Firefox ignores disabled HTTPS only mode on local IP's

you have set firefox to Don’t enable HTTPS-Only Mode. you try to access a local IP http://192.168.0.22 and firefox changes it to https://192.168.0.22.

Firefox ignores disabled HTTPS only mode on local IP's specifically if the IP address does not respond firefox will change it to https://192.168.0.22

type about:config in the address bar. 

respond that you know what you are doing.

search for 

browser.fixup.fallback-to-https

double click will change it to false.

now firefox will leave the address as you typed it LIKE IT SHOULD HAVE ALWAYS DONE!

Collectible Teddy bears and why they are garbage

If you are reading this you probably were looking to find out how much those teddy bears you inherited from your deceased mother are worth.

They are worth less then she paid for them.

We inherited over 300 Raikes and Steiff teddy bears as well as many hand made one offs from random makers.

The above picture is just a tiny portion of what we inherited. The bears were originally priced at anywhere from $40 to $350 each.

We quickly learned that the market is flooded with them, and that nobody wants them. The people that do want them don't want to pay shipping for them.

we ended up selling some on facebook, giving many away and the rest went to an estate sale.

almost all the bears had warning tags that said they were not toys and not meant for children.

Never buy "collectibles" as an investment. If it says it's "collectible" it's not. Anything is "collectible" even dog shit if you are weird enough.

Sony BDP-S6700 fries HDMI

I have a Sony BDP-S6700 I bought in 2018 when my previous Blu-ray player was not able to play newer discs.

Starting soon after I got it I noticed popping and cracking noises when watching youtube from the youtube app on it. It did not seem to do it with discs, and it did not do it with all videos, so I though it was a quirk of certain videos. In December of 2021 the HDMI ports on my HDTV died. I ordered an HDMI to YPbPr+R/L Audio Converter, which seems to have died also due to the sony blu-ray player.

Unfortunately the circuit boards in the player and the converter are all SMD so not easy to diagnose or repair.

I have ordered a new player and converter.

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

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