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Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com>: Jan 09 07:21PM >>to prevent it being charged.   >> Anyone see any issues with that approach     >Do you know what the original back-up source is, yet?   No I don't! I've had it apart just a few moments ago. So far I have found NO supercaps. One of the ordinary electros 220uF tested over 5 ohms ESR so I'm going to replace that, but I very much doubt that's anything to do with the fault in question.   >You were just looking at it, in the last report.   >You should be able to do a simple repair, without a lot >of useless speculation.   IME there's *rarely* any such thing!   I'll post some photos of the internals shortly....

Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com>: Jan 09 07:49PM Here's some photos of the insides:   https://yandex.com/collections/user/tqdf2ur1bg7j6vdmbh5t7ne1n8/roberts-internet-radio-stream-105/?share=NWZmYTA4MGUxN2I3NTgyMWQyYjYyMjczXzVjZTFmNThkNTFhYTkwNGFmMTM0MzZmMw%3D%3D     Any suggestions?

legg <legg@nospam.magma.ca>: Jan 09 05:12PM -0500 On Sat, 09 Jan 2021 19:49:21 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com> wrote:   >Here's some photos of the insides:   >https://yandex.com/collections/user/tqdf2ur1bg7j6vdmbh5t7ne1n8/roberts-internet-radio-stream-105/?share=NWZmYTA4MGUxN2I3NTgyMWQyYjYyMjczXzVjZTFmNThkNTFhYTkwNGFmMTM0MzZmMw%3D%3D   >Any suggestions?   Look at the actual board with the memory on it?   RL

Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com>: Jan 09 10:26PM >>Any suggestions?   >Look at the actual board with the memory on it?   >RL   Good steer. Unfortunately this is the most inaccessible of the lot; sandwiched up against the top display module it's impossible to see what's in there without further disassembly. But now you have suggested it, I think there's no other obvious course of action here.   Am I still looking solely for a supercap?

Sjouke Burry <burrynulnulfour@ppllaanneett.nnll>: Jan 09 11:48PM +0100 On 09.01.21 20:49, Cursitor Doom wrote: > Here's some photos of the insides:   > https://yandex.com/collections/user/tqdf2ur1bg7j6vdmbh5t7ne1n8/roberts-internet-radio-stream-105/?share=NWZmYTA4MGUxN2I3NTgyMWQyYjYyMjczXzVjZTFmNThkNTFhYTkwNGFmMTM0MzZmMw%3D%3D   > Any suggestions?   Yes. Use a valid,working photo website instead of the crap site.

Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com>: Jan 06 06:00PM Hi all,   I have a Roberts Stream 105 internet radio which I bought about 9 years ago. It's been fine up until maybe 18 months ago when it could no longer remember my preferred settings. I'm guessing it has a little backup cell in there somewhere that's gone way past its sell-by date. I've opened up the case and it must be very well hidden indeed. I asked Roberts for info on where it is but they obfuscated and told me to return it to them and they'd fix it for 40 quid! There are no manuals for this model on line (not service manuals anyway) and I *do* like to fix things for myself as a matter of course anyway. The inside consists of only 3 boards apart from the display: an audio board (as it describes itself) the wireless card (I deduce from the fact that although it's fully screened it's got a MAC address label on it) and controller board interfacing to the user controls. The only place this battery could be hiding is within a screened enclosure on the "audio board". Now, I should have done this sooner obviously, but time shortages and whatnot, I've probed the underside of the screened area and found a persistent 0.3V above ground on some of the joints. Does that sound like the sort of voltage a backup cell would fall back to after 9 years? This 0.3V is with all external power removed and after shorting out any capacitances.

Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com>: Jan 06 07:00PM On Wed, 6 Jan 2021 10:40:30 -0800 (PST), "Peter W."   >My guess is that it is a 2032 button cell - which have been popular for that function for a long time. Are you able to apply about 3V at the appropriate polarity and see if the memory comes back? Or even 1.5V as proof-of-concept?   >After which comes the question of whether it is rechargeable (LIR2032) or not (CR2032).   I was thinking *if* it is rechargeable, I *could* (could I not?) replace with an equivalent non-rechargeable in series with a diode to prevent it from taking a charge it's not designed for?

Chuck <chuck23@dejanews.net>: Jan 06 01:44PM -0600 On Wed, 06 Jan 2021 18:00:32 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com> wrote:   >of the joints. Does that sound like the sort of voltage a backup cell >would fall back to after 9 years? This 0.3V is with all external power >removed and after shorting out any capacitances. Look for a 1/2 to1 farad electrolytic capacitor. Probably near the upc.

Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com>: Jan 06 08:51PM On Wed, 06 Jan 2021 13:44:19 -0600, Chuck <chuck23@dejanews.net> wrote:   >>removed and after shorting out any capacitances. >Look for a 1/2 to1 farad electrolytic capacitor. Probably near the >upc.   At that value it would be a supercapacitor I'd imagine. Were they installing those in new equipment 10 years ago?

Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com>: Jan 06 08:48PM On Wed, 06 Jan 2021 12:56:07 -0700, KenW >>upc.   >Caps were used to retain voltage to a circuit. Some telephone systems >I worked on used them.   What? Are you guys saying there may be no actual battery at all? And they've used an electro in place of one?

legg <legg@nospam.magma.ca>: Jan 09 07:11PM -0500 On Sat, 09 Jan 2021 22:26:29 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com> wrote:   >what's in there without further disassembly. But now you have >suggested it, I think there's no other obvious course of action here.   >Am I still looking solely for a supercap?   If it, or a battery, is there, it will be obvious and likely mounted on the through-hole side of the board.   Niether are small parts, just low profile.   RL

Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com>: Jan 10 12:44AM >If it, or a battery, is there, it will be obvious and likely mounted >on the through-hole side of the board.   >Niether are small parts, just low profile.   OK, got it, thanks.I'll investigate further tomorrow..........

Bertrand Sindri <bertrand.sindri@yahoo.com>: Jan 10 02:44AM > Here's some photos of the insides:   > https://yandex.com/collections/user/tqdf2ur1bg7j6vdmbh5t7ne1n8/roberts-internet-radio-stream-105/?share=NWZmYTA4MGUxN2I3NTgyMWQyYjYyMjczXzVjZTFmNThkNTFhYTkwNGFmMTM0MzZmMw%3D%3D   > Any suggestions?   Wait, you've only dissasembled maybe a quarter of the unit, and it has not occurred to you yet that what you seek just might be in the three quarters you have not yet disassembled?

Cursitor Doom <cd@noreply.com>: Jan 10 10:48AM On Sun, 10 Jan 2021 02:44:28 +0000 (UTC), Bertrand Sindri   >Wait, you've only dissasembled maybe a quarter of the unit, and it has >not occurred to you yet that what you seek just might be in the three >quarters you have not yet disassembled?   Yeah, I know, I know. I'm not a technician so I don't think like a technician; sorry about that.

Adrian Caspersz <email@here.invalid>: Jan 10 10:53AM On 10/01/2021 02:44, Bertrand Sindri wrote:   > Wait, you've only dissasembled maybe a quarter of the unit, and it has > not occurred to you yet that what you seek just might be in the three > quarters you have not yet disassembled?   I'd just snip a few wires, dump the guts in the nearest trashcan.   A single board linux computer and an audio amp don't cost much.   -- Adrian C

John Crane <john_crane_59@yahoo.com>: Jan 03 03:40PM -0600 On 12/31/2020 12:25 PM, John Robertson wrote:   > You'd think a 50 year old design would just keep going and going...we > use a lot of these in repairing arcade games!   > John :-#(#   3D printing to the rescue. It's perfect for limited runs.   -J

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk>: Jan 04 08:28AM John Crane wrote:   >> Status    End Of Life >> Last Time Buy Date    06/21/2021   > 3D printing to the rescue.  It's perfect for limited runs.   If it was the shells they were discontinuing maybe, rather than the pins.

legg <legg@nospam.magma.ca>: Jan 04 10:48AM -0500 On Thu, 31 Dec 2020 10:25:22 -0800, John Robertson <spam@flippers.com> wrote:     >You'd think a 50 year old design would just keep going and going...we >use a lot of these in repairing arcade games!   >John :-#(#   Molex has part numbers comming out of their ears.   Chack for similar parts with different mfring locations, finish, base metal, insulation diameter range or type of physical delivery (eg chain-feed).   digikey hasn't been particularly savvy when it comes to old part number discontinue notices, recently. Could even be a mfrs new catalog typo. Have seen same thing with Amphenol - complete bullshit if you're just looking for something that has form, fit and function.   RL

legg <legg@nospam.magma.ca>: Jan 05 12:39PM -0500 On Mon, 4 Jan 2021 21:43:00 -0800, John Robertson <spam@flippers.com> wrote:     >I ended up ordering 2500 pins from Mouser who had a better price and >also showed EOL ordering. That should last me a few years.   >John :-#(#   At that volume, you could probably have ordered a chain reel.   I don't see an issue, as these parts are easily 'singulated' with cutters. Better resale value and lower shrinkage, if left on reel, in box etc.   I actually find chains easier to handle, count, kit and even install manually, one at a time. Cut out a short chain with right number of terminals, then cut each one as you apply it.   RL

