Sunday, 22 July 2012
Saturday, 21 July 2012
If you have an psp vita that has wifi and 3g compatibility, then you can access the internet content on the gaming system using a 3g sim card, which has a data plan or tariff added onto it. Depending on the network you are using, the cost of plans are fairly cheap, but prices do tend to increase if you are wanting lots of internet usage data. This makes it convenient for your psp vita to access internet content, when a wifi access point is not available for you to use with the console. The 3g version of the psp vita console acts just like a smartphone, when you insert a sim card into the device, the psp will connect to a phone transmitter and access the internet the way a mobile phone access it.
Instructions are straight forward:
1) Power off your psp vita console, place the console down and then remove the sim card from its packaging.
2) Once you have removed the sim from its packaging, read through the leaflets provided with it, this is so you can read the internet plan offers, to see which one suits your need the best. Pick a large data bundle if you are going to use internet access on the psp vita for numerous hours on a daily basis or chose a plan with less data, if you are not going to use internet on your psp vita often.
3) Once you have decided which plan is the best for you, go ahead and top the sim card up and select the tariff you want to add onto the sim card. Once you have done that, you are then ready to insert into the sim card slot found on the console itself.
4) The sim card slot is located on the left hand side of the console, like shown in the image below.
6) Remove the sim card holder from the psp vita, then insert your sim card into the holder the correct way, like shown in the above picture.
7) Then insert the sim card holder back into the slot on the psp console and power on your psp vita.
Thursday, 19 July 2012
If a electrical item you have doesn't work, its very likely that the fuse inside the appliance that protects the circuit, is blown out. If you don't have the proper testing equipment, like a multimeter or a test screwdriver, to test the fuse if its working or not, then as a alternative method, you can create your own homemade device to check fuses. The device that you can make is basically an simply bulb circuit, instead of placing an inline switch in the circuit, you will have two wires that you attach to each end of the fuse. If the bulb lights up, then the wire inside the fuse is good and is not burnt out and if the bulb doesn't light up, then the fuse is blown and you will need to obtain an replacement fuse.
Instructions are very simple:
1) You will need to obtain a bulb holder with a working bulb, you can get these from small electrical hardware shops. Screw the bulb into the bulb holder and using a Philips screwdriver, unscrew the two screws on each side of the bulb holder, this is so you can insert a wire into each screw.
2) Insert the braid of the wire into one screw, found on one side of the bulb and using the screwdriver, screw the screw tight. Then insert the other wire's braid into the other screw, found on the opposite side and again using your screwdriver screw it tight.
3)Once them wires have been connected to the bulb holder, you will need to a power source to power the circuit, this can be an battery and a battery holder, to hold it in place. Insert the battery into the battery holder and locate the two terminals found on the back of it. One will be an positive + and the other will be negative -.
Instructions are very simple:
1) You will need to obtain a bulb holder with a working bulb, you can get these from small electrical hardware shops. Screw the bulb into the bulb holder and using a Philips screwdriver, unscrew the two screws on each side of the bulb holder, this is so you can insert a wire into each screw.
2) Insert the braid of the wire into one screw, found on one side of the bulb and using the screwdriver, screw the screw tight. Then insert the other wire's braid into the other screw, found on the opposite side and again using your screwdriver screw it tight.
3)Once them wires have been connected to the bulb holder, you will need to a power source to power the circuit, this can be an battery and a battery holder, to hold it in place. Insert the battery into the battery holder and locate the two terminals found on the back of it. One will be an positive + and the other will be negative -.
Saturday, 14 July 2012
If you are using your iphone 4 on an daily basis to make calls to friends, family and work collegues, you will properly likely to experience call dropping and getting disconnected every so often when using the device to make a call. Your properly puzzled why the calls keep getting dropped and so was i. This was a very annoying problem because callers on the other end will eventually get annoyed at your phone calls, as they keep dropping. There are a couple of reasons, as well as solutions to solve the problem, based on why the signal problem happens and i would like to share them with you, to prevent this problem reoccurring again and again.
1) You are likely to have an weak signal from your network provider, from there phone mast. If a network provider provided in your area, where you are using the iphone4 to make calls and browse the internet is poor, it will not function properly and the calls will get dropped, when there is no signal and the internet connection will become really slow and unusable. The way to get around this is to check your networks coverage in your area, this is to see if its strong or weak. If its weak, then try moving onto a 2g signal or change the network provider, as that is the cause to this sort of problem. If its strong, then consider solutions 2, 3 & 4.
