VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[Bruce]

We’ve had some strong windstorms here in Oregon and yesterday at 11am we lost electric power at the house. I got a few more spots done before my backup battery died. Because of dozens of outages across the area it became clear this was going to be a long term problem. So I’ve taken the battery to the hotel, charged it up, and now this morning I’m ready to use it for any important work that might come along since we still don’t have power.

Thanks again to Sam A Mowry for aiding me with an SC session from his lovely Willamette Radio Theater studios last night. A friend indeed.

Oh, and for those following our out of the house adventure while they redo our floors, the repairs of the necessary damage and prep for the new flooring starts today, maybe, if they can do it without juice. Just two weeks more of hotel living.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[Lee Gordon]

Back in 2011, we had an early season ice storm that knocked down tree limbs all over the area. I was without power for eleven days. Fortunately, the internet was out for only one day. I found a store where I could buy a small inverter, that was enough to power my laptop, my cable modem, and my router from the accessory plug (a/k/a cigarette lighter) in my car. I pulled the car up to the nearest window and ran an extension cord from the inverter in the car to my desk, and was able to carry on until power was restored.
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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[Bruce]

If this outage keeps going I’ll have to look into that!


B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[Deirdre]

I bought a little generator.

DeWitt used a CPAP machine. and I have heavy duty extention cables running thru the floor of the kitchen, coiled up under the back porch to be deployed to the barn (where the generator is) if the power goes out.
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DBCooperVO.com

[todd ellis]

yup. generator. i got a great deal on a 9000w genni a couple of years ago to replace my 4000w (which only had a 1 gal tank). we have a lot of thunderstorms/tornados around here & power outages are not infrequent. i wired a 220 plug from the clothes dryer circuit into the garage wall & made a m/m cord. when the power goes out, i flip the main outside power to the box off (extremely important step) then fire the genni up & plug in. i don't run AC with it - but it powers the important stuff - freezer, fridge, sump pump, water heater ...
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"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

[Bruce]

26 hours later we have power just as another handful of scripts came it. Whew!

And Sam rescued me again earlier today!

This is by far the longest of the rare power outages we've seen here in ten years, but the idea of a small generator sounds wise. Heck with all the potential disruption out there, it may be critical some day. The best place to put it however is right under my studio window. Hmmm. Maybe feed it into a bigger battery and run just off of that during recording? Hmmm.



B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[todd ellis]

bruce - the new honda generators are VERY quiet - maybe not THAT quiet - but they're pretty quiet.
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"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

[Frank F]

Just got power back after a week without (8 pm Sunday). Been off-grid and out of touch for a week. I feel for you Bruce.

A good inverter 5000 watt is nice to have, and it will last a couple of hours on a car battery. Check how much power start-up power is how you check your needs) you need and for ow long then find an inverter accordingly.

Had vehicles (two motor homes, car, and truck) were buried under tree fall. So no generators and no power to do anything exciting. Oh, none of the cattle went flying like in the movie "Twister.

Trees are cleared and now there is about 5-7 cord of firewood, tons of kindling, and power had been restored from the solar array.

Normally I have a 12kw generator for emergency use but I lent it out two weeks ago. Kinda of wish I had a small 3kw jenny as a backup to my backup now. It would have saved a lot of headaches.

The other thing necessary for some people with trees is a couple chain saws with a 30 inch blades. I use a Husgavarna and it worked like a dream on trunks and limbs 24 to 48" inches in diameter. The biggest pain was getting a 4 ton stump out of the ground with all the roots and gnarled mess which held it down. A large 20 ton excavator did the job; but it struggled.

Now comes the new fixes for power which will make things nice ANYTIME. Solar, wind, hydro, hydrogen, and a little magic which would take a bit of explanation.

As you can tell "The Ranch" is completely off grid. Internet comes from satellite, phone shares the uplink, and the nearest anything community is 145 miles away. And, it is fun!

It is "Gilligans Island" - no boat, no lights, no motor car - not a single luxury.

F2
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[todd ellis]

hey frank - sounds like heaven.
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"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

[Frank F]

Yes Todd, The Ranch is my own personal slice of heaven! And, I like it.

F2
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com