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Anyone has a recommendation for a car battery charger or jump starter aside from keeping the jump start cables in the car? Looking to see what's new and doesn't itself need charging often. Otherwise, I'll be stuck in a recursive loop.
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I prefer a second vehicle, and a set of jump leads.
I used to have one of those "portable battery packs" which was a charger and a battery for instant starts, but unless you leave it on trickle charge permanently (which is a bad idea) it was always too flat to do anything useful when I needed it.
Or get an electric car.
Then you will be used to having to walk anyway...because the whole car is always on charge!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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I'm used to the other vehicle approach. I was just wondering if there's new technology, that doesn't rely on another vehicle, that I'm missing.
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The one I have still self-tests as good after a year in the trunk. Naturally though, I've never needed a jump since I bought it a decade ago. 
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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OriginalGriff wrote: Or get an electric car.
Then you will be used to having to walk anyway...because the whole car is always on charge
A number of years ago I used my Charger (as in, Dodge) to boost a co-worker's Prius.
Puns ensued.
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Bassam Abdul-Baki wrote: Anyone has a recommendation for a car battery charger or jump starter...
Are you referring to a battery pack?
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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Anything that doesn't rely on another car.
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The battery packs shown, by definition, do not rely upon another car. Otherwise, what would be the point? You'd be using the second car's battery.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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If you going to have to replace the battery why not look at something like Super Cap Battery[^] if it's just a case of your car is sitting for a long time then something like Solar charger[^] which I've used and works.
/Darren
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Thanks! Don't need the battery replaced. Kept my car in my office garage for four days and the battery died. Was able to get a jump start and it worked. Was looking for alternative approaches that work indoors and outdoors.
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If sitting for 4 days kills your battery... you really might need it replaced.
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Er, buy a new battery. Get your alternator checked. Buy a new car.
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Yep, buy a new battery, or even a used one if you want to be cheap.
Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
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Solar panels on the roof maybe?
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The best solution is to carry a set of cables. How often can you NOT find another vehicle for a jump?
The next best solution is just carry a 2nd battery! It is about the same price as any of those other options, it is the same size... but with the exception that once you install it, you don't need to get a new battery anymore!
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I've always thought that some of the newer LiPo emergency jump-start battery solutions were pretty damn neat. You can pick them up for a wide range of prices. Anything from about $20 to about $200. Some of them double as a usb phone-charger too.
Here's the cheapest and nastiest of the options - ~$20 + the price of a charger for it ($23 US for a Turnigy Accucel 6 - which can also charge a fist-full of different cell chemistries)
Jump starting a car with a $20 LIPO battery[^]
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__7028__Turnigy_Accucel_6_50W_6A_Balancer_Charger_w_Accessories.html[^] - I power mine with an old pc PSU
The video uses a 4s pack, though you can do it (and it's safer for the car's electronics) to use a 3s pack
Here's a couple of commercial LiPo solutions, complete with led torches and usb outputs:
http://www.cnet.com/au/news/pocket-sized-jump-starters/[^]
To do it on the cheap, you just need to be able to supply about 1,200 watts. You can do this with a 3s LiPo with a discharge rating of 30C and a capacity of 4Ah. This is entirely safe for the car's electronics, since it's got a maximum pack voltage of 12.6v
Here's one for US $26, which can actually give you about 1,600 watts for 10 seconds: Turnigy 4000mAh 3S 30C Lipo Pack[^] - For a grand total of about USD $49 + an old PSU, when you use the Accucel 6
But like others have said, if the battery died after just 4 days without use, you've got other problems that need attention first. Even if the alternator still charges the battery, the diodes can be shot which can cause the battery to drain. If I were you, I'd charge the battery first, take it out for several (4) days and ensure that it still died. If so, you can be certain the battery is expired and it's not the alternator that's draining it. If this didn't fail, I'd look into repairing/replacing the alternator.
I'd expect that plonking down the hundred bucks and buying a new car battery would be the best solution.
"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life." - John Lennon
modified 28-Aug-15 15:21pm.
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The car's two years old and I put in over 2,000 miles a month. I've already replaced the tires once. Thankfully, after getting jump started, I haven't had any problems yet. We'll see what happens the next time I go away on travel. However, this is all for research for now since jumper cables was all I've ever owned.
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I'm thinking about getting this one.
<a href="http://shop.antigravitybatteries.com/micro-start-xp-1/"></a>
Scroll down for the video.
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I seriously read Cat Battery Charger/Jump Starter...
Guess it's time to get some sleep... 
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Does anyone here have any personal experience regarding the transferring of video tapes (e.g., VHS, 8mm) to DVD that they can share? I've seen several hardware examples (e.g., Pinnacle, Roxio, Honestech), but with each positive review, you get an equal number of negative reviews, thus rendering them all null and void. These tapes are not copyrighted (i.e., holidays, vacations, etc).
Thank you.
DC
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
modified 28-Aug-15 12:11pm.
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I know our super-warehouse Costco does it for a nominal fee. I have one or two VHS tapes that I need to convert as well.
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But do you have any personal experience with either some other company (e.g., Costco, Walgreens) doing it or using a hardware solution on your own?
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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No. A friend of mine has a device that does the conversion and ignores the privacy. He swore it converted great. Don't know the name though.
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So, no trouble copying the fuzzy outlines and colour fades and the white streaks and sound dips then. Er ... excellent ... I guess! 
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But will they bypass copy protection?
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