kit. I hope I don’t have to use them until a future family survival picnic.

Incidentally, if the package looks familiar, that’s because this type of packaging is also used for tuna, another possible choice for the survival kit.



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Which is Cheaper: Gasoline or Ethanol?

ethanolmolecule

Gasoline versus Ethanol

Shown above is a molecule of ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol.  If you ignite it with a spark, it will burn. This is not rocket science.  (Come to think of it, though, if you use it as rocket fuel, then it is rocket science.)  Gasoline (or petrol, as our friends across the pond like to call it) is a mixture of molecules, most of which look very similar to the one above. If you ignite it with a spark, it will also burn. The difference, however, is the “O“. Gasoline doesn’t have any oxygen atoms. To burn it, you need to supply all of the oxygen from another source. Fortunately, that’s easy to do, since we live in an atmosphere consisting partly of oxygen, and it’s free for the taking.

But this means that for a given amount of fuel, the ethanol will have less energy content: If you burn gasoline, you can use the free oxygen that is floating around. If you use ethanol, then you are paying for some of the oxygen, which you could have gotten for free.

For this reason, I’ve heard many people explain that you shouldn’t use ethanol as fuel, because your fuel mileage will be lower. But that’s not the end of the discussion: If you’re like me, you are really concerned about saving money, and your main concern is which fuel is cheaper.

A Real World Comparison Test

MSPEscanabaI’ve heard many persons express their opinion as to the relative fuel economy, but I’ve never heard anyone actually test it, so I decided to do so myself. I recently had to drive from St. Paul, MN, to Escanaba, MI, to do an FCC Great Lakes Ship Radio Inspection. I drove eastbound using e85, a mixture of approximately 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, and drove westbound with gasoline (which is actually e10, 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol). For the nitpickers, here are the conditions of the test:

To make sure I was able to purge almost all of the E85 from the system before the return trip, I tested the mileage from St. Paul, MN, to Marinette, WI, short of my final destination. I started with a full tank, and upon arriving in Marinette, I checked the cumulative mileage and then added about 6 gallons. I also added a few gallons in Escanaba, MI, about 56 miles away. When I arrived back in Marinette, I was down to about a quarter tank, at which point I filled with gasoline (actually, e10) for the trip home. So almost all of the e85 had been purged from the system for the trip home.

My vehicle is a 2014 Dodge Journey with the 3.6 liter 6 cylinder engine. The EPA estimated highway mileage is 25 MPG with gasoline, and 18 MPG with e85. The two endpoints have similar elevations (795 feet in St. Paul, versus 594 in Marinette). Winds on the day of my trip were light, and whenever I did see flags moving in the breeze, the prevailing wind seemed to be from the north. So there should be no effect from a headwind or tailwind. I took an identical route both directions, mostly over four lane freeways, but a small portion over county highways suggested by Google. In other words, the driving conditions both directions were more or less identical. The average mileage reading was taken from the car’s computer, which was reset after each fill-up.

The average mileage using e85 was 21.6 MPG. The average mileage using gasoline (actually e10) was 26.4 MPG. As noted above, the mileage with ethanol was lower, since the fuel has a lower energy content. The real question is which fuel is cheaper.

To make the comparison fair, I’ll use the prices at the same station, the one where I bought the e85: The e85 cost $2.229 per gallon. In other words, it cost me $2.229 to drive 21.6 miles, or 10.32 cents per mile. (I actually used a loyalty card, which brought the cost down to $2.029 per gallon, or 9.4 cents per mile).

The gasoline I bought for the return trip cost $3.239 per gallon, since one gallon allows me to drive 26.4 miles, that means I spent 12.3 cents per mile. But in fairness, if I had bought that gas for the eastbound trip at the same place where I bought the e85, it would have cost $3.099 per gallon, which works out to 11.7 cents per mile.

In other words, it was cheaper to drive using the e85: 10.3 cents per mile versus 11.7 cents per mile. In other words, the e85 is 12% cheaper than using gasoline.

It should be noted that these figures are based upon the price at one particular station, a Holiday gas station.  You can view the current prices at this station at this link.  Some gas stations sell e85, but at a much smaller discount over the price of regular gasoline. In fact, I’ve occasionally seeing a station inexplicably selling e85 for more than the price of regular gasoline. Obviously, it makes no sense to buy to buy there. To be economical, the price of e85 needs to be below 21.6/26.4 = 82% the price of regular gas. In my case, the price of e85 was 74% the cost, and thus a clear bargain.

