So the number one project yesterday morning was to get our power and our laptop working again...
We walked over to the RV park where Chris and Juan are and Chris said that he had an old inverter that had gone bad on him. Oh, for those of you who don't know, an "inverter" is the unit that changes our 12 volt DC battery power into 115 volt AC household electricity.
Anyhow, I fiddled with Chris's old inverter but couldn't get it to work either. When electronics go bad, there's usually very little you can do but throw it out.
On their laptop, Chris and Juan looked up a Steren store in Mazatlan. Steren is something like a Mexican Radio Shack. We got the directions, and off we went.
So, we walked to the panga (water taxi), and went over to the city. We're getting pretty familiar with it now, and it wasn't long before we found the store. They had inverters in stock, but only a 600 watt model and a 200 watt model. I wanted the 400 watt model. But they were quite a bit more expensive than what you would pay in Canada or the U.S. and we have found that most electronics are more expensive here. Must have something to do with import taxes. They also had a power supply in stock.
We noticed from the surrounding stores that this was electronics parts section of town. There were at least five or six other stores that sold similar items, so we went of to shop around.
We did end up buying a 400 watt inverter, for 770 pesos ($62.00). Best price we could find, and beggars can't be choosers. Another shop had the power supply for Ruth's laptop, and at a very reasonable 225 pesos ($18.45). Including the original, this is the sixth power supply that we have bought over the years for this laptop. And the cheapest price, so we'll see how long this one lasts!
Got everything home and plugged in, and we're back in business. Not overly impressed with the inverter. The fan runs non-stop (using extra power, although very little) and the output is only 107 volts. The user manual says that it's supposed to be 120 volts. Tempted to bring it back, but then our only other option is more expensive!
Didn't take any pictures yesterday, so you'll have to make do with a few from the 24th that we never showed you. There were two different cruise ships in port that day.
The Crown Princess arrived just before 7:00am. This pic was taken out our front window!
Later that day, we went for a stroll. Here's Juan, Ruth, and Chris with the 3,080 passenger Crown Princess.
More pelicans.
We were sitting at Colin and Contessa's for happy hour when the Crown Princess pulled out of port right at sunset.
Sure is huge! Look at the people on the extended viewing deck on the right side of the ship.
Have a good trip!
We're still here - just busy! Enjoying reading what you're up to and enjoying all the photos. Those cruise ships sure look huge, don't they?
ReplyDeleteConnie & Barry in PA
Glad that you are enjoying our post and pictures Connie and Barry. I am sure you very busy over Christmas with the family. Hope you had a good one.
DeleteYep, they can be huge and we thought this one was big but we were later told that there is at least one out there which has room for more than 6,000 people so it must be massive!
At least you have power again and that's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteLoved watching those cruise ships pulling out at dusk all lit up, so impressive.
Yes, it is great to have power again for both the RV and for the computer.
DeleteI had friends that were on one of those huge cruise ships and after being on it for a week still hadn't seen it all !
ReplyDeleteI would image that the way Kevin and I walk we would be able to have it covered in a week not they we really want to try.
DeleteI don't know about anyone else, but that cruise ship sure looks top heavy. I'm sure there's enough ballast, but cripes!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone reading doesn't know what an inverter is then well, they should just 'move along'. At least you found something. Important stuff.
You are right it does look top heavy but I guess the engineers have all that stuff worked out, that's why they get paid the big bucks!
DeleteMost people probably know what an inverter is for but then if they didn't have a use for one then maybe they wouldn't know what it is. Kevin most likely added it in there for just that purpose, seeing that many of our readers aren't RVer's
Wish those laptop power supplies would last longer than they do. Makes you wonder if they build them so cheap on purpose just to sell more.
ReplyDeleteSo do we. I can't believe that this is the sixth one that we have had to get. Maybe they didn't think my computer would last this long, after all it is almost an antique!
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