What have you fixed lately?

[Taf]

I converted an elderly neighbours from fluorescent to LED, removing the ballast, starter and capacitor.

I checked the circuit before starting and found the neutral at 30vac with the light switch off! I suggested he leccy nephew who rewired the house give it a once-over.

[Anonymouse]

This isn't something I fixed so much as made.

To explain:

I looked into getting a case for my mobile to protect it against stray (or cracker) RF signals. Bit pricey, I thought (hey, I'm on UC, what do you want from me?!). Then I had an idea: get an ordinary one and slide tinfoil inside it. Same job, less price.

Then I had another idea: why not take that to its logical extreme and make an RF-proof case?

At one time I would've used sheet plastic, but in the unlikely event I ever get back to model making, I want to save it - I still have this mad plan to scratchbuild a SHADO Interceptor Carrier. So instead I recycled the foil-covered bottom sheet of a madeira cake box. Double-sided tape to stick tinfoil to 5 cut pieces (4 walls plus bottom). Sellotape to fasten the whole thing together.

Weatherproof it's not. Pretty and elegant it's not. Durable it likely isn't. But it will deal with the risk (minimal IMO) of RF whilst I'm carrying it. Like all my home-made creations, it'll do the job for, in this case, zero extra cost. I can do this again if I ever need to.

Not bad, eh?

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

This isn't something I fixed so much as made.

To explain:

I looked into getting a case for my mobile to protect it against stray (or cracker) RF signals. Bit pricey, I thought (hey, I'm on UC, what do you want from me?!). Then I had an idea: get an ordinary one and slide tinfoil inside it. Same job, less price.

Then I had another idea: why not take that to its logical extreme and make an RF-proof case?

At one time I would've used sheet plastic, but in the unlikely event I ever get back to model making, I want to save it - I still have this mad plan to scratchbuild a SHADO Interceptor Carrier. So instead I recycled the foil-covered bottom sheet of a madeira cake box. Double-sided tape to stick tinfoil to 5 cut pieces (4 walls plus bottom). Sellotape to fasten the whole thing together.

Weatherproof it's not. Pretty and elegant it's not. Durable it likely isn't. But it will deal with the risk (minimal IMO) of RF whilst I'm carrying it. Like all my home-made creations, it'll do the job for, in this case, zero extra cost. I can do this again if I ever need to.

Not bad, eh?

how do you get a signal if your phone is in a foil pouch ?

So ... you made a tin foil hat for your phone

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by Taf

I converted an elderly neighbours from fluorescent to LED, removing the ballast, starter and capacitor.

Ah does it give the room MORE LIGHT with the LED bulb? (I gather it does)

[Anonymouse]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

how do you get a signal if your phone is in a foil pouch ?

Err...actually, that's a good point. Hadn't thought of that. <sheepish>

OTOH, I seldom receive calls when I'm out anyway...more usually it's when I'm at home doing something else. Nor are they usually from anyone I want to hear from.

Hmm. That's an engineering problem: allow signals you do want, and block ones you don't.

[Dude111]

I fixed my SUPER HITS OF THE 50s cassette today

It said COPYRIGHT 1978 when I bought it so I was hopefull they didnt ruin the songs..

They didnt but the tape didnt play well and I thought it was because of no rollers but it did have rollers... I put it in another cassette I had and Ill see how she does npw...


I fixed another tape I had that didnt play well in its cartridge (Def Leppard - Pyromania) and it had rollers!!


Thankfully that one plays in the alternate case I put it in... (A few months ago)

[Taf]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Ah does it give the room MORE LIGHT with the LED bulb? (I gather it does)

Her old tube was an old Warm White one, so the change to Daylight LED is quite astonishing. It's rated at 4000 lumens, whilst the best Fluo tubes were just a touch higher. She says she can now do her crossword in the kitchen, whereas before it was too gloomy.

---------- Post added at 19:38 ---------- Previous post was at 19:36 ----------

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

I looked into getting a case for my mobile to protect it against stray (or cracker) RF signals. Bit pricey

I bought 2 small Faraday pouches for my new car keys for under £3 each. It turned out that the keys work on the same principle as RFID tags used in shops, so can't be "hacked".

---------- Post added at 19:47 ---------- Previous post was at 19:38 ----------

A neighbour's car spent days annoying people as it sounded its alarm.

I went over and asked when it was going to be fixed, and he said that it was booked in at the end of Feb at the dealership.

So I offered to give it a look. The car battery was at 12.2v, probably due to all the short trips he does. The alarm is an after-market thing hidden inside the dash, and it has its own internal rechargeable battery.

Then he said that it only starts to sound around an hour after getting home. 30 seconds, off, 30 seconds, off, 20 seconds, off, 15 seconds, off, 5 seconds, off. Then it was a short "peep" a few times until it goes silent.

I loaned him my smart charger and helped him hook it up still connected to the car.

This morning, the car battery was at 12.8 volts, and the alarm has not sounded once. He drove it to his shopping, got back, and 2 hours later it had not alarmed at all.

I suggested he buy a battery charger.....

[Carth]

A few months ago, our car alarm kept going off at night, couldn't find anything wrong until the second night . . . when I noticed the large moth fluttering in front of the internal sensor