Posts by yet another bruce 12 publicly visible posts • joined 20 Dec 2023
FCC equipment rules require devices not to cause harmful interference to authorized radio services and to accept any interference received from other legal radio emissions. There is no reason that a well-engineered radar altimeter operating in the 4.2-4.4 Ghz band should be compromised by 5G cell phone signals in the 3.7-4.2 Ghz band.
As I understand it, there were no backups for most of the ransomed data. In my mind this is less like an bank vault without a secure door and more like a bank vault without a roof. Bad actors may take advantage of the situation to break in but sooner or later it is going to rain regardless.
Sometimes people like to describe the workings of a rocket motor as controlled explosion. I understand some aspects of the IFT1 launch were not as well controlled as hoped. This was covered in the press as an explosion (in the Las Palomas Wildlife Management Area).
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) documented that the debris cloud deposited material as far as six-and-a-half miles north of the launch pad. The agency said in a statement that the debris cloud was made of pulverized concrete."
www[dot]tpr[dot]org[slash]environment[slash]2023-04-27[slash]photos-spacex-is-grounded-after-rocket-explosion-caused-extensive-environmental-damage
www[dot]bloomberg[dot]com[slash]news[slash]features[slash]2023-08-25[slash]elon-musk-s-spacex-explosion-left-major-debris-after-starship-rocket-launch
Even when temperatures are cool rather than actually freezing it is a good idea to fast-charge before you park for the night rather than waiting until the morning. Below about 40F lithium-ion batteries have to be charged frustratingly slowly and below 30F they cannot be charged safely at all. Lithium-ion batteries have to be pretty warm to fast-charge, over 100F.
It is important to keep the battery warm on a long trip in cold conditions. Leaving an EV parked outdoors in very cold weather, unless it is plugged in, is risky. As many people have pointed out, this is true of diesels and even gas-powered vehicles to some extent.
If it is cold enough even block heaters may not be sufficient and some places run their big diesels continuously through periods of very cold weather. One Arctic location where I worked had signs asking drivers not to idle their trucks unless the temperature was colder than -40 degrees. When the temperature is very cold rubber and plastic can become very brittle. I have seen someone pull out a spool of wire with PVC insulation and be left with a handful of bare copper and a pile of plastic shards. I have seen a small sample placed in a ziplock bag shatter the plastic and fall to the ground.
There is a learning process both for the engineers designing EVs and for drivers finding ways to use them effectively. Happily, you can trickle charge your EV from the same 120V outlets that are provided for block heaters. If you keep your car in a heated garage at night and plug in the trickle charger every place you park I expect most EVs will do OK even in freezing temperatures.
I agree. If you can use the Tesla Supercharger network, long trips in summer are no problem. Once you get away from the Interstate system, there are still plenty of routes where Superchargers are thin on the ground and you may need to plan your route carefully. I think driver satisfaction for these Robert Frost fans will depend on whether this kind of navigation puzzle is a joy or a torment.
