Tips, Tricks, share your McGuyver secrets here...

V8TOYTRUCK

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Anyone know any good hints and tricks just list them here. *Doesn't have to be for camping*

1) If it is really cold outside when you are camping, you can either:
A: build a wide fire pit, when you are done cooking or keeping warm outside and its time to sleep. cover it with dirt again, make sure is extinguished, and move your tent over it, the heat will radiate up from the ground to keep you warm at night.
B: When you have a fire going put some small sized rocks by the fire, so when when you are about to go to sleep you can bring them in with you. Keep them in some cloth, they will keep your little toes warm.

I know you guys have more of these!
 

JackBlades

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Yorba Linda, California, U.S.A.
I once locked myself out of my car ('73 Maverick) in a remote area. I slipped out the passenger-side wiper blade and took out the rubber so I could use the metal stiffener as a "slim jim".....and I was inside my car within 2 minutes.

BTW - I used to watch McGuyver religiously!
 

McGizmo

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My last two vehicles had/ have electric door locks. I got a hold of the shop manuals and located the lock circuits. I tapped into the system with my own momentary pushbutton switches which I located under the frame with a rubber boot on switch and waterproofed the switches. Without my keys, I can casually reach under the truck frame and push a "hidden" buttton. Vehicle opens and I have a spare ignition key hidden inside. When I go surfing or diving or paddeling, I lock my keys safely inside the vehicle. A dead battery would be a flaw but then I would deserve the consequences........
 

JackBlades

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Not bad, Gizmo! My daughter has a "RiceBoy" type Honda with shaved door handles and it has the same system in case the battery in the keychain alarm thingy goes dead or otherwise gets damaged.

I now keep a slim jim tucked in the frame of my Chevy pickup under the bed. I practiced with it so I can pop it open in seconds.
 

McGizmo

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JackBlades,

I have carried a slim jim for about 20 years now. Since the electric door locks, the slim jim is now only used to aid others who are staring at their keys hanging from the ignition switch
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I had a Chevy Luv pick up 20 years ago and was always locking myself out. The slim jim lived under the bed liner. I always felt kind of stupid breaking into my own car but I got real good at it! Good luck with these late model vehicles!!

- Don
 

Saaby

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The day after my mom got a new (used) car she locked herself out. She usually carries a spare key in her purse but since she had just gotten the car...

It was, however, comforting when the mechanic let out a groan and said "These are one of the tougher cars to get into"

Practically everyone in my extended family has a key to my Aunt's car--she's always locking herself out on trips and such...
 

Darell

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LOCO is more like it.
I'd like to put a plug in here for key-pad entry! How cool is that, and why doesn't everybody do it? I love it, I tell you!

But even better than that is knowing
1. Don's little switch secret
2. Where he parks his van
3. What's INSIDE that van on a typical day

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I'm still trying to come up with my best McGuyver trick. I'll get back to you.
 

Saaby

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Actualy, my McGuyver trick is that I always have a flashlight ("a" flashlight...HA! 2 or more I mean) on me, those things are handy!
 

V8TOYTRUCK

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Jack Blades, you are in Yorba Linda, how far is that from CSUF? I get off on the Yorba Linda exit to get to my GF's dorms there. Nice to know there are other CPF'ers in the area.
 

JackBlades

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Yorba Linda, California, U.S.A.
I live by Imperial & Esperanza/Orangethorpe. My GF works right across the street from CSUF, behind the Off Campus Pub.
I know you know the place.
grin.gif


So get the SF M3 and I'll buy ya a beer!
(see other thread...hehe)

Jack
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php_44

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Joined
Apr 4, 2001
Messages
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McGuyver secrets here...

The audio portion of television channel 6 can usually be tuned in at the very bottom of a good 'ole analog FM radio (a little below 88mhz). This is handy if you want to tune in some news during a power outage, or listen to a game outside. Eventually this ability will disappear if the HDTV phase in really happens.

A $2 AC wall dimmer switch can be used to vary the speed of any AC brushed motor, and some small induction motors (like fans - if used within 20-35% of full speed - watch for motor heat). It can also be used on small hot plates. Keep in mind the watt rating on the dimmer. This is really handy for making a gentle vacuum, slowing a power tool way down, making a hot plate a warm plate, etc.

Many electronics items that have been dropped into water by accident can be recovered to normal use. Rinse the internals well in distilled water, remove heat sensitive items (like batteries) and bake the item at 160-200 degrees F for 2-8 hours. Don't go near or over 212 deg F, or you can cause damage from boiling water.
I've saved many watches (even soaked in salt water), cameras, a cordless phone, calculators, and countless toys this way.

smile.gif
this is fun
smile.gif
 

x-ray

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A hubcap can be used as a shovel if your car gets stuck in the snow, mud, or sand.

Keep a bag of kitty litter in your car in case you get stuck in the snow. Sprinkle some under the tires to get traction.

Avoid putting air in your tires if the temperature is below 10 degrees F. The valve could stick and let all of the air out of the tire.

And for the BBQ chefs out there:

When roasting or grilling with a BBQ pit closed, open a can of beer and place the beer over the hottest part of the fire. The beer will boil and super saturate the air inside the pit with water vapor, beer flavors and alcohol. This will help in keeping the roasting meats moist, while adding flavor to the meat.

