The Doc has put his 12 volt guides together on Anderson plugs, crimping and fuses. You can go to this page here, or choose Nissan Patrol on the Menu above and go to Automotive 12 volt and the articles will appear on the right side.
Barks, barks and more barks
As part of the ongoing macro work on barks and foliage, The Doc was describing the various hues in the barks and leaves, he looked for a way to be more objective and found a colour palette generator that identified the ten dominant hues in an image. Some samples can be found below.
The ten most dominate colours in the bark/leaf are listed on the left. The source image was in 8bit colour with an sRGB colour profile embedded.
It is a visual colour palette of the main colours in the bark or leaf, it is not scientifically exact.
Colour names based the hexadecimal RGB colour code: https://www.99colors.net/color-names
The Doc much prefers the names of colours rather than their Hex code (#FFEBCD) or RGB code (255, 235, 205), otherwise known as Blanched Almond. Others names include Caput mortuum, Cerulean blue, Dogwood rose, Otter brown and Dark candy apple red.
Why does the colour palette look slightly different to the image? In the colour palette you see each distinct colour, but the image is a mixture of these colours and more. In essence, it is like looking at an artist’s various paint colours, before the colours are mixed and put on the canvas. The palette is just identifying the ten main colours used by nature, not how nature mixes all the colours.
Pictures not displaying properly
A website plug-in is malfunctioning, which has messed up the way the website displays images. Until The Doc can figure out how to fix it, the images will not display correctly. EDIT: an updated plug-in fixed the bug.
12 volt car fuses–buy quality fuses–avoid Cheap Chinese Crap
In short, Cheap Chinese Crap (CCC) blade fuses are unsafe to use.
Just like Anderson plugs, which The Doc discussed here, blade fuses have been overrun by Cheap Chinese Crap. Avoid buying Cheap Chinese Crap, it can be a matter of life and death.
CCC blade fuses are commonly sold on eBay and Amazon. There is a reason why they sell fuses for a few cents each and quality fuses can cost a $1 or more. CCC fuses do not work properly, and they pose a real danger to those who use them. They are unsafe to use.
Fuses, to be safe and effective, need to be built to a specification and certified to perform in accordance with that specification. Cheap Chinese Crap doesn’t. In the case of a catastrophic fuse failure your car can catch fire and be burnt to the ground or you can be injured/killed or have your expensive equipment destroyed. While catastrophic failures are rare, you do not want to be the unlucky one, when it can be avoided.
Saving a few dollars buying CCC fuses is not worth it. If a CCC fuse damages a car’s wiring loom, the repair bill can run into 1,000s of dollars.
Problems created by CCC fuses
Poorly made fuses can have one of more of the following problems:
- incorrect manufacturing tolerances, so the fuse does not fit properly in the fuse holder. Poor contacts can mean your device will not work or it create shorts, and in worse cases scenarios fires;
- not meeting the rated performance specification. For example, a fuse rated at 5 amps does not blow until 12.5 amps; way beyond the specification, risking fire and damage/destruction of the device the fuse is supposed to protect. Here is an eye opening video, where CCC fuses do not work as rated: https://youtu.be/bVKuYOA3F2E
- use of inferior materials, meaning the CCC fuses may melt and catch fire. Another eye opening video here were CCC fuses, when they blow, often melt the plastic fuse cover: https://youtu.be/tDuJx1qciBg
Both videos show how dangerous these CCC fuses can be. Minimise your risks, avoid Cheap Chinese Crap.
What to buy
Buy fuses which are certified to perform to specification and have a rating marked in white on the back of the fuse (5, 7.5, 10, 15, 20 amps, etc). So only buy fuses with the white rating from a reliable dealer. Do not use fuses which do not have the rating painted in white. All the fuses in The Doc’s car have these rated the fuses from factory. Car makers understand the importance of rated fuses and use high quality fuses when making the car. You should do the same.
Quality rated fuses are made by LittleFuse, PEC, Jeng Feng (Taiwan), Bussmann (who source from PEC and JF) or Prolec. The Doc buys his fuses online from Swe-Check, a fuse specialist. Quality fuses normally come with a specification sheet.
