If you have an LCD monitor with a pivoting screen (landscape/ portrait) then this little article offers some ideas to help handle the rotation of images - possibly automatically, if yours has an auto sensor - and make your monitor more hassle-free. Read more...
iiyama, monitor pivot, monitor rotation With the sad demise of Atomz Search, I looked into alternative search engines to add to the EPE website. A summary of two or three alternatives including Google Custom Search is here.
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Click to enlargeMy new Introduction to Gas Soldering Irons has now been published for Amazon Kindle. It explains the operation of both simpler torch-type irons and catalytic types, along with more information about butane gas and practical hints and usage tips, helped by some 40 colour photos.
In Part Two I offer practical reviews of some gas soldering irons from Portasol, Iroda, FERM and an anonymous type commonly found on ebay.
Remember you don't need a Kindle device to read Kindle ebooks, as free readers for PC, Mac, Android etc are available from Amazon. 'Prime' customers can get to borrow a Kindle book for free. You can learn more about the Introduction to Gas Soldering Irons here
Prym zipper pullers are the ideal way of fixing broken zipsI’ve been wondering how to fix a broken zipper – where the puller snaps off leaving the rest of the zipper behind. Last time that happened, I had to have a whole new zipper fitted on a coat, which cost me £20. Well it’s happened again on a favourite coat, and after googling around I found the solution from a German manufacturer called Prym.
They claim to have invented the press-stud fastener and they make a useful range of zipper pullers that are dead easy to fit to an existing broken zip. Even a man can do it. Just cut off what’s left of the old puller to leave the zip runner in situ. The new Prym puller will loop through and latch into place. Job done.
Their website is not helpful but you can choose from various black, silver, bronze effect, brown leather, plastic and children’s styles, and they’re readily available on ebay for about £2.85. Just search for Prym zipper puller and watch for free P&P if possible.
I found a bronzey-looking one which was near enough and a black replacement for the pouch of my TomTom sat nav which gave it a new lease of life. A very good range is also listed online by Jaycotts which is definitely worth looking at.
At the same time, some drops of silicone oil on a cotton bud will lube the zipper to make it run smoother.
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Dorcy LED Replacement BulbMany of us have an old torch (flashlight) or maybe an old cycle lamp that uses a traditional flanged “Prefocus” bulb. In my case I've a Duracell (4C) torch with a swivel lens that’s mainly used for DIY or emergencies. I keep it in the garage for the times when I have to stumble around in the dark to find the circuit breaker that's tripped when yet another lightbulb blew.
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4C 6V Lantern with Prefocus bulb (click to see)Problem is, like all such old-fashioned incandescent lamps Prefocus bulbs are inefficient and need good batteries to get the best out of them. The four expensive Duracell ‘C’ cells in my torch are past their prime and I only get a faint yellow glow whenever I use the thing.
However I’ve found the perfect way to upgrade it using an LED Replacement Bulb marketed by the US firm Dorcy International. These hard-to-get bulbs have the same metal base as an old Prefocus type, but they have a powerful white LED instead of a filament. Different voltages are available for 2 cell (3V) or 4.5-6V lanterns and they claim 100,000 hours of life. My 4 x ‘C’ cell torch therefore needed the 4.5-6V type and it claimed a 40 Lumens output.
The Dorcy LED Replacement Bulb fits perfectly and even using the same tired ‘C’ cells the light output is very much brighter as my photos show. They are a bit hard to get. They might be available from e.g. ebay but beware very high postage from the USA, or try the Amazon UK links below.
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With Dorcy LED Replacement LED bulb fitted. Click to see;)
Click to compare bulb styles
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Legacy Duracell lantern with Dorcy LED bulb (click to see)I guess the time will come where the battery voltage finally drops off and the bulb fails to light, but until then it’s an excellent way of giving a traditional torch a new lease of life.
Suggested Dorcy 41-1644 40 Lumen 4.5V To 6V Led Replacement Bulb
Suggested Dorcy 41-1643 30 Lumen 3 Volt LED Replacement Bulb
Alan W
These Dorcy LED bulbs were formerly available on Amazon and Ebay, but since writing this article Dorcy LED bulbs have become more scarce in the UK. The biggest problem is the high P&P from Amazon 3rd party sellers which makes an upgrade less economically viable, and the unfavourable £/$ exchange rate doesn't help.
However a different brand is listed, a 1W 120 Lumen type claiming to be non-polarised (which is better, as it no longer relies on which way round your batteries are wired), and it's 1-9V. Worth a look.
AW
Here's an op-ed of mine that appeared in the Yorkshire Post, about flooding (my experiences of 2007) and peoples' unrealistic expectations of the various authorities. You can post comments on the Post's website.
Typical 40W 40cm Circline fluorescent tube (click to enlarge)How hard can it be to replace a 40W circular fluorescent tube these days? Anyone would think they were obsolete. In this article I outline choices in colour temperatures and suggest a great source of replacement tubes.
I struggled to find a new one but eventually a couple of tubes were ordered online and delivered in a day or two. As I explain, different colour temperatures enable you to choose the best light suited to your needs.
But this Homebase mirror was even more complicated to fix, when I had to source a new inverter as well, as you can read in http://alanwinstanley.squarespace.com/consumer-stuff
Bletchley Park – the once top-secret British home of world-beating WWII German codebreaking that saved countless lives and helped end the war – looks like it’s about to be turned into an iPod-Touch powered tourist theme park sponsored by Heritage Lottery funds.
It’s great to see that the work of Bletchley Park is being made more attractive and accessible to today’s more sophisticated visitors so that our proud history can be kept alive.
Meantime the on-camp home of Colossus, arguably the world’s first electronic supercomputer, rebuilt and housed at The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC ) in one of Bletchley Park’s blocks (H) next door, claims it’s being starved of through-visitors due to a turf war between them and Bletchley Park’s theme park owners.
A gate being built between the main Bletchley Park and Block H © TNMOCShamefully, The National Museum of Computing receives no UK government support for tending to Colossus, a rebuilt version of the WWII vacuum tube computer that enabled us to crack the Nazi codes.
Thanks to TNMOC, it’s possible to track the evolution of electronic computing from that top-secret era of WWII through to the mainframes of the 1950s, then onwards to the dawn of personal computing in the 1980s and beyond. TNMOC is desperate for funding and previous sponsors have includes the likes of IBM, HP and Google. Unbelievably, the Museum also has to pay Bletchley Park for rent and overheads.
On the Bletchley Park website itself, there are some very worthwhile educational resources http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/edu/resources.rhtm but there is only a churlish one-liner hyperlink to TNMOC under ‘Other Exhibitions’ at http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/content/visit/whattosee/other.rhtm which calls it “an independent museum tracing the development of the computer. This museum is housed at Bletchley Park and charges its own admission fees.” That’s it. Even the RSGB-run National Radio Centre there gets a more generous write-up. Otherwise I could find next to no mention of Colossus or Block H on the main Bletchley Park website itself.
I also squirmed when I saw on TV how an old-timer Bletchley Park volunteer was treated by the corporate suit responsible for firing him (thank you and goodbye, in effect) because he didn’t fit in to their plans for their forthcoming iTouch theme park. It was a PR disaster.
It takes a long time to get anything done here in England. While the Chinese can build an entire new high-speed rail network in a low number of years (it would take us decades), it’s only recently that the UK managed to build a visitor centre for the ancient collection of rocks that is Stonehenge, and that didn’t exactly go to plan when the £27 million centre opened.
Colossus being rebuilt at The National Museum Of Computing © TNMOCIn the West we pretty owe much our freedom to the likes of both Bletchley Park and the world-class codebreakers who used British computing expertise to crack the ‘unbreakable’ codes of the German Enigma machine. Much valuable work is done by unsung heroes and it’s a scandal that TNMOC should have to rely on handouts and industry-funding to keep their charity alive.
I find it particularly deplorable that TNMOC, which has much better things to do with its meagre resources, should find itself embroiled with what seems to be another war, this time seemingly a war of attrition with Bletchley Park itself.
Bletchley Park, funded by Heritage Lottery cash (ours) should be doing everything possible to support the fantastic work of TNMOC instead of carving up its crumbling but precious WWII encampment into a tourist theme park with some fenced-off attractions.
The National Museum of Computing
Bletchley Park, Colossus, TNMOC Good news for readers down under, my Basic Soldering Guide Kindle Edition is now available for download from Amazon Australia. Remember, you don't need a Kindle tablet to read it as free readers for PC & Mac are available.
It's sponsored by Antex (Electronics), the leading UK manufacturer of soldering irons. Taking in feedback and questions from readers over more than 15 years, my guide has been totally rewritten and has 80+ new colour photos showing everything you need to get started in electronics soldering successfully.
Why not read a sample of the all-new Basic Soldering Guide now!
http://www.amazon.com.au/Basic-Soldering-Guide-Alan-Winstanley-ebook/dp/B00E8NEGAA
UK businesses, especially start-ups, should beware of the latest fraudulent scam doing the rounds along the following lines.
You may be bombarded by unsolicited phone calls from a scammer claiming that your business doesn't appear to be "registered" and in passing they ask who your current energy supplier is. (Such people simply buy databases of new phone numbers and target the new owner.) The scammer may cite “credit history problems” at the previous address or with the previous occupants.
Hence, some time later someone phones up claiming to be from your current energy supplier. They spin a yarn saying that due to problems with your credit history (for example), you have to renew your energy deal and may also have to pay a deposit of say £500. The scammer puts you through to a "broker" who offers to "register you" with an energy supplier that doesn't need a deposit. You might find yourself put through to "utility meter registration".
Basically the scammers impersonate an energy broker, sign you up over the phone and they pocket their commission on the sale. Before you know it, you've been conned into switching to a more expensive supplier. The verbal contracts appear to be impossible to undo. I know of several firms targeted by this scam and unfortunately one fell for it.
As at November 2013 the supplier BES Commercial Electricity is putting out this warning:
WARNING: It has come to our attention that a fraud is being perpetrated regarding Security Deposits.
Customers of gas suppliers are being contacted by telephone by a purported representative of the supplier and have been asked to provide a Security Deposit when one is actually not required by the supplier. If you are contacted by an alleged representative of BES requesting such a deposit please would you take the details of the caller and then terminate the call without paying the said deposit. Please would you then call us directly to verify whether we have actually made the request? We thank you for your assistance as we wish to help to eradicate this fraud.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1695429/Small-firms-tricked-by-electric-switch.html
It seems impossible to reverse such a fraud and at least one small startup now has an energy deal he did not want or need. If you have recent experience of this, please get in touch.
