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harry newton <harry@is.invalid>: Oct 29 04:42PM How many decibels does the router/radio below really output? ('cuz 26 + 18 is too high)   In the before-and-after krack-update screenshot below, I'm confused because the radio says transmit power is 26dBm into a built-in 18dBi dish antenna, so the EIRP of the stock unit set for the USA would be too high at 26+18=44dBm in the USA.   And yet it's all set to the defaults (I didn't change the transmit or antenna value since it's the stock unit that comes with the antenna).   BEFORE: <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/01_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   AFTER: <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/14_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   Of course, the AirOS firmware could secretly throttle the EIRP to 30dBM (or whatever the USA legal limit is); but why would AirOS report bogus number then?   What are those decibel numbers in AirOS actually *telling* me?

tb <nospam@example.invalid>: Oct 28 11:56AM -0500 I have found this old (1990!!) TV that was sold by Montgomery Ward USA. The brand on the TV is "Signature 2000".   I also have an RCA digital TV converter box (the brand is "RCA DTA800") that comes with its remote. There is no specific part number on the RCA remote.   I'm trying to pair up the RCA remote to the TV set. I tried the following 3-digit codes that I found online: 000, 001, 023, 083, 115. None of them work...   Does anyone know what the 3-digit code is? -- tb

John-Del <ohger1s@gmail.com>: Oct 28 10:13AM -0700 On Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 12:56:25 PM UTC-4, tb wrote:   > Does anyone know what the 3-digit code is? > -- > tb     Not every 1990 TV had remote control...   Assuming that it does, the only option you have is to try all 999 codes that remote will take as it appears the remote does not have a "search" feature.

rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com>: Oct 28 01:28PM -0400 John-Del wrote on 10/28/2017 1:13 PM: >> tb   > Not every 1990 TV had remote control...   > Assuming that it does, the only option you have is to try all 999 codes that remote will take as it appears the remote does not have a "search" feature.   You can turn it on and off with a TV-B-Gone   --   Rick C   Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms, on the centerline of totality since 1998

jurb6006@gmail.com: Oct 28 05:18PM -0700 Even if it is remote it might be too old.

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Oct 28 06:08PM -0700 >I have found this old (1990!!) TV that was sold by Montgomery Ward USA. >The brand on the TV is "Signature 2000".   Looks like you have to search by company = ward and model = Signature 2000. DirecTV remotes have a 5 digit code in their remote. <http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageIF.jsp?assetId=P4380052#h:620.226>   Here's page full of Signature 2000 remotes: <https://www.replacementremotes.com/SIGNATURE-2000/Remote-Controls/> <https://www.replacementremotes.com/store/prodthumbs?ns=1&producttype=Remote+Control&categoryid=176&keyword=signature+2000>   >I also have an RCA digital TV converter box (the brand is "RCA DTA800") >that comes with its remote. There is no specific part number on the RCA >remote.   Try RC27A remote: <https://www.replacementremotes.com/rca/buy-rc27a-dta800b1-digital-tv-tuner-converter-box-remote-control>   >following 3-digit codes that I found online: 000, 001, 023, 083, 115. >None of them work...   >Does anyone know what the 3-digit code is?   Again, from DirecTV remote codes: <http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageIF.jsp?assetId=P4380052#h:620.462> Also click on "find more codes". -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

whit3rd <whit3rd@gmail.com>: Oct 28 11:47PM -0700 On Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 9:56:25 AM UTC-7, tb wrote:   > I also have an RCA digital TV converter box (the brand is "RCA DTA800") > that comes with its remote. There is no specific part number on the RCA > remote.   Look inside the battery compartment, sometimes there's a part number there. <www.rcaaccessories.com> is a good place to start looking, if it's an RCA universal remote.

Bruce Esquibel <bje@ripco.com>: Oct 29 01:24PM > Assuming that it does, the only option you have is to try all 999 codes > that remote will take as it appears the remote does not have a "search" > feature.   I'll give ya a +1 for both of these, in 1990 remote control sets were not entirely standard issue, especially on the lower end (which MW falls into) and trying all 999 codes might be the only way.   Since Montgomery Wards didn't make their own sets, it's likely a 3rd party kind of thing. For whatever reason I want to say they mostly were rebadged Magnavox models although Hitachi and MGA (old Mitsubishi name) rings a bell also. For all I know they could of switched every model year depending who could make them the cheapest.   The "Signature 2000" is meaningless, it's like saying you own a Buick.   If there is a paper tag still on that thing with a model number, that may lead to a clue to who made it for them.   -bruce bje@ripco.com

Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid>: Oct 29 01:56PM > I have found this old (1990!!) TV that was sold by Montgomery Ward USA. > The brand on the TV is "Signature 2000".   A 1990 set hardly qualifies as "old." Possibly my 1957-vintage Motorola highboy console does.   As others have pointed out it is quite possible that set did not come with a remote control. Is there a visible infrared receiver on the front?   -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roger Blake (Posts from Google Groups killfiled due to excess spam.)   NSA sedition and treason -- http://www.DeathToNSAthugs.com Don't talk to cops! -- http://www.DontTalkToCops.com Badges don't grant extra rights -- http://www.CopBlock.org -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk>: Oct 29 02:16PM Roger Blake wrote:   > A 1990 set hardly qualifies as "old."   Maybe not old, but it's pre-LCD, pre-digital, pre-HD, so I'd guess 99% of its contemporaries are in landfill ...

Allodoxaphobia <knock_yourself_out@example.net>: Oct 29 04:16PM On Sun, 29 Oct 2017 13:24:24 +0000 (UTC), Bruce Esquibel wrote:   > I'll give ya a +1 for both of these, in 1990 remote control sets were not > entirely standard issue, especially on the lower end (which MW falls into) > and trying all 999 codes might be the only way.   No one has yet mentioned the ultrasonic or RF remote controls....   Jonesy

oldschool@tubes.com: Oct 29 05:28AM -0600 >minute delay was that electrolytic DO behave that way. If the problem >was the caps across the diodes, that would make sense since they seem to >be the source of the noise.   One of my latest additions to the shop tools is a digital infared thermometer. They are made to measure the temperature of anything, but are sold for automotive use, such as finding a hot brake drum, or hot spot on an engine. But I have found this thing is pretty accurate on electronic components too. It has a built in laser pointer to highlight the thing it's pointed at. So it will tell the temp of a heat sink, or CPU, or even an opamp or other chip or for that matter, any component.   If you have one of them, or get one, try to get the temperature of different parts on the chassis or PCB when you first turn it on, then do the same after a half hour. Certain things will get warmer like heatsinks, power resistors, etc but if there are passive components or semiconductors getting quite warm or hot, you may want to check them further. They used to sell some sort of stuff in a can to cool parts. It might have been freon??? I used it many years ago, I have not even looked to see if they still sell it, but if it's still sold, that could help see if the sound changes when a suspected part is cooled.   I did not read this whole thread, but I think you said those disc caps across the diodes were open. I assume you mean the power rectifier diodes. I cant understand why those would open, unless you had a lightning surge in your power lines. That makes me wonder if those diodes could be a little flaky. Usually diodes are either good or bad, but lightning surges can do strange things and nothing in electronics has a 100% definite solution. Regardless what the books say, sometimes strange things happen that have no real explanation.

"pfjw@aol.com" <pfjw@aol.com>: Oct 29 05:03AM -0700 A few things:   Laser-pointer digital infra-red thermometers are interesting tool. I have used one for many years to determine air discharge temperature, true temperatures of heating elements water temperature and the like. Whereas they are reasonably accurate, the do lack precision when it comes to small parts. For a transformer, large capacitor or even a power transistor, and at a very close range, they would be fine. Or in finding a warm area on a board, sure. But the have far to broad a view, even at a few inches to be any more accurate than that.   https://db1736767dbd5e7094bb-d61bbc5d0b342a54145a236e2d5d1ebf.ssl.cf4.rackcdn.com/Product-800x800/6dc5243f-87d8-4820-9868-667cabd4f907.jpg   Freeze spray is still with us. It is useful for tracing intermittents and components that fail when warmed up. But, be very careful with it. Cold spray hitting an overheated part or board can cause fractures - which can cause trace failure.   Whereas disc caps tend to be fairly reliable, they do fail. And given that the typical second-tier Pacific rim receiver uses parts that are at the absolute minimum edge of tolerance, that they failed is not *necessarily* an indication of an external cause. Replace them, of course. And I would suggest going to a higher voltage as well.   On the hum-when-no-input and after-some-time things. There are two things going on here. First, the failed low-value caps stopped protecting the electrolytics from the initial power surge at start-up. Again, these are marginal parts probably operating very close to their voltage rating. If you were to put an ESR meter across them it would be revealing. What is happening is that as they heat up - my guess anyway having seen it often enough before - internal perforations in the foil open up and the cap very slowly starts to short, and capacitance drops severely. The hum is at a very low level, masked as soon as a signal is present. And, does the receiver have an AVC function? There are some Surround Sound TV-types that do, such that when input signal level drops, the pre-amp function raises the volume. Which would amplify any residual hum.   You are on-target, caps and caps.   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

