Tag: Deals Gap

Always make sure you have good support.

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

There is nothing worse than buying something with great hopes that the device will help you achieve a goal only to find out it doesn’t work at all like you had hoped or like the advertisement said it would.  I take that back…  The only thing worse than this is to discover there is no technical support or information on the product and you are basically stuck with something that doesn’t work.   Other times you can make do with the performance but it just doesn’t do as good a job as you need it to.  I like to call these “Band aid fixes”.   (What is shown below is what I truly hope to be one of those fixes.)

Here at EXAIR I get quite a few calls where people have an application that kind of works but they could really use something that is going to be more effective.  This is where our team of Application Engineers comes in.  You see we not only help you choose the product that will work for your application but then if you get it in-house and it isn’t working as good as you hoped then you call back in and we give you full tech support of the products for free.  We’ll help you fine tune the applications as much as possible and if it still doesn’t work we will take the product back on our 30 day guarantee.

Everything you do is always better with the proper support or safety net.  Just like my brother in-law and I had a support vehicle when we went through Deal’s Gap.   The video from the support vehicle is below.  (It’s sped up due to the time constraints of YouTube.)

So if you need some technical support on your application or on our product, feel free to give us a call.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

So many hobbies…. So little time

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

In case you haven’t read my previous blog posts I tend to blog quite a bit about my hobbies.  I tend to consider myself a jack of all trades, as I like to think I know enough about most subjects to at least get me in trouble.  My hobbies include, motorcycles, marksmanship, anything with an engine, spending time with family, video games, juggling, working on electronics, wood working, car stereos, designing gadgets, and even photography.  Some of my hobbies are projects that I have around my home that are all in some stage of being done.  I tend to float from one to the other when I start to hit a wall on one I will simply walk to another and work on it to help get a fresh mind with the first.  Slowly but surely they all get completed in a timely manner and I’m always pleased with the outcome.

One of the projects I currently have is a 1970’s pinball machine my parents had in their basement.  While it halfway works it is a true wiring nightmare.  This is one project that may get terminated due to the cost of repairs needed.   However, I do love the hum all the electro-mechanical switches make when you kick it on.  It’s not like all the new computerized units where you don’t hear the relays arching and the levers kicking.  I am normally tinkering on this during the winter months when it is too cold to be out in the garage.

                                                     

The two hobbies that I feel help me to relax and bring the most enjoyment are photography and motorcycles.  That’s why whenever I am out on a ride as soon as we stop the camera comes out.  Or in most cases now, the GoPro gets slapped on the bike before we leave with a full battery and empty memory card.  When at Deal’s Gap last week I was running three cameras, one on my bike, one on the bike my brother in-law was one, and one on my father in-laws Honda Pilot.  Since I was in the lead and I am a little more advanced in riding than the others I was only in their video until we got to the start of Deal’s Gap.

When I was going through “The Gap” there are all kinds of overlooks and views that you can pull off an overlook the Smokeys.  For this trip I was more focused on letting my knee pucks touch that lovely Tennessee asphalt.  Now for the rest of the trip I was the guy behind the camera the entire time.  I was constantly snapping pictures of Madelyn and my wife, Beth, along with all of the in-laws.  I took hundreds of pictures through the week and well over 30 GB of video on the GoPros.

The problem then comes to time to process all of these.  As I type this blog in one window I’m converting the video from my father in-laws trip through Deal’s Gap in another so I can post it to Youtube.  Time seems to be getting less and less available for these hobbies and life doesn’t seem to slow down at all.  I find that most nights I will be sitting on the couch much like Lee Evans was in his blog yesterday, and have a laptop on trying to either weed through pictures or process and edit video.  While this does get stressful because I feel that I am behind on getting videos out and pictures sent to family, it is still relaxing because as I am looking through the pictures or clipping videos I get to relive those moments.  The reason I am always doing this at night after Madelyn has gone to sleep and Beth and I have discussed the days events and what the next day holds, is there is no time like the present for family or friends.  You never know when that time will end.  So whether you’re in the middle of a sentence in your blog, or making that final cut for that furniture project make sure you take a minute to just be together with the ones you love, turn off the phones, TV, and all the other technology.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer / Jack of All Trades
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Another Motorcycle Post…This One Has a Twist.

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

So next week I will be traveling through the Smokey Mountains with my family and ALL of my in-laws.   That may or may not be why I have not only my SV 650 on the trailer but also my brother’s CBR 929 already loaded on the trailer.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love my in-laws just as much as the next person, but everyone needs their away time.   It just so happens that not far from Gatlinburg, TN there is a world renowned road for anyone who likes some twisties.  The road is a U.S. route and is traveled by many.  It’s nicknamed The Dragon’s Tail, or more commonly Deal’s Gap.

The picture is correct…  318 curves within an 11 mile stretch of U.S. Route 129.  Most of these turns are blind and cutbacks.  Twisty enthusiasts of all kinds flock here and they all stop at the Deal’s Gap Resort.  It’s a shop that has a diner, motel, repairs, even a Tree of Shame.

The tree of shame is where you hang a part of your vehicle if you crash on your trip through the gap.  Needless to say this road has seen more than it’s fair share of wrecks.  I myself have been up and down Deal’s Gap once before and can’t wait to go back with my own bike this time.  While my brother will be riding along side of me I will still keep in my mind that my good friend, Rob Kubicki, won’t be there in flesh, but I’m sure he’ll be there pushing me to take the experience to the next level.

Along with the resort there are a group of people who have made a career out of photographing the scenery and all the visitors on their way through.   Killboy.com is by far one of the best photographers there and they get some amazing shots.

Of course there is always a certain level of shenanigans that goes on with a place like this too.  Such as the group of people who raced pocket bikes down the gap.

I almost wonder if Professor Penurious has ever thought about taking the Rad-E-O-Cycle down and running the Dragon’s Tail.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com