Prepwork - DVDayz
Jan. 14th, 2003 01:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tugrikI'm getting a lot better at fighting the overblown part of my completionist-streak. One of the reasons I've spent way too much money has alway been the just-before-trip rampup, where I realize I could get (system X) or (solution Y) working Just Right if I only bought this one more part or this extra adaptor... at times, very expensive ones. Out comes the credit card or the chunk of paycheck that should be saved, and I end up with an expensive part that usually does just what I need it to on that trip -- and then sits idle for the other 11.5 months of the year.
Sometimes doing things the right way isn't the right solution. I'm working on making myself more keenly aware of how often a solution will get used in addition to how well the solution works. Cheap workarounds are acceptable for some things, though it makes me flinch to type that. :)
Case in point: I never did fully integrate the audio/comms gear on the GS. The 'wing is nicely equipped -- and I spent way too much in doing so. The GS is set up well enough for this trip: SP3 for the highway trip down, a swap-out mount for the Rino (the topo-equipped and better-for-offroad GPS) for once I get there and I'm tooling around canyons and dirt roads. However, I can't really get the radio part of the Rino to talk with the Autocom unless I spend a good chunk of change I'd rather not spend. I've also got the XM antenna and cradle so I can put the Delphi on the GS, but it too would take an audio-isolated adaptor as well as an in-line amp. Instead, I'm going to just take multiple radios -- and use my existing/working Pryme GMRS with the audiocom to keep in touch with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chareth while in motion, using the Rino when stopped. The XM project gets scrapped for now, and possibly for good, as I really can't devise a proper way to put it on the GS and get what I want to out of it. At least this means I'll get the $75 for the antenna back. :)
-----
Oh! That's the part I forgot to journal about earlier. I think I've actually managed to enticechareth out of her lair with the lure of the pretty rocks and amazing geology of Death Valley. She'll be riding up from Sandy Eggo to meet me at Furnace Creek and take up the 2nd bed, since I had no riding partner. I plan to meet/greet the IBMWR (Internet BMW Riders) group Saturday night and see who's who, but since I don't know any of them yet I'm most likely not welcome in the rather tight-knit offroad riding groups (one must build and earn trust before riding together in such conditions). So most of my DVDayz experience will be on my own, just out exploring spots, which I'll now happily do with Chareth.
The plan is to meet at Furnace Creek on friday night to get the room situated. I'll crash out, after a full day of riding (I plan to start pre-dawn Friday morning and take a 'creative' route there, weather permitting). Saturday we'll go out exploring and Geocaching with the two Rino radios. I preloaded all of the Death Valley area topos, and about 10 geocaches within the park. She'll drive her car around the park, and I'll follow/lead (trading off) on the bike, keeping in touch with the Pryme radios. We'll keep going until we run out of road in the places we want to see. She'll park the car, and maybe hike a bit while I'll stay on the bike and go as far as the dualsport tires will safely take me. This is where the Rinos come into play, so we can keep each other map-updated as we double-team the geocache locations. This should be a lot of fun. Chareth has already stated amusement at having her own "remote-a-Tug" to send on excursions.
This provides for one more bit of amusement: If you've ever seen the HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon", there's an episode featuring a prominent geologist I forget the name of. It was his job to train the astronauts for one of the later moon missions on how to be geologists, and see the structures instead of just walk over them. One of the exercises was done out in the desert. They'd send an astronaut-in-training out on a hike with a radio, while they stayed back at base camp. The mobile one would go to a target site, and then describe the area verbally as best he could. The ones at base would then jot down what they could based on the verbal descriptions. In the end, this kind of training made them much better visual-geologists. Why is this relevant? Well, that geologist was Chareth's professor in her college days. She worked with him! In some small way, we're re-enacting that radio training, with Chareth playing the part of the fully qualified geologist ('cause she is). I'm really looking forwards to this trip because of having a geologist of her caliber along. In addition to seeing a good friend again it'll be like having a captive tour gide. :)
Sometimes doing things the right way isn't the right solution. I'm working on making myself more keenly aware of how often a solution will get used in addition to how well the solution works. Cheap workarounds are acceptable for some things, though it makes me flinch to type that. :)
Case in point: I never did fully integrate the audio/comms gear on the GS. The 'wing is nicely equipped -- and I spent way too much in doing so. The GS is set up well enough for this trip: SP3 for the highway trip down, a swap-out mount for the Rino (the topo-equipped and better-for-offroad GPS) for once I get there and I'm tooling around canyons and dirt roads. However, I can't really get the radio part of the Rino to talk with the Autocom unless I spend a good chunk of change I'd rather not spend. I've also got the XM antenna and cradle so I can put the Delphi on the GS, but it too would take an audio-isolated adaptor as well as an in-line amp. Instead, I'm going to just take multiple radios -- and use my existing/working Pryme GMRS with the audiocom to keep in touch with
chareth while in motion, using the Rino when stopped. The XM project gets scrapped for now, and possibly for good, as I really can't devise a proper way to put it on the GS and get what I want to out of it. At least this means I'll get the $75 for the antenna back. :) -----
Oh! That's the part I forgot to journal about earlier. I think I've actually managed to entice
chareth out of her lair with the lure of the pretty rocks and amazing geology of Death Valley. She'll be riding up from Sandy Eggo to meet me at Furnace Creek and take up the 2nd bed, since I had no riding partner. I plan to meet/greet the IBMWR (Internet BMW Riders) group Saturday night and see who's who, but since I don't know any of them yet I'm most likely not welcome in the rather tight-knit offroad riding groups (one must build and earn trust before riding together in such conditions). So most of my DVDayz experience will be on my own, just out exploring spots, which I'll now happily do with Chareth.The plan is to meet at Furnace Creek on friday night to get the room situated. I'll crash out, after a full day of riding (I plan to start pre-dawn Friday morning and take a 'creative' route there, weather permitting). Saturday we'll go out exploring and Geocaching with the two Rino radios. I preloaded all of the Death Valley area topos, and about 10 geocaches within the park. She'll drive her car around the park, and I'll follow/lead (trading off) on the bike, keeping in touch with the Pryme radios. We'll keep going until we run out of road in the places we want to see. She'll park the car, and maybe hike a bit while I'll stay on the bike and go as far as the dualsport tires will safely take me. This is where the Rinos come into play, so we can keep each other map-updated as we double-team the geocache locations. This should be a lot of fun. Chareth has already stated amusement at having her own "remote-a-Tug" to send on excursions.
This provides for one more bit of amusement: If you've ever seen the HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon", there's an episode featuring a prominent geologist I forget the name of. It was his job to train the astronauts for one of the later moon missions on how to be geologists, and see the structures instead of just walk over them. One of the exercises was done out in the desert. They'd send an astronaut-in-training out on a hike with a radio, while they stayed back at base camp. The mobile one would go to a target site, and then describe the area verbally as best he could. The ones at base would then jot down what they could based on the verbal descriptions. In the end, this kind of training made them much better visual-geologists. Why is this relevant? Well, that geologist was Chareth's professor in her college days. She worked with him! In some small way, we're re-enacting that radio training, with Chareth playing the part of the fully qualified geologist ('cause she is). I'm really looking forwards to this trip because of having a geologist of her caliber along. In addition to seeing a good friend again it'll be like having a captive tour gide. :)