Other Considerations

There are a couple of other factors to keep in mind. Even though the name of the fuel is “e85” the exact blend can vary. During the winter months, the gasoline content is higher, and I have noticed that stations do not adjust the price based upon the exact mix. So during the winter, the e85 might be an even greater bargain.

Also, I have not measured it, but I have noticed that when I have a mixture that is around 50% ethanol and 50% gasoline, I don’t notice much mileage difference between it and 100% gasoline. So even though the energy content is lower, the actual effect on mileage might not be linear. It would be interesting to repeat this experiment with different blends.

I’m not sure of this, but I suspect that for applications requiring more power (such as towing), gasoline would have a greater advantage. But again, I’ve not tested this hypothesis.

And you will certainly have more range using gasoline than you would ethanol. So if cost isn’t an issue, but you need to drive as far as possible before refueling, then you will be able to drive 22% further by using gasoline.

I suspect that ethanol might have a greater cost advantage for high altitude driving. The reason why there is a lower energy content is because the fuel contains oxygen, which is available at no cost from the atmosphere. At higher elevations, the additional oxygen in the fuel might be an advantage.

Precisely because it has a lower energy content, ethanol also increases the octane rating of the fuel, so it is an inexpensive option for use in high compression engines.

Ideas for Young Scientists

If students are looking for an interesting science fair project, I hope my little experiment has given you some ideas. Even if you don’t have a driver’s license, you can recruit your parents to keep track of mileage when driving, and compare different fuels, or different types of driving, to see which is the most economical.

Interestingly, I exceeded the EPA mileage estimates for both fuels. There was a time when the EPA estimates were overly optimistic, but I guess those days are gone.

But Ethanol Will Clog My Fuel Filter!

Someone will invariably claim that ethanol clogs fuel filters, and I want to explain what is really happening.  Alcohol can mix with both water and gasoline.  Water, by itself, cannot mix with gasoline.  If you have 100% gasoline in your tank and some water is added, it is heavier than gasoline and will settle to the sump at the bottom of the tank, which is below the point where it can be drawn out by the fuel pump.  It doesn’t do any harm there, as long as it stays below the level of the fuel intake.  But it does dissolve dirt, and that dirt has nowhere to go but stay in the water.

Eventually, if water keeps getting added, it will continue to collect.  If it ever gets up to the level of the intake, then this will be a problem, since water mixed with dirt will be going to the engine rather than gasoline.  The fuel filter will clean out the dirt, but the engine will try to burn the water, and water doesn’t burn.

When ethanol was first added to gasoline in the U.S., this meant that it found its way, for the first time, into cars with water in the bottom of the tank.  The alcohol allowed the water and dirt to mix with the gasoline.  The dirt, which may have collected since the car was new, went into the fuel filter, as the filter was designed to do.  This is how ethanol got a reputation for clogging fuel filters.

But now, virtually all gasoline sold in the U.S. contains at least 10% ethanol, and virtually every car on the road has been burning 10% ethanol for years.  Water never gets a chance to build up in the tank.  If there is dirt in the tank, it comes out constantly.  Unlike the time the car got its first tank of ethanol, years’ accumulation of dirt is not coming out all at once to suddenly clog the filter.  So after that initial shock, ethanol actually corrects the problem, and also prevents gas line freeze.  In the days before ethanol fuel, in cold climates, people bought a product called Heet to prevent fuel line freezing.  This consisted either of ethanol or isopropyl alcohol.  Since ethanol is now included in the fuel, this is no longer necessary, and you rarely hear of gas lines freezing.



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Product Review: U-Haul Motorcycle Trailer

A motorcycle can provide transportation independence, but the time occasionally comes when the thing has to be moved by other than its own power.  If you don’t own a suitable truck, this can be a problem.  Even if you do own a truck large enough to haul it, getting it loaded is generally a pain.

My son owns an Icebear Rocket 49cc scooter.  Even though it weighs “only” 220 pounds, and we have transported it in the back of a minivan, it’s not ideal.  Fighting 220 pounds into the car, without a real ramp, is no fun, and there’s always the chance of oil or gas spilling inside the vehicle.  So when we recently had to take it to the shop, we decided that there must be an easier way.  And, indeed, there is, in the form of U-Haul’s motorcycle trailer.

