SoCal LEAF & EV Gathering - Sixth Year Ended - 20 Aug 2016

I have a new oximeter & pulse clip-on-finger device that I will bring for
show-and-tell. It even has a 24 hour stand-alone record mode.

It was delivered here last SUNDAY, via USPS ... and
I didn't even know that they could do that ...
on Sunday ... go figure.
Not "Never on Sunday" anymore.

garygid said:

My phone's camera function has a quick-on function, but I think that I should try
using it several times to avoid that too-late feeling. On my LG G3, I think that briefly pressing
the power button on the back might even take a picture, when in camera mode.

Everything in life seems to be more complex that it used to be. In the olden days,
we had just one garbage can, and phones only made phone calls ... if you woke up
the operator by turning the crank. Now ... I have almost outlived my knowledge base.

But, some good news. The repair guys at Spectrum Collision (in south Irvine) took
apart my S85's trunk from the inside, to expose the bottom, side, and back panels
that would need replacing, made a parts list, and put it back together. Now, they
will order the parts, and we will wait ... while I still get to drive the car! Very Well Done.

Saves me 3 weeks, plus or minus 2 weeks, of driving a rental ga-ass blaster.

See you all this coming Saturday at the Hometown Buffet in Santa Ana.
With good fortune, I should be there by 8 AM.
Cheers to all, Gary

Click to expand...

That is a good deal. In my case that would have worked since the car was drivable but State Farm opted for a rental the whole time. I think it was less complicated that way. In any case the other insurance company paid in the end. In your case it avoids some rental expense. the insurance rate from Hertz for the accent was just over $14 a day. The insurance companys really get special rates.

After driving a shoe box car it took some time to get used to the heavy B. The batteries weigh a lot! That affects breaking distance.

Several of our group are planning to expand their solar power generation
systems, or install new or additional systems. The panels are just the first
component of many, and the planning details and labor can be substantial.

Some have just recently completed such a task, and have fresh experience
to help guide others in getting the project designed and accomplished.

It looks like one of our SoCal group is organizing a group buy of LG solar panels,
tentatively described as 330 watt, 60-cell (thus slightly higher voltage), new
panels, for under a dollar a watt, delivered ... somewhere, I believe.
If you are interested in a cash purchase to enhance your electrical system,
and want to be included, you should let me know soon, to get more details
as soon as I have them.

See you tomorrow at the Hometown Buffet on 17th street in Santa Ana.
Cheers, Gary

I googled for LG panels, and did not find one listed as 330 watt, but ...
I found these high efficiency panels ... so, unknown what they are
intending to buy. More info when I get it.

315 watt High Efficiency LG NeON™ 2 Module Cells: 6 x 10 Module efficiency 19.2%
Connector Type: MC4, MC4 Compatible, IP67 ... LG315N1C-G4

320 watt High Efficiency LG NeON™ 2 Module Cells: 6 x 10 Module efficiency 19.5%
Connector Type: MC4, MC4 Compatible, IP67 ... LG320N1C-G4

See you tomorrow morning in Santa Ana.

For the first time in a long time our Gathering was only guys, 8 of us.
We had a good time, lots of stories and adventures, and I managed
to eat just soft foods ... the day after the extraction of my tooth #30,
a "first molar" on the bottom right.

After eggs, applesauce, jello, a cheese omelet, chocolate milk, and orange juice,
I added some tender moist chicken, chewed only on the left side, and some
chocolate pudding and a few other small deserts ... carrot cake and finally
a small bit of banana cream "stuff" in honor of Jason, who was absent.

The next meeting is not in two weeks, which would be on the 4th of July
weekend, but a week later, on July 9th ... at the Golden Corral in the
City of Industry.

Hopefully, I will see you there.
Cheers, Gary

I am looking for an excellent canine cataract surgeon for my small Heidi doggie,
a Maltese 14.5 year old girl "puppy", in the southern California area, hopefully
one in or near Orange county. Any references would be appreciated, since
she is having trouble bumping into things when it gets darker.
Thanks, Gary and Heidi

Our next EV Gathering is two weeks from today, at
the Golden Corral in the City of Industry.,

I've been asked to pass along an invitation to all EV drivers to a luxurious hosted brunch in Santa Monica on Sunday, July 17 at 10 am at The Bungalow on Wilshire. Sponsored by BMW Santa Monica. They are keen to make it a good turn out and are actively asking for enthusiasts of other EV brands as well.

I am signed up to attend. Space is limited so you have to register.

Details:

THE BMW ELECTRIC POWER BRUNCH.
Join Santa Monica BWW amid the relaxed charms of The Bungalow and be treated to a luxurious brunch buffet featuring an exclusive look at the LAPD BMW i3 as well as the BMW i3 Shadow Sport. You will also get to meet the Head of BMWi, Christine Fleischer with a special Q and A. PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE TO MAKE IT AN AWESOME TURN OUT.
Date: Sunday, July 17
Time: 10am - 12pm
Location: The Bungalow | 101 Wilshire Blvd. | Santa Monica, CA 90401
Space is limited so please reserve your spot today at
bmwevents.com/powerbrunch.

Yes, Gary, you found the right LG panels. The production process generates a distribution of power levels per panel with corresponding efficiencies. They sort panels by power and offer them at higher prices for the highest efficiencies. We may opt for 310W panels if the price is significantly less. We are expecting to pay less than $1 per watt.

My first panels installed in 2010 were 13% efficient and about $5 per watt IIRC. 18/13 = 38% more production per sq ft.
LG claims the Neon 2 panels also do better at off-axis angles because they capture some energy that reflects off the rear surface of the cells.

