Hobbies and what-not to waste time and money on
 

What does everyone else do "on the side"? Me? I'm on a kick to install custom RGB LED lighting to my camper. It's pretty inexpensive and easy to hook up. I just installed my first section, which is on my awning tube. I've got items on the way to install the same type of lighting on the awning support legs (should be here by next weekend). After that, I'll install it on the bed ends (my camper is a hybrid - the beds fold down on the ends). The light strip is really thin (about 1/8"), waterproof (encased in silicone) and self-adhesive. It'll stay in place and be rolled up inside the awning. The lights run off of 12v, so it'll hook directly to the camper's battery (I still have to run the permanent electrical setup for that).

Here's a couple photos of it so far:
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Here's a short video of the lights in action. It doesn't show all of the modes available, but you'll get the idea. The part with the flashing red/blue will be fun when everyone has passed the legal limit for driving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU_PEWjk25k&feature=youtu.be

Installed 2 more strips of lights to the camper. These are on the awning support poles of the camper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDbgcU-DvdI

My latest hobby (has been for awhile) is building a cabin. It started out as just a small 10'x10' to get out of the weather when hunting.
It has grown to 16'x30' with the 10x10 being the bedroom. I've got it wired for 110v and 12volt and just waiting for spring to set up the solar panels I got on sale (cheap!) at Harbor Freight. I recycled most of the wood from packing crates (free) and ripped them to 4.5" wide and ran them thru a planer to a thickness of 3/4" then cut a 1/4" tounge and groove on them for knotty pine planking inside. I stripped out an old tow behind camper for the oven/stove water tank/pump propane fridge and water heater. I thought about useing lumber cut from timber from my land but didn't want to use green wood, so I sold a few tree's and bought what I needed. So far I've done good at keeping the cost down.
The only LED lighting I've used so far is a couple small yellow one I installed outside above the steps, works REAL good! I think I might look into that RGB tubes, It's alittle more modern looking than what I want but...
I'm still into shooting and reloading too, Try to get to the range once aweek. But that dosn't always happen.

BTW Like the new camper, didn't you just get a pop-up last year?

Warning-Keep Out


man caves :D

The RGB LED I'm using isn't a tube - it's a flexible waterproof strip. It's roughly 1/2" wide x 1/16" thick. It's completely encased in a silicone coating. It comes in 5 meter lengths, which is roughly 16 1/2 feet. You can cut it roughly every 2 inches to the length you need. You can extend it to basically any length by adding a data repeater every 5 meters (costs about $8 on Amazon). There are also many types of controllers available. The one that came with my original set was a CHEAP infrared controller. There was a problem with the remote control which drained the watch-style battery in minutes. The one I'm using now is a Wi-Fi based controller. You install an app (free) onto any iphone/ipad/android device and control the lights with that.

As for the camper - last years "upgrade" was a fiasco. I completely rebuilt the lift system on the huge pop-up I bought. In all, that took about 3 weeks. When I was completely finished installing it, I cranked it up and down a few times with no issues. When I went to reinstall the door onto the camper, I noticed that the roof was about 1" short of being high enough for the door. I grabbed the winch and tried to raise it a bit more. Well, it went one "click" and POW. Two of the lift corners completely destroyed themselves (again). That was it for me. The same day, I went to a local RV dealer, found the camper I have now and bought it. Even though I'm not happy about having payments for the next seven years on it, I'm so happy I did it. The new camper is MUCH better. It's a hybrid (the beds fold down out of the ends), plus it has a slide-out with a dine-et in it which converts to a bed, plus a fold-out couch for a 4th bed.

Here's the controller I'm using for the lighting: Wireless RGB Wifi LED Strip Controller for iOS iPhone Android Smartphone Tablet - Amazon.com

BTW - the lighting fully runs off of the 12v system in the camper. I'm also installing everything in "sections", so that I can turn off and on whichever lights I want. There will be: Awning tube, awning support posts, bed ends (they'll point down when the beds are folded), camper wall under the awning and on the underside of the camper along the front wall. I also *might* install a strip on the underside on the back of the camper.

One other type of light I'm looking into adding for fun is a RGB LED strip called "Dream Color". This strip has MANY more functions, and can do many effects (chasing, bouncing, etc). I'm just not sure how/where to install them yet, or what it takes to make custom lengths.

Here's that one: Amazon.com : 5M 5050 RGB Dream color 6803 IC LED Strip Light Waterproof & 133 Change RF Rmote : Led Chasing Lights : Home Improvement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTkiNIJkWrY

Most of my hobbies are centered around fishing right now. I haven't fished in years, so I'm just getting back into it, and needed to get all new gear.
Talk about sticker shock :eek1: at the price of gear these days.
Even my old ice fishing shanty turned into a wasp nest and floor rotted out. I have plans to build a new one, rather than rebuild this one. It's on my list.
I spent last spring and summer working on setting up a fishing boat, and now I'm busy with ice fishing gear.
I have another month of ice fishing, then I'll be thinking of getting my boat back out and doing some more stuff to it.
Working on the gear is as much fun as taking this stuff out and using it. :D
Well, not really. :roll3:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...fishshanty.jpg

I too have a new light I'm using. ,,,,here is the light >>> OPTRONICS, INC.
It's a 9" fluorescent 12 volt under water fish light.