I’m always a little bit leery of U-Haul, and I once spent a few hours at a loading dock with one of their trucks as the U-Haul mechanic did his best with bailing wire and duct tape to get the thing running.  And whenever I see one of their trucks driving down the road, I do my best to keep my distance.  They paint them bright orange for a reason, and that’s to warn other motorists that the driver has never driven a truck in his or her lifetime, and probably has no clue as to what they are doing.

But there’s not much that can go wrong with a trailer.  And for the reasonable price of $14.95 per day, U-Haul has a motorcycle trailer.  I decided to give it a try, and it was definitely a bargain.

The trailer is just a flatbed trailer, but it’s optimized for motorcycles. The bed measures 7’8″ by 3’9.5″, and would accommodate even the largest of bikes. It was certainly more than adequate for our little scooter. The tailgate folds down easily to form a ramp. Other reviews have noted that it has plenty of ground clearance for most bikes. In our case, with the scooter, it just barely cleared, so in retrospect, we should have propped up the ramp an inch or two. But the bike easily rolled right in, and the gate was very easy to raise and lower. When loaded, the gate is held in place with two pins, making a visible indication that it’s securely closed.

The trailer was clean and well maintained, and seemed safe to drive.  It used what looked to be full-size automotive tires, rather than the smaller trailer tires used on most trailers.  I suspect this means that the chances of a blowout are much reduced.  The coupler seemed to be in good shape, and the minimal electrical system worked fine.

At the front of the trailer, there is a nose that extends several inches, and this serves as a chock for the front wheel.

You’ll need to supply your own tie-downs. Most would probably use ratchet straps. But I’m an Eagle Scout, and Scouts use rope to tie things down. A few trucker’s hitches made sure the bike was rock solid. Whenever I’m hauling anything, I stop after about a mile and make sure that the load is secure. I did so before getting on the freeway on-ramp, and everything was solid.

To tow the trailer, you’ll need a 2 inch hitch ball, and a flat four electrical connection.  If you’re lamenting the fact that you don’t have a vehicle with a trailer hitch, a hitch can be installed on virtually any vehicle, including most passenger cars.  For more information, see our trailer hitch page.  Of course, if you don’t have a car with a hitch, you can rent a truck that has one.

When I reserved the trailer online, I had to select the location I wanted it from. The closest to my house, strangely enough, was a liquor store, which apparently rents U-Hauls as a side hustle. Sure enough, when I drive past there, I notice there are always two or three trucks in their parking lot. I suspected that they might not just happen to have a motorcycle trailer the day we needed it. And sure enough, I got a phone call a few hours later directing me to another location, the large U-Haul dealer in the area.

I picked it up there on a Saturday morning. The clerk texted me a link, and I used my phone to upload a picture of my driver’s license. I neglected to call my insurance agent to see if I needed insurance, so to be on the safe side, I opted to pay an extra $8 for the collision damage waiver. But still, the total charge was under $25.

The technician outside quickly hooked up the trailer, and I was on my way. The return was equally quick, and I never had to mess with the connection myself. The trailer towed just fine, and made the trip quite easy. I had a little bit of brush at home that needed to go to the compost site, so I used the trailer for that before returning it.

The motorcycle trailers are available only for local rentals: You can’t rent it at one location and return it at another. If you need a one-way rental, then you need to get their larger 5×9 open-ramp trailer.  The motorcycle trailer has a solid floor, so it would also be suitable for small ATV’s, lawn equipment, or just about anything that would fit on the  7’8″ by 3’9.5″ deck.

If you need to haul a motorcycle locally, then the U-Haul trailer is an inexpensive and convenient solution to the problem

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Review of Accumed BNX N95 Masks: Made in the USA

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Bottom Line:  The AccuMed BNX N95 mask is a high quality protective mask, meets USA N95 standards, and is made in the USA.  Even if this pandemic is over, it’s worth keeping some on hand for the next public health emergency.  Update 12/26/21:  When this review was written, Amazon carried the 10 pack shown above.  At this time, only the 50 pack is available in white.   The other masks reviewed on this page are available in smaller quantities.  Update 12/29/21:  The 10 pack is available again in black at this link.

