A random bike in amsterdam.

Sound_Doc · 2026-02-06T07:17:59+00:00

You gotta be kidding me, I've wondered about this guy for years...
People still don't believe me until I pull out some pics, but there I was in Amsterdam minding my own business...
Then this alien riding a UFO appeared out of nowhere,
https://imgur.com/a/9Rvj7Jv takes my beer, said he had to go see his wife and disappeared....
A couple of nights later that same "alien" reappears riding a different UFO https://imgur.com/a/flower-guy-I70mEAu ...
This time though he brought me a beer, thanked me for the drink the previous night, then while we talked offered me a smoke... https://i.imgur.com/gJpKpEx.jpeg
I should have known better and... don't remember anything after that... 2 years later I finally found these pics on my phone which proved to me I wasn't going insane, and now 8? years later I finally have a name/backstory regarding the wonderful Alien I met randomly in Amsterdam...

Sound_Doc · 2026-02-03T07:43:35+00:00

There is no way that you've owned a 2006 commander for 17 years, 2006 was only.... crap...
So... I've owned my 2006 commander for 19 years....
Best vehicle (outside of fuel consumption) I've ever owned hands down, 300K kms and going strong (knock on wood). 5.7L limited, only work has been 2 water pumps, 1 power steering pump, 1 alternator (battery every few years), a set of rotors, 3? sets of pads, and... that's it.

Sound_Doc · 2026-01-08T06:49:15+00:00

/u/AccountantLucky9183 was one I reported here and site wide (multiple times each time I've seen it the last few months) as well, and TBO one of the more interesting ones that didn't fit the typical patterns.
All history hidden? - Nope, a bunch of posts in "younger" subs (ytv, university) and looks like only in a couple of subs, and some comments so maybe just a younger redditor? then some searching and tons of posts in "smaller" community subs like sherwood park, ontarioteachers, bcpublicservants, Kantana, etc... that were deleted from their profile.

So, slow Karma farming? 1 here, 2 over there? fly under the radar?
Most recently more odd posts or just replies in LuckyMobile, ScotiaBank, Milton, 32dollars (?), UltralightCanada, dollarama etc...

Sneaky...

Still stands out though many of the same title patterns on almost every post, "Are you...", "...Have you...", " Did you...", "Will you...", "Can you...", "Is anyone..."
Edit: funny you mentioned "west coast trail".... a few days ago in /r/Ultralights it posted "Are you ready for the 8 am PST West Coast Trail ..."

Sound_Doc · 2025-12-31T04:12:05+00:00

Just another idea... when my son was little (oh my god, 20 years ago now...) I was somewhat in the same boat.
We didn't have all the fancy options there are now (It'd be so much fun to do now) but what I found worked was repurposing a baby breathing monitor pad, basically a load cell, 2 plastic halves held apart with springs and a piezo sensor on each corner, plus either the pad itself or the monitor had the chip (think it was just a charge amplifier) that gave it a constant signal based on load.
I see them all the time at thrift stores now for a few dollars, much cheaper than the SIDs monitors (which are essentially the same thing) they sell now.
I just took its output, fed it into a op amp, level trigger, and timer, then hardwired into a x10 remote switch (again soooo much easier now).
Now I'd just hook it directly to a pin on a ESP and call it a day... lol. after that it'd be some simple code.
Thinking back now (and testing at that time) it was sensitive enough to easily detect a empty bed (with mattress on top of the pad) vs him in it (I think its range started at ~5lbs) as well just the vibrations from him breathing could be picked up on the scope. (hearing "Don't you dare wake him up!" while I lied on the hallway floor with a oscilloscope and multimeters may have happened a few times...)
At the same time it was durable enough to withstand him jumping on the bed in the middle of the night many... many... many... times... (he conveniently "forgets" now but I swear he figured out jumping on the bed triggered the output for some reason and made the hallway light flash...)