The Doc was not always so informed and has wasted money on CCC fuses (now happily thrown in the garbage, with a lesson learned). This post is to stop you making the same mistake. While this post concerns blade fuses in cars, the main points apply to other CCC fuses. Avoid them.
Tip: all components in a car’s 12 volt electrical system should be good quality, Australian made copper wire, tin-plated copper (not brass) crimp terminals, genuine Anderson plugs (not Anderson style plugs), quality certified fuses (not CCC), etc.
How to register IPTC Information into the Sony A1, A11, A9, A9II, A9III, A7RIV and A7RV
This is one of the least known features of the A9, A9II, A9III, A7RIV, A7RV and A1. The feature allows you to put customised IPTC information into your camera, which in turn adds it to your images. But the IPTC feature and how put the information into the camera is vague. No more.
The Sony software and instructions are here.
The Doc had to do a survey before he could download the software.
Get an old SD card, it does not need to be fast, as the IPTC information will be stored on the card and then loaded into the camera. Warning: any SD card which is subsequently formatted will lose its customised IPTC Information and you will need to reload the IPTC data back onto the SD card.
The Sony instructions linked above are not complete. The Doc’s suggestion:
- Install the Sony IPTC software on your PC/Mac. It is called the Sony IPTC Metadata Preset.
- Type in the IPTC information you want stored in the camera. You can import this information into the Sony IPTC Metadata Preset software if you already have it in an XML file.
- Format a SD card in your Sony A1, A9, A9II, A9III or A7RIV (it MUST be formatted in the camera).
- Put the camera formatted SD card into a card reader attached to your PC/Mac.
- Go to Sony IPTC Metadata Preset software and EXPORT the file to the formatted SD card. You can save the info on your PC/Mac but it must be EXPORTED onto the SD card.
- Put the SD card into Slot 1 of your Sony A1, A9, A9II, A9III or A7RIV. Do not have two cards in the camera.
- Open the Shooting Menu on the Sony A1 (or your model): Shooting>3File>IPTC Information>Register IPTC Info>Select Slot 1
- If successful you get the message “Registered IPTC Information”. Select OK.
- Now select Write IPTC Info in your camera menu and turn it on/off as you desire. When turned on, the customised IPTC Information will be written by the camera to the images.
Procedures listed in Point 7 will vary between the various Sony camera models. Warning: you must use the Sony supplied software as the camera will only upload the IPTC information exported from the Sony app.
Tony Stott’s Anniversary
My friend Tony Stott passed away 12 months ago today. Some blog entries I posted in memory of Tony here.
The Northern Kimberley
While staying at Drysdale River Station The Doc took a plane flight into the Northern Kimberly. Initially through Prince Regent National Park, then up to Mitchell Falls and back again.
Sorry about the funny colour cast and soft images, it was caused by the window on the plane. The best flight in that area without the high price tag of the helicopter flights at Mitchell Falls itself.
Gloria in excelsis Deo
May the peace of the Christ child be with you and your family this Christmas.
Santa getting ready for Christmas
The real reason for CHRISTmas.
This image was censored by Facebook in 2018 as “violent or graphic content.” I kid you not. Facebook only removed the warning after the story went viral and its outrageous censorship became a matter of public knowledge.
The Bungle Bungles, Kimberley, WA
The Bungle Bungle Ranges in the Purnululu National Park (The Kimberley) has the most extensive beehive rock formations in the world. While well known to local Aboriginals and Cattle Station owners, it did not become known to the world until the early 1980s.
Within 5 years it was a National Park and within 20 years it was World Heritage listed.
The beehives are formed by wind driven sand and rainfall (plus millions of years of weathering).
The beehive domes consist of different layers of sandstone; some orange, some black. The black layers hold more moisture allowing cyanobacteria growth which cause the black colour. The orange-coloured layers are stained with iron and manganese mineral deposits within the sandstone (in lay terms – rust!).
Typically, you see the domes from ground level. The Doc took a helicopter flight over The Bungle Bungles. The images are split into two groups; first, the rock formations out of which the beehives are weathered. Here you see deep gorges, meandering rivers (floodways now) and steep gorge walls. Second the domes or beehives themselves, from the air. Make sure you click on the pictures to see the full size images.
The Doc has been posting fewer images lately, but the Bungles deserves more to appreciate its stunning beauty.
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