It will drop down up to 15 feet which is perfect for the small fresh water lakes i'm fishing. These lights at night draw in the small fresh water shrimp, plankton, etc. bait fish feed on.
The bait fish we are looking for are called smelt. We catch them with hook and line, and use them as bait for larger fish the next day. The smelt are also great eating, if you are lucky enough to catch a dozen or more, enough for a meal.

I run this light off my 12 volt marine battery, which has a nice battery box with 12 v. accessory plug-ins as well as battery posts. My bait bucket is an aerated minnow bucket that runs on 2- D cell batteries or 12 volt. With a big battery, I have the power to run anything I need out on the ice, but bringing a big battery along is work, if you don't have a machine to drag your gear sled.

I've been setting up both my atv and snowmobile for ice fishing. I'm working on fixing 2 different sleds for different ice conditions. The sleds tow behind either the atv or the snowmobile with a tow bar hook up. One sled is a big black plastic tub sled. I am building what is called a smitty sled to put under that tub sled. The smitty sled is just a frame basically attached to a set of downhill skis. You can get cheap skis from the GoodWill. I got a set for $12. The tub sleds pull nice, but if you put them up on a set of skis, (smitty sled) then they pull heavier weight like b-u-tter.

The steel dog sled in the photo is much heavier, but also hauls a lot. It's built tough enough to use as a rescue sled, as it can haul a person, with a person standing on the back. Nice tow bar, real cool work sled, but here is the draw back…
in sloppy conditions when the slush builds up, the sled is too close to the back of the machine, and gets covered with snow and slop. They are heavy and bog down in those conditions too. That's when you need a lightweight sled, with a long rope, to keep the sled back about 20 feet, which in the slop works out to be a good length for towing. That's what the tub sled on skis is for.
Other than that, when it gets too sloppy or ice not as safe for machines, then you walk out, and take just the basics.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ps1b77f2d0.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...ps3f33ec9e.jpg

I haven't been fishing in years. With this job, paying for a fishing (or hunting) license just isn't worth it. I think the last time I had either license was over 5 years ago and maybe went fishing or hunting once or twice in a year.

repete, hope those solar panels work out for ya. I have seen nothing but trashy reviews from folks who had high hopes for them only to be seriously disappointed by their performance and lack of longevity, in particular the one's that HF sells.

House work and making book cases were my hobby, now it's chasing a 100 mph toddler around the house.

that's what happened to me too. Been so long, all my gear is maybe worth something on eBay as antiques. :) (worthless crap)

There is fishing gear available now that we never dreamed of in the past. Some of it is fun to use and as much fun as actually fishing. :D
I'm still old school mono line and live bait kinda fisherman though.

One new toy I never had before i really like now, is a GPS locator. They have lake contour mapping, that put you in the perfect spot.

I thought long and hard about the HF panels, but then got $100 in HF gift cert.'s and cought it on sale so ended up costing about $70. Not much to lose!
As far as toddlers go I have 6 grandkids now ranging from 5mo-11yrs, sometimes it's tought to keep em straight! I do some wood working , got all the equipment execpt for the time. I did make a bunch of Christmas gifts for last year and want to fire up the lathe and make some candle sticks and bowls for this year. (better get started soon)
FISHIN??? OMG I haven't dropped a line in years. I did take my oldest grandson up to the pond last summer and let him catch some bluegills. Had to really scrounge around to find my tackle box.
More later!

Good deal on the HF gift cards, not like your out the $70 per se if it doesn't work out. Let us know if you can. What I had read was that their panels only gave off enough power to light up 1 plug-in night light or charge a laptop. It was almost a basic trickle charge system, very trickle were the complaints even on the "Best" models. Maybe the Harry Homeowners didn't have a clue how to hook them up and did it wrong?

I bought a 45 watt panel system, should be plenty of power considering I've got two deep cycle batt. there now and only use them on weekends. The panels will be chargeing them all week so dead batterys shouldn't be a problem. I also have the generator wired so when I run it it charge the 12 volt system thru a couple of diodes so nothing backfeeds.
Is that toddler your's or a grandkid? I just kinda assumed you are an old fart like me but not quit as old as Roadie :)

I feel like an old fart some days but no, in my early 30's, he's mine. He more than proves it some days.

Sounds like your setup would work in theory, like I said, maybe the complaints were fools who had no business doing it themselves. I know I see a lot of that on Lowes, complaints, I read them and just shake my head at the comedy gold!

I know just enough about electricity to get myself into trouble :) . My dad used to be the guy to turn to but he's gone now so I have to fall back on my memory..what were we talking about? I used to be pretty good and even new alot of the National Electric Code but that was in 1982! Sometimes I'm like Homer Simpson, to learn something new something old has to fall out!

does this help you remember? :)

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...3D1FA179CC.jpg

When I got home for the weekend yesterday, I had a bunch of packages waiting on me for the lighting - everything except for the new fuse panel (scheduled to arrive today). I put a couple more light strips on the camper (front and rear beds to light up underneath when the beds are open). I tried to get more done yesterday, but the wind was blowing 25-30mph steady all day. Woke up this morning to heavy rain, so the back yard is a swamp now. Not sure if I'll be able to get anything done today or not.

