Daily Archives: February 13, 2015

A Magnetic Personality . . .

I’ve liked the Magne Shade Solar Screens ever since I first saw them at one of Nick Russell’s Gypsy Journal Rally’s. They’re on the outside so less heat gets in, and they take just seconds to put up without a ladder. They use super strong Neodymium magnets glued inside the windshield corners and on the shades to hold them in place. So they’re great. But they’re also pretty expensive.


They run about $500.00 for the windshield, and if I want Mister’s picture on it like this,

Magne Shade Dog

it’s close to a $1000 bucks.

And since I’m frugal (Jan says ‘cheap!’), I was looking for another way to go. But until recently I wasn’t able to find magnets that were strong enough and cheap enough to make it worthwhile.

But now I found these.

Magnets

10 Neodymium Magnets 1/2 x 1/4 inch

They have a pull of over 12 pounds, and it’s actually difficult to separate the stack. 10 of them are only about $7, and I figure I’ll need 5 sets, so $35.

As far as the screen material, I have a set  of these RV Quick Shades that are held to the inside of the windshield with suction cups. They work pretty well, but are a pain to put up, especially on the driver’s side.

So I figure I will use my RV Quick Shades and place the magnets in the hem across the top and the bottom. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Since my Starlights RV Lights have died,

Smart Light 1000 Black

I want to at least have something working while I decide what I want to do long-term. So I came up with this. I took one of the LED strips that I used to replace my fluorescents in the rig,

LED Replacement Lights 1

and a 12v remote control switch, and after removing the LED bulb from the Smart Light, mounted the LED strip and the relay inside the light, and got this.

New Patio Light 1

And at night it looks like this.

New Patio Light 2

And it works great too. It’s brighter than the original LED bulb, and I can turn it on and off remotely when we come home at night. Now that I know it will work, I’ll go back in and tape the LED in place so it won’t move around. I’ve got another switch and another LED so I’ll probably do the other light soon.


Thought for the Day:  Fun Fact

The fax machine was invented the same year people were traveling the Oregon Trail.

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