Quick Link

Preparing for Emergencies

I like to believe that I’m reasonably well prepared for emergencies, and the COVID-19 pandemic generally proved that I was prepared.  We never ran out of toilet paper, although early on, we did have to be careful with our limited supply, and at one point we were rationing coffee.  Curiously enough, the first thing we ran out of was lightbulbs, although we could have gotten by quite a bit longer by scrounging them from other rooms in the house.  Even when riots hit the area, we were fully stocked with all the necessities of life, other than having to use powdered milk for a few days.

In a few cases, we had to make substitutions.  We didn’t have very much hand sanitizer, but we solved that problem by washing our hands.  And even though sanitizing wipes were unavailable, bleach was readily available and we were able to use it for sanitizing items.

But there was one shortage that made me angry at myself:  In 2019, I could have walked into any hardware store to buy an N95 mask that was made in the USA.  And unlike most people, I actually knew that an N95 mask would be a useful thing to have around in a public health emergency.  But at the start of the pandemic, they were totally unavailable.  And early on in the pandemic, we were told that it was practically unpatriotic to wear a mask, especially an N95 mask, because the limited supply was earmarked for healthcare workers.

A few weeks later, the official advice flip flopped, and we were told that it was unpatriotic not to wear a mask.  But the N95 masks (in other words, the ones that were actually effective in preventing the spread of disease) were still off limits, since they were still reserved for healthcare workers.

During those early days of the pandemic, I rarely wore a mask, because I was rarely in a situation where I needed one.  I didn’t go into other buildings, period.  And I believed (and still do believe) that the risk outdoors was extremely small.  I did all of my shopping with curbside pickup or home delivery.  So I didn’t need a mask, because I wasn’t going into stores or other buildings.

The Need for a Good Mask

But eventually, there were unavoidable situations where I did need to go into buildings.  So after about three months, despite the official guidance to the contrary, I decided it was time for me to be selfish and buy an N95 mask.  Unfortunately, there were none to be had.  The best I could find at that time was a KN95 mask, and even those were hard to find.

“N95” means that a mask meets the U.S. Government’s NIOSH standards.  “KN95” means that the mask meets the standards of the Communist Chinese Government, and almost all of those masks were made in Communist China.  The irony wasn’t lost on me:  I was buying a Chinese Communist mask to protect myself against the Chinese Communist virus.  I wasn’t happy about it, but I only had myself to blame.  After all, in 2019, I could have walked into the hardware store and bought an American-made mask with the U.S. seal of approval.  I didn’t do so, and I was stuck having to rely on the Communist Chinese Seal of Approval.

The mask I bought was the one shown at the left, and it served me very well.  It was made in China, but it was imported by a reputable American company, AccuMed.  At the time, there were a lot of dubious products on the market.  I researched AccuMed and found that they were a medical supply company with an excellent reputation.  Frankly, their name on the product meant more to me than the certification from some Chinese lab.  The company was also in the process of gearing up to produce masks in the USA.  (The same mask, made in the USA, is now available.  Even though it is now made in the USA, it has the KN95 designation, probably because it uses ear loops instead of bands that go behind the head.)  Those masks served me very well for a couple of months.  On the occasions when I had to be inside the same building as other people, I was protected.

True to its promise, a few months later, AccuMed came out with a mask that was made in the USA, and I previously reviewed that mask, the duckbill-style A96 mask, similar to the one shown at left.  This mask was made in the USA, but it was sold as meeting the Chinese KN95 standard, because the American N95 certification was still pending.  It’s odd to have an American product that’s advertised as meeting the Chinese standard.  But the virus doesn’t care about the paperwork.  It was made in the USA by a reputable company, it seemed to form a tight seal, and I have no doubt that it provided protection.  And after I purchased it, the mask was approved, and now has the U.S. N95 seal of approval.

Edited to add (11/16/21):  The AccuMed A96 no longer appears to be available on Amazon, but this Kimberly Clark N95 mask, shown at left, appears to be identical.

This mask, like most N95 masks, was a bit more difficult to put on than the KN95 mask, because the elastic goes around the back of the head, and not just over the ears.  But even though it’s slightly harder to put on, it’s much more comfortable to wear, since it’s not constantly pulling on your ears.  If I had to wear a mask all day, this would be a huge advantage.