I still have to run the new power feed from the battery to the new fuse panel. I'm running 8-gauge wire, with a 40-amp main fuse at the battery. The fuse panel is a 12 circuit layout. That panel is going to feed all the different light circuits, plus some new 12v power outlets I'm installing throughout the camper (to charge phones and such). I'm mounting 2 12v outlets (cigarette lighter style) plus a dual-port usb charger on the outside front wall of the camper, which is where a small table normally sits when we set up. Those outlets are marine grade and have rubber covers for them. In 2 other locations inside, I'm installing a 12v outlet plus a dual-port usb charger.

Right now, I'm setting it up so that there will be a 2-gang camper OEM switch inside the door to turn the lights on/off. One is for the step lights and the other simply turns the controller for the main lights on/off. My overall plan is to put another switch plate with a switch for each individual light circuit. I want it to look "factory" when it's done, but I haven't decided exactly how many sets of lights I want to install yet. Right now, I have 3, but am thinking of adding another 2 to 5 sets. I won't know for sure until I get it out and see how it looks as-is.

"Pimp My Camper" :p

Honestly YES! i was about 5 or 6 when I found the neatest tool! It was a pair of my dad's wire cutters. When dad got home he sat down in his chair to read and clicked on the lamp, hmm
bulb must be blown, after changing it it still didn't work it didn't take long to narrow the problem down to me.

My daughter has an incredibly expensive hobby, but she's extremely good at it. She's a very talented magician. Anytime she comes within ten feet of me, all of the money in my wallet suddenly DISAPPEARS!!

She must take the same magic class as my grand kids and I got SIX of them!

Finally had a couple weekends of nice weather and got the lighting 100% finished. Here's a short video clip of it in action:

RGB LED Lighting installed on a hybrid camper - YouTube

There are 3 lighting circuits installed (awning tube, awning poles & bed fold-outs). Each circuit can be be individually turned on or off, depending on the lighting needs. I have a set of blue LED strips on my way that will be used for the step lighting. My next addition to the lighting will be for the front side (door side) on the underside. That will probably wait until next spring, though.

I'm into

hiking/mountain climbing/camping
bicycling
going to the drag races
photography
airshows
hydroplane boat races
tornado chasing
skydiving
roller coasters
any type of cool thrill ride/adrenaline junkie experience
customizing my car and detailing it

I avoid buying movies and electronics at the truck stops, just a racket and a ripoff designed to steal your money. I just download movies in my free time, or when the truck is in the shop. I also download music to listen to while I'm driving, and am constantly reloading my phone's sim card (i run the lineout jack to the cd player in the truck). I have about 40 movies I just downloaded, so that should keep me busy for a while.

I also spend a lot of time cleaning my truck religiously. Outside windshield usually gets done 2 - 3 times a day in the springs/summer, maybe once or twice in the winter. Inside windows get cleaned once a week. I detail the dash and vinyl and spray the smelly good. Everything is OCD organized for convenience and easy access. I even bought my own wipers and installed Bosch Icon wipers because the cheap one's Werner uses are so horrible you might as well run around with no wipers at all on your truck. I clean the mirrors outside as well. I bought an airhose and sprayer kit and tapped into my passenger seat air connection so I can blow all the dirty, gravel and crumbs out of my truck.

Hi, guys. Sorry for bumping this thread. But I have recently discovered that I'm in a kind of depression and want to find a hobbie that I never tried before. Could you please recommend me something? Just please no handmade/diy and similar hobbies for kids/women. ;)

Have you ever been at shooting range? This is my hobby. Also if you don't like guns maybe snowmobiles will interest you.

yes, i tried shooting with a gun, i liked it, but i want something new. snowmobiles are something new for me for sure. i live in New Jersey, is it possible to do this here?

It is quite difficult to find a good gift for a child in today's world: there is too much different garbage around. But thanks to things like online shopping sofa bed at https://paramusmegafurniture.com/collections/sofa-beds , there is an excellent opportunity to buy a practical and environmentally friendly gift for every taste. I am incredibly impressed!

One hobby I think anyone can enjoy at any age is learning music and playing some instrument that you can enjoy, maybe several.
Never too old or too young to start this journey. Life needs more cow bell! :cool:

My hobby is to do a renovation. Yes, it's weird. I do this so often that my wife is already mad at me. When my friends start repairing the house and want to hire builders, I offer them my help for FREE. Some disagree, but they have no idea how much I like it. Recently, a friend of mine bought radiators direct online and asked me to help install them. He still continues to thank me at every meeting.

Thanks to car simulators, you can develop your driving skills well. Although there are still their opponents. So what are the more pros or cons of simulators - consider below. If we consider beginners who are just starting to learn how to drive, simulators are not such a useless thing. But what about casino games? What is better for you, a trucking simulator or casino games https://casinosanalyzer.com/online-casinos/sxvegas.com ? Any ideas?