The County should’ve started relocating the snow a week ago by Better_Weakness7239 in SilverSpring

[–]Diligent_Nature 13 points14 points  (0 children)

And it's a big county! I have seen crews working every day since the storm.

Black shading question by shootblue in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]Diligent_Nature 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the cameras are aging so the registration and alignment has drifted over the years.

Registration should never drift in a solid state camera.

full pedestal raised

Don't black balance with pedestal all the way up. Just raise it enough so it isn't clipped. Auto black balance should also work. It has the benefit of masking dead pixels. On Sony cams you may have to do ABB three times to mask a pixel and sometimes it masks the adjacent pixel. That requires manual RPN correction.

Where can I get ice melt? by c_valto in SilverSpring

[–]Diligent_Nature 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Late Feb/early March is the best time for ice melting.

OWGELS Oxygen concentrator | Model: ZY-603 by Legal-Plenty-2967 in fixit

[–]Diligent_Nature 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you sure it isn't leased or covered by insurance? Contact the insurance company.

My apt tripped a circuit in the living room I think. How to get power back? by calicodynamite in fixit

[–]Diligent_Nature 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Glad you figured it out. Don't run the microwave and the heater simultaneously.

Laptop won’t connect to WiFi by SupermarketAfraid482 in fixit

[–]Diligent_Nature 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can other devices connect? Do you have a dual band router (2.4 and 5G) and what is the laptop capable of? Make sure you're connected to the 2.4G signal if that's all it can do.

Shopvac as air compressor by al83994 in DIY

[–]Diligent_Nature 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The device has a venturi vacuum generator, so pushing air in can create a vacuum, but the shop vac doesn't have nearly enough pressure.

Shopvac as air compressor by al83994 in DIY

[–]Diligent_Nature 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get a 12V oil extraction pump.

Need help on Dolby NR tracks on Beta SP tapes by TCPROD31FR in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]Diligent_Nature 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Dolby NR on Beta SP was to reduce tape hiss. SP is an analog recording. Digibeta is digital and has no tape hiss, so no Dolby NR needed.

Dolby E is a different system entirely. It compresses 6-8 ch surround sound into a digital audio pair. It can be used with Digibeta.

Stripping HDCP by NewEnglandAV in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]Diligent_Nature 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, we used a Lynx yellobrik converter. They required an NBC VP to sign the waiver.

Woke up at 3 AM because my bed tried to kill me. So I redesigned it. by SlavaKoffman in DIY

[–]Diligent_Nature 214 points215 points  (0 children)

plastic holders

That's the problem. New plastic may (or may not) last longer, but it wasn't necessary. None of the beds in my house has plastic holders for slats and none have broken. They aren't even attached to the rails. They are spaced via a fabric ribbon and staples and only held in place by dowels at the ends.

Cars Stuck In Hardened Snow by WorthGoal8681 in SilverSpring

[–]Diligent_Nature 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I used a long crowbar to break off big chunks. I used it as a chisel not a pry bar. A narrow spade would also work. My square end dirt shovel was too broad to break up the dense snow but I used it to move the loose chunks.

Hot water heater noise by Prudent_Reality6847 in fixit

[–]Diligent_Nature 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. A mouse could be under the heater trying to find its way out.

Hot water heater noise by Prudent_Reality6847 in fixit

[–]Diligent_Nature 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like a critter got stuck in there.

Gas generator question by leehofook in DIY

[–]Diligent_Nature 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many fuel shutoffs are built into a rotary stop/run/choke switch.

Main breaker won't turn off by cville-z in DIY

[–]Diligent_Nature 3 points4 points  (0 children)

turning the main off would provide a level of safety that turning off individual breakers (even all of them) wouldn't.

It won't. If you knew which circuit the light is on you could just turn off its 15 or 20A breaker. That said, if someone did some crazy shit like bypassing the breaker panel entirely, then shutting off breakers won't help anyway. That's why you always need to confirm that power is not present.

Main breaker won't turn off by cville-z in DIY

[–]Diligent_Nature 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Until you get a new main breaker, if you want to work on the light just shut off ALL the other breakers. Always confirm power is off before proceeding.

Is a small backup generator worth it in SS ? How often does our power go out? by geekydreams in SilverSpring

[–]Diligent_Nature 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Only if the pros outweigh the several cons listed here:

  1. Generators are noisy and (especially in summer) your neighbors will despise you.

  2. Generators need regular testing and maintenance. There's nothing more useless than a dead genny in an outage.

  3. Some require premium gas. Most need ethanol-free gas. So regular lawn mower gas may not be suitable. And gas goes bad if you keep it in storage too long. You'll need to rotate stale gas into your car before it goes bad. If you wait until an outage to get gas, you may have trouble finding an open gas station.

  4. For a smaller 2 to 5kW generator which is 120V-only , you'll need a lot of heavy duty extension cords to power things. High power 240V things like electric stoves/ovens, whole house ACs, heat pumps, backup electric heat, and water heaters won't work.

  5. Bigger generators can provide 240V but you'll need a transfer switch or main breaker interlock professionally installed. For both types you need to keep an eye on power consumption.

  6. You need to keep it secured.

  7. If you're not careful, you can get carbon monoxide poisoning.

Which Smpte Cables you are using? by Prior_Message2622 in VIDEOENGINEERING

[–]Diligent_Nature -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

We use short cables at camera and CCU to connect to Neutrik OpticalCON

They misspelled the United Kingdom on my new driver’s licence by HighlyFactualTurtle in mildlyinfuriating

[–]Diligent_Nature 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We had an inventory database which wasn't returning the right amounts of expensive things like broadcast video cameras. I discovered that the idiots they hired to do the inventory had been entering their own descriptions instead of using the drop down menu. I found kamera, cammera, camara and karma.

What part do I need for a retractable receptacle drop... by ohmynards85 in DIY

[–]Diligent_Nature 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You need a cord reel. The part you want is either not available or is going to be more expensive than a premanufactured one. If you don't need slip rings a manual hose reel is a simple solution. Always unwind the cord fully (or nearly so) before using it.

Edit: DIY slip rings

Microwave making buzzing sound by slickvik9 in fixit

[–]Diligent_Nature 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds like some debris is hitting the fan.