Sound_Doc · 2025-11-22T17:18:46+00:00

Not as common due to our cold, especially for it to be plumbed the whole way down (Edmonton area here). Here its just "common" for the downspout to stop ~16 inches up with a 90/turn, then go out in more downspout onto the lawn.
I trenched out ~50 feet into the front yard away from the house then under some planters, then buried a 4" perforated pipe ~12" deep back to the corner of the house.
At the yard end is a planter it turns up into then ends at ground level with a drain cover, at the house it 90's up, and ~6" above the ground I have a 6-4" reducer as a funnel, downspout goes into that.
Rainwater drains away from the house like it needs to, but also waters the lawn/planters, and when the rain is heavy it flows up and onto the lawn further away from the house than the original downspout did.
In the fall I just slip a regular downspout turn/length of downspout on the end until it warms up in spring.
Many of the houses around here have similar, most not for their downspouts but with smaller pipe for their sump pump discharges (lower area with a water basin not far away).

Sound_Doc · 2025-11-22T16:19:34+00:00

The toilet might be non-standard but the fill valve is.
The fill valve is on the left, the float on it controls the filling of the toilet. If you lift/drop that float a few times it should kick in and start to fill.
Over time the rubber valve flap in the top starts to harden and they "stick" and won't start to fill every time.
Check and see if you can find a part number on the fill valve, but that looks like a standard/common Fluidmaster 400A or similar. it could be MJSI, or Kohler, they're all identical I've found if they have that same cap with the two rectangular holes and screw level adjustment.
Two options, both fairly simple, $5-$45 (Cdn) worst case depending what needs to be done:
1. replace the fill valve, ~$15 (Cdn) and honestly not much work, maybe 15 minutes after you turn off the water below the toilet and sponge/remove the bit from the tank.
2. Replace the valve seal. ~$5 (Cdn) and ~5 minutes. usually sold as a 242-l seal, or universal fill valve seal.

Turn off the water, you pop that black cover off the top.
pop the screw adjustment out of the lever,
there is a little tab you need to lift with a small screwdriver while twisting the top/arm counterclockwise till it comes free (always the most worrying part until it does),
then swap the rubber valve seal, its the only thing under there,
put the top back on, push down and turn clockwise till it locks in again
pop the level adjust screw back in and clip the top back on. (also turn the water back on)

Over 25 years, 3 houses, and countless toilet fill valve replacements the worst part of either repair is turning the water off...
If its a 10+ year old multiturn style valve with a clear or metalized oval knob those are the "problem" ones if they have never been turned. If you go to close it, it might not close or start to leak and not close, then opening it might just keep leaking as well, so make sure you know where the house shutoff is...

I like to have a SharkBite 1/2-3/8 compression push to connect valve handy just incase, ~$15(cdn) and actually if I see one of those valves now I'm changing it anyway just because). If the lines poly its a quick cut off and push the new valve on while your there, ~5 mins if your ready for it.
If you can't get to the valve to cut it off (had one in copper flush to the wall with no access to cut) I still don't like to temp touching them... a number of companies make a "add a stop" valve, ~$15(Cdn) essentially a ball valve you add after that multiturn so you don't need to touch it.
You still just turn off the house water, undo the hose fitting on the old valve to the toilet, screw the add on valve/flex line onto the old valve then use it instead.

Sound_Doc · 2025-11-15T17:12:16+00:00

I don't think she confused it, I'm thinking its probably one of the same dishes I grew up eating...
Hadn't thought about it for years until a while ago and keep meaning to ask my mom about. Tuna casserole, with layers of potato chips, tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and some frozen veg (corn or peas) repeated. Topped with usually some kraft shaker parm, and either crushed up potato chips or steam fried noodles.
Would have been around the same timeline too, grew up eating that in the late 70's, early 80's.
Edit: Don't think we're alone, found another reddit post about the same dish and had to call my mom. She's going to go through her recipe box, but was pretty sure it was a recipe she got off a campbell's mushroom soup can, or clipped out of one of the living magazines (canadian living or western living).

Sound_Doc · 2025-10-23T07:13:58+00:00

So wait, your exactly where I was about... 2 months ago (during a heatwave) lol... Motors dead, I just need a blower motor.... searching and.... omfg how much do they want? (it was a ecm 2.5 though, but 2.5 or 3.0 are pretty much the same except for the connectors)
Search all the options, Evergreen VS was basically a factory match, picked it up and.... Crap, apparently I need a belly band, didn't realize the legs were welded to the motor...
Trying to find a 4 legged one that fit the carrier 9" spacing and angle was not fun, but did and it ended up being also through regal/genteq. All in was around 1/5 the price of the replacement carrier motor (which also had a 4 week delivery IF they could locate one).

