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  1. y_p_w

    How do Airliners navigate without GPS?

    GPS reprogramming was the plot of a Bond movie. Stealing a GPS encoder was part of the plot, but I don't understand why it would be so recognizable. I work in the electronics industry, and the box that electronics come in can be very different. If I were asking someone to do that kind of...
  2. y_p_w

    How do Airliners navigate without GPS?

    I believe most navigation systems still have inertial navigation using gyroscopes. My wife was insistent that spoofing, jamming, or destroying GPS would mean that most air/surface to surface guided weapons systems would be useless, but I tried explaining that inertial navigation was common...
  3. y_p_w

    Swollen Lithium Battery

    A lot of electronics repair shops have a bucket of sand for lithium battery fires. It doesn’t necessarily smother and starve the battery of oxygen since there’s oxygen in the cell. But it is supposed to allow for a more controlled burn where it doesn’t just shoot flames everywhere.
  4. y_p_w

    Swollen Lithium Battery

    Calling a rechargeable lithium ion battery a lithium battery isn’t technically wrong. There are lithium-manganese batteries, which are considered “lithium primary”. Those can be cylindrical or coin type, but there are also lithium ion equivalents that work in the same applications.
  5. y_p_w

    Swollen Lithium Battery

    It happens. Can get really bad if it’s in a device where the battery is more or less sealed in. Had a Mac notebook computer where the battery sort of attached, but then swelled outward without really affecting the rest of the computer. Apple eventually offered a “service replacement” for less...
  6. y_p_w

    Wife thinks next vehicle should be an EV.

    It’s mostly done commercially. The benefit would be the cost of the batteries. https://www.autoweek.com/news/technology/a43937159/b2u-company-reusing-ev-battery-packs-to-store-solar-energy/ But it has been done for home storage too...
  7. y_p_w

    TEMU

    For a while my dad was asking me if this was legit with all the various claims of discounts for “spinning a wheel” or something similar. But in order to get that “discount” requires an additional purchase and it’s not clear what’s eligible for the discount later as well as how much. But if you...
  8. y_p_w

    Red Lobster considering Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing losses from “Endless Shrimp”

    https://www.foodandwine.com/red-lobster-chapter-11-bankruptcy-8636369 There’s a lot of moving parts here. One is that the [correction] lead minority owner is a Thai seafood company that owns several companies around the world, including Chicken of the Sea and King Oscar. The other is that...
  9. y_p_w

    Wife thinks next vehicle should be an EV.

    Secondary uses like home energy storage.
  10. y_p_w

    Wife thinks next vehicle should be an EV.

    Any kind of software/hardware pairing is up to the manufacturer. It could be absolutely fixed to a specific configuration, but in my experience in electronics, a lot of systems are able to detect and/or reconfigure on the fly. One example would be memory configuration in a computer, where...
  11. y_p_w

    Electrical outlet wrapped in electrical tape

    I understand it’s up to code to install a GFCI outlet in an ungrounded outlet, although it supposedly doesn’t allow a surge protector to work properly. But it will still help with shock protection, even without being grounded. But to be up to code it requires a sticker be placed on the wall...
  12. y_p_w

    Electrical outlet wrapped in electrical tape

    I was looking at the bathrooms in my parents home, trying to see how the outlets were set up. Even in older parts of the home, the bathrooms have GFCI outlets that I recall were installed back when they had them remodeled. I tried a GFCI/grounding tester on them, which shows up normal...
  13. y_p_w

    FAA investigating MLB coach being allowed in the cockpit during a charter flight

    I’ve heard of people being allowed in a cockpit preflight, but apparently only crew members are allowed during an actual flight. The flight was chartered from United. https://apnews.com/article/united-airlines-rockies-coach-cockpit-25f5cb92f7178bc327f7feff04eb404c
  14. y_p_w

    Cargo Flights from Asia

    They have a lot more aircraft than just 747s. I think they're still flying MD-11s.
  15. y_p_w

    Oakland Airport considering name change that would mention proximity to San Francisco

    Heading to court. https://www.sfcityattorney.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dkt.-1-Complaint.pdf
  16. y_p_w

    Cloud seeding.

    There are still a few civilian-operated aircraft with turbojets. Used to be real common in the 60s, especially with the 707 and similar aircraft. There are still some of these classic business jets. https://www.americanaircharter.com/sabreliner-65.html
  17. y_p_w

    Educate me on the federal tax credit for buying a USED EV.

    Having helped someone through the federal tax credits for 2023 for a new EV, I believe it requires that the dealer obtain the SSN of the buyer, which gets transmitted to the IRS to register the sale for tax purposes. There was also a form where the VIN is presented to the IRS. However, I...
  18. y_p_w

    Tesla Turn signal stalks deleted

    As someone who regularly drives a Tesla with steering wheel button controls, it’s really not that big a deal. I usually rest my hands/thumbs on the spokes and have a feel for where a particular spot is even when turning the wheel. It kind of becomes second nature.
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