the "initial D" car. 

note the modified hind wheels

The instructors drive the students out, thats the procedure.


And my instructor wound down the window, shouted out to his colleague,
"Please sir, show us some initial D!"
He laughed and nodded.


I took over, and for the first half of the lesson, I drove around the amk region. Damn happy today. Didn't stall at all when driving outside. NOT AT ALL.

Went in, and I practised sharp turns, right turns, and SLOPES on the circuits. Now I know how to move off on slopes, steep ones too.

Tomorrow there's gonna be a mini driving test. When I clear it I will be a Stage TWO learner driver. wooohooo

Screeching sounds and stuff; that has got to be the 'initial D' car doing it's stunts.



I saw vomit in the toilet after class, though.

What can one week do?










`

I'm resigning tomorrow. wheee. Finally, the real holidays begin. (Not that I've not been slacking on the job; like ALOT. =x) I know most people say it's dumb coz it's good money, but, it's really getting onto my nerves. And what's one month to ask of, for myself? I've going into the army soon; april 7 to be precise. Come think of it, it's really scary when it seems that (considering you don't retain) this is the last long holiday you'll ever get in your life. No more school breaks. You can't take such a long break from work (unless you are a teacher; actually no. The most you get is like one month. Only students get this kind of things. Twice. Thrice for some). This is like the last long holiday, ever!?! Second last actually. The last one would be while you are letting go while holding on.

As you can see, buying a backup SIM card and build a USB charger are both on hold. And lots of other related things as well. I'll only resume them when I'm sure I'm not retained. Either that or I fail to go anywhere and can't retain. I mean, why on earth do I have to build a charger if I'm not going to NS? I'm too poor for private universities, private schools anyway.


I'm trying to be disciplined. Clearing my 'research' list, doing 'technical' things sparingly, hardcore on japanese/physics/driving. That's what I intended it to be.

I'm off to play some games.


什么？所谓：“狗改不了吃屎”，难道您未闻过？

I saw shufang today during the second lesson.

Seems like everyone genna the same mistakes. Like, looking at gear lever when changing gears for the first time. =x

She said she saw some L plate car driving past her rather fast when she was at the intersection. That's me. I spotted her twice while driving but she said she didn't see me. Haha.


For today, I went to main road, using gear 4. Stalling minimal. I also realized that the weight of my foot(without exerting any force) can move the tacho to 1500rpm. Learnt how to filter lanes. And quite blur when it comes to checking blind spot. Quite troublesome as well. For filtering lanes, check right. check zebra crossing. check right again. stop if needed, if not, move out and swing head left to check blind spot and look front. There's also a constant need to shift from 1 to 4 and down to 2 when turning and reset whenever I stop.


I'm quite scared of slopes. Release abit of clutch while depressing brake. Quickly depress accelerator and release slightly, the clutch. And the depressing part is depressing (?). Same problem. I keep hitting 3000-4000 rpm. More control!

today was okay. driving on the main roads, but the industrial areas. so there were no traffic lights.

my braking is much better today, gradual and firm braking, no/minimal jerking.

still have to control my right leg. it's hard to maintain 1500rpm when moving off, still. that explains me stalling a few times when moving off from rest. what i do is to hit 3000 to 4000rpm and release minimal clutch. but he says the traffic police may not like it, (as for the real test,) because that's not trainee-like. maintain foothold when moving off. half clutch is the key.

gear transition got better after a while. was quite shitty when i first tried to shift gear without looking. when shifting down, once, it went from 3rd gear to 4th instead of 2nd gear. not to mention my car tend to swerve abit when i change gears.

also, it requires much of a mental transition to be onlookout, front, back, side, side; some effort too, to form the habit.
when moving, make sure car is in center of lane.
when turning, look at blind spot. when turning, use second gear(this usually requires a shiftdown of gears).
20km/h move to 2nd.
30km/h move to 3rd.
shiftdown again when about to turn.
signal early. before you signal look first.
when changing lanes do not swerve. transit gradually.