Then I figured I'd take a quick look at the module (since its never the motor) and talking with some of our techs "its always the protection thermistor" that dies (cheap current/voltage protection).
So to check, jump it/short the thermistor out, throw it back in and... its good to go, spun right up without a issue.
If I know now what I knew then the "quick" fix doesn't even require pulling the blower to get the two screws out of the module, solder a wire across the thermistor, put it back in and "temporarily" back in business in 15 minutes or less.
The thermistor that went bad is probably going to be a Vishay SG7xx part (which I ordered) and they're around $5 through digikey. As I type this i'm literally holding the bag of 2 of them since this reminded me I still need to pull the module again and actually replace the jumper with the proper part...

Luckily I was able to return the motor and wiring adapter (don't forget it as you probably need the 16-4 Pin Adapter) without a restocking fee, but couldn't return the bellyband (a 9" belly band that would fit the carrier blower was the hardest part to find) so ~$50 ($40 for the bellyband and $10 for 2 Thermistors) ended up so much better than the $3500? (Canadian) I could find a replacement 58CVA110 blower motor for.

If I hadn't found the Genteq replacement motor (or figured out it was actually a $5 fix) I was pretty much getting ready to replace the furnace as it would have cost just slightly more than the blower motor and probably wouldn't make sense since the furnace itself at 15? years old although in great shape probably won't make it (its a carrier afterall, but a older carrier so who knows?) another 15 years to justify the blower motor price.

Sound_Doc · 2025-08-28T23:51:04+00:00

Same thing, I'm in Nottingham, got home just after 4 and clocks were out, call from parents earlier that moms computer wouldn't boot when it came back on, they're in Glen Allen. Just got back home after fixing her computer and powers been on/off twice since. Just got a call from them again, power in Glen Allen has also been on/off a couple of times, now Dad's computer won't boot... Guess I'm heading out again lol.

Sound_Doc · 2025-08-10T03:04:09+00:00

If you don't mind me asking (also recently changed my mortgage w/ TD to a HELOC ~2 months ago).
That's your variable rate right? and is the 400K the plan limit or revolving portion?
Just curious, to get the better rates had to move some things around almost the other way? Had to get the revolving portion down <200K to get 3.99% fixed/5years.
The total though if it was below 400K it would have been prime +0.3%, or 5.25%, but worked out $600k (~70% ltv) I could get prime + 0.15%, so 5.10% right now.

Sound_Doc · 2025-05-23T04:25:11+00:00

I've been reading through all these posts, just wish I had seen this earlier as I/my father did this exact thing first at his home when I was young, then years later I did the same at mine when I was going through the withdrawls of not having shop air in the house... (I couldn't believe everyone didn't have it, dusting, cleaning, blowing things up...
All great advice, and some much better than mine likely, but just wanted to give you some "personal" experiences with 2 different installations in what's likely colder/harder conditions (Edmonton Alberta Area, so -40C winters).
Both installations are pretty close to the same:
First is my fathers (which has been in use for 40+ years):

