Working at getting Connected and Another Truck Problem

Our Location today is La Posa South LTVA, Quartzsite, Arizona, U.S.A. 

Last night we both slept like a couple of logs and didn’t wake until early this morning. We enjoyed our breakfast while the Sun lit up a totally cloudless sky and felt warming but if you laid your hand on the window you instantly knew why people were wearing coats while they walked their pets. When we finally turned on our Computers The Weather Network showed the local temperature to be 39 F (4 C) but feeling cooler. 

This morning's Sunrise

Once our reading was finished Kathy had plans to do some cooking and had multiple meals planned. Since we had gotten our Signal Booster just yesterday my plan was to get it up and running in an attempt to improve our Internet Connection. Kathy was making it difficult for me to concentrate on setting this simple system up because of all the Aromas that she was creating in the kitchen. 

In an effort to keep things looking neat inside our Home I try to install things using the Out of Sight, Out of Mind theory. As mentioned in yesterday’s Blog Post this WE Boost needs 12 Volt DC for Power. I had to release the latch on our Living Room Television so that I could hide the wires inside the wall cavity behind it. At one point Kathy had to lend a hand just until the wires could be Fished through the small passages. 

I managed to install the Indoor Signal Sensor, run the Power Cord in such a way that it is not visible and then I Mounted the WE Boost in such a way that the Television totally conceals it. The Exterior Antenna was a different story. The manufacturer supplies an Eight Foot Coaxial Cable to mount the Antenna on a car roof but we need at least a Twenty Foot Cable just to get it to the roof and if I try being neat about it you better make that Thirty Feet Long. 

For Lunch Kathy made some Chicken/Bacon Scrambled Egg White Wraps along with a Salmon Macaroni Salad. As usual it was all Delicious. That’s why I’m a member of the “Clean Plate Society”. 

We were out the door shortly after noon in search of supplies to extend the reach of our WE Boost Antenna. Our first was the Satellite Shop in Quartzsite where they suggested going to Radio Shack in Blythe because of the size of the fittings. Not really wanting to go all that distance we stopped at Discount Solar and Solar Bills in the faint hope that they might just have the needed connections but no luck. 

Yesterday when we were in Blythe we had our Oil Changed at the Ford Dealer which is a straight forward no problems type of service, Right??? As we drove back towards Quartzsite yesterday our Regeneration System repeatedly tried turning on but wouldn’t do it. After the truck’s last attempt at Regeneration the message to ”Drive to Clean Filter” appeared on the Dash. The truck was running fine before the Oil Change. To say we were not happy is an Understatement. 

With little luck at finding the needed Coaxial Connections in Quartzsite we finally headed for Blythe. We’d no sooner gotten on I-10 when the Engine Light came on. Now Kathy was worried and I was steaming. Like I said the truck was running great before the Oil Change. 

The Service Manager at the dealership was surprised when I presented him with the facts but said he’d get his Diesel Technician to check it out. As we waited in the Customer Waiting Room I never sat down but paced the floor the entire time. That turned to my advantage because I could see our truck the entire time. After the Manager brought it into the bay where the truck sat for Five minutes. The Technician connected his Code Reader to the truck and in less then a minute he walks away leaving the Driver’s Door open. Ten minutes later the Tech returns and opens the Hood of the truck looks at the Engine and walks away. For Fifteen Minutes the truck sits with the Hood and Driver’s Door open with nobody around.  

The Service Manager then comes out to say the Code Reader showed the Code for a Bad Thermostat, which is not allowing the Engine to get hot enough for the Regeneration System to kick in and it’s a Four-Hour Job. Before the days of all the Pollution Equipment being added to Engines you’d have simply driven it that way until you got home and fixed it yourself. Today with the Regeneration System not being able to clean the Diesel Particulate Filter if we were to take that chance we could be broke down on the side of the road and having to replace more then a Thermostat. The Estimate $$$$$ more than what we planned on spending but it has to be done. Our appointment is for 8:00 PST tomorrow morning. 

We found a Hairdresser for Kathy in Blythe today as she felt she needed a trim. 

We finally made it to Radio Shack but the person working today wasn’t the same person as yesterday. It took a while for him to understand why we were using a Cell Phone Type Booster to get better Internet. (MiFi=Wireless Internet) At first he was trying sell me This and That but I could see that it wouldn’t work. I then told him what I really needed to make it work was like a Coaxial Extension Cord with the Smaller Fittings. Then he started thinking the way I did. The fittings cost less than twenty-five percent of the direction he was headed before. He advised us to go to Ace Hardware Store to get the Coaxial Cable off the roll to put the fittings on at a fraction of the cost of a Ready-Made Coaxial Cable that I’d be cutting the ends off of anyways. 

Tonight's Sunset.

We stopped at Denny’s and had a couple of Sizzler Platters for Supper. We’ll be setting the Alarm for tomorrow morning and hopefully things will start falling in place so we can enjoy this Nice Weather headed our way. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy! 

It’s about time.

Krackers 

You Might Be a Redneck If 

Your highest test score was for cholesterol.