sci.electronics.repair@googlegroups.com

Google Groups

Fred McKenzie <fmmck@aol.com>: Feb 20 12:51PM -0500 In article <0i9p6eh1b8ngk1tqfctn0csof5ta8ekgjb@4ax.com>,   > Is there a fix; is it a loose connection, dust or > grit in the works? Should I just flush it out.   > Otherwise the radio works well.   Peter-   You have a number of good suggestions above.   While you in the radio, check to see if there is a capacitor coupling to the volume control. It is possible that a leaky coupling capacitor is causing a DC current to flow in the volume control. Such a current can cause any "scratchiness" to be made worse.   Fred

Ian Jackson <ianREMOVETHISjackson@g3ohx.co.uk>: Feb 20 11:03PM In message <6c49be26-2a37-465f-bc02-5c09c0ca676a@googlegroups.com>, Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com> writes   >> John :-#)#   > ** Wot a bloody lunatic.   >.... Phil   I feel that the horrors of WD40 are greatly exaggerated. Since I lost my tube of 'the real thing' (about 40 years ago) I've occasionally used WD40 as a switch and volume control cleaner - and I've never had a problem with it. -- Ian

Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com>: Feb 20 03:39PM -0800 Ian Jackson wrote :   > >.... Phil   > I feel that the horrors of WD40 are greatly exaggerated.   ** The name is WD40 - not WMD40.       > WD40 as a switch and volume control cleaner - and I've never had a > problem with it. > --     ** Nor has anyone else.     ... Phil

"pfjw@aol.com" <peterwieck33@gmail.com>: Feb 21 04:51AM -0800 On Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 8:52:40 PM UTC-5, Phil Allison wrote:   > ** Same composition as WD-40 at *many times* the price.   Twit:   Please note on the description: "Moderate Evaporation", and then try to learn something not covered by your closely held beliefs. Or are you one of those who wishes to have it both ways?   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Mark Lloyd <not@mail.invalid>: Feb 20 11:33AM -0600 On 2/19/19 5:58 PM, micky wrote:   [[snip]   > I can't use radios with electronic tuning because with a timer that > turns the power off and on, when it comes on, the radio doesn't start > until someone pushes a button.   I also find that "power amnesia" to be an annoyance. For most of the settings, modern devices use permanent memory. Often, they exclude the "power' switch.   BTW, For TVs, I notice that many smaller ones will remember, and can be used with a timer. Bigger TVs are power amnesiacs.   -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/   "Common sense is what tells you that the world is flat."

Mark Lloyd <not@mail.invalid>: Feb 20 11:37AM -0600 On 2/19/19 8:02 PM, Rod Speed wrote: [snip]   >> turns the power off and on, when it comes on, the radio doesn't start >> until someone pushes a button.   > They arent all like that. Just replace the radio with a better analog one.   If it doesn't come on after a power interruption, that sounds like a defect (unless this was an OPTION you set). I wish they'd put that information on the box and in ads.   BTW, another piece of useful (but often missing) information is latency of an internet connection. This is often more important than speed.   -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/   "Common sense is what tells you that the world is flat."

Mark Lloyd <not@mail.invalid>: Feb 20 11:45AM -0600 On 2/19/19 10:27 PM, micky wrote:   [snip]   >> Have your timer turn the TV on/off. Leave cable box set to music channel.   > If the timer provides power to the TV, someone has to press the TV's > on/off button.   I have found this to be true with larger TVs, but not with smaller ones (the largest I have without the problem is 22-inch). However, they don't put this on the box and any salespeople will probably NOT be able to help.   Possibly a very expensive TV might have an option for this.     -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/   "Common sense is what tells you that the world is flat."

Mark Lloyd <not@mail.invalid>: Feb 20 11:47AM -0600 On 2/19/19 10:39 PM, micky wrote:   [snip]   > Digital radios won't work here. They all afaik have a separate > momentary-on on/off switch.   Having a momentary switch is not the problem, it's that without power it forgets the setting of that electronic switch.   [snip]   -- Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/   "Common sense is what tells you that the world is flat."

Diesel <nobody@haph.org>: Feb 21 02:45AM "\"Retired"@home.com news:zYGdnTvUQI3ZLvHBnZ2dnUU7-SHNnZ2d@giganews.com Wed, 20 Feb 2019 01:54:12 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:   > have music only channels ? Our Xfinity/Comcast does.   > Have your timer turn the TV on/off. Leave cable box set to music > channel.   While a timer could be used to turn a modern tv off, it's highly doubtful you can turn it back on with the timer. All tvs I've seen in the past say, ten years have standby modes. If you connect them to AC, they don't just turn on, you still have to press a button. You can't really tape the button down or short it out in most cases either, because it'll most likely do one of two things if you did:   (a) stay off all the time (b) turn on, but go back to stand by a short time later, because you aren't letting go of the button   I seriously doubt it would come out of standby and remain on if you the button remained pressed. You'd need an older tv that had a real power switch that actually did turn it on or off, not one with a standby or sleep mode.     -- Radioactive halibut will make fission chips.