legg <legg@nospam.magma.ca>: Jan 06 08:08AM -0500 On Tue, 5 Jan 2021 10:13:59 -0800, John Robertson <spam@flippers.com> wrote:   >cutters to try and evenly cut each pin's side edge so it still works. >Try that for 2500 pins!   >John :-#)#   It's the edge of the crimping collar, not the pin, where flash is non-critical and contact surfaces cannot be damaged.   I hate wrestling clusters of pins apart. Like a bag of velcro fasteners - if they can hook each other, they will.   Anyways, I usually buy junk, so don't get the choice. Specifying part numbers for a harness drawing is another matter - I usually have at least three part numbers filed that describe exactly the same thing on different continents and delivery formats. Cuts cost of quotation considerably, and dodges purchasing/safety doc issues.   RL

legg <legg@nospam.magma.ca>: Jan 06 10:17AM -0500 On Tue, 5 Jan 2021 16:29:38 -0800 (PST), "tschw...@aol.com"   >Molex frequently replaces part numbers, sometimes it's as simple as a change of packaging. They rarely actually obsolete parts.   Molex also has a completely different set of part numbers used in it's Asian catalog. The only difference is price and who's allowed to sell them.   RL

Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net>: Jan 06 09:19AM +1100 On 6/1/21 4:47 am, Klay Anderson wrote: > I'm in need of an indoor omni antenna (actually two) in the 550-600mHz range. I've found a few with 5-9dBi gain from Italian manufacturers. And while we are well versed in importing, we find their pricing....well, shockingly high. Any US ideas?   PSA: omni antennae do not have gain, because gain is always quoted wrt an omni (isotropic) antenna having gain of 0dB.   Also, I doubt you have a house big enough to contain an antenna for 550-600 milli-Hertz.

dplatt@coop.radagast.org (Dave Platt): Jan 05 04:37PM -0800 In article <2C5JH.27093$rY1.20704@fx40.iad>, >high. Any US ideas?   >PSA: omni antennae do not have gain, because gain is always quoted wrt >an omni (isotropic) antenna having gain of 0dB.   In my experience, when people want to refer to an isotropic or "0 dBi" antenna (which is a purely theoretical reference - no perfectly-isotropic antenna can actually exist) they use the word "isotropic".   In common usage, the term "omni" for an antenna usually refers an antenna such as a monopole or dipole, which has a uniform radiation pattern in a two-axis circular pattern, and is directional in only one axis. I assume that's what the original poster is looking for.   Antenna gain is not always quoted w/r/t isotropic. Some manufacturers quote gain that way (as dBi). Others quote it w/r/t a half-wave dipole (as dBd).   Antenna vendors which quote antenna gain in "dB" (without telling you what they're using as the 0 dB reference) are generally using dBi numbers, because they're bigger by 2.15 and thus look better in the ads :-)   Now, to the original request: as to needing antennas in the 550-600 MHz range (which is what I assume you're looking for since you said "indoor")... that's still part of the US UHF-TV band, I think, and so not one for which small narrow-band antennas would have much of a commodity market, hence not many cheap commercial antennas available (or so I suspect). Most coverage here is probably broad-band (often untuned) receive-only antennas.   How much gain do you need? Receive-only, or is transmission required? Can you satisfy your needs with something as simple as a wire whip of the correct length, soldered to a BNC or similar connector, maybe with a counterpoise wire attached to the ground shell, or a couple of ground radials sticking out sidewise? Does it need to be pretty, or child-safe, or capable of surviving the landing and attack of a hyacinthine macaw? 50 ohm, 75 ohm, or something more exotic?

"J.B. Wood" <arl_123234@hotmail.com>: Jan 06 07:30AM -0500 On 1/5/2021 5:19 PM, Clifford Heath wrote: > On 6/1/21 4:47 am, Klay Anderson wrote:     > PSA: omni antennae do not have gain, because gain is always quoted wrt > an omni (isotropic) antenna having gain of 0dB.   Please look up what "isotropic" means and how it applies in antenna theory. Then you'll be better informed. Sincerely,     -- J. B. Wood e-mail: arl_123234@hotmail.com

amdx <amdx@knology.net>: Jan 02 06:47AM -0600 On 8/11/2020 1:32 AM, Jeff Liebermann wrote: > <http://members.cruzio.com/~jeffl/nooze/nooze.htm> > <http://members.cruzio.com/~jeffl/poetry/poetry.htm> > No need to reply. I get tired of too much praise and adulation.   You got a few of them riled up with that SCO UNix replacement system. :-)                                                              Mikek     -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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