etpm@whidbey.com: Oct 29 09:13AM -0700 >but lightning surges can do strange things and nothing in electronics >has a 100% definite solution. Regardless what the books say, sometimes >strange things happen that have no real explanation. IR thermometers are pretty handy but can give wildly false readings. This is because of the emissivity of the surface being measured. For example, bare aluminum will measure muich cooler than it really is when the temp is measured with an IR thermometer while black anodized aluminum will measure pretty accurately when the IR thermometer is used. Eric

harry newton <harry@is.invalid>: Oct 29 12:11PM How does this colloquial summary for my family look - in case you want to send one to YOUR family? ======== People are asking what to do about the KRACK Attack vulnerability (note the pleonasm), so I figured I'd let everyone know what it is & I figured I'd give folks the opportunity to ask question if they're concerned.   The canonical site for the attack is written by the white hat who found it: <https://www.krackattacks.com/>   Here's my ad-hoc summary, written with respect to what you and I need to know & do.   1. In May, the white hat notified the government & vendors he found a bug in all WPA WiFi (e.g., WPA2) where someone who is *close* enough to intercept the signals can see everything you do.   2. It affects all WiFi but the worst affected is Android at or over version 6, macOS, Linux, and really fast (i.e., 802.11r fast roaming) routers set up as repeaters (i.e., as a second router).   Far less affected are iPhones, WiFi iPads, WiFi iPods, older Android devices, Windows computers, and normal routers (e.g., 802.11n or 802.11ac), especially if they're set up as the main router (and not as a repeater).   3. There is only one viable solution, which is to *update* your device firmware or software, whether that be a mobile phone, a laptop, a desktop, a router working as a repeater, or the main router.   The order of priority should be: a. If you have Android 6+, then you *should* update soon. b. If you have MacOS or Linux, then you should update soon. c. If you have an 802.11r router, then you should update soon.   You can take your sweet time on everything else, but everything needs to be updated.   4. The problem, of course, is *how* to update each device. a. First look for your device to see if there is an update <https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/228519> b. Then try to find the update <http://www.zdnet.com/article/here-is-every-patch-for-krack-wi-fi-attack-available-right-now/> c. Then update.   What a pain. Let me know if you have questions. ========

William Unruh <unruh@invalid.ca>: Oct 29 02:47PM > 1. In May, the white hat notified the government & vendors he found a bug > in all WPA WiFi (e.g., WPA2) where someone who is *close* enough to > intercept the signals can see everything you do.   No, whose interception point is close enough. Thus your wirelessly connected fridge, which usually has attrocious security, could possibly be used as an interception point for an attacker who is in Mongolia say.     > 2. It affects all WiFi but the worst affected is Android at or over version > 6, macOS, Linux, and really fast (i.e., 802.11r fast roaming) routers set > up as repeaters (i.e., as a second router).   All wifi is susceptible, including Windows. The problem with Android and Linux is they all use wpa_supplicant and it has a problem that, for security, it zeros the password after using it. But that means that when the replay occurs it uses that 0 password. Thus fixing wpa_supplicant fixes the problem, and it has in principle been fixed. Of course one needs to get that fixed version into the devices.     > Far less affected are iPhones, WiFi iPads, WiFi iPods, older Android > devices, Windows computers, and normal routers (e.g., 802.11n or 802.11ac), > especially if they're set up as the main router (and not as a repeater).   The problem is a client side problem. But all of those devices are susceptible to at least some version of Krack, and should not assumed to be "far less affected". They are all affected. That they do not have the "zero password" problem is irrelevant since they have other attack vectors.     > 3. There is only one viable solution, which is to *update* your device > firmware or software, whether that be a mobile phone, a laptop, a desktop, > a router working as a repeater, or the main router.   Yes, for all of them, not just Linux and Android.   > a. If you have Android 6+, then you *should* update soon. > b. If you have MacOS or Linux, then you should update soon. > c. If you have an 802.11r router, then you should update soon.   If you have any wireless device you should update soon. I have no idea why you are categorizing them.     > You can take your sweet time on everything else, but everything needs to be > updated.   Why in the world would you say you can take your sweet time on them. They are all vulnerable.     > <http://www.zdnet.com/article/here-is-every-patch-for-krack-wi-fi-attack-available-right-now/> > c. Then update.   > What a pain. Let me know if you have questions.   So, 4 is the only thing you really need to say. Of course how you are going to update your fridge or your toaster is a bit obscure. Do you really want a "owned" wifi device anywhere on your internal network?