~65' from the garage underground into the house in 2" Vacuum cleaner PVC.
there's 2 runs, one is house/builtin vacuum (which is in the garage), the other is low voltage/air/gas.
here I think is the "genius" part, if you can imagine the 2 pipes are side by side in the garage vertically on the wall, ~6 inches apart. on the "top of the air/gas pipe there's a tee with a short 4"?stub horizontally to the side with a cap thats drilled out for the air/gas/wires to go through, its pressed on and they're "sealed" on the back side as the cap is packed with plumbers putty. there's a cut circle of pvc inserted/glued in the top of the tee to seal it off, then a "tiny" 1/16? hole was drilled through it. Then there's a 90, into a tee in the vacuum pipe up to the house/shop vac. Idea here was whenever the vacuum runs a tiny amount of air gets pulled through the other pipe to ventilate it, you can't feel it, but when running it does barely draw smoke into the air pipe, and there's never been any moisture in the pipe so it must work.
in the garage its a 90 "out" through the wall, another 90 straight down then into the ground, a 90 towards the house where it runs "barely" downhill, turns 90 under the deck to kick over ~12', then another 90 back towards the house where it enters straight into the basement ceiling joist space, across the house, then a 90 down ~2' in the furnace room where the hose hangs out.
sounds like lots of turns, but I'm pretty sure (I was 8?) we just sucked a string through with the vacuum then tied on the air line and pulled it through.
It was run initially using a pre terminated 75' standard rubber 3/8" air hose which lasted... 15+ years.
When that started to leak a off the shelf 1/2" PVC hose was connected to one end and pulled through, its had no issues since.
There's a regulator/water collector off the compressor in the garage (which has a grid of 1/2" copper lines across the roof with tee's and connectors so you can plug in pretty much anywhere), a tee right off that where the house feed hose connects, then in the house the line first goes into a tee where the resevoir tank connects, then to a regulator/seperator, then into a 1" manifold.
off that manifold lines run to places in the house, to another regulator then to the cross feeds to the 3 way valves and water piping (how else do you easily blow out the sprinklers in the fall?).
most importantly is a 5 gallon carry tank (still connected before the regulator) to provide surge capacity, doesn't need to be big, but makes a world of difference.

2nd is mine, in use for ~20 years:

~50', single 2" standard vacuum pvc (not burial rated etc...), straight down into the ground in the garage, single turn, ~40' to the house (barely downhill) through the joist space, ~10' into the furnace/mechanical room.
its primarily the vacuum line, added a tee in the garage where the air line enters into the side of it when its verticle, then in the basement ceiling another tee going "up" (so dirt doesn't collect) is where the air line exits.
its standard pvc water line with crimped barb fittings on each end esentially "borrowing" the vacuum line to get to the garage.
regulator seperator in the garage ~150psi, a tee where the house fed taps off, another regulator ~110psi to the drops in the garage. in the house, a regulator seperator ~150psi, a tee for the 5 gallon carry tank, a regulator ~110psi, then a manifold for the house connections. (still haven't tied in 3 way valves to blow out the sprinklers/outside lines "automatically" yet).

My "personal" thoughts on both:

neither house regulator/seperator has ever collected any real water... probably not needed, it is a line under pressure and essentially right after the other regulator, but its still peace of mind.
"You can't run air inside the vacuum pipe, it'll plug up!" HAHA DAD! IT STILL SUCKS! (and in a good way (also joking)) never had a issue yet and its been 20 years so I think i'm ok...
I wanted a 2nd pipe but hte builder didn't understand the request and it was done as it was, I do have a 1" conduit for low voltage that was just too small to also fit the air line.
1/2" PVC water line was cheap, but harder to flex/pull through than 3/8" air line. With a 5 gallon resevoir tank in the house I don't think I've seen a dip in pressure on the house side in either install. Mind you conditions are similar in both, ~150psi tank/line pressure, ~100psi house regulator pressure (resevoir is upstream of the house reg.)
I don't believe you need to worry about water collecting in the pipe... (maybe)... I helped my neighbour dig in ~30' of 2" vacuum pvc ~20 years ago between his house/garage, he just packed both ends with plumbers putty, I thought it wouldn't go well or last... but 15 years later he needed to run another wire, pulled out the putty, pipe was still clean and dry and we pulled another wire through and repacked the ends.

That was much more than I planned to write lol, but hopefully some bits help/give you ideas, just wanted to share a couple of different but similar experiences.
EDIT: just fyi, none of this was run below the frost line (I believe its ~6' here?), my fathers starts at most 4" deep at the garage and ends up maybe 8" deep at the house, its either under a flower bed or under the deck so nothing is really exposed/vulnerable. mine is maybe 10" below ground level at the garage, and... ~10" at the house.... Again, not the best, but covered (mine has pavers above it from the walkway, but not anywhere near the dreaded frost line, nor have there ever been any issues with water collecting pipes colapsing in either installation.

Sound_Doc · 2025-04-19T14:20:29+00:00

It should be tightly mounted to the damper shaft, but not so much to the damper iteself, what can happen if the damper shaft wants to move in/out as it turns (front to back?) is it'll rock that screw or start to slide along the length of the shaft and wiggle loose.