The New Made in USA N95 Mask

Fortunately, the time has now come when it’s once again possible to buy the thing that I should have bought in 2019:  An N95 mask made in the USA, the BNX N95 Mask NIOSH Certified MADE IN USA Particulate Respirator Protective Face Mask.  I recently received mine, and I’m glad to have it.Mask2

Like most other N95 masks, the straps go around the head, which makes it slightly more difficult to put on.  But the advantage is that it’s much more comfortable once you have it on.  It seems to form a good seal.  If I had to work for hours with this mask on, it would cause very little if any discomfort.

Both of the AccuMed N95 masks, the white one and the blue duckbill style one, are comfortable to wear, and both make a good seal.  For me, the white one is a little easier to put on, although the blue one seems to be easier to ensure a good seal once it’s on my face.  Either one, though, takes only seconds to put on.  One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the blue one seems to fit better on a smaller head.  My daughter had a hard time getting a good seal with the white mask, but it was much easier with the blue mask.  So if you are buying for a family, I would recommend getting both.

On the other hand, I now rarely have to wear a mask for more than a few minutes.  Therefore, I will probably continue to use  the AccuMed KN95 mask in those situations.  It seems to have a good seal, and if I’m just going into the store for a few minutes, it’s somewhat more convenient to put on.

accumed1Especially at the beginning of the pandemic, and probably still now, there were a lot of fake masks hitting the market, and it’s important to buy from a reputable source.  Fortunately, AccuMed/BNX is a real company, selling a real product, from a real bricks and mortar location in Houston, Texas, shown here.  You can probably find something cheaper at the dollar store, but it’s more important to buy something that will really protect you, rather than trying to save a few pennies.

Ongoing need for a mask

From my personal point of view, the pandemic ended on March 15, 2021.  On that date, the immunity from my second dose of the Moderna vaccine officially kicked in.  There’s still a possibility that I’ll be infected, but the risk of serious illness or death are practically nil.  The day after my immunity kicked in, I went from never going inside buildings unless absolutely necessary, to taking teaching jobs which put me in close contact with hundreds of kids.   (I secured an early dose of the vaccine as a teacher, and I felt it was my duty to resume teaching at the earliest possible moment.)  In my opinion, the need for a mask is now mostly gone.  Chances are, I will rarely wear the new N95 mask.  Because it was required this school year, I wore a mostly symbolic cloth mask while teaching.  With my vaccination, I didn’t feel the need to wear the N95 mask all day.  But if I had to work close to other people and was not yet vaccinated, I would certainly wear one of the N95 masks.

Even though I don’t believe it’s is necessary because of the vaccine, I have noticed that I didn’t get any colds or flu during the pandemic lockdown, because I wasn’t in a position to be infected.  On my first few trips back to Walmart after a long absence, I realized something:  There was a certain amount of truth to all of those “People of Walmart” memes.  Many of my fellow shoppers don’t look particularly healthy.  They might not be infections with COVID-19, but it’s likely that they’re infectious with something.  Wearing a mask for my own protection probably isn’t a bad idea, and since I have some of them, I’ll probably slip on the KN95 mask before going in there or similar environments.

Even though all of my masks are disposable, there’s no reason why they can’t be used many times.  I store mine in a paper bag labeled with the date.  I have links to official guidance on reuse of masks at my earlier review.  So when you order your masks, don’t forget to order a supply of brown paper bags.

At this point, I no longer have an immediate need for an N95 mask.  From my point of view, the pandemic is over, because I am vaccinated.  However, I didn’t need an N95 mask in 2019, and I’m still kicking myself for not going to the hardware store and buying one then.  It would have made the early months of the pandemic less stressful knowing that I had this supply if needed.

And the next pandemic might be worse, and during that pandemic, I might need to come into contact with other persons.  Even though it proved deadly to many, coronavirus was not as lethal as many anticipated.  But the next plague might be worse.  Having an N95 mask on hand for such an emergency is a low-cost way to make sure I’m prepared.  I hope I never have to use them, just like I hope I never have to use my potassium iodide.  But I feel a lot better knowing I have them.

During this pandemic, I never ran out of toilet paper.  And in the next pandemic, I won’t run out of N95 masks, because I bought some when they were still available.  I’m not making the same mistake I made in 2019.

