Introductions & Welcome Thread 👋

[Basenji703]

Same here - I put down $300 to pre-order my Slate.

Looking at the Slate and Fathom - huge difference in equipment for about the same money.

Bad news: I am going to lose that $300 Slate deposit just because Ford came out with the Fathom!

Sorry. I was pretty close to doIng the deposit but without a test drive I decided to let it go. Great idea that Slate, but not for me. I decided I was too old for a hobby car.

 

[chl]

Currently a 2012 Nissan Leaf and 2023 F-150 Lightning Pro SR owner.
Previous Fords owned include: 1996 Crown Vic and 2001 Ranger 4.0L Edge

I am an electrical engineer (MS 1989) and patent attorney (first admitted to practice law in Va in 1990), semi-retired at present. I have held a lot of jobs over the years, from car wash attendant, janitor, truck driver of everything from panel trucks to 40ft rigs, professional musician (drums and percussion), construction worker, audio visual tech at the Smithsonian Institution, technical writer at Bell Labs, graduate research asst (control systems) at George Mason University, patent examiner for the US Patent and Trademark Office, and patent attorney.

Note: I have read and understand the NEC electrical codes over the years as they have evolved so if you are suggesting violating them, you might see me point that out - safety first!

However, I am not a licensed electrician and am always open to learning new things and am willing to admit if I make a mistake which I sometimes do.

I rambled around a lot in my 'youth' seeing the sights (in the US) and sowing wild oats so to speak, just being free as a bird like many of use baby boomers did.

I am particularly interested in the Fathom from an engineering perspective and look forward to finding out the details as they emerge.

I have set up my house with a GENERAC transfer switch to use the Lightning PPOB (240V 30A) for emergency backups in case of an outage - haven't had a serious one yet, but I have tested the system many times.

I own a FCSP bought on eBay back in Jan 2024 right after I bought the Lightning, installed it in June 2024 with 80A capability but with the SR battery my max is 48A.

Currently, the FCSP no longer lets me have access to 'Insights' or other details via the setup app, alas, but there is always something...wonder what Ford will recommend for the Fathom to use? A bi-directional wall box of some kind I imagine.

I tweaked the Lightning a bit using FORscan, added bed lights, running board, after-market tri-fold tonneau cover, Ford mud flaps/splash guards with points, I use an SSD formatted in xfat connected to the USB input containing audio files ripped from my CD collection, have a forward and rear looking dash cam powered from my rear view mirror using a Dongar DCA-16A adapter, threw a rubber bed mat in the bed, added a tail gate lift assist and put in 4 tie down anchors/cleats with plates that didn't come with the truck, and I keep the truck on a 12v battery maintainer (NOCO GENIUS1) to avoid 12v battery glitches using a wire I added that exits inside the charge port:

I have a variety of adapters for charging, including an A2Z adapter for connecting to the FCSP CCS1 plug to an NACS vehicle for AC charging (the Thunderstorm Lite Plug).

Well I think that sums it all up.

Look forward to reading what other memebers have to say.