USB PORTS on the motherboard WORST INVENTION EVER.

On 11/21/2012 5:06 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:12:15 -0500, wrote:

He is not talking about the USB connectors, he it talking about the two
row header on the motherboard!

Oops. That wasn't obvious from what I read.

I only figured that out after reading a few of his posts and some of the
replies.


I feel his pain. I have had to wire up front panels to motherboards
with virtually no documentation so that even if you can see what you are
doing it is hard to get it right. The computer only survived because it
tolerated having LEDs and switches plugged in wrong.

Umm, maybe I'm missing something here.

I'm talking about older computers. I worked on an old PII and before
that a 486 that were very unsophisticated in preventing you from doing
something stupid and didn't have USB. They had some dozen or more wires
that connected to lights and switchs on the front panel. Around 10
years ago I built a couple of PCs that still had some front panel stuff
hand wired. The ones I'm tearing down these days seem to have a ribbon
cable for the front panel and are harder to screw up.


My problem is a bit different. I'm getting older and my eyesight is
deteriorating at an alarming rate. I now have to use various eyesight
correction and amplification devices, in addition to more intense
illumination. For me keyed connectors are not a luxury but a
necessity.

Same here. I've given up on prescription glasses as they want to give
me a new pair every time I have my eyes checked. I now use two pair,
one for every day and one for computer work. If I'm doing up close
stuff I use them both in series and if I'm watching the Redskins play
while using the PC I stack them so they are like bifocals... lol

I figured I should be able to get my own glasses made, but here they
won't make them without a prescription. I figured I could get a pair
made overseas, but so far nothing that is a bargain price. Maybe they
are *all* made overseas!


Drivel: At home with a cold or flu for a few days. Sorry about the
spew but all I can do right now is alternately sleep and rant on
Usenet.

I haven't noticed your posts before (so much Internet, so little time)
but I did notice you have posted a lot today. That explains it. Better
than watching the tube I suppose.

What do you do for a living?

Rick

On Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:29:47 -0500, rickman wrote:
I've given up on prescription glasses as they want to give
me a new pair every time I have my eyes checked. I now use two pair,
one for every day and one for computer work. If I'm doing up close
stuff I use them both in series and if I'm watching the Redskins play
while using the PC I stack them so they are like bifocals... lol

I suggest looking into Zenni Optical. They're cheap and from China.
http://www.zennioptical.com
The law requires that the prescription is no more than 2 years old.
That's about right as my eyes deteriorate. $75 for an eye exam and
glaucoma test at Costco.

What I do is experiment with the prescription. Unlike a dispensing
optician, I'm not obligated to follow the prescription exactly. I use
the astigmatism corrections per the prescription, but juggle the
magnification depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. The correct
magnification is easy to determine by simply buying or borrowing an
assortment of drug store reading glasses, and see which one seems to
be the correct power for specific distances. I then buy the cheapest
$15 glasses I can find from Zenni Optical to test my guesswork. Once
the best combination is established, I buy some better frames. My
only diversion from this scheme is that I wanted a pair of real glass
lenses instead of plastic. It took some effort, but I eventually was
able to order some from Costco.

Drivel: At home with a cold or flu for a few days. Sorry about the
spew but all I can do right now is alternately sleep and rant on
Usenet.

I haven't noticed your posts before (so much Internet, so little time)
but I did notice you have posted a lot today. That explains it. Better
than watching the tube I suppose.

I cleverly cancelled my DirecTV subscription and am doing a
combination of DVD's and Netflix. Much cheaper and no commercials.
The only problem is that as soon as I turn on the TV, I fall asleep.

What do you do for a living?

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jeff-liebermann/0/823/151
This week? That's difficult to answer. Mostly, I repair PC's, do
computer consulting, and fix whatever else the customers wants
repaired. Sewing machines, chain saws, appliances, home theater, 2way
radio repair, weather stations, etc. Whatever pays the bills. My
palatial office:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/office/index.html
My combination chain saw and RF test bench at home:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/home/slides/chain-saw-repair.html
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/home/slides/test-equip-mess.html
I'm good at repair, but not so good at design. In the distant past, I
ran a 2way radio shop, did RF design for several companies, and did
some RF related consulting. I've also done some writing. I've been
on Usenet for longer than I care to admit.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:35:26 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:

Like some people & wrist watches? No matter what they have, it quits
in short order.

I don't use a wrist watch any more. My cell phone displays accurate
time. However, I'm considering making or buying one of these wrist
watches:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/no-charges-for-bomb-watch-art-687451

I threw mine away when I was declared 100% disabled. There is a
clock in my truck, and one on the computer. I don't have cell phone
service.

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Drivel: At home with a cold or flu for a few days. Sorry about the
spew but all I can do right now is alternately sleep and rant on
Usenet.