Diesel <nobody@haph.org>: Feb 21 02:45AM micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com> news:oslp6ehjgeororp691fq6rk5bknptqiej8@4ax.com Wed, 20 Feb 2019 04:39:56 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:   >>only with the old radios tho, not modern digital ones.   > Digital radios won't work here. They all afaik have a separate > momentary-on on/off switch.   That isn't restricted to a digital radio. It's any device that has a sleep mode or standby power mode. IE: anything that doesn't have a real power switch. The momentary push button switches on modern tv sets aren't controlling high voltage ac mains directly; they're telling another circuit board that's using a small amount of power that it's okay to close a relay to bring the main power board online from the ac mains. And it'll hold the relay closed until you press the little button again, which opens the relay and resumes sleep/suspend/standby mode.     -- Out of Taglines, Please Order More

Diesel <nobody@haph.org>: Feb 21 02:45AM Mark Lloyd <not@mail.invalid> news:tbgbE.6149$Dv6.3095@fx06.iad Wed, 20 Feb 2019 17:33:12 GMT in alt.home.repair, wrote:     > I also find that "power amnesia" to be an annoyance. For most of > the settings, modern devices use permanent memory. Often, they > exclude the "power' switch.   Most of the time, the power switch is controlled by another board entirely that's mostly a small transformer, a few circuits, a relay and access to the hot leg of the ac mains that it passes along via a closed relay to the rest of the set that does the real work. When you push the button to turn the tv off, it opens the relay. When you want it on, it closes the relay. The remote on the tv is doing the same thing. Sometimes, the IR LEDs are on the smaller standby board and other times it's located on their own boards wired to it, or might be sitting on the actual mainboard of the set, but electrically connected only to the standby board; it just has a physical residence on the mainboard.   So, there's nothing for it to memorize, and no way to enforce the memorization if it did, as the standby board is entirely reliant on human interaction for relay open/close.   The only exception are sets that have additional circuitry to trip the standby board into closing the relay with pulse signal; this requires additional circuitry on the standby board as well as mainboard of the set, wiring, additional coding frontend/backend, and, space to store the last known 'setting' to enforce when the standby board has access to ac mains power.   The additional circuitry on the standby board serves to provide a limited amount of power to the mainboard without closing the relay so the mainboard can pull the last known setting and tell the standby board to close the relay, if that was the setting. When it closes the relay, that's when it's connecting ac mains (the hot leg) to the main power supply that actually runs everything else. The standby board has it's own power supply that's always hot if the set is plugged in.       -- Big donkeys, small donkeys, all good to eat.

micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com>: Feb 20 11:23PM -0500 In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 20 Feb 2019 11:33:12 -0600, Mark Lloyd   >I also find that "power amnesia" to be an annoyance. For most of the >settings, modern devices use permanent memory. Often, they exclude the >"power' switch.   Yes, exactly.   >BTW, For TVs, I notice that many smaller ones will remember, and can be >used with a timer. Bigger TVs are power amnesiacs.   I have a small tv but for various reasons, can't use it.   I'm set up now, though. Thanks all.

Fox's Mercantile <jdangus@att.net>: Feb 20 11:21PM -0600 On 2/20/19 10:23 PM, micky wrote: > I'm set up now, though.   So, how about after all the flailing around here, you TELL us what you did/ended up with.   -- "I am a river to my people." Jeff-1.0 WA6FWi http:foxsmercantile.com

devnull <devnull@127.0.0.1>: Feb 21 05:48AM -0500 On 2/19/19 6:58 PM, micky wrote: > and also a radio, but some radios get so far out of tune, even when I > don't touch them, that almost nothing comes out, and I'd like the radio > to continue to play the station clearly.       Are you afraid some border-hoppin' thief is going to steal your stuff?   The most effective way to keep the criminals out is to build a wall around your house. Open borders don't work.

George <george@spacely-sprokets.com>: Feb 21 06:32AM -0500 On 2/21/2019 5:48 AM, devnull wrote:   > Are you afraid some border-hoppin' thief is going to steal your stuff?   > The most effective way to keep the criminals out is to build a wall around your house.  Open borders don't work.   Nancy Pelosi has an immoral wall around her compound.  She also has people with guns protecting her home as well.

