Archer 61-2780A power strip light flashing

The Archer Six outlet power strip with spike protector and broadband noise filter has a light on it that states

"Light indicates spike protector is functioning. If light is out unit must be replaced or repaired."

First this is bullshit. The light is just a power indicator. Second the light is blinking because it is a neon light and they wear out over time. So in all actuality you can ignore it However! if you wish to repair it here is how:

Acquire a neon bulb of similar size I used an NE2 and a proper 100k resistor for said bulb. Remove power from the unit (unplug it)! You will need to remove 2 screws on each end that are on the bottom of the bracket. You may have to remove 4 screws from one side. They have a square head socket and take a special bit. it is not a normal square head, and may not be a Robertson bit.I used a smallish philips and applied a lot of pressure while turning them. Then remove the bottom plate. Once opened you will see something like this:

There will be 2 screws holding the circuit board down and some spade connectors. remove the 2 screws and the spade connectors (noting where they were connected). Next  Located the neon bulb and it's resistor mine are in the picture below circled in green.

on the opposite side of the circuit board de-solder the bulb (red oval) and resistor (Green circles), if your bulb uses the same resistor leave the old one.

Install new bulb and resistor (if needed) and solder them in place, do not push the neon bulb all the way through the hole. Make sure the neon bulb wires are not touching each other and install the circuit board back in the plug strip.

Carefully push the neon bulb through the hole as far as it will go. double check your wires are not touching, and re-attach the spade connectors to the switch and board. If the spade connectors are loose use a pair of pliers to lightly squash the female connector before installing them.

close everything up. I replaced the proprietary screws with regular screws of a similar size. Apply power. When switched on the bulb should glow and no longer flicker. If it still flickers or does not glow you messed up somewhere, your replacement bulb maybe bad, and I cannot help you.

Earth Fissures in Queen Creek

While looking up information on geological formations of Arizona I stumbled on a map overlay for google earth that shows the location of known surface fissures in Arizona.

 

The nearest fissure to me that would be easy to get to is at  33.207964°,-111.728298°

But as you can see the top 90% of the area has been bulldozed flat recently for houses.

So we went to a different location located at:  33.200071°,-111.618853°

here is the google earth view with the overlay:

Those black areas that look like holes in the ground...

Are indeed holes in the ground, approximately 10 to 15 foot deep. It's hard to tell because we did not want to get too close to the edge lest the sides cave in.

What causes them? one theory is excessive pumping of ground water.

More information can be found here,  the map overlay can be got here.

Dataframe XP 30 Power Supply won't start

I have an old Supermac dataframe xp 30 external scsi hard drive case. I wanted to use the power supply to power hard drives without having to plug them in to a case power supply.

I pulled the switching power supply out of its case and went to test it. The PS would not start and would just pulse, causing the fan to twitch and pulse on and off. I had not powered the device on in 10 plus years.

To make this very short after much testing I found that the power supply MUST have a considerable load on it, or it will not start. The fan and LED are not enough. Connecting a hard drive to it and it powered up fine.

Also the following items can be replaced with other components as listed:

2SK538 N channel Mosfet can be replaced with an FQP9N90C.

UA431 Adjustable Precision Shunt Regulator can be replaced with a TL431 or KA431.

The Blue POT VR1 adjusts the 12 volt power supply.

I do not know the ratings of the power supply but the hard drive in it was rated at 1 amp on the 5 volt supply and .68 amps on the 12 volt. I suspect it may be able to handle 2 amps on both but have not tested it.

Regency R1090 Scanner Owners manual

Regency R1090 Scanner Owners manual PDF

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9v4da7qt45ec4u5/Regency%20R1090%20Scanner.pdf?dl=0

When it asks you to login or create an account click X in the upper right.
Then Click Download in the upper right corner next to sign up.

Windows task bar is on top of full screen video or games

Windows 10 task bar is on top of full screen video or games.

This happened to me recently. I could not figure it out for a while, there are all sorts of "fixes" on the internet about it.

I got a clue that reminded me that I had changed the resolution of one of my monitors to something other than normal, and back again. restarting explorer did not fix the issue. I logged off and back on again and now it is back to normal.

Hum in class D Sure Amplifier

I have a Sure 2 X 100Watt Dual Channel Class D HiFi Power Audio Amplifier Board - AA-AB32971 that I built as an amplifier for my computer.

I was having trouble with hum especially when the LED lights in my laundry room were turned on, or the wife ran a vacuum cleaner in the back room.

Also sometimes for no apparent reason I would just get hum at anything above low volume settings.

I tried line conditioners, filters, different outlets, ups's, audio isolation transformers, different connectors, and ferrite loops. Nothing would stop or reduce the hum. The audio isolation transformer would inject a local AM station directly in to the amp.

The power supply was a switching supply taken from an old laptop.

what fixed it was installing a 3 prong to 2 prong adapter on the plug. The lack of ground on the plug caused the problem to stop.

How to make your own Vanish or SaniFlush crystals

Sometime around 2009 the government banned Vanish and Sani-flush because it contained Sodium Bisulfate. 

The crap it has been replaced with is terrible at cleaning toilets and removing hard water stains. 

It also had the effect of helping to keep older toilets flushing because it dissolved calcium buildup in the jet hole.

use this information at your own risk.

You can't get real Vanish or Sani-flush but you can get the main ingredient that they used.

Just go to a pool supply store and buy Ph- but make sure it says on it sodium bisulfate or sodium hydrogen sulphate.

keep in mind this is pool acid and don't handle the crystals.

place 1/2 cup sodium bisulfate in the toilet bowl let it sit a few minutes and stir it with the bowl brush. wait 15 minutes or longer then scrub as normal. Sodium bisulfate does not fizz or bubble like the original vanish or sani flush because the bubble were for show they did nothing other than neutralize some of the acid made when the crystals dissolved in water.

The remainder of the ingredients was a surfactant (sodium lauryl sulfate), blue dye, and wintergreen scent. Only the sodium bisulfate did anything.

I use it all the time now.