So, SNAFU? ;-)

On 11/21/2012 6:17 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
I suggest looking into Zenni Optical. They're cheap and from China.
http://www.zennioptical.com
The law requires that the prescription is no more than 2 years old.
That's about right as my eyes deteriorate. $75 for an eye exam and
glaucoma test at Costco.

They used to be $50... Is zenni obligated to follow our laws?


What I do is experiment with the prescription. Unlike a dispensing
optician, I'm not obligated to follow the prescription exactly. I use
the astigmatism corrections per the prescription, but juggle the
magnification depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. The correct
magnification is easy to determine by simply buying or borrowing an
assortment of drug store reading glasses, and see which one seems to
be the correct power for specific distances. I then buy the cheapest
$15 glasses I can find from Zenni Optical to test my guesswork. Once
the best combination is established, I buy some better frames. My
only diversion from this scheme is that I wanted a pair of real glass
lenses instead of plastic. It took some effort, but I eventually was
able to order some from Costco.

I have very strong astigmatism in the right eye and mostly ignore it.
When I'm doing a lot of computer work I use a prescription pair with
close and closer focal ranges.

I'll take a look at Zenni.


What do you do for a living?

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jeff-liebermann/0/823/151
This week? That's difficult to answer. Mostly, I repair PC's, do
computer consulting, and fix whatever else the customers wants
repaired. Sewing machines, chain saws, appliances, home theater, 2way
radio repair, weather stations, etc. Whatever pays the bills. My
palatial office:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/office/index.html
My combination chain saw and RF test bench at home:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/home/slides/chain-saw-repair.html
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/home/slides/test-equip-mess.html
I'm good at repair, but not so good at design. In the distant past, I
ran a 2way radio shop, did RF design for several companies, and did
some RF related consulting. I've also done some writing. I've been
on Usenet for longer than I care to admit.

That's an impressive lab. I noticed one or two HP laser printers from
some 10 years ago, I don't remember the model number but I have the same
one with the sheet fed scanner on the front. In the first year the
separator pad wore out and now I have to manually feed the paper. HP
was actually sued by class action on this and the lawyers got a bunch of
cash and the complainants got some coupons from HP... lol!

Any suggestions on how to fix it? Otherwise it works great, I just have
to feed the sheets. Fortunately I don't print very often.

I also saw the radios. Any marine VLF transceivers? I kayak and will
be buying one next season. Not sure what to look for in the way of
features and specs.

I'm working on an all digital receiver for the WWVB time signal. What
have you done in the RF domain? Any antenna work?

Rick

In article , rickman wrote:

I'll take a look at Zenni.

I've used them once and was happy with the results.

I've been wearing bifocals for around a decade, but found them less
than ideal for computer work... too far away for the "near"
correction, not far enough for "distant", and craning my head back to
try to look through the "near" lens was giving me a headache.

I recently had my eyes checked and bifocal prescription updated (and a
new set of bifocals made). I followed Zenni's recommendations for
calculating the correction needed for a set of "intermediate distance"
monofocals, plugged those numbers into the order form, and got the
glasses a couple of weeks later. Vast improvement for computer
work... just about right... eyes are much happier at the end of the
day. I think I'll spend another $50 and get a second set for my home
computer setup.

Zenni never asked to see the original prescription... as far as I can
tell, you can plug any set of numbers you want into the order form and
they'll make it for you.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

I don't think I plugged the usb plug in backwards.

What happened was the plug was 1 row of pins too high which is definetly
possible.

I might make a youtube video of that to show how I presumebly killed it.
(I will probably do this, but I dont want to remove the usb card reader, it
was quite a hassle to get it in, but before I rebuild my dreampc I will put
it on the table and put the dead motherboard in it, and make a nice video of
it... and then I will start the repair build )

However there is a bit of a mystery:

According to the ASRock 790GX manual, the pins that were left unconnected
were the actual power pins.

So the only pins which were connected were the data pins as far as I can
tell ?!?

So this would mean the data pins somehow caused the motherboard to fry
?????!!

If this is "impossible" then something else must have killed it ???

Bye,
Skybuck.

On Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:40:36 -0500, rickman wrote:

On 11/21/2012 6:17 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
I suggest looking into Zenni Optical. They're cheap and from China.
http://www.zennioptical.com
The law requires that the prescription is no more than 2 years old.
That's about right as my eyes deteriorate. $75 for an eye exam and
glaucoma test at Costco.

They used to be $50... Is zenni obligated to follow our laws?

Probably yes, but they aren't asking for the original prescription or
any optometrist identification information. Apparently, nothing is
going to happen until someone complains. Like many of our medical
related restrictions allegedly designed to protect the GUM (great
unwashed masses) from alternative medicine, the 2 year requirement
creates an almost captive market for optometrists and opticians at
inflated prices. My last pair of bifocals from Zenni Optical cost me
about $40. My last pair of single vision glasses from Costco cost me
$280.

http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/office/index.html
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/home/slides/chain-saw-repair.html
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/home/slides/test-equip-mess.html

That's an impressive lab.

