Best wax for a black car

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C4S

If you have a black car like I do, you  already know that black paint shows every smudge, chip and swirl mark.  Over the years I’ve owned three black autos and only recently discovered a collection of products and an application process that produce what I would consider excellent results.

The key to getting a great shine on black paint is to clean the surface very thoroughly and then apply black tinted polish and wax in separate steps.

You will need to set aside the better part of a day to give your black car this “spa treatment”, but the results will be better than what many professional detailers charge hundreds of dollars to do.

Shopping list

  • Turtle Wax Black Box Kit. This kit consists of bottles of black tinted pre-wax cleaner (polish) and liquid carnauba wax, 2 bottles of detailing spray and 2 applicator pads.  Conventional wax dries white, highlighting imperfections and chips in the paint.  These products are all tinted black and perform wonderfully on black paint.  My only gripe is that both the polish and wax come in tall bottles with screw-off caps that are all too easy to over-apply or spill.  A wider bottle and/or a flow control nozzle would be huge improvements.  Oh, second gripe, the stuff is heavily perfumed.  My car really doesn’t need to smell like Fruit Loops!
  • Call me paranoid, but before rubbing polish into my car’s paint I want to be certain that the surface is absolutely clean and free of grit.  Pros like to use paint cleaning clay for this purpose and so do I.  Griot’s Garage makes a kit that includes the clay and a bottle of Speed Shine, which is great for touchups in-between washes. The Turtle Wax kit includes an inferior version of Speed Shine that I don’t use.
  • You’ll need a random orbital polisher to apply polish and wax.  The best one I’ve ever tried is manufactured by Griot’s Garage.  The tool is well balanced, light and sufficiently powerful.  It comes with either a 10-foot or 25-foot cord.  Although I agree with others that 10 feet isn’t long enough to get around a vehicle, I prefer to just attach an easy to replace extension cord to get the extra length. Make a square knot to keep the cords from decoupling.
  • Polish pads and wax pads for your orbital polisher.
  • Microfiber cloths for removing polish and buffing.  I highly recommend this 36-pack, which is an excellent value.
  • The Turtle Wax products will stain your skin and clothes!  Grab a box of disposable gloves if you don’t already have some.  And don’t let this product get anywhere near a nice paver or concrete driveway.  You will spill some.  Consider yourself warned!!

Process

  1. Thoroughly wash your car using your favorite detergent.  When I’m polishing or waxing my car, I prefer to wash the wheels first and then make a new bucket of detergent for washing the rest of the car.  I really like inserts like this one that fit into the wash bucket, allowing any grit to settle to the bottom.
  2. Go over all painted surfaces with cleaning clay to remove contaminants.  Do one small area at a time.  Spray with Speed Shine to lubricate the surface, wipe with a wad of clay and buff dry with a microfiber cloth.
  3. I learned this trick too late in life.  Blast the car dry with a leaf-blower, followed up by a microfiber towel.
  4. Apply the Turtle Wax polish following the manufacturer’s instructions for machine application.  Orange pads and a speed setting of 1 on the Griot’s orbital tool work well.
  5. Buff off the polish with a microfiber cloth. A little spritz of Speed Shine hastens the job.
  6. Apply the wax using a red pad and speed setting of 1-1/2.  Buff off the wax using a microfiber cloth and Speed Shine.
  7. Pop open your favorite adult beverage and enjoy your work!

Switching between HDMI and analog audio on a Mac

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Here’s a proven fix if you need both analog and HDMI audio outputs and require a way of switching between them.  In my case, I had an application where a rack mounted Mac Mini serves as both a media server and an audio source for a whole house paging system.

I first tried using the headphone output as an analog audio output.  The problem is that if anything is plugged into the headphone jack, it is not possible to select HDMI for sound output via the Sound preference panel or via any other means.  Various people have posted methods for outputting audio to both HDMI and headphone out simultaneously, but my application requires only one output to be active at any given time.

The hardware piece of the solution is a relatively cheap Turtle Beach USB DAC.  I’d imagine other USB audio converters would work equally well.

After plugging in the DAC, I confirmed that I could switch audio sources from the Sound preference panel.

The next step was to to automate the audio switching.  I found various Applescript techniques on the web for doing this by scripting the sound preference panel UI, but that approach seemed kludgy and probably slower than using a compiled command line tool.  If such a tool is included in OS X Mavericks, I couldn’t find it.  Fortunately, a generous developer created an output switching utility called audiodevice, which is available here.