I recommend all three of these masks.  The duckbill style mask in the middle seems to be slightly easier to get a good seal, although it’s slightly more difficult to put on in the first place.  If necessary, it would be comfortable enough to wear all day.  Of the three, it probably is the best choice for children.

The white mask on the left is slightly easier to put on, and would also be a good mask if needed for all day use.

The white mask on the right seems to be very good quality, although it does not have the U.S. N95 approval.  It is made in the USA, but has the Chinese KN95 approval.  The reason is probably the fact that it uses ear loops rather than head bands.  It is the easiest to put on, but the ear bands would be uncomfortable for all day use.  It’s the easiest to use if you have to go into a store for a few minutes.

Since they all have slightly different uses, I’m glad I have a supply of all three for the next pandemic.

 

 



The product was supplied at no charge by the manufacturer in exchange for an honest review. Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that this site earns a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on the link.

Product Review: Opinel Pocket Knife

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Bottom Line:  The Opinel is a very inexpensive and unpretentious high quality knife for your everyday carry needs.

Pre-pandemic, I very rarely carried a pocket knife. When I needed a cutting tool, I looked around the garage or kitchen and found something suitable. In the car, I would find a cheap utility knife in the toolbox which would usually serve the purpose.


But with the pandemic, it seemed that I needed a knife multiple times per day. More often than not, it was to open a box from Amazon or Walmart. I like to do this outside, so that I can immediately discard the outer packaging into the recycling bin. Thus, it became convenient to keep a knife in my pocket. I had several around the house, many of which had been given to me as gifts over the years. The first one I stumbled upon was the Opinel No. 6 Stainless Steel folding knife.

As you can see from the picture, the Opinel is a nondescript knife with a wooden handle. It looks like a tool, which, of course, is exactly what it is. It doesn’t have a camouflage handle. It doesn’t have a built-in screwdriver or can opener. It’s benign looking, and designed for cutting things, a goal which it accomplishes remarkably well. It’s well made, and it seems to keep a cutting edge well. I’ve sharpened it a couple of times with a whetstone, and the edge seems to last.

My version came in stainless steel, and the knife is also available in carbon steel. Apparently, the carbon steel blade holds an edge a bit better, but is more prone to rust. The stainless steel (marked on the blade in French, Inox, short for inoxidable) seems the more practical choice.

The Number 6 in the product name indicates the length of the blade, the number 6 being 2.87 inches. The sizes range from a tiny Number 2, up to a Number 12 with a 4.84 inch blade. The number 6 seems to be the perfect size for the occasional jobs I use it for. In addition to opening boxes, I’ve used it to cut food while camping, strip wire, cut cords, and do the normal variety of tasks for which one would use a pocket knife. It’s big enough to do the jobs I need it for, but as it weighs only about an ounce, I hardly notice it in my pocket.  The blade meets the “under three inches” standard which is important for some regulatory purposes.  (On the other hand, at such time as it becomes safe to fly commercially, I’ll have to remember to leave it at home or in my checked baggage.)

Locking mechanism. Wikipedia photos.

Locking mechanism. Wikipedia photos.

The knife has a simple locking mechanism, which allows the blade to be locked open or closed. It’s simplicity itself–namely, a notched ring which can be twisted to hold the blade in place. In my opinion, most locking mechanisms are annoying and dangerous. If you’re using a knife in such a way that the blade might inadvertently close, then in my opinion, you are using it wrong. And most locking mechanisms I’ve seen require some contortion to disable them, such as holding down a button while moving the blade toward your finger.  In most cases, in my opinion, the “safety” feature of a locking blade makes the knife less safe.   In the case of the Opinel, however, the locking mechanism needn’t be used at all.  In fact, I carried the knife around for quite some time before even realizing that the blade could be locked.

On the rare occasions when I might want to lock the blade on the Opinel, the mechanism and easy and safe to use. You merely rotate the ring to lock or unlock the blade.

Joseph Opinel began making knives in 1890 in Savoie, France, and the knife has always been the quintessential working man’s knife. Picasso reportedly used one as a sculpting tool. Today, about 15 million knives per year roll off the company’s assembly lines.

The Opinel knife is quite inexpensive, but high quality and useful. It’s unpretentious and looks like a tool, so it won’t draw the ire of those who are squeamish about knives. It’s the perfect knife to keep in your pocket. You’ll find you wind up using it several times per day.

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