I saw miss tay today just as i ended my last lesson. more like, she spotted me. (as usual. i'm seldom on the lookout for people.) probably having refresher lesson today. shes having driving test tomorrow at 0820. god bless you. oh. and god bless the guy who was in ceeej uniform smoking at the driving centre and was caught by her.

she said that results will come out next wednesday.

heng ah. i heard it's 2pm, so it doesn't clash with driving lessons - they are in the morning.

anyway. Yesterday. (I drew this picture with Paint, so it's not really to scale.) 3 cars, I was driving the middle one. All cars were in the directions as indicated by arrows. The car on my left was making a bend slowly. So was the oncoming one. I think the instructor expected me to slow down/stop for fear of banging into others, but I didn't. :D I went in and made my turn, kinda fast though, and I think he crapped his pants. Haha. I mean, who wouldn't be scared with 3 newbies making a tight bend? And a crazy one in the middle? (Oh btw. these 3 bends were like 8metres wide.) 

Just woke. I still can't believe I actually drove a car yesterday. Feels so damn weird.

Oh yeh. I know how to do the booty-shaking thing for the car. Gear in reverse, no clutch and it will shake like mad. The thing is, to reverse you need half clutch.


Have to be really gentle with the brake and accelerator, and for clutch, gentle only when moving off. Else, when stopping or changing gear, just whack in the clutch.

Today I should be touching the main road. Third gear my instructor says. That's should be like 50km/h. I'm damn scared of banging some schoolkids down. In the meanwhile I musn't have the habit of jamming the brake in unless unless it's really an emergency.


They are still doing up my phone.
Phone repair
SGC-06-06789-001 Monday, February 20, 2006 In Repair

You scored as Philosophy. You should be a Philosophy major! Like the Philosopher, you are contemplative and you enjoy thinking about the purpose for humanity's existence.

Philosophy		67%
Linguistics		58%
Theater		50%
Dance		50%
English		50%
Psychology		50%
Anthropology		50%
Mathematics		50%
Biology		42%
Journalism		42%
Sociology		42%
Engineering		42%
Art		33%
Chemistry		25%

What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3)
created with QuizFarm.com


Got philosophy major one ah? Then how do I earn my keep?

9:16AM
I was wrong. philosophy

My right knee came out and I rammed a motorcyclist.

Okay just kidding. But my knee did come out.

Anyway, optimistic karebu was right. I cleared up to subject 4. But barely, I think. My moving off is weird. Every first attempt to move off from rest, my engine will stall. And it will always be smooth on the second. I was cleared, since the minimum requirement is : able to move off and stop smoothly without stalling engine REPEATEDLY.

Steering; no problem. I found it slow not to step on the accelerator (without accelerator the car does move -10km/h with clutch engaged) and hence I sped around the circuit but was told repeatedly to slow down.

The circuit is like, gradual, sharp bends, curvy, zebra crossing(a lot of instructors are like wide-eyed when crossing the zebra crossing which is part of the newbie circuit. haha. you really must see the looks on their faces when they cross. 'can this newbie brake?' 'did the newbie see me?') and only one yellow box for you to test your braking skills in. That explains why I was speeding - to get to it, stop, and then to my problematic part - moving off from rest.

When they say the accelerator is sensitive, it really damnright is. To move off you need 1500rpm. That rpm is given by a force equivalent to that of depressing a balloon by exactly 0.5cm with your foot(As you know legs are strong, so it's hard to control. They say it's easier for girls with the accelerator control part; but not others.) Slightly more, the tachometer shoots up to 3000-4000rpm and you are fucked.
Instructor says I may be able to hit main roads tomorrow and use gear 3. I just hope my moving off gets better. Braking too. I don't wanna die on the roads yet!


Oh. The ebil dark mark of novicehood - flashin hazard lights.

honey, it's nice, but probably not nearly as unique as you would like to think.







































`

wahlao. but damn heng lah. i would be in the army already.

New Peak Session Timings

Students booking for motorcar practical lesson slots for 1 May 2006 onwards, please take note of the changes to the weekday peak session timings.

Session


Monday to Friday (Session Time)
1 8.35 am - 10.15 am
2 10.30 am - 12.10 pm
3 12.45 pm - 2.25 pm
4 2.40 pm - 4.20 pm
*5 *4.40 pm - 6.20 pm
*6 *6.55 pm - 8.35 pm
7 8.50 pm - 10.30 pm

*denotes peak session timings

Yay. I've found a loophole. using the company's SIM card. Outgoing calls are disabled, we are allowed to use GPRS as we please, but the thing is - I found out we can send smses. I'm going to try see if it allows for incoming calls, now that I've got the number.