Audiodevice works perfectly but has one minor quirk.  Some output devices have trailing spaces after their names, which need to be included in audiodevice commands.

Here is an example of a shell script that uses audiodevice to switch audio output from HDMI to USB DAC, plays a sound effect, outputs a string that was passed to it from the command line as text to speech, and then switches back to HDMI:

/usr/local/bin/Audiodevice/audiodevice output "USB Sound Device        "
/usr/bin/afplay "/Library/Audio/Apple Loops/Apple/iLife Sound Effects/Machines/Communication Engaged.caf"
say $1
/usr/local/bin/Audiodevice/audiodevice output "HDMI Matrix  "

Notice the spaces after USB Sound Device and HDMI Matrix.  If you are not using the Turtle Beach DAC, the USB DAC may have a different name.  Use the audiodevice output list command to get a list of the audio output devices installed on your Mac.

Vehicle detection using iAutomate RFID

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One item on my to-do list for a long time was to enable our home automation system to detect the comings and goings of our vehicles.  Each has an EZ-Pass badge, so I figured slam-dunk, just find an appropriate active RFID reader and we’re done.  But I was unable to find a cost-effective solution.  (But wouldn’t that be an awesome Kickstarter project . . .)

I also explored homebrew solutions using Bluetooth modules and Wi-Fi but laziness triumphed when I heard about a plug and play long range RFID kit for Indigo.  (There are also versions available for Homeseer and Crestron.)  The kit comes with a reader module and two RFID tags.

Overall, I give this product a B+.  It works well but you have to get past a few annoyances.  #1, the price.  I think iAutomate is making a mistake with the pricing.  $549 for the “starter kit” puts this product out of reach for a lot of people.  I’m taking a very rough guess that the whole kit costs well under $100 to produce.  iAutomate should really consider a $399 price point (or <shudder> $199?)

Next annoyance:  WTF with the pinout?  The readers have RJ-45 (ethernet style) jacks to carry 12-volt power and RS-232 serial signal.  But, as the manual cautions, if you plug this thing into Ethernet, something will surely fry.  iAutomate provides a lovely color engineering diagram showing how to terminate an eight conductor RJ-45 plug into the custom, 4-conductor pinout that the reader uses.  Ignoring that will make many, many crispy devices on your LAN. Gosh, if you’re gonna insist on using a proprietary pinout, at least use a proprietary connector.  Or an RJ-11 that won’t get confused with Ethernet?  Or better yet, just put an adaptor in the box to convert to standard Ethernet pinout.

And yet another nit.  The reader case doesn’t have any sort of mounting flange.   I just used a couple of cable ties with screw holes to fasten the reader to a wall.

iAutomate says you need to use a USB-to-serial converter that uses the FTDI chipset.  And they mean it.

Initially I tried connecting both the RFID reader and a Lutron RadioRA 2 main repeater to a Keyspan 4-port adapter (which does not use the FTDI driver). This combination was catastrophic!  The computer crashed every time the RFID reader saw a tag.  So I tried leaving the Lutron repeater on the 4-port adaptor and putting the RFID reader on a single port Keyspan unit that I had in my parts box.  This had the frustrating result of working perfectly except when a tag would first come within range of the reader, causing the Indigo plugin to reset communications.

Finally, I plunked down 12 bucks for a generic FTDI converter and voila, the reader worked reliably!  I still don’t understand why the Keyspan adaptor, which is my go-to device whenever I need to do USB to serial conversion, didn’t work.  iAutomate’s Indigo plugin is written in Python, using the same libraries that I used for the RadioRA 2 plugin, so it would be reasonable to assume that both devices would be hardware compatible with the Keyspan.

The manual also cautions that placement of the RFID reader and orientation of the tags may require some trial and error.  This couldn’t be more true.  I had to try about a half dozen locations for the reader before finding one where all the tags could be reliably read.

Conclusion:  an effective, but expensive and tricky to install device.