"pfjw@aol.com" <peterwieck33@gmail.com>: Feb 21 04:26AM -0800 On Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 5:48:33 AM UTC-5, devnull wrote:     > The most effective way to keep the criminals out is to build a wall around your house. Open borders don't work.   All walls around properties do is give the thieves shelter from outside eyes. All lights do around properties is give thieves light to work with.   All that is necessary to prevent thievery is for *your* house to be a little bit tougher than the next house. Much as I do not have to be faster than the bear, just one other person.   Dogs work well. And being home at the target time. Given that most burglaries happen between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm - when most people are at work or at school. And in the better neighborhoods, a panel van will drive up, a couple of individuals get out in jump suits and carrying clip-boards. One might set up a power-washer or some such.... you get the picture.   In the next township over from us, a truck delivered some cheap furniture, in boxes, and loaded up all the good stuff prior to leaving. Brilliant.   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

"pfjw@aol.com" <peterwieck33@gmail.com>: Feb 21 04:28AM -0800 On Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 6:32:07 AM UTC-5, George wrote:   > Nancy Pelosi has an immoral wall around her compound.  She also has people with guns protecting her home as well.     No, it does not. And the Orange Toad squats behind a fence, not a wall.   Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

KenW <ken1943@invalid.net>: Feb 20 03:33PM -0700 Check this page   https://electronicsclub.info/transistors.htm

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: Feb 20 09:18AM -0800 On Tue, 19 Feb 2019 23:13:16 -0600, tubeguy@myshop.com wrote:   Like this? It has straight sides: <https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/93218/area14mp/image-20150827-378-u7k0in.jpg>   -- 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>: Feb 20 12:16PM -0800 > more like a hat, with a brim. Those too vanished. And I recall seeing > some of the hat shaped types with a point sticking out of the top. I > always wondered what that point was for???   If it was like this <http://www.oddmix.com/semi/5a_western_el.html> the 'point' was where the vacuum pump was applied, and the metal case pinched shut.   There was no good coating for Ge transistors to keep the surfaces clean, because Ge doesn't have a strong, stable oxide; paint was too dirty, and sputtering quartz was expensive. So, seal it in a vacuum was one solution. There were others (one gizmo I cut open had a kind of goo/gel blobbed over the germanium part).   TO-18 and TO-5 and TO-39 cases might have been e-beam welded at the top/base seam, which could also hold a vacuum.

bitrex <user@example.net>: Feb 20 05:08PM -0500 > can. Just a straight sided metal can, shaped like modern capacitors, but > bare metal. Some had colored dots on them to identify the leads too.   > First, I am thinking that they were geranium types. Is that correct?   Germanium, son. Geraniums are the perennials your wife grows in the garden.

Fox's Mercantile <jdangus@att.net>: Feb 20 07:14AM -0600 On 2/20/19 6:27 AM, John-Del wrote: > Interference? I don't know how you can tell that with a digital tuner.   You can't.   It's like Hatlow's "They'll do it every time." A bunch of neighbor's pointing at the local amateur radio guy. Among other comments, "I hear he even interferes with Doc's diathermy machine.   -- "I am a river to my people." Jeff-1.0 WA6FWi http:foxsmercantile.com

Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com>: Feb 20 12:16PM -0800 John-Del wrote:   > Interference? I don't know how you can tell that with a digital tuner.   ** From the circumstances of course.     > Pixelation, drop outs, freezes, and no signal indications usually mean > borderline signal to noise ratio.   ** Or, if intermittent, are clear signs of in-band interference.     > Get a better antenna, add an amplifier, and carefully redirect it. > If your TV has a signal level meter (unusual), you can use that.   ** Mine normally shows over 90% readings for signal level and signal quality - but in the early evening some severe interference and drop outs ( "no signal" message displayed ) are experienced.   I reckon it is due to folk turning on their fluoro kitchen lights.     .... Phil

whit3rd <whit3rd@gmail.com>: Feb 20 12:42PM -0800 On Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at 4:27:40 AM UTC-8, John-Del wrote: > > building   > Interference? I don't know how you can tell that with a digital tuner. Pixelation, drop outs, freezes, and no signal indications usually mean borderline signal to noise ratio.   > Get a better antenna, add an amplifier, and...   If 'better antenna' means aim-able, or selective of TV frequencies, that's good.   Instead of an amplifier, get an ATTENUATOR. It's possible that an out-of-band signal is overloading the first stages of amplification, before filtering. When that happens, any pre-amplification just makes the effect worse.   <https://www.ebay.com/itm/RadioShack-15-678-75-Ohm-Bidirectional-Attenuator-Improves-TV-UHF-VHF-Reception/401494806442>   If attenuation leaves the signal good but removes the interference, it means (1) the neighbor isn't accidentally clobbering a TV frequency, and (2) either a selective antenna or a trap or lowpass filter can solve the problem. Usually cellphone frequencies are too high for TV interference, and won't go through antenna wires effectively anyhow, but the cell bands are certainly known and separable from UHF television signals.

Ralph Mowery <rmowery28146@earthlink.net>: Feb 20 03:58PM -0500 In article <mnmp6e9ldvk18vels8m5oq4korfpsgp9tr@4ax.com>, pj@jostle.com says... > "no signal". Worse on some channels.   > Then, up to now, the interference has stopped, all > by itself,   Is this off the air with an antenna, Direct TV, or cable ?   If off the air it may be the leaves on the trees. When they come out, they tend to absorbe some of the signal.   If cable, they should resolve the issue for you. Same for the sat dishes.

You received this digest because you're subscribed to updates for this group. You can change your settings on the group membership page. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it send an email to sci.electronics.repair+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.