---------------------
Incoming calls not allowed. Incoming smses allowed.

What if stinkel has no idea about this? That means.. Fixed billing regardless of smses.

I'm so proud of myself; at exploiting loopholes. haha.

This is a variant of what we call yoko otoshi. (lit:side drop)

I was expecting it to be .. more exciting. Like punch/kick.



Can you imagine if we have like exchange programs. And a judoka goes over and joins wrestling class. The people would be like, "those chinese motherfuckers.. .. . and their kungfu.."


An old article. Wrestling vs. jujitsu

I'm going to try this tomorrow. Have to memorize how to shift the gears as shown in the video.

this is crazy.

checking the 'stock market'. someone is trying to sell his/her lessons at 12:45 and 4.40 on saturday. i wonder if i should grab it. there are additional surcharge for weekends, on top of the fixed instructor surcharge. so, what's the hurry?  


one lesson is $56.
fix instructor surcharge is $8.
lessons for peak hours & weekends, additional $8.
GST, additional 5%.

Some calculations:
$58.80 for non-peak/weekend, no fixing of instructor.
$67.20 for fixing+non-peak or peak/weekend+no fixing.
$76.60 to learn during peak/weekends+fixed instructor.

All lessons are 100minutes long. So, going by my peak/weekend+fix, it would be $76.60 for 100mins, $0.766 per minute.

Ah crap. What's that I'm feeling?
Instructor talking shit to you = ten dollars gone.
Problem starting engine every now and then = ten dollars gone.

To put it in more tangible terms, every four lessons = one ipod nano.

Fuck that, just concentrate on your damned driving. It's all paid already anyway.


These are the first few subjects(?)(I think it's their typo. It should be lesson/topic).

1)Familiarization and pre-operative procedure
a)Getting in and out of a car. (duuuh)
b)Explanation of devices and controls (i'm going to get pissed if this takes more than 5 minutes.)
c)Driving posture and seat adjustment
d)Adjustment of mirrors

2)Engine starting and stopping
a)Starting the engine
b)Stopping the engine

3)Moving off and stopping
a)Co-ordination practice(dry-run)
b)Moving the car forward and backwards
c)Stopping the car
Min. req.:
Able to move off and stop smoothly without stalling engine repeatedly.

4)Steering part I and gear shifting
a)Feeling the position of the wheels
b)Steering control on straight road
c)How to turn and return
d)When to turn and return
e)Procedure for changing gear
Min. req.:
Able to turn and return within lane
Able to shift gear with proper co-ordination without zig-zagging

5)Braking
a)Engine brake
b)Reducing speed
c)High/Low speed braking
d)Stopping at indicated line
Min. req.:
Able to reduce speed and stop smoothly with engine brake


The most optimistic karebu is only expecting to do till part FOUR.

Oh Lord hear my prayer,
I pray that there aren't too many newbies tomorrow, and that I can have the newbie section of the circuit all to myself. amen.

Yeha. Finished 3 days worth of work. I can drive in peace tomorrow and the day after.

New boils on toe. On heel. Couldn't resist taking photos, still. Not that mad to bring around a camera. So, I was using the pda-phone to take shots. That explains the sucky quality. Grrrr. My phone won't be back anytime soon.

yet another such shop. at orchard towers 

crazy lady. asked if i wanted a massage. said she could remove my mole. (i was standing like 2 metres away from her.) you mean my freckles are that big? 

orchard towers. a club. if you look properly(when you are there, you'll notice that all the 'ladies' are trannies 

anyone care for 50 coins? 

view from top. 

i hate ming arcade. near forum the shopping mall. non-functional escalators. creaky. most shops closed 

fuck. i was coughing and some hair came out. as you know ive got giant hands, this hair is actually longer than 1cm. that cant be nose hair. nor eyelashes. also, it's too thick to be that of the head. fuck. did i swallow some hairy bug? 

I'm so fucking sad coz my phone is with the repair centre. I wanted to record a video of the lesson tomorrow. I could, with my other camera, but that would be gay.

ACCSCARE
They told me to check here, the status of my phone. I was expecting something like FedEx tracking. But no. It just tells me it has been checked in. Like, duh. I'm expecting the next entry to be like, 'Repaired'. Come on man, what's this. Be more detailed, like, list the problem, whether you guys are fixing it etc?