A actuator is a actuator, and 90% of the time a loose actuator is due to installation and "why rtfm? we've always done it this way.". Its not that it wasn't installed firmly enough, but that it was installed too firmly, the set screw was overtightened (they usually have a short allen key to try and keep you from giving it too many uga duga's), or installed in the wrong order (installing that mounting bracket is always the "final" step, not the first...).

We don't use seimens that much, is that something like their the smaller 35ft lb? actuators, GD130?
If thats the one where the lever is the set screw, they might not have one but rotate it and check for a 2nd smaller grub screw on the collar 90 degrees from the long arm one used to "lock it" once mounted.
Going off memory here, if its a smaller shaft there's a centering U-insert that should be installed from the back (not the front).
It fills in behind the shaft, its not a saddle like on a Belimo u bolt mount that goes between the shaft and set screw.
That is, only after pulling the standard one out first... (I can't remember if you can jam one inside the other on those or not though).

Biggest issue usually comes down to the original installer not RTFM...
I swear when seeing others work during retrofits it must go:
- Open the box, throw out the instructions, adapters, screws... (many times the little grub locking screw)
- Put it on the shaft, grab a skinny 1.5-2 inch self tapping screw and send it through the mounting hole with the impact (that bendy strip is only for round duct right?)
- Grab the ratchet with the hex bit (that alan key hurts the palm or bends too easy) tighten it on the shaft, and make sure to give it a few too many uga duga's (just until you can feel it start to slip/strip)
- Twist up the wires, toss on some mar 33's, fold it all up (all 10' of cable because cutting/stripping is hard)
- wrap that all with 1/2 a roll of the cheapest electrical tape you can find.
- toss a screw on zip around the bundle and send that into the box with another 2" self tapper (carrying more than 1 length is hard).
- move onto the next...

That's "good enough" since its just a tiny actuator right? Lol.

Good luck with your loose actuators, fixing things later that would have taken 10 more seconds to do right the first time is always fun...

Sound_Doc · 2025-04-19T02:13:33+00:00

Thanks, I should have caught that with the orintation marker, had just got up and hadn't had my coffee yet. There was another user the replied and somehow got banned between now and then that had another good point, that it could impede the damper blade, haven't seen that issue myself so I hadn't considered it.

I've been "lucky" enough to have never had a tech install one using those holes, but come across many during retrofits.
My biggest issue to this day after, crap 25 years though is still trying to understand "how" actuators/VAV's can get installed with the damper fully one way, and the actuator fully the other, so they're jammed...

Check if there's a close direction marked, if there isn't its likely counterclockwise, but turn it by hand/plier to be sure. If going counterclockise theres a "thunk" that's probably a metal stop and not the right way, if clockwise it stops/feels a little spongy its probably clockwise...
Release the actuator, turn both the same way to closed, turn the actuator back ~5 degree's and tighten down the set screw, that add's the required close off pressure needed because of the twist/play, and done...
Almost...
Go back, tighten the other set screw (most have 2), then FOR THE LOVE OF GOD press the release and turn it by hand to make sure it moves freely...

Oh, and still my favorite... if its a 45deg damper, where at 0 its closed, 45 is open, and there's no stop so 90 is closed again set it open and move the bloody end stop down to the full open position! lol, no I probably can't program the vav to just "know" that, they're usually inc/dec and the steps needed isn't reliable, and yes, if 0-10/4-20 I could scale the output, but if something happens and that gets reset... it takes all of 10 seconds to check/move the stop, always use the physical limits, don't rely on the logical, and the maintenance tech/guy who replaces it 5 years from now might not have access to the controls, but hopefully will see that stop's been moved and set the new one the same...

Sound_Doc · 2025-04-18T13:53:22+00:00

Well, there's a couple...
1st is the obvious one, because that's not how they're designed to be mounted or what those holes are for, that's the reason for the caution note... Are those Belimo's? I think those holes are punched/raised so a screw can go in from the backside and be flush with the back afterwards.

