[JTori]

I think Tyll's life and decision is a great example. You can enjoy things like headphones and great audio in life, but when you get older you reevaluate things. Who knows how much is left when you grow a big white beard? Less than you had so far, that's for sure. Leaving these temporary physical enjoyments behind is going to happen to all of us. Enjoy as much as you can. But never forget, these all go one day. Therefore it is very good to explore what is left in this existence beyond enjoyments. What's there when nothing is left? I think Tyll is on the right track. Great man, great contribution to our audio world. And a great reminder that audio quality is not the most important thing that can appear in our mind, even though sometimes it is hard to believe it isn't.

Profound and true.

Joe.

 

[paul2qute]

I phoned the police up and they said what's the reason for the emergency. .So I told them I've got a new car with Bluetooth and I've got the latest Sony headphones and asked if it was illegal to wear them and they said phone 101 and stop wasting our time, phoned 101 and they told me its not illegal to wear headphones while driving

 

[JamieMcC]

To be honest I got a bit all nostalgic a while back when checking out some of Tylls old video reviews whilst doing some research. I hadn't really realised how enjoyable Tyll's presentation was until there wasn't going to be anymore.


But here's the thing I am looking forward to following updates from Tyll's adventures and experiences of life on the road more than any headphone review.

 

[betula]

Great man. His taste in audio doesn't really match mine. I could agree with his conclusions maybe 60% of the time. He definitely has good ears but completely different taste to mine. I still enjoy following his adventures, as he had quite a big impact on this hobby even though my taste is different to his.
Anyway, when in his last video he was gently begging manufacturers to decrease these ridiculous headphone prices my heart was beating with his. Who can justify $4-6000 headphones? $1000 should be the top. Long live Tyll and his look when he was trying to convince manufacturers to lower their insane prices.

 

[GiullianSN]

Good to see you around Tyll. Looks like the road life is being really good for you. Enjoy and let us enjoy with you. Looking forward for your new channel. Feel free to bring the van to the Outback. Cheers from the Kangaroo's Island!

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Alrighty then, a little more detail on my upgraded solar. Previously, I had two 100Watt panels and two 6V golf cart flooded lead-acid batteries. At the very end of the van build, I added four more 100W solar panels, four new Trojan flooded GC2 batteries and a new 1500W inverter/charger. So, I went from 200W solar and 200AH battery, to 600W solar and 480AH of battery. Which is cool, because that's really plenty for ample device charging (including drone and e-bike), and even gives me the ability to run an induction cooktop moderately.

However, being a geek, I wanted a battery monitor system. With just the charge controller in the system, I really can't tell how much juice is going into the batteries, and how much is being used by the lights, fans, and gadgets. To really monitor what's going on you need to install a shunt that can monitor all the current going in and out of the battery. Basically, it's a very precise, very low value resistor that is in series with the negative post of the battery. By monitoring the voltage drop across the resistor, you can know how much current has gone into and out of the battery.

Then I mounted the battery monitor and inverter charger control panels.

The cool thing is that it has an app that allows me turn various things on and off to see exactly how much current each thing is drawing. I can see, for example, that my fridge is pulling 3.7 Amps when cooling; it draws 1.5 A with all my overhead LED lights on; at 9:45AM my solar panels are pumping 9.2A into the batteries....which are near full.

Today, at about 11AM, I'm going to do an experiment and recharge all my heavy loads (drone, e-bike, computer, boomboxs) and see how much battery I have left at the end of the day. Under normal uses, I've basically been sitting at 100% capacity. I think the e-bike could be the breaker---it takes a full six hours to charge.

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

I also installed a three-stage water filter (in the Home Depot parking lot). It's about $150 worth of parts you can get at a RV/Marine supply store---of which there is no shortage along the Colorado River in Western AZ.

Basically, I designed the cabinet so that I could pull out all the drawers and take off the top and sink very easily, and allows me access to the space behind the sink.

And then with the filters installed.

And here I'm filling the tank for the first time since I left Montana two months ago.

Well...not quite true, as I had half filled the tank with an added cup of bleach to sanitize it prior to filling it with drinking water again. What's in there is a 5 micron and 1 micron particulate filter, and then a carbon filter. There are better filters to be had on-line, so I'll be doing some research---particularly into silver impregnated carbon filters. Eventually, I'll also add a UV stage to kill bacteria. Then I'll be able to use a submersible pump to pull water out of streams if needed. For the moment it just makes potable water palatable.

 

[HungryPanda]

Things are coming along nicely I see

 

[WoodyLuvr]

Just dropped by to see Larry yesterday. He's got an engine on the way and will be rebuilding it in January. I'll be showing up sometime in February for the engine swap. Will be swapping my VT365 and Alison 1000 automatic transmission for a Cummins 5.9 12Valve and ALison 542 mechanical automatic transmission---both fully mechanical and computer-less.

