CrewMax Overlander

new studio ad going out. partnered up with a local real estate agent and she'll be putting this on her monthly flyer.



qr code links out to a wedding video.

also have a new hand out portfolio book being printed. going to try a wedding and event show up in evergreen at the end of the month. book will be a handout. test print came back a few days ago. happy with how it feels and looks great but, i made a few tweaks today and ordered another test.

two full time jobs is draining me... back on the road next week, turn-n-burn to philly.

 

I feel for you Sean. Hang in there and work hard, like you're already doing. You're photography is excellent.

 

Hang tough man. It will work out for you.

 

ok, so, solar stuff. working on getting a few things organized to fully commit to the mobile backcountry studio idea.

currently, secondary odyssey is dead as nothing shows up on the volt meter. mostly my fault as the truck sat way more than it was driven this winter. that battery will go on a charger tomorrow after my return from RMNP in the morning. hope i can save it.

once it's charged and back in the truck, it needs a trickle charger. i mentioned this somewhere last week but after a few emails with renogy, i have a better plan.

i was going to use two rover MPPT chargers. one for the secondary up front and one for a 'house' battery in the back. instead, i'm going to use their DCC50S. it is both a charger and a MPPT controller. the panels will be wired in parallel and go into the unit. one side of it goes to the secondary battery and the other to the house battery. if the truck is running, both batteries will get a charge from the alternator. if the truck is off, the charge will come from the solar panels. it will keep things quite a bit cleaner.



4awg cable from the unit to the secondary battery, somewhere between 25-30'. 6awg cable to the house battery.

there will be a blue sea fuse block in the back to connect the fridge, switch panel and working lights.

for the house battery, i'll be using a LiFePo battery. possibly renogy as they seem to be the best price around. adding to that will be a 2000w inverter to charge batteries and laptops as well as run studio strobes. that should put me into a pretty good, capable spot.

now, i just need to rob a bank so i can do this and the 3" leaf pack conversion...

 

well. that’s an almost dead battery...



volt meter said 3.78. hopefully it’ll come back.

 

wait. who are you again?

 

actually... i have.

 

back in business...

 

You can trick charge a dead(ish) battery by connecting it in parallel to another (good) battery, begin charging the bad battery and then after 10 min (maybe longer), you can remove the jumper cables (or whatever wires you’re using) from the good battery, and the bad battery should continue charging and bring it back from the dead...FYI...

 

oh. i like that tip. thanks.

 

on the road. pittsburgh. flew in this afternoon. 4 hour meeting tomorrow. back on a plane for a late night flight home.

eating dinner solo is always an interesting experience. random people. more random conversations. city people. table next to me is floored that a friend of theirs has moved to Wyoming. oh my god. Wyoming. direct quote, ‘what a random state to move to...’ conversation drifts. mixes with another table. voices. laughter. glasses clink.

observer mode. no camera. mental pictures. sun sets between the towers of steel and glass. in between, an old church. out of place. saxophone drifts and echoes from a street musician. someone asks for change.

darkness outside. noise from the freeway drifts up. i read. i write.

 

flights cancelled out of Pitt...

 

yep...everything is going to shit..

 

This is definitely on my list, looks great.

 

Yep run it too. Love it.

 

I should note it’s my annoying questions to @smslavin that prompted it. Ha!

 

day job issued a travel ban mid-morning today.

and, since i'm out of town, everyone wants a meeting for photo/video work...

 

that's what i'm here for

 

holy crap. finally got back to denver. flight was half full. plane leaving Pitt before me headed to SF had 20 people on it.

Denver is a total zoo. trains are down. massive crowds. fear and paranoia on everyone. makes me nervous. things are going to start going sideways.

 

90 days of food water and supplies for the whole family and don’t travel

 

And plenty of ammo....

 

Well that’s a must

 

well duh. Lol

 

And whiskey

 

you can travel, just jump in your truck and head to the wilderness away from this insanity.

 

box full of goodies arrived today from the awesome folks at powerwerx.



just need some cable from ce auto electric, a sheet or two of mdf, a little paint and i’ll be able to finish up the solar power.

 

let’s modify some solar panel mounts...