Anyway, my job no.(for phone repair) is SGC-06-06789-001.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
but I sneeze like, ..definitely more than thrice in one shot. That's when I do.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you think about the myth behind sneezing 3 times? Do you think there is just dust in your nostrils.. or do you believe that somewhere.. someone is talking crap behind your back?

i thought that everytime you sneeze your heart stops...so everytime i sneeze..i think someone is wishing i would die or sumthing

well they say that..sneeze 3 times...in consecutively...u can make a wish and that god/buddah is listening..lolz.. =] dunno if true.

yar! if u sneeze 3 times it means some1 is talking bad about u; twice means some1 is praising u. sometimes i wonder if u sneeze 6 times.. izzit 3 ppl praising u or 2 ppl cursing u. haha.. anybody knowS?

Some times I sneeze like 10 times in a row. Literally!! So if someone is talkin behind my back it must be really bad!

when someone sneeze 3 times in a row, here in holland they say that tomorrow will be a sunny day

2 sneezes means someone misses you....and i think 3 sneezes means someone is talking behind your back..~

If you have bad thoughts a snease comes. Oddly enough i snease when bad thoughts come. Buts its weather cause(i have bad thoughts when weather changes). The thing behind it is like When you can't sleep someone is thinking of you.

One sneeze: Someone is talking about you.
Two sneezes: I forget. Something more ominous, I think.
Three sneezes: Just a cold.

If you sneeze someone is thinking/speaking of you in a good way.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sneeze on Monday for health,
Sneeze on Tuesday for wealth,
Sneeze on Wednesday for a letter,
Sneeze on Thursday for something better,
Sneeze on Friday for sorrow,
Sneeze on Saturday, see your sweetheart tomorrow,
Sneeze on Sunday, safety seek.

One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy.
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret, never to be told.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Its is widely accepted by the scientific community that the auditory volume of sneezing is directly proportional to an increased level of health, in most mammals. In particular, humans on average experience a 0.4% increase in white-blood cell count per decibel increase in sneeze auditory volume, per 100 sneezes.

SAF Online Real-time RPG User Manual

by Wind Feynman
I. Features

1. The most popular online game with more than 30,000 players, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

2. Most stable connection (unless you KIA)
3. The most realistic and detailed maps. Users have the opportunity to unlock add-on Taiwan, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand special mission maps.
4. True 3D graphics with Dolby Surround sounds.
5. Most advanced battle fatigue and injury feedback system.
6. Wide range of mission modes to challenge player of all levels.
7. A large inventory of weapons and equipment to choose from.

II. Game-play

1. Totally random race assignment:

a) Air Force (Elves) – Dexterity +++
b) Infantry (Human) – Dual-weapon wielding capability
c) Commando (Barbarian) – Strength +++ (Berserk special skill)

Mystery race
d) White Horse - ??? (need special code)

System was known to be vulnerable to hackers on race assignment. Bug has been fixed with Patch 3.001a.

2. Tutorial Mode

Players are required to complete compulsory 3-month Tutorial Mode, upon which players gain familiarity with the game-play and menu options (none actually).

Players are leveled up and enter character assignment screen.

Characters include:
a) Medic (cleric) – healing ability (sorry, no resurrection spell)
b) Armour (knight) – mobility ++, armour ++
c) Guards (fighter) – strength ++

Selected players are sent to school of Sorcery:
e) Specialist: special spell “Knock it down”spell (Area Effective) – HP -3
f) Officers: special spell “Go sign 3” spell (single target) – morale - 10

3. Battle Mode

Numerous battle missions – sure to keep you up all night! Players gain experience point, and earn “Lao Jiao” badge when experience point > 100,000. Players also increase in rank and gain gold pieces to buy new equipments.

4. Objective

Accumulate enough experience point to unlock the ultimate artifact – the Tablet of Freedom (Pink IC).


III Warning

1. Players are required to remove weapons when logging out.
2. Players are required to log in on-time.
3. Game time is in-sync with real-time. Player may have the illusion that game time is substantially longer. This is a known issue and is not a bug of the game.

cant sleep. been in bed for an hour already.

im drinking some vodka now. rather strong. tastes bad. i hope i can sleep soon.




sneezed like , my usual style this afternoon. then i've got like a perm blocked nose. sigh.