Update (May 21, 2014):  I am revising my overall assessment of this product to an A- for the following reasons:

  1. The latest version (2.1) of the iOS RFID Track app adds signal strength display and an improved UI, among other things.  It’s a real pleasure to use and is available from the iTunes Store.
  2. I recently needed technical support for the Indigo plugin and was very satisfied with the experience.
  3. Peter Monahan, the President of iAutomate, explained the reasoning behind several of the product’s pricing, manufacturing and design decisions to me.  For example, their decision to use RJ-45 connectors now makes sense to me.  Here are Peter’s remarks:

I thought I would take a moment to address some of the concerns that you had and then mentioned in your remarks. I hope to provide you with a better understanding.

Price:
The hardware devices cost us far more to manufacture than you cited.  Far more.  Many users are not aware that all of the RFID devices have FCC, IC and CE approvals; this adds tremendous cost to the hardware. We don’t have a choice in the USA, the devices must be FCC listed. We also sell in Canada and Europe.

We fight the temptation to have the devices manufactured in Asia.  There are non-financial costs associated with “making it cheap in China” and we are not willing to compromise.

As you are already aware, we provide free technical support for the product M-F 8am-5pm and are often available outside of those hours and on weekends.

The plugins (yes there are two) cost thousands of dollars to develop and are the most professional, full-featured, reliable,  detailed and documented plugin available for Indigo, bar none, yet they are bundled for free with the hardware.  The hardware was extensively tested by a team of Beta Testers prior to release (not on a single workbench). The cost of this development and continuing updates is priced into the hardware.

Similarly, RFID Track for iOS cost thousands of dollars to develop and is available for Free via iTunes for unlimited devices.The cost of this development and continuing updates is also priced into the hardware.

There is a lower cost “LE” version of the kit available for those who do not expect to expand their network beyond a single reader that sells for $399.00, but the higher cost kit sells better at $549.00.

FTDI Chipset:
FTDI provides the most current driver support and updates for OS X. During development, it was discovered that the Prolific brand chipset was often “bootlegged” and despite the amount of Prolific devices on the market, Prolific would not support many of them because they were not authentic Prolific chipsets.  We were not willing to put our reputation on the line if performance suffered because of a bad or “knockoff” adaptor.  I made the executive decision to standardize on FTDI.

The problem with “non-FTDI” adaptors is amplified, because our data stream is real time data ALL THE TIME. Even when no tags are detected, the reader sends an “empty packet” every 40ms to make certain the buffer is empty and the tag data is real-time. This empty packet also acts as a heartbeat. Other chipsets could not handle the data stream; we deemed them to be cheap, weak and inefficient. Sometimes, they were cheap knockoff copies of other chipsets.

The RJ45 Connector:
Depending upon how you terminate the reader, it has the ability to communicate via RS232 or RS485 via the RJ45 connector, so six terminations are possible out of 8 (see the drawing that was provided with kit). The RJ45 connector is the least expensive connector for providing 6, but up to 8 connections.  If we used a proprietary connector, the price would increase and Customers would be very unhappy that we “force” them to use our proprietary connectors.

The single biggest reason that standard Ethernet cables cannot be used is because such a configuration would connect RS232 AND RS485 at the same time and the reader would not detect the correct protocol for reliable communication.

The warning labels are because We’ve had Customers skip over reading the wiring diagrams as well as the manual and connect the reader directly to an Ethernet port or switch out of ignorance.  Other manufacturers place warning labels on clothes irons, cautioning the user not to iron their clothes *while on their body*.  I guess this is our version of that warning label, but if you ignore our warning, I assure you that you will not burn your flesh.

Thank you again for your business, we appreciate you.

Respectfully,

Peter Monahan
President

Williams-Sonoma Smart Thermometer FAIL

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WS Smart Thermometer

We recently got a Big Green Egg ceramic charcoal cooker at the RatRanch.  I have nothing but praise for the BGE.  It lights fast, cooks evenly and consumes a surprisingly small amount of charcoal.  In preparation for cooking a big pork shoulder, I picked up the new Williams-Sonoma “Smart Thermometer” so I could monitor the temperature of the meat, which needs to cook at 225° for several hours.

I happened to be at a Williams-Sonoma store on the day they got their first stock of Smart Thermometers.  Perhaps I should have been suspicious when the sales clerk offered to print a receipt for me instead of emailing it like they usually do?

The best feature of the Smart Thermometer is its packaging, which is thoughtfully designed.  It deboxes a lot like an Apple product.  The thermometer itself is crafted from stainless steel and feels heavy and solid.  However, the included charger and cord are flimsy and feel like they wouldn’t last for long.  Fortunately, it accepts a standard mini-USB cable.