Inverters have improved as well. In 2010 I paid list price of $3.5K for 3kW Fronius inverter without network connection. We have not gotten quotes yet, but I expect to pay a lot less for a 5kW SMA inverter with two independent MPPT inputs, networking, and a special feature that you can use to power a refrigerator during daylight hours while the grid is down.

Boomer, I may be interested in attending the BMW electric lunch event, but when I Googled it the link I found didn't seem to lead to registration.
The link on the BMW thread was:

bmwevents.com/powerbrunch

For show and tell tomorrow I will bring my scale drafting drawing of my planned solar array addition.

The link for the BMW event worked for me. Make sure you aren't including the period at the end?

Some of you might be interested in paper I found titled "End to End Learning for Self-Driving Cars." Its authors all work for Nvidia. Some background:

The Tesla Model S and X have a Nvidia Tegra processor, which includes a very powerful GPU, Graphical Processing Unit. GPUs can efficiently perform complex matrix operations that may have little to do with graphics many times faster than a conventional processor. Nvidia has built their company for the gaming community, but it now supplies software for their GPUs that implement Deep Learning Neural Networks, which they claim shows strong potential for Autonomous Driving.

Several years ago Neural Networks were resurrected from a long period of decline with the discovery of new methods for training deep (many layered) neural networks.

The paper describes the architecture of a Deep Learning Neural Network as implemented by Nvidia, and it gives a hint to the processing involved in a neural network powerful enough to drive a car autonomously.

Tesla has never said whether their "assisted driving" system uses Deep Learning Neural Nets. To my knowledge they have not even said to what extent they use the Tegra processor for things other than just the graphics on the Tesla 17" display. They have said that they do not just use the standard Mobileye processing that comes with the Mobileye camera. Since the Tesla has a radar as well as the camera, It is doing some sensor fusion beyond what the Mobileye camera can do alone.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1604.07316.pdf

Thanks for all the good advice and shared experience from friends at the breakfast to help with my DIY solar project.

There was also good discussion about the fatal Tesla crash in FL with Autopilot engaged. The WSJ did what I consider the best balanced report on Autopilot problems and successes. Even in the best case, where both driver and Autopilot realize an emergency stop is required, as soon as the driver touches the brake the Autopilot disengages.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...WDlPwHPKlthacer-A&sig2=QG1se48XuD1glK5oSBi2Lg

A week and a day ago, Saturday 9th of July, we had a very good Gathering
at the Golden Corral just off freeway 60 in the City of Industry.
The food was quite good, and our turnout of 11 bodies included
four ladies. Quite enjoyable, the last real drive (with Boomer) in
my Nicolas ... before leaving it at the Body Shop in south Irvine.

The shop got the cosmetic bumper panel off, and the underlying
structural bumper, and I got to see it, and get a few pictures.
At the end of the week, apparently not much progress, but they
say that they are preparing to remove the rear suspension
so that the car can be properly supported during replacement
of four major rear panels. Estimated at near $18k so far.

Hopefully they will get a substantial amount of work done this week,
but I will be riding with Robert this coming Saturday, to HTB in Santa Ana.

Planning to see you there, Cheers, Gary

We are nearing the end of our 6th year of Gatherings.
Originally hoping to order a Nissan LEAF, some now own
Coda, Kia, iMev, LEAF, Rav4EV, BMW, and Tesla vehicles.

Next Saturday, 23rd of July, 2016, we Gather at the Hometown Buffet
on 17th Street in Santa Ana, just 2 blocks East of the I-5 freeway.

I plan on being there by 8 AM (when they open for Breakfast), and
get to the custom omelet bar before the rush. CU there.

Has anybody done the free "update" from Win7 or Win8 to Win10?
How bad is Win 10 ... in breaking things that used to work?
Thanks, GG

Gary, I recently installed the free Win10. My problem was that it didn't want to install. After several extremely lengthy attempts, my brother (a computer expert by profession) finally got it running. Some people say it took them a full day to load it; others didn't take long. I guess it depends on the individual computer? I haven't had trouble with it "breaking" things, but it did take a while to figure out the new look and layout and the location of my files. Some minor things, like some of the free games I had loaded on Win7, apparently aren't supported by Win10, so I lost them. Other than that, things are good.

Thanks for reminder on Windows 10.
Only free till July 29, 2016.

Time to get on with it.

Next Gathering is tomorrow, Saturday, 23 July 2016, at the Hometown Buffet
on 17th street in Santa Ana, just 2 blocks East of the I-5 freeway.
Breakfast starts at 8 AM.

Although my Tesla is still in the Body Shop, I plan to arrive in Robert's S85.

Does anybody need me to bring anything?
If you have something for Show-n-Tell, please bring it.

See you there, Gary

We Gathered 16 bodies, including 4 ladies, with many EV types.

I was suffering with a too frequent "bladder says empty now" condition,
which turned out to be abruptly cured early Saturday evening when
my bladder suddenly ejected a ... kidney stone that it apparently was
trying to get rid of for at least 4 days.

Then, Saturday night, I got 6.5 hours of uninterrupted and
much needed sleep. All of a sudden life seems cheery again.

Yes, I know, boomer would say "too much information, Gary",
but he was absent, so this is what happens, it seems.

A popular topic was residential solar power components and installation,
with a tour of Adrian's new 33 panel microinverter solar system,
happily producing those much-desired green electrons.

Our August Gatherings are on the 6th and 20th, finishing up
6 years of our EV Gatherings. Thanks to everyone for helping
make our breakfast Gatherings a pleasure.

More later, Gary