10:55PM
Sneezed again. the same exact way

woah. now my block nose has upgraded. a trickle of (??) keeps running down, out of my right nostril. yeah. very watery.

1:01AM
I still can't sleep. It's like wth man.

Maybe it's a cycle. Hey. If I were to think like that, then, I should be doing work now. Alright man!

2:10AM
did some jap. sorted out some shits. still not tired.

This is day one without my phone-camera. Seven days more to go.

Feeling so damn sad. Think of the things I could have seen and taken.

I do have another camera, but that means I have to bring it around + the batteries too. Maybe that's not too bad an idea. Sigh.

I'm driving this thursday. And I thought I could record a video out of the whole thing. And now what.

-----------------------------
10:18
My graphics card is spoilt as well. Now it's getting bad. It shortcircuits and my computer switches off by itself.

My phone is with the service centre. It won't be back till 3pm, 28th of feb. Major checkup/repair.

Right now I'm using my old SIM card (in my pda-phone) interchangeably with the other SIM card I use to surf the internet/stay online exclusively.

So, if you call me and there's no answer. Sms. I'll get back in a few hours time. Either that or go online and find me on MSN.

Other than some hassle, it's not too bad. I only lug around one gizmo now. Less things to worry about. PDA-phone. Mp3. Wallet.

This is what happens when you add mentos to coke light. No gimmicks. Really. 

haha. i cant help it but to share with you people.

This quiz was from cherie's blog. So here it goes. I was like, first question:

1) What color underwear are you wearing?

I pulled my shorts and looked down.

"Oh. grey. I forgot."

Continues clicking.

What Your Underwear Says About You

It's important that your underwear doesn't offend anyone - in case you get in a car accident. You're the type of guy who lets his girlfriend pick out his underwear.

The Underwear Oracle

Hey I mean, how many of you people actually note the color? Like, I'm feeling girly today, I'm wearing pink. At least, not guys I suppose? We don't have a matching top, you know. I'm more like the, open-drawer-grab-one-and-go kind.

haha.

Amending my template for the mobile blog now. I figured I wouldn't read my own blog, so it doesn't matter whether I conserve bandwidth or otherwise.

This is so damn weird.

I've been feeling energetic the whole night. And I still am.


1130am
Woke up late. Metup with ben, returned his book.

Collected my toric dailies. Quite exp. $4 a day. Walked around, not quite decided on what batteries to buy/how do I go about testing my charger further.

1pm
I can't recall what I did in between.

8pm
Went to wj's house. Passed him the dvd I burnt and watched it with him. He's got a fever or something.

I can't recall what I did in between again.

2am.
Gave my mobile blog a tagboard.
Did my work(transport, planning etc).
Reading stuff.
Repaired com a little.
Sorted out items, both soft and hard.
I gave up soldering and working on my charger coz I don't wanna risk falling asleep. It really burns.


I'm kinda sleepy. But I don't feel like sleeping. I don't know why. Maybe I would die in my sleep, but then. Probably not.


Oh yeh, now I know. I forgot to reply a sms. gah, hit me. not keen on replying either. sorry.

My stomach is growling. But I'm not going to feed it. I'm going to sleep and ignore it.

[01:15:43 AM] He: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/staffordshire/4715526.stm
-------------------------
blahblahblahlblahlbalh
-------------------------
[01:20:05 AM] <º))))>< Liv: haha
[01:20:05 AM] <º))))>< Liv: e device is cool
[01:20:37 AM] He: sigh
[01:20:40 AM] He: doesnt it feel sad
[01:20:45 AM] He: to think that
[01:20:47 AM] He: we are goign
[01:20:47 AM] He: deaf
[01:20:48 AM] He: blind
[01:20:49 AM] He: slowly
[01:20:49 AM] He: etc
[01:20:52 AM] He: and now we are peak already
[01:20:55 AM] He: does it feel peak to you
[01:21:10 AM] <º))))>< Liv: Peak ?
[01:21:10 AM] <º))))>< Liv: not at all
[01:21:28 AM] He: precisely. and we are supposedly going downhill
[01:21:41 AM] He: i guess
[01:21:54 AM] He: when you are at peak physically, your mental/emo
states arent peak
[01:21:58 AM] He: and when they are
[01:22:03 AM] He: your physical state goes down
[01:22:39 AM] <º))))>< Liv: bo pian
[01:22:39 AM] <º))))>< Liv: rte
[01:22:39 AM] <º))))>< Liv: so heck care ba
[01:22:39 AM] <º))))>< Liv: hah

Two sides.