2) The network provider of the sim card inside your iphone 4 could be carrying out some mechanical work to the phone mast, as it might need some maintenance. If this happens, you will frequently get interruptions in the middle of your calls. To find if there is any maintenance work been carried out on the phone transmitters, give the customer service a call to find out.
3) If you are using the iphone4 using your left hand and holding it in that hand, like in the picture provided above, you are covering up the antenna. A antenna is a device in mobile phones that receives signal from the phone mast, if you block it, by holding the device in your left hand on this handset, you are preventing it to gain signal and the signal strength meter will show no bars, which decreases the signal reception gained from the network. This is because the two sides in the black strip on the metal band get covered up, this problem is known as Death Grip. If this is a problem for you, i would suggest you to buy an iphone bumper case, as Apple themselves said its an solution for left hand users because its prevent direct contact with your hands skin onto the strip, which doesn't cause interruption with the antenna.
4) Update the software on your iphone 4, as you might have the old software version that had bugs, which caused signal problems for users that makes calls on the mobile phone. By updating it your signal strength will certainly improved and will become more stronger and you will also benefit from the new feathers included in the update.
Thursday, 12 July 2012
If you use your sat nav on a daily basis to get to places, it is very likely that the screen display is going to become dirty and will contain greasy finger prints and dust on it after sometime. This can make the screen look dirty, when you use the device in direct sunlight in your car, this can make the overall appearance of its condition look untidy and not brand new. So giving the sat nav screen a quick wipe can restore it back to good condition, making the screen look new, as if it's been out of the box for the first time, like when bought new from the shop.
So how do i clean my sat nav screen without damaging it?
You will need to ensure that you use a cleaning cloth that has very soft fibers, that is not rough, as this can leave visible scratches on the screen permanently, if you use that type of cloth. You will also need to ensure that the cleaning cloth is lint free, this means that is doesn't contain dust, so you will not make the sat nav screen more dusty, when use the cloth to clean the screen. Also you will need to make sure that you don't use any strong cleaning chemicals to clean the screen, as these can damage the touchscreen technology and leave you with a broken sat nav. Once you have understood all that, then follow the instructions given below.
You can also use this guide to clean the screen on integrated satellite navigation systems that are built into the car's interior, like in the Honda crv, Mercedes benz, Audi, Porsche, Range Rover and Bmw makes of cars.
Instructions:
1) Power off the sat nav, by holding down the power button, usually found on most TomToms at the top, as you don't want to be cleaning the screen when it's powered on, as you can press lots of things on the screen, which could mess up your configured settings and stored addresses.
2) Hold the cleaning cloth in your spare hand and use the other hand to hold the sat nav. Then using the cleaning cloth, gently wipe the screen side to side all the way down. Don't rub with lots of force, rapidly or in a circular motion, as these can cause scratches to the screen and could damage it.
3) Stop cleaning the screen, inspect the screen in a location where there is plenty of light, this is to see if you have missed any particular areas, if there are some, obtain the cleaning cloth once again and go over it, until its completely gone.
4) To prevent more dust gathering onto the screen of the sat nav, try not to place it in a dusty environment for a long period of time, as the lots of dust particles go onto the device. Also try not to use the sat nav screen when you have greasy fingers from food you have eaten, as this can be transferred onto the screen if using the same fingers you have eaten with.
A TomTom is an ideal device for you, if you want to find a place, without having to find it the old fashion way using a black and white map. However electronics devices are always known to cause problems when you need them, which applies to a TomTom sat nav. Usually, TomTom sat navs are always reliable, as it's a common well known brand that has great reviews and an good reputation from Halfords. However, sometimes the TomTom can't find a valid gps signal, so the device can't link with the satellites in space, therefore it will not operate, the maps won't load and you can't search for an address. This can be really frustrating at times, however there are some ways to get around this issue for 2012.
1) Place the TomTom in a location in your car were the gps antenna, that is built into the device can get great coverage from the sky. I recommend that you don't hold it in your hand or lap or place it on the seat while using it to navigate, this blocks the signal and this is risky because it can act as an distraction to you and the chances of you having an accident increases or you might get caught by the police and get points, as well as a fine. So an ideal place would be to mount the unit onto the holder, sticking holder as high as possible on the front windscreen of your vehicle. This will allows the car sat nav to receive more incoming signal from the satellites and create a valid connection to them, as the gps antenna has much more exposure to the sky.