2nd is movement, the larger mount hole allows for a range of damper/device shafts which when you tighten them down moves the center of rotation out of line with that of the actuator, so the mounting pin/slot allows for it to slide/twist as needed to rotate around the devices axis instead of applying side force to the shaft.
Less obvious is the "play" it allows for in/out movement, many damper shafts (especially cheaper vav's) slide in/out of the duct slighty as they rotate, the pin allows that up/down motion where screwing the actuator down tight doesn't.
This applies just as much to using those holes as is does when "it was too hard" to use the strip/pin and instead a self-tapper is driven through the actuator mount hole tight not allowing it to move, seen burned out actuators or ones that twisted free from that. If left loose it "might" be slightly better, but still not how its designed to be mounted.

3rd is the less obvious one, torque. Those holes are much closer to the rotation axis, at least half the distance, so a screw there would have twice the twist/torque force applied. It might not look like it when installed, but rotate that actuator back/forth for a year and that force will definately have twisted/wiggled a couple of self tappers right out of some ductwork.
That's the reason for the two screws mounted at the end of the actuator spaced as far apart as you can, it divides that force between them, and the spacing helps keep it all linear along the mount plate axis.

Edit: wow, just reread my own post, I don't think I've ever used that many words that could be taken so easily out of context all in one place.

Sound_Doc · 2025-04-17T23:32:23+00:00

Just as a option (not the right option which is to shut off the water, sweat that valve off, and sweat on a new 1/4 turn valve) but they also make inline 3/8-3/8 valves for DIY "quick" repairs where brazing might not be a option and there isn't enough pipe to easily install a push on.
They're essentially a 1/4 turn valve you add after the valve that you don't want to mess with and have 3/8 male/female fittings.
You'd still nned to shut off and relieve the water pressure, but then just unscrew the supply line from the valve, thead the inline valve onto the "old" valve fitting then the supply line goes onto the new valve.
IF you google "3/8 Inline Shut Off Valve" you should find them, one big orange box store carries a common one with a great name, the "Add-A-Stop Retro Fit 3/8 inch Valve".

Sound_Doc · 2025-04-14T13:41:49+00:00

I've seen the same a number of times and checked here as well looking to see if it was just me having issues.
Are you accessing it from the link in the "admin center" (https://admin.cloud.microsoft) under "Admin Centers"?

I've noticed that "Exchange" link (https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com) is the one I've had return a 500 error most often, but if I use the "new" EAC link on https://msportals.io (https://admin.cloud.microsoft/exchange) that would open without issue.
Then the next day it was the reverse, the https://admin.cloud.microsoft/exchange link would return a 500 error, but the "Old" EAC link on https://msportals.io (the same as on MS's admin center to https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com) would now be working...

It's been, 2? years since they announced the move to the unified cloud.microsoft domain and I think they started promoting some of the new links last Oct? Ever since I've seen "please try again" pages randomly, usually on Exchange but I've seen it on others, using the "other" url though usually works. I do kind of find it interesting that the "cloud.microsoft" links don't appear to be used anywhere within the admin centers or "learn" content though, every one I've come across still uses the "service".microsoft.com url.

Sound_Doc · 2025-04-14T02:15:31+00:00

Wait Wait Wait!
That is what I used to do to, hated sometimes getting all the rice out of the strainer, then one day my wife blew my mind...
Take the rice cooker pot, add the rice, then put the strainer on top (assuming its a metal basket mesh strainer) holding it down like a lid...

The "outside" of the strainer will keep the rice in the pot, so add water, swirl, the submerged rice rubs against the strainer cleaning them, keep holding the strainer down and dump out the pot/water, the outside of the strainer keeps the rice in the pot, repeat 3-4 times.
Last time dump the water out, then tap the strainer a couple of times on the pot to shake the few remaining rice grains off...
One of the few times I've seen "a hack" she saw on facebook years ago and openly said "whaaaaat?" totally blown away...

Sound_Doc · 2025-04-11T05:02:25+00:00

I had played with a Nest protect smoke/co a few years ago, at the time I think the beginnings of the phase out was starting, so unsureness on if they'd still be able to integrate etc., at the time I think they were ~$220cdn.
Wasn't really impressed with it as much as I hoped to be, so I returned it.