harry newton <harry@is.invalid>: Oct 29 03:33PM He who is William Unruh said on Sun, 29 Oct 2017 14:47:35 -0000 (UTC):   > No, whose interception point is close enough. Thus your wirelessly > connected fridge, which usually has attrocious security, could possibly > be used as an interception point for an attacker who is in Mongolia say.   Interesting point. Thank you for that observation.   I think what you're saying is that if they can get to *any* of your devices, over the Internet, then, *from those devices*, they can intercept your traffic to, for example, your Linux laptop or Android smart phone.   But I'm confused about the risk in that case.   Are they only intercepting from the refrigerator-to-the-client-device? Or are they then able to get from your router-to-your-client-device?   (The latter would be more dangerous.)   > the replay occurs it uses that 0 password. Thus fixing wpa_supplicant > fixes the problem, and it has in principle been fixed. Of course one needs > to get that fixed version into the devices.   Here is a writeup I made for my family that others can use which shows just *one* example of fixing a WiFI device. In this case, it's a Ubiquti radio set up as an access point and only going about a half kilometer, but it could be set up to go for miles (as some of my other radios are set up).   (0) Log into your radio <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/00_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (1) Check the firmware version (noting the board revision, e.g., XW) <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/01_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (2) Hit the "Check Now" button to see if you can update from here <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/02_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (3) If not, go to the manufacturer's web site to locate the firmware file <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/03_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (4) You may have to agree to the manufacturer's updated EULA <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/04_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (5) Download the file to a known location on your computer <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/05_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (6) Save the file in a logical location on your computer for future use <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/06_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (7) Then in the radio, press the "Upload Firmware Choose File" button <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/07_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (8) Wait for the firmware to upload (it may take a minute or two) <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/08_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (9) Once uploaded, press the "Update" button to update the firmware <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/09_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (10) Wait for the firmware to be updated (it may take a minute or two) <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/10_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (11) Do not power down while you are waiting for the firmware to update <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/11_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (12) When done, the radio will reboot; log back in to check results <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/12_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (13) You should note that the firmware should now be updated <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/13_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   (14) Doublecheck now that everything is updated that it is working fine <http://wetakepic.com/images/2017/10/29/14_PB400_firmware_update_krack.jpg>   > So, 4 is the only thing you really need to say. Of course how you are > going to update your fridge or your toaster is a bit obscure. Do you > really want a "owned" wifi device anywhere on your internal network?   I have over a dozen WiFi devices in my house.... so I'm updating them one by one. I'm more worried about my grandchildren not knowing how to update *their* devices, and my older siblings, etc.   But I agree, it's a PITA to update *every* WiFi device in the house. I have over a half-dozen access point radios, for example, and a few on the roof, etc., some of which connect by WiFi to homes that are 10 miles away, so it's a pain for any of them.

"Ian Field" <gangprobing.alien1@virginmedia.com>: Oct 28 10:04PM +0100 "micky" <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> wrote in message news:6pd2vc5lpdrjldhcphs4c85s5lkbgo337p@4ax.com... > as a wrench did with the hex nut, and pliers will scratch it up.   > I could find an old hex nut, but I'd rather use the pretty round one, > if I can.   The usual procedure involves the treaded boss being longer than you need, you tighten up against a hex nut behind the panel and not the switch itself. So you would screw the knurled nut on so the thread is only just not showing, then tighten the hex nut behind the panel.   In the metal shop segment in my first year at college, one of the exercises was fabrication of a spanner with one jaw serrated and the other smooth. This would do either knurled or hex nuts. Can't remember seeing any commercially produced, but I can't remember ever bothering to look.   For hex nuts on front panels, one company had specially made spark-eroded tools. literally a length of steel bar, drilled through to accommodate the threaded boss and spindle. The hex recess was spark eroded just shallower than the nut so the tool never touches the panel.

tabbypurr@gmail.com: Oct 29 03:53AM -0700 On Friday, 27 October 2017 04:58:51 UTC+1, micky wrote: > squeezed too hard and scratched the chrome. I think it was only a > little, but memory plays tricks on mpeople. And it didn't tear the > cloth but it still scratched, and that surprised me.   cloth isn't good for such things, as it's full of holes and most cloth collapses very easily. Card is better.     NT

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