Archive for Hardware Tips
April 6, 2008 at 11:44 pm · Filed under Hardware Tips
Mobile phones have become a symbol of modern society. They represent not only communication, but fashion, entertainment, and status. Mobile phones are originally devices used to simply convert voices and send them to another device which converts them back, but over the years there are many more things that can be done, which will make your phone unique.
(1) Ringtones - A Ringtone will make your phone stand out in a crowd. It not only lets you know that your phone is the one ringing, but it also gives a direct message to those around you. A popular song as a ringtone lets people know your interest in music, or a novelty tune can be a good ice-breaker.
(2) Wallpapers - Looking at a plain background often gets boring. So, from time to time, changing the wallpaper on your phone can give it a completely different look. As they say, Variety is the spice of life. You can even upload pictures from your computer and put them on your phone.
(3) Screensavers - To save your mobile phones screen from burning out, a screensaver can also be used in a similar way to wallpaper. A funny picture or a happy image can really pick you up after a long day.
(4) Logos - Related to wallpapers, logos can show an interest in different hobbies to everyone around. From Beer Brands, to Sports and Animals. All of these things can help make your new phone stand out.
By changing even a single one of these things, your phone can become entirely your own.
Russ Egan
http://www.atoneforyourphone.com - Get something completely different to set your phone apart from the rest.
April 5, 2008 at 11:26 pm · Filed under Hardware Tips
Have you ever come across power problem where once
you switch on the power supply and the fuse blow? You
have checked all the components in the power (primary)
and secondary section and all the components seems to be
ok! Where is the fault? A fuse blown are usually caused
by a shorted bridge rectifier, defective posistor, power
transistor or FET, shorted primary winding of switch mode
power tranformer, shorted secondary diode and etc. But
in this article i’m gone to show you another secret of
electronic troubleshooting tips.
I got frustrated as to where is the cause of power problem.
Everytime when i switch on the power supply the fuse blow
immediately (the fuse became dark color and this indicate
that there is a major short circuit in the power supply).
I have checked all the components in the power supply and
can’t find the culprit! What i do is i desoldered all the
suspected parts one by one and replaced with a known good
component. I eventually found the caused of the power supply
problem. Guess what? It was the main filter capacitor
(220 microfarad 400 volt). After replacing the filter cap
the power supply worked perfectly fine. I begin my detective
work to find out why this capacitor can caused the fuse to
blow eventhough i already confirmed it ok with my meters.
The meters that i used to check the filter cap were analog
meter, digital capacitance meter and esr meter. In this
article i will not explain about how to check capacitor or
testing capacitor and how capacitor work.
I believed most of you know how to check capacitors and also
generally using this type of meters. Measured with analog it
showed capacitor charging and discharge, with digital
capacitor tester it showed around 220 microfarad and with
esr meter it showed low esr reading!
This proved that the bad capacitor breakdown when under
full operating voltage. Then, how do i confirm that this
filter capacitor is faulty? By using an analog insulation
tester. When i connect the faulty cap to the meter and press
the go button-it showed a very low resistance and this is the
proved of short circuit between the plate when voltage applied!
There is nothing to do with bad electrolyte.
A good capacitor will just showed a charge and discharge in the
insulation meter just like you are checking a capacitor using
analog multimeter. In the market there is quite a number of
ranges that you can buy. It has the range of 50v, 100v, 250v,
500v, 1000v and even 5000v! If you want to test a capacitor
of 100 microfarad 160v then you have to select 100v. If you
select 250v, it will blow your capacitor that is under test.
If you have the SENCORE TEST EQUIPMENT such as the
sencore lc meter LC102 OR LC103, these meters have the
capabilities of checking any type of capacitors with four tests:
-testing for capacitor values
-checking for leakage
-equivalent series resistance (ESR) and
-Dielectric absorption
It can check aluminum electrolytic capacitor, film capacitor,
ceramic, high voltage capacitor and etc.
Conclusion-Different capacitor manufacturer produced different type of quality of a capacitor. Perhaps the bad capacitor that I
encountered are from the lowest grade one.
A capacitor failure when under load is very rare.
Using ESR capacitor meter alone can solve
most of the electrolytic capacitor problem.
Jestine Yong is a electronic repairer and a writer. For more electronic repair information please visit his website at http://www.noahtec.com/electronic-repair-articles.htm
April 1, 2008 at 10:04 pm · Filed under Hardware Tips
You’ve shot that wonderful video of your daughter’s birthday. Now, how can you get it into the computer to do some snazzy editing and perhaps produce a VCD or two? If the video is on that MiniDV or Hi8 tape, how can you possibly move it out of there into the computer? Seems tough. Well, let this article help you.
Analog or Digital?
The first thing you want to do is to determine if your video is in digital format (MiniDV, Digital8, MicroMV, Digital Tapeless, DVD) or analog format (8mm, Hi8, VHS-C). If it is in digital format, which is increasingly popular these days, you will need to transfer the video to the computer using a Firewire card. If it is in analog format, you will need an analog-to-digital conversion device to do the transfer.
Firewire Cards
A Firewire card is the channel through which video from your digital camcorder can enter your computer. A Firewire cable runs from your camcorder DV output port to your computer’s DV input port. Due to the extremely fast transfer speeds that Firewire achieves, the digital video will be transferred with almost zero loss in quality. Most computers do not come with Firewire cards - if you are lo
ing for one, I’d highly recommend the Belkin FireWire card which retails for less than $35 online.
If you want to find out what factors to consider when purchasing a quality Firewire card, you can check out my article on choosing the best Firewire card.
Analog-to-Digital Conversion Devices
An analog-to-digital conversion device converts video from analog format to digital format. These type of device is well suited for the following video editing scenarios:
- You have video shot by an analog camcorder and wish to convert it into a digital format.
- You have some old VHS tapes which are growing dusty and you wish to convert them into a digital format.
If you are in either of the above scenarios, I highly recommend you get an analog-to-digital conversion device to help with the time consuming work. One product that I’ve had excellent experience with is the USB Instant DVD from ADS Technologies.
This is is a neat little device that has ports to allow analog video input from your analog camcorder or VCR. It outputs the converted digital video via a USB cable into your computer’s USB port. You will definitely want to check out my full review of USB Instant DVD.
Conclusion
Well, I hope this article has given you some insight into the process of capturing video into your computer. The main point is to always remember what video format you’re dealing with. If it’s digital, go with Firewire and if it’s analog, use an analog-to-digital video conversion device.
Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site on digital videography. Visit his website at http://www.desktop-video-guide.com for tips and tricks on buying digital camcorders, as well as shooting and editing great videos.