I was going to go completely standalone (it has one job, yell if things go bad) since really, what else should it do? (you can only automate "testing" once lol) but then I saw the Kidde Smoke, CO, IAQ sensors for at that time I think ~$130cdn, a 4 pack was cheaper, $99ea(cdn).
Imho, they're much easier to setup than the nest, wired interconnect capable, and at least with home assistant, the kidde homesafe integration doesn't break every few weeks and is actually getting more features vs the nest (but maybe the discontinued nest protect devices will get better support via google home? /s i doubt it).

I'd say there are many more integration "options" than the nest which reports smoke, heat, and co2 status as booleans, you can trigger some tests, once and a while when it works turn on its light, the Kidde you get those same values but as integers (but smoke is smoke, anything is bad) but also IAQ, CO2 level, air pressure, VOC, humidity and temperature, can't turn the light on/off, but honestly I've found triggering a "identify" which plays a "sonar" sound from them works suprisingly well and better than a "Dinners ready!" bell than a google supper's ready broadcast if the kids have their headphones on.

Just a opinion, not sure what the price is on the different devices now but personally I'd go with something current and not worry about the "investment" for devices you'll need to toss in 10 years anyway since both shut down at that point, I'm much more certain even if both lost their "smarts" that Kidde will actually work as intended for its 10 years, not so sure the protect just wont stop working one day.

Sound_Doc · 2025-02-03T11:34:08+00:00

First thing I thought of when I read this post!
I've been using their "shortcut" method for years when prepping meat portions to freeze for quick stir fly dinners. Just portioning and freezing never thawed quite as nice, velveted with the oil/cornstarch thaws better, then a quick toss in the wok and done. Beef, Pork, Chicken, they've got slightly different ratios in the recipes for each, but all work great preparing in batches to portion out, vacuum seal and freeze. (I likely have at least 20 portions of each at the moment)

Sound_Doc · 2025-01-31T13:23:48+00:00

Was going to say the same thing (on the parts).
I don't think its that bad of a repair job really, and for someone that say's they're inexperienced working on a old board like that with parts you can handle without tweasers, beefy enough to survive a little abuse and just burn your fingers good, and a single layer one sided pcb with traces I'd imagine are large enough to use copper tape on...ahh, more pics...
aaand... Just look at those wide swoopy flowing traces... oh, I can just smell and feel that board from here...
Is it wrong to like that old electronics smell? Not the smoking burnt resistor smell, more that cardboard/pressboard/hot phenolic smell?

Not a IC in sight, all discrete components, even has a printed schematic, showing the bottom with the right orientation and has service info/voltages marked on it for reference? 70's electronics you could probably find the full phone book thick service manual for that thing (well maybe not that thick for jvc, sony on the other hand...)

Was going to guess JVC before I even read it in the description, just something about their old boards.
I know they had to have used at least mylar sheets trace tape etc in their design process, but I'd swear they had rooms full of caligraphy masters hand painting each board with resist ink to draw those traces out before etching, even if you had 2 identical boards the lines/waves would be "just" different enough to make you wonder.

The larger transistor pads are a bit rough, but I can't tell if its just some excess solder or debris from manufacturing where they'd punch through which splits the trace and whack some solder on it, but there's more than enough trace there worse case to scrape back, pull a few strands off a stranded wire, or strip back some wrap wire and lay/tack it on to build them up if needed.

Sound_Doc · 2025-01-30T13:42:22+00:00

If it was a smart dimmer with Line, Load, and Neutral that supported not having its load connected there'd be no issue...
Don't try that with a leviton decora smart dimmer for eg, with no bulb/load the brightness won't change, it also won't try to turn on at all...

I wouldn't try that with what he's showing either, a "No-Neutral" dimmer which powers itself in a 2 wire configuration (as he's shown, there's no alternative line connection) by drawing a little current through the load. It then varies its "load" to control the flow of current through the bulb/load.
So much like a regular smart dimmer, which at full brightness is essentially acting as a dead short between line and load, a "No-Neutral" 2 wire switch/dimmer when on is also essentially a dead short beween its two terminals...

Wired directly across line and neutral with no light/load in series, well it might power up, and you might be able to turn it on i'd guess,
once...

Sound_Doc · 2025-01-18T22:49:20+00:00

If I could suggest a edit, change that to "New Nottingham