Thanks. There's more test equipment piled in odd places around the
house and office. If this were 1975, I would have a state of the art
laboratory.

I noticed one or two HP laser printers from
some 10 years ago, I don't remember the model number but I have the same
one with the sheet fed scanner on the front.

I also repair HP LaserJet printers. I don't make much money on the
repairs, but for some unspecified personality defect, I enjoy fixing
them. I go through quite a few office printers. Mostly, I sell or
loan them to customers and obtain a different printer. The local
eWaste recycler is a great source of laser printers. Rebuild kits and
cheap toner is commonly available on eBay. I've made it my personal
crusade to consign all inkjet printers to the recyclers, and replace
them with cheaper to operate, more reliable, and infinitely faster,
laser printers.

I'm not sure what printer you saw, but my current favorite is the
HP2300dtn. The previous incantation, the HP2200dn had some issues:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/hp2200/hp2200.html

In the first year the
separator pad wore out and now I have to manually feed the paper. HP
was actually sued by class action on this and the lawyers got a bunch of
cash and the complainants got some coupons from HP... lol!

Rubber separator pads do wear out. Cork pads seem to last longer. My
guess is that they both will last about 75,000 to 100,000 pages. I
have various potions (xylene rubber restorer) which will soften the
rubber, but once it wears down below the level of the plastic mounting
frame, it's over. Replacements are commonly available from
Printerworks.com and eBay. Good advice on printer repair from Moe at:
http://www.FixYourOwnPrinter.com

Any suggestions on how to fix it? Otherwise it works great, I just have
to feed the sheets. Fortunately I don't print very often.

No. I need the model number. The only HP laserjet that has a bolt on
scanner on the front is the HP1000/1100/1200/1300 series. I had a few
of those in the shop for repair and rebuilding, but none had the
scanner option installed. It's an ugly little printer, that has a
nasty habit of attempting to feed the entire stack of paper at once
when the separation pad wears out. Replace the separation pads and
associated rubber parts
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121014298023
or buy a paper-jam fix kit. I haven't had much luck with the fix kit.
None seem to be available on eBay.

I also saw the radios. Any marine VLF transceivers? I kayak and will
be buying one next season. Not sure what to look for in the way of
features and specs.

I think you might mean VHF, not VLF. I have plenty of those, but
they're all products that I designed in the distant past. I want to
keep them. They're also not exactly state of the art. Get something
that floats for the inevitable roll. I'm not up to date on the latest
marine handhelds and can't recommend anything specific.

I'm working on an all digital receiver for the WWVB time signal. What
have you done in the RF domain? Any antenna work?

I saw your WWVH question in rec.radio.amateur.antenna but never had
time or interest to go beyond my few bad guesses. Building one of the
numerous loop antenna construction articles might be best.

I've done a bit of antenna design and modeling. However, NDA's and
contracts prevent me from posting or discussing the interesting
designs. Here's the bottom of the barrel.
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/antennas/
Only a few are my designs or ever went beyond an NEC2 model. Mostly
they're on my web pile to settle some manner of online argument.

Rick
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

In article me.nl, "Skybuck Flying" wrote:
I was thinking the same thing...

Instead of getting a device I could also store my information on "the
cloud"...

However if internet goes offline well then you know what would happen...

A network attached storage device is still not usefull for me without
processing power...

That's the main thing right now... getting more processing power... and then
I can get my data back and so forth.

Also not a lot of room for even more devices... where would I place a nat
device... I'd be a bit worried if I kick it on accident... at least with
everything inside the PC I know I have to be carefull... however the
occasional bump against the table might also not be too great.

However a kick from the feet is probably much harder than a bump against the
table

Bye,
Skybuck.


Most routers let you plug an external drive into them and share data. Such as
my Linksys WRT610.

In article , (GMAN) wrote:
In article me.nl, "Skybuck
Flying" wrote:
I was thinking the same thing...

Instead of getting a device I could also store my information on "the
cloud"...

However if internet goes offline well then you know what would happen...

A network attached storage device is still not usefull for me without
processing power...

That's the main thing right now... getting more processing power... and then
I can get my data back and so forth.

Also not a lot of room for even more devices... where would I place a nat
device... I'd be a bit worried if I kick it on accident... at least with
everything inside the PC I know I have to be carefull... however the
occasional bump against the table might also not be too great.

However a kick from the feet is probably much harder than a bump against the
table

Bye,
Skybuck.


Most routers let you plug an external drive into them and share data. Such as
my Linksys WRT610.

I should have said most newer wireles -N routers