You will be very pleased with the new setup especially that Cummins 12 valve... its simplistic, super robust, easy to work on design will make you swoon!

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

I hear you, man. Plus, if I ever get to South America and have a little breakdown, it's not unlikely a shade tree mechanic will have parts for a 5.9. The VT365 not so much...at all.

 

[longbowbbs]

I phoned the police up and they said what's the reason for the emergency. .So I told them I've got a new car with Bluetooth and I've got the latest Sony headphones and asked if it was illegal to wear them and they said phone 101 and stop wasting our time, phoned 101 and they told me its not illegal to wear headphones while driving

Driving with Headphones: Laws by State

• Illegal
• Illegal with Exceptions
• Legal

Illegal with Exceptions
The following states have laws regarding headphones, but do not ban them outright:

• Arizona — School bus drivers and child care providers may not use headphones while driving
• Colorado — Illegal except when used in one ear for cell phone calls
• Florida — Illegal except when used in one ear for cell phone calls
• Georgia — Illegal except when used for cell phone calls
• Illinois — Illegal except for when used in one ear
• Massachusetts — Illegal except for navigational purposes
• New York — Illegal except when used in one ear
• Pennsylvania — Illegal except when used in one ear for cell phone calls
• Minnesota not legal

 

[paul2qute]

Driving with Headphones: Laws by State

• Illegal
• Illegal with Exceptions
• Legal

Illegal with Exceptions
The following states have laws regarding headphones, but do not ban them outright:

• Arizona — School bus drivers and child care providers may not use headphones while driving
• Colorado — Illegal except when used in one ear for cell phone calls
• Florida — Illegal except when used in one ear for cell phone calls
• Georgia — Illegal except when used for cell phone calls
• Illinois — Illegal except for when used in one ear
• Massachusetts — Illegal except for navigational purposes
• New York — Illegal except when used in one ear
• Pennsylvania — Illegal except when used in one ear for cell phone calls

In England it's legal mate so Tyll get your yourself to the UK

 

[HungryPanda]

Whilst technically legal in the UK you can be stopped by the police and charged with undue care and penalised so it is not worth it

 

[cp8ir]

Thanks for letting me vicariously experience your journey with this blog. Still too tied down with obligations here.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Hi Tyll,
I sold small van motorhomes from 1995-2010. Mainly saw the big changes with the Sprinter Chassis, but also retailed the Roadtrek and Pleasure-Way vancampers on the Ford, Chevy and early with 360/318 Dodge flatform. Being in the the industry all those years doesn’t make me an expert in what’s gone on the last 8 years, but from the looks of it your going on great.

Looked over your stuff a little but can offer some ideas which I saw at my position. One idea is an outside screen room. Basicly you attach a tent like canvas floor, wall and roll-up screen area to the side of your vehicle. You may already know of these? But aside from taking up a lot of storage space they can effectively double your living and sleeping space. They also offer a second level of privacy if around public areas.

The screen rooms use buttons which afix to the side wall. I don’t remember seeing if your using an awning yet, but newer ones can be motorized and even only put out 30% for shade in a quick stop.

Of course now there are inverter air-conditioning units which run your AC off battery power. But even if you were never planning to go that route, the opposite is the swamp cooler. These were used more in the eighties but are still something to research. You have a fan on your roof with swamp AC unit which uses low power to draw air across the evaporations of water.

Of course your familiar with zero matience batteries, they really changed things being able to placed somewhere and left alone.

Another really cool option is the simple screen package. Such applications revolve around someone making a small Velcro attached screen across your side entry door. You combine that with a “Fantastic Fan” model fan placed into the roof. This allows the fan to pull air in across your living area from the roof with the air passing across your person. These fans now have rain sensors where you leave them on and they adjust your air temp till you get home but close the hole in your roof if it rains.

Other cool places to look for innovation ideas would be Pleasure-Way Industries. It seems there are always new ideas with electronic mounting metal parts, and new breathable furniture surfaces. Being around the industry for 15 years meant every manufacture was trying to come up with new ideas to get sales away from their competitors. Some ideas were great.

Obviously your taking much of this to a different and special level than we were with our Sprinters or motorhomes. I realize it becomes very focused as what ever adds you do increases the enjoyment of your lifestyle.

In many ways your step-van offers way more room and load carrying capacity than the vans, but doesn’t look at all like a Class C motorhome. Still adding maybe roof fans and a swamp color still would not be noticeable from street-side?

And of course you know to go to Roadtrek and Pleasure Way shows to see their ideas.

Good Luck!