So I charged up the thermometer and hit the power button.  Nothing.  Nada.  Dead on arrival.

So back to Williams-Sonoma I went.  When I said that I got a defective unit, I was pointed to the retail display and told to grab another one If I wanted.  No paperwork.  Were they exchanging a lot of these?

I headed back home and charged up thermometer #2.  This one turned on and I went through a clumsy setup routine to pair it with my iPhone so I could use the remote monitoring app.  I turned off the thermometer, which appeared to be ready for my big pork cookery the next day, and left it charging overnight.

In the morning I fired up the Egg and put my pork shoulder in.  Hooked up the thermometer and turned it on.  But the iPhone app no longer recognized the thermometer.  Since the pork was already  cooking and I didn’t want to open the Egg, I continued cooking it without the app, periodically running outside in the cold to check the temperature display.

Battery Fail

Yes, that’s an extension cord.  Adding insult to injury, the battery died five hours into the cook!

I found that the only way to make the remote monitoring app work was to repeat the cumbersome setup process every time the thermometer was turned on.  I tried calling tech support, where a courteous but untrained rep couldn’t solve the problem either.  According to several reviews posted to the Williams-Sonoma website, others have had similar results.

Error Message

So back to the store went thermometer #2, for a refund this time.  A week later my friend attended an in-store cooking class, where they demonstrated the Smart Thermometer.  It didn’t work.

BTW, I ended up ordering a Maverick remote read wireless thermometer from Amazon for $60, which I’m satisfied with.  It doesn’t look as elegant as the WS thermometer and it doesn’t connect to my iDevices, but it’s cheap and it works.  Plus, this thermometer comes with two probes, so you can remotely monitor both the food and grill temperatures.

Problem solved.

Importing RadioRA 2 devices into Indigo

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In a recent post, I wrote about a plugin I made for Indigo to add support for Lutron RadioRA 2 devices.  I can’t say enough good things about this software.  It’s rock solid reliable and extremely flexible.  Among other things, I have Indigo set up to email a picture to me when somebody comes up the driveway (but only when nobody is home; how cool is that!) and detect house occupants’ presence by looking for their cellphones on the wifi network.

So it got to be time to add the 80+ RadioRA 2 devices in the house to Indigo’s database.  Although this would be a one-time task, I really dreaded the drudgery of typing in all those device names and properties.  So I fetched the device database from the RadioRA 2 main repeater (at http://[Repeater IP Address]/DbXmlInfo.xml).  This produces an XML file with complete information about the RadioRA 2 installation.

Indigo allows devices to be added to its database programatically.  The Python syntax looks like this:

indigo.device.create(protocol=indigo.kProtocol.Plugin,
    address="F8",
    name="Device Name Here", 
    description="Description Here", 
    pluginId="com.mycompany.pluginId",
    deviceTypeId="myDeviceTypeId",
    props={"propA":"value","propB":"value"},
    folder=1234)

So far so good.  My original plan was to use Python to parse the XML file and create the devices.  So I cracked open Mark Lutz’s excellent reference book Learning Python.  Despite Lutz’s clear examples, I just couldn’t get the XML file to parse.  (It turned out to be an issue with the XML file itself).

Not wanting to invest too much time writing a program I’d only use once, I came up with a different approach.  If I could extract the XML data into an Excel friendly format, I knew I’d be able to cobble together the Python code I needed for Indigo.  I found this awesome online XML to Excel conversion tool but it threw an error when I tried to upload the XML file.

I opened the file with BBEdit and used the Tidy, Reflow Document from the Markup menu to make the unformatted XML more readable (you just gotta love BBEdit).  Something didn’t look right.  The node “Areas” was defined twice.  WTF?  So I trimmed everything from the top of the file to just before the second “<Areas>” tag.  Then I jumped to the bottom of the file and trimmed everything after the first “</Areas>” tag.  Voila!  The file was processed by the online conversion tool and it returned a nicely formatted Excel workbook.

After a bit of further manipulation in Excel (and one string concatenation function that will make your head swim), I had all the Python code generated.

If you’d like to use this technique, take a look at the Excel Spreadsheet that I posted here.  It should be self-explanatory but give me a shout if you get stuck.  Copy the results from column H of the first tab and paste into Indigo’s scripting shell.  You should name all of your areas/rooms in Indigo’s devices tab prior to importing your devices.