Whenever barbecuing, use tongs to turn the meat. A fork should never be used as it will punch holes in the meat and allow the natural juices to escape, causing the meat to lose flavor and become chewy.
 

Quickbeam

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Imagine the following: Natural disaster, your water supply is cut off to your home. Do not open any faucets to prevent backflow. Shut off the main water valve at the street or inside the house. You will have 50-80 gallons of fresh water available in your hot water heater (depending on capacity). The water in the toilet tanks is also potable if you don't add chlorine or blue tablets to it.

Your car is stuck on a back country road in a blizzard - no cell phone or way to contact help. How do you keep from freezing to death? Run the car for 10 minutes every hour to conserve fuel, yet heat the cabin. Out of fuel? Rip up the upholstry and carpets - use them as blankets. If pine trees are nearby, break off needle covered branches and stuff the car full for insulation - we're talking life or death here - don't worry about the pine sap. Crack a window to keep from suffocating as well. Use a thin piece of wire directly shorted across the battery terminal to start a fire if need-be (outside) but don't use gasoline as a fuel for the fire - too dangerous.

These types of ideas come from the "Tom Brown's Field Guides". Great stuff.
 

PhilAlex

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Feb 9, 2002
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Location
Hamilton, Ontario
Ultimate MacGuyver Trick:

Only learn from people with RELEVANT experience. Not the blowhards.

Learn a bit about everything, so you can flush out the total flakes instantly.

Best way to backup your PC:

A Second Hard Drive and Norton's GHOST. It'll copy it PERFECTLY onto the second drive. Now, if Drive #1 gets pooched, just plug in Drive #2. Any other method required you to spend HOURS getting everything re-installed before you can suck your data off your Zip Disks.

On Some Elevators, if you hold the button down, you can turn it into an express to the floor you go to.

On many phones, pressing **ADMIN gets you to the ADMIN menu. ADMIN is the password.

They change it? There's a backdoor! **CONFIG (CONFIG IS THE PASSWORD)
 

DonL

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Mar 13, 2002
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N 42° 29' 48", W 83° 11' 14"
If you're in a car careening down a tight mountain road, and your brakes fail for lack of fluid, have your co-driver take control of the vehicle, climb out on the hood, open it, and insert the windshield washer fluid hose into the empty master cylinder. Operating the washer will fill the system with sufficient pressure to bring the car to a stop.

A Hershey bar can be used to seal a crack on a 30,000 gallon tank of hydrochloric acid (or was that caustic lye?), thus saving the aquifer that the entire town is built on top of.

A battery charger used in the "trickle" mode can be used as a defibrillator in an emergency. Do NOT use the "jump start" mode.

With practice and sufficient props and plotlines, one can accomplish virtually anything and everything with a Swiss army knife.

rolleyes.gif


Now back to reality...

A candle (a "drip" candle or gag birthday cake candle), trioxane tablets, small squares of bicycle inner tube, or dryer lint rubbed/mixed with petroleum jelly can be used to help start a fire.

Steel wool and a 9V battery can also be used as a "filament" for fire starting.

Replacements for the old now-highly-illegal mercury #625 camera batteries (in the proper voltage) can be found with Wein #625 zinc/air cells or most often with off-the-rack #675 zinc/air hearing aid batteries with a #22 o-ring wrapped around the base to "fill out" the diameter.

Regardless of the gee-whiz factor of your latest GPS toy, don't forget to bring a compass (and know how to use it) along with you when venturing afield. Murphy's law states that batteries will die when you need them most.

When travelling, a good carry-on should include a few days of socks and underwear, small snacks, a bottle of water, and if needed, OTC or prescription meds. In unforseen circumstances, while others are bemoaning lost luggage, or already-loaded luggage stuck in an airplane's belly in the event of weather or other emergencies. You are ticket paying cattle, and airlines respond only in proportion to the potential lawsuits filed.

In VWs and Audis with the "Safe" radio locks (radio goes into "safe" mode and won't work in the case of power interruption, such as a theft, but even with a dead battery), the numbers 1111 and 1234 can often be used as "universal codes" to return the radio to operation.
 

Quickbeam

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Hmmmm... I'll have to try that brake fluid one...
twak.gif


WD-40 will remove tar from your car and clothes. It will also remove the glue left behind after you peel a label off of a plastic product container you wish to re-use for another purpose, and knocks flying insects out of the air on contact.
 

webley445

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Joined
Nov 16, 2001
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St. Pete, Fl.
Originally posted by Quickbeam:
knocks flying insects out of the air on contact.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">True, I use it on wasps and their nests. It will stain the surface but it's better than getting bit.
 

Bushman

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Jan 8, 2002
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throwing a glass full of soapy water (like dawn or joy) onto a nest will cause them to drop and wiggle around so you can step on them I think that the soapy water and i guess WD-40 breaks the surface tension on thier wings so they cant fly...
 

James S

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Aug 27, 2002
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on an island surrounded by reality
Something else you might want to do is to try out any McGyverish tricks before you are trying to demonstrate them in front of anyone or use them to save your life... So far most things posted here sound pretty good to me, but I have heard some tall tales in the past for similar things!

Well, they all sound good except for the part about filling your brake reservoir with washer fluid. That might actually work for a very short time until it boiled at which time you'd be back where you started with no brakes. Except I don't think I'd make it that far, the adventure would end for me a few seconds after the 'crawl out on the hood' part;)

-James
 
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