Hello from the U.S.A. Anyone here who has ever imported items from Europe has learned about the V.A.T. (Value-added tax – Wikipedia). A few years ago, I wanted a THEVIC20 – a replica Commodore VIC-20 computer that ran an emulator capable of running Commodore VIC-20 and Commodore 64 software:

THEVIC20

Unfortunately, the manufacturer never released it in the U.S.A. so my only option was to import one. I ended up buying from one of the European Amazon stores (I think it was England). If I recall, there was a fee for currency exchange, as well as a pretty high shipping fee to the U.S.A., and then … V.A.T. This made it much more expensive than if I had been able to pick one up at my local Best Buy.

To make matters worse, my unit was defective, so I had to pay to ship it back to England to return it, then buy it again.

I really wanted a THEVIC20. My first computer was a VIC-20, you see. But mine was a VIC-20 “Color” computer, not a VIC-20 “Colour” computer. Close enough, though.

Whatever value this tax adds, I am sure the Europeans appreciate it.

But I digress.

Earlier this year I learned that I could record 360 video footage and then upload it, along with a GPS log, to Google Street View and get my footage published as a Street View “blue line”. Cool.

While most of my submissions worked fine, others did not.

The wrist-worn GPS Remote I use with my Insta360 X5 camera would sometimes have gaps in the GPS or jumps in the GPS data and this would be rejected by Amazon. I have previously written about how you can (or try to fix) these issues using programs/scripts.

After having a few GPS logs fail to record on the GPS remote, I started using logs recorded on my smartphone as a backup. I have also read that the GPS in the phone would do a better job and be more accurate.

However, even with that, sometimes the data still wouldn’t be good enough for Google.

Remember the Sony GPS-CS1, anyone?

This reminded me of when I first started geotagging my digital photos. We didn’t have smartphones with built-in GPS yet. This was back in the era of Palm Pilots and Blackberries. At the time, I bought a Sony GPS-CS1 standalone GPS logger. It looked like this:

For many years, it hung off my camera bag. I’d power it up at the start of the day, let it record all day, then later download the GPS data via USB and then add it to my photos using a program called HoudahGPS, which I just found is still available:

HoudahGPS — Download and convert GPS track log files

Eventually, I switched to using a program on my iPhone (GeotagPhotos 2) or this purpose. With that, I didn’t have to worry about replacing AA batteries or manually downloading. The gps log would just appear on my computer thanks to my phone syncing with cloud storage.

But I digress. Again.

$150 back then is…

At $150 in 2006, that Sony GPS-CS1 would cost about $240 in 2025 as I write this:

CPI Inflation Calculator

So imagine my surprise when I started looking at a modern device to serve as replacement or backup for my Insta360 logger or my smartphone and found one for about $240!

Columbus P-10 Pro Submeter (0.5m) GPS/GNSS Data Logger and USB Receive – GPSWebShop

The more things change, the more they stay the same. But, this gadget records more data points, has more memory, and extreme battery life. Win!

But I did not really want to spend that kind of money, so I looked around and found a cheaper model that was around $134:

Columbus P-1 Mark II 10Hz Professional GNSS Data Logger – GPSWebShop

That’s the one I would order.

This company was located in the USA, but the product was made in China. And, for some reason, they ship from Canada. Were they trying to bypass some tariffs or something?

I had to pay $25 for “international” shipping, and they warned I would be responsible for tariffs and such, paid to the shipping company (DHL).

This morning, I received a text from DHL with my “import duty payment” notice.

Those fees were… $92.54

So if I take the $134 of the unit plus those fees, I get around $226 – slightly less than what I paid for my original data logger back in 2006 after adjusting for inflation.

While any of us should prefer paying less, I guess I still “paid less” even with the extra fees compared to what it cost 20 years ago ;-)

And now I believe in the tariff fairy.

Any CoCo folks near Branson? There is a place there called Retromania which is an 80s themed “attraction” with some 1980s arcade games, a few pinball machines, an 80s horror movie themed haunted house, VR and lots of 80s memorabilia. While I didn’t see any CoCo related stuff on display, I did see some Atari and Odyssey hardware. I kinda want to bring a CoCo ROM-PAK to donate to the display next visit ;-)

I have been doing website hosting as a hobby since the mid-1990s. I just set up a “business card” site for a local cafe (Douglas Cafe in Urbandale) we frequent. We’ve also done projects for them including making new menus, table top signs, window vinyl lettering, and street signs. To help boost their new website, I just wanted to post it here for the search engines to find:

https://www.douglascafe.com

While I do not actively persue website hosting anymore, I still have about 75 sites hosted here. My web hosting account is going up 25% my next renewal, so I may very well have to re-activate this as a business that takes money.

More to come…

Forty years ago, this is what my room looked like… UPDATED with photos!

---

Allen's room (so far):
 
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
-      | VCR,Jag,Etc.| | | CM8/VCR | |   TV   | || | C= Mon.|               ||
.\     |_____________| |_|_________|_|________|_||_|________|_______________||
. \                    |  _________ ______  ___ ||____ ____________ ....... ||
.  \                   | | .CoCo3. | MPI  ||Dsk||| HD |  Amiga500  | mouse  ||
-                      |_|_________|______||___|||____|____________|________||
|------|                       CHAIR                    CHAIR        |_____| |
| Boxes|                                                             |Term.| |
|      |                                                            _|_____|_|
|______|                                                            |  Ans. ||
|Shel| ______                             Floor Space!              | |---| ||
|-ves| |file|                                                       | |DMP| ||
|    | |thng|                                                       |_|___|_||
|    | |____|            -----------------------------------------------------
|____|                   |                                            |      "
|                        |              My Double Bed                 |      "
| /\                     |                                            |      "
| \K\                    |___________________________________________________-
|# \4\                        | Term.|                              | Lamp/  |
| # \/                        |      |                              | Radio  |
+----|.......|---------------------------------------------------------------+
 
Door into room on top left, closet on bottom left, window on bottom right.
Going clockwise:
 
Starting at top, metal "erector set" shelving containing misc. junk on top
shelf, two VCR drawer cabinets and Jag on second, SVHS and editing gizmos on
third, fourth has complete Sega Genesis/CD setup, and below is Sub-Etha
Software stuff (paperwork, software, etc.)
 
First computer desk is CoCo system with CM8 on VCR, and TV to the right.  A
set of medium sized powerer stereo speakers sits on the CM8 and another on the
Amiga monitor for great stereo seperation.  Dual power strips below this, too.
 (One with modem line and CoCo on it, the other is on "all the time" for VCRs
(clock) and TV).
 
Amiga desk is metal frame (not wood like CoCo) and has Amiga setup and
monitor, and TONS of books on shelves below right of desk.  A pull out sliding
"table" at the right has a WYSE terminal on it w/CoCo cube stored below it.
 
Next is a printer table (came with the desk) with the Friday and printer and
power strip.
 
Bed.
 
Table with clock, radio, and lamp.
 
Another table with hardware terminal (so I can hack while in bed, via serial
port on CoCo).
 
K4 keyboard setup with amp/speaker, sequencer, Midi disk drive, etc.
 
Bookshelf with magazines and misc. junk, and filing cabinet (on wheels, lid
opens from top).
 
Storage bins (used to lug CoCo stuff to 'Fests) stacked three high, full of
junk.
 
And this, my friends, is my room.  <whew>
 
          Allen

And here is me, in all my nerdy glory.

And this is what the other wall looks like, after returning home from a CoCoFest.

Don’t panic! The room didn’t always look like that…

Until next time…