2) Also the device software could get corrupted and a quick hard reset to restore it back to default settings, which is normally the solution for most TomTom owners, that fixes the common no signal problem, on most associations. So give it an try. You can reset your TomTom by inserting a small screwdriver or a sharp needle into the reset button in the tiny hole located on most devices at the bottom, where the usb socket is. Push the object onto the button and hold for about 5 seconds, then release the button.
3) There was an leap year bug, which caused most people to face the no gps signal message to appear on there device and TomTom actually admitted in April 2012 to the problem and they said that it occurred because their was an bug in the software, that left particular models unable to locate a gps position. So if you update your software on your sat nav around March-April 2012, the chances are high that you have the bug in your TomTom, if you have updated it recently. So update it to the latest software and problem should be solved.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
I have an spare PC Monitor and my television that i use on an daily basis for my gaming, which unfortunately is no longer working, so i had to send it back to the shop for an repair. In the mean time, i had to do with what i had, i had my ps3 320GB slim and a spare PC monitor. So i thought there must be a way to connect the ps3 to the PC monitor using VGA, like you can do with the Xbox 360 and turn my old dusty 22 inch widescreen LCD monitor into an high definition display. So i found a cable called Mayflash ps3/wii cable on Ebay and Amazon and looked at reading its specs and the reviews, it said that it can provide resolutions up to 1080p, i thought to myself i gotta get this, just to try it out, to see how the quality was like.
Couple days later it arrived and i tested it out, following the instructions provided on the packaging. It worked, but i was not impressed with the quality it delivered out of the box. Firstly, the colors where certainly washed out and looked dull and not vibrant, as i expected from using this cable, also the whites where too bright. However, for the price its not that bad, if compared with the really expensive hdfury version of an similar cable, well its better than nothing to me, until me television comes back. But after days of trying out different electronic experiments, with different types of components, i found out that adding a 200uf capacitor down the RGB lines on the cable fixed the washed out colors altogether and the picture quality being displayed on the PC monitor has improved. The colors looked natural and very good indeed, so good that i want to share how i did it.
Instructions:
1) Find some broken household items that are no longer working and are faulty, as they tend to have small 200uf capacitors inside them that you can unsolder from the circuit board and reuse them, instead of having to pay for new ones. Items like CRT computer monitors, radios, videos and DVD players use them.
2) Then there will be a small plastic box in the middle of the VGA cable that you will need to open. This is by inserting a flat head screwdriver into the slide to remove the top cover. Place the cover and the screwdriver down somewhere.
3) You will need to find the RGB lines, they will be marked on the circuit board, as the letters R, G, B. Then using a pair of scissors, cut each wire, there will be three thin wires. This is so you can attach the power capacitor to each wire, this is by soldering one end onto the wire and the other end onto the circuit board.
4) You will need a soldering iron and solder wire to make secure connections. What you need to do is wire the capacitor in series for each RGB line and solder the positive leg ontto the circuit board and solder the negative leg of the capacitor to the wire, applying this procedure for all three wires. The positive leg will be marked as an white color stripe going down it.
5) Once the soldering is completed, turn of the soldering iron from the mains and allow it to cool down. Then fit the capacitors inside the black box neatly and replace the plastic cover you removed earlier on, it will click back in place.
Most CB Radio uses use an linear amplifier, which is also know an a burner, to boost the amount of power that is been transmitted through there antenna, to increase the transmitting distance, so people that are on the CB radio that are really far away can hear them better, as the standard dead key of 4 watts is not enough for certain situations. However, continues use of using a CB linear amplifier for long periods of time can cause the electrical components to become very hot, this can cause them to overheat and eventually become burnout. Nobody wants that to happen to their kicker, so i am going to provide you with some really good tips to keep it cool and hopefully increase its lifespan further.
1) Make sure the linear amplifier is mounted in a location in your car or home that has well air ventilation around the device, also making sure there is nothing placed on top of it. This is because you want a cool atmosphere around the amp, this is so it doesn't overheat as quickly, plus its gives the heat sink room to dis-pass its heat effectively.
2) Don't use your linear amplifier on full swing all the time. This causes the output transistors inside the kicker to become really hot and overworked. So if it has an adjustable knob that allows you to reduce the power it creates and your only talking to locals, then knock it down a few, this is to keep it cool, as you properly don't really need all that power anyway.
3) Place a large 12v dc computer cooling fan onto of the metal fins on the linear amp, so that the fan blades blow cold air directly onto the fins, this will allow the components to operate at an cooler temperature. Connecting it is very simple to do, all you do it connect it to your 12 volts power supply and it will begin to spin, you also could connect an inline switch, to turn it off and on if you don't want to hear the fan blades make a loud spinning noise and only use the fan when its running really hot.
If you using a CB radio in your home and you have connected a magmount mobile antenna to it, that is meant to be used for a truck or car, using it to operate your radio, you will need to have an excellent ground to ensure that you are getting out properly and to reduce the amount of power the antenna is reflecting back into the radio, also known as an high swr reading, which is usually above 1.5. A high swr reading can lead to burning the output transistors inside your radio, costing your money to repair it, as they overheat from the excessive power that goes back into the radio. So if you are using a mobile magnetic antenna that is not meant for homebase use, you can still use it indoors, but you have to place the magnetic part at the bottom onto a metal, to act as a groundplane, to ensure its working to its full performing potential, to ensure the swr reading is below 1.5.
Instructions on how to get around this issue:
1) You will need to find something that is metal that is available from your home or garage, something that is large enough for the mobile magnetic base to fit on. You will need to find a metal that is made out of steel because steel makes a very good groundplane, but make sure you don't use metal that is made from the material called aluminum because it doesn't work as effectively as steel and other metals do in this situation. For example if you have spare steel circular disc shaped weight laying around that you don't use and they are big enough for the base of the antenna, you can use it as a ground, or the top of an toolbox.
2) Once you have found the right type of metal, simply hold the top bit of the antenna whip and place the base onto the metal part. I say hold the whip because it is the most safest method, as holding the base can accidentally trap your fingers in between the metal and the base, as the magnetic force is usually very strong when it clinks onto the metal, so please be careful.
3) Then if you have a swr to measure the amount of power be reflected back into the radio, hook it up and check the reading on the meter. If you get a swr reading below 1.5, then that is an safe reading and anything below 1.5 is very superior. If you swr reading is very high, try using a different metal, also try adjusting the length of the metal whip, until you get an acceptable reading on the meter.
4) Once you have got an acceptable reading on the swr meter, you can remove it and connect your antenna directly back onto the radio. Then you are ready to transmit and benefit from adding a grounplane to your setup.
If you have an spare PC monitor laying around your house and have an Xbox 360 console and would like to watch movies and play games in high definition quality and don't have the money to buy a large HD ready plasma screen television, you can use your PC monitor to display HD content from the console. This is by creating or buying a VGA cable for the console to connect it to the male VGA on the rear of the PC monitor. Using this method is not the best, as it creates washed out colors to be displayed on the screen and this will affect the quality of the graphics, as they will look plain and not vibrant and bright they way they should look. Therefore, i do recommend you to use the DVI method, as this is far better than using VGA, as the colors are not so washed out. But if your monitor only has a VGA connection then you have no choice and have to stick with the washed out colors, unless you upgrade your display, but i have some solutions on how to retrieve the depth in the colors that you will be happy with.
1) Go to the display settings that controls the amount of color displayed on the TV settings. While a movie or game is displayed, increase the amount of color, this will add more depth and will make the color appear stronger. So do have a play around different amounts, until you have found the sweet spot. Sometimes the color setting on the TV can be setup to low, which could be the answer why the colors look washed out and plain, as increasing boosts the quantity.
2) Also if you play your console offline, chances are that it doesn't have the latest firmware update applied onto the console. The old firmware update provided poor picture quality if using VGA, as you will see on many forums. So connect your Xbox to the internet and the console will automatically download and install the latest software update. However, if you don't have the Ethernet cable to connect the console to your router, or you Xbox 360 is banned from using Xbox live and you can't sign in, then as an alternative route, you can download the update from the Microsoft website, copy it to an usb drive or burn it to an CD.
3) If you are not using an official Microsoft branded VGA cable and are using a cheap third party copy or have made your own, then you will not gain a quality looking display. This is because they have not been approved by Microsoft engineers and have not been tested. Cheap cables, use cheap components and wiring, as most people that have used them have experience washed out colors and have switched to the official product and there problem was solved.
4 ) Also make sure that the reference level, which is found in the Xbox 360's dashboard settings menu is set to expanded, as there is an possibility that it is currently set to standard. Expanded provides a greater depth of colors and makes them feel more bright, if compared with the standard setting.
If you have an fiio e5 portable headphone amplifier and you notice that the battery life doesn't last as long, as it states in the user manual or reviews and drains within in a couple of minutes operating the device at full volume levels, it is very likely that the battery that is inside it has become faulty overtime. This can occur if you have used an charger that has the wrong amount of voltage to charge the battery up or it could be because of general wear and tear, from everyday use. If this is the case, then don't chuck it in the bin because you can open it, remove the old battery and replace the battery with an new ipod shuffle battery that you can buy from Ebay or Amazon for dirt cheap and will get your amp pumping sound once again.
Instructions on how to repair the amp:
1) You will see a small screw that holds the clip in place, the clip that you use to attach the amp to your trousers. Using a small head Philips screwdriver unscrew that screw, this is so the clip can become detached from the device.
2) Place the screw in a place where you can remember it because you don't want to misplace it. Then remove the spring and the metal clip.
3) Then you will see to small white colored tabs, on the slide where the clip was attached to. Get a small flat head screwdriver and press them both in using it, so the middle section of the amplifier can remove itself from the metal housing that it is currently fitted into.
4) Once you have done that and then slide out the middle section of the amplifier outwards and place the metal housing down. You will then see the battery, remove it from the circuit board, to do that you will need to use your flat head screwdriver to pry it out.
5) Then get an soldering iron, plug it in, once the tip is hot enough to melt solder, unsolder the two wires that are connected onto the circuit board and place the soldering iron down. Make sure you remember where the positive and negative battery wires go because you will need to find them when you hook up your new replacement battery.
You can use the image provided below for guidance:
6) Then chuck the dead battery away in the bin, then get your new replacement ipod shuffle battery and solder the two wires back onto the solder locations, where the previous wires were attached from the damaged battery, using some fresh solder wire and your soldering iron. Then turn the soldering iron off from the mains and allow it to cool down.
7) Then place the battery back into its location, then reinsert the white colored housing into the metal black color housing, by slotting it in. Then reposition the metal spring, place the clip onto the amp and insert the screw into the hole and screw it together.
8) Once you have reassemble the fiio e5 amplifier back together, fully charge the battery and the device will be ready for you to use with your ipod.
Most people that want to mod the engine inside their vehicle want to replace the stock induction system with an aftermarket k&n air induction filter kit, so the engine can sound more louder and aggressive, when you rev the car. Also sometimes it can also make the car engine gain an horse power performance increase, which will make your car feel faster too and also improve mpg fuel consumption, saving you money on petrol. However, if you are planning or have already installed it to your vehicle's engine, then you will have to tell your insurance provider about it. The reason is because it is classed to insurance companies as an engine modification and can lead your car to become driven faster, therefore they see that you are more likely to have an accident, so they will increase the insurance costs. If you don't tell your insurance provider that you have done this mod to your car and you are driving your car about, then if you have an accident on the road, they are most likely not to pay up because you will have broken there rules and have invalidated the policy. So its best to tell them as soon as possible, after all its for your own good, certainly if you have can car crash and want to make an insurance claim.
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
A dual layer disc is just like an regular DVD disc that is used to play movies and store data, its the same shape and size, however an dual layer disc has an extra layer on it, so in total it allows up to 8.5GB of data to be burned onto the disc, so it can store more data, if compared to an normal DVD disc, which has an maximum data capacity of 4.7GB used for data storage. Due to a dual layer disc having more potential of storing more data, they are more expensive to buy, as the cost more for companies to create, if you want to use them to burn Xbox 360 movies or films that are very long.
So will dual layer DVDs play in all DVD players?
They can play in DVD players that support dual layer disc playback, this should be an issue today, as most modern regularly DVD players support them type of discs, as well as the normal ones. However some older style household and portable DVD players might not support them and will give an error message that is displayed on your television screen, saying that it can't read the disc. If you are playing dual layer discs on your computer or laptop, the disc drive has to also support dual layer playback, chances are if you have burned a movie using the disc drive in your computer or laptop, then it can be watched. If not then you will need to upgrade your disc to drive and replace it with one that supports dual layer discs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