Name:msn nicks are getting lamer by the day.
PMSG:no i'm not kidding you, just take a look at yourselves.

[12:01:02 AM] engineered f: my msn nick is not lame
[12:01:08 AM] He: erh
[12:01:18 AM] He: i didnt say anythign about it = /


[12:04:53 AM] +-+ Garry +-: haha nah
[12:05:03 AM] +-+ Garry +-: your nick's quite true
[12:05:03 AM] +-+ Garry +-: haha

The 7805 series voltage regulators require a 2V dropout. That means you have to have at least 7 volts input to give a constant 5V1A output. Wire up two 9V batteries, they drain faster, and heat up faster as well.

Perhaps using 7805SR/2575/1375 would be better. I heard it stays cool constantly. It's a switching regulator btw. Not too sure how much it costs though.


3:14PM
Aborted switching regulators.
You need a fast diode.
An inductor that does not saturate under high currents.
A low equivalent series resistance capacitor
.
I think it's overly complex for a damned charger.

3:24PM
I don't really need red jumper wire to differentiate polarity
I don't really need extra 9V clips
I don't really need USB sockets
I don't really need audio pin that urgently.
I only need batteries.

I can probably connect the battery in parallel to give it a lower difference and hence lower heat dissipated. (i don't quite recall my physics..)
Oh yeh, I have 2 voltage regulators to test though.

A good 9V battery/2XD batteries cost $5
Weak ones cost $2.

My charger isn't exactly functioning. Low current, I suspect.

But the thing is, will one good battery last longer than 3 weak ones? Got to do an experiment. Expensive one though.

Experiments to do.

One good 9V battery versus 3 cheap 9V batteries.
5 + (3X2) = $11

One good 9V battery versus 3 cheap D batteries.
5 + (3X1) = $8

(Good) 9V batteries versus D batteries.
One D battery is 1.5V. 6D batteries = 9V
5 + (6X2.50) = $20

(Bad) 9V batteries versus D batteries.
2 + (6X1) = $8


Not feasible. I'll not try the D batteries. I'll need at least six to make them functional. Too heavy. As for the 9V batteries test, I'll do some research on the net.

oh fuck. sudden realization.

i'm using a 78M05 series of the voltage regulator. that means 5V 500mA output. I think it will work better if i use the 7805 series instead. 5V 1A output. it should make do with a lower input.

major turnoff after i got a hardon(yeh, from getting it to work). tomorrow then. or maybe some other day.


12:21-
notes:
nokia phones block off high currents automatically.
ipods detect battery levels via current difference between source and batt.
SE phones cannot charge on low currents.

i started off by cutting the corners 


sweaty palms really suck. i've really got a bad feeling i'll slip and cut myself 


done stripping 


i've decided to melt the rubber (with the solder) as its a cast around the wires 


really careful now. there are some important parts(ends) 


crap. the pins came out of the port. still stuck to the rubber/plastic cast 


stripping it layer by layer 


melting the solders already present 


pins all scattered 


putting them back one by one 


carefully. 


and putting a custom cast on the back so that the pins dont drop out 


the end product.  



Haha. it's been so long since i've done any handicrafts, so to speak.

It'll be like, (in army,)
what's this?
oh. i hand-made this charger, myself. :D


Addon:
this is proof that solder fumes(some chloride fumes since plastics have them) are more than just toxic. can you see the pink patch on my hand? 


stripping the wires 


done 


soldering 


heres my 2 legged alien 


with a tentacle and erh, mating with her mate. 


it works 


charging. 


this too 




There's a problem though. It was a on-off-on-off charging. A check with my multimeter shows that the voltage output was indeed 5V with no load, around 4.8 with load. But the problem lies with the current. It's about 100mA with load. When it requires at least 480mA to charge properly. That's probably the reason why the charging is rather intermittent. I guess the way to rectify it would be to use more batteries; say, 3 or 4 of 9V batteries in series. or 6 of D batteries in series. Only then can you pump the current up to about half an ampere or one, depending on what voltage regulator I'm using.

The voltage regulators can take up to about 30V; well anyway, basicaly they require high input to conduct a steady output stream. Gotta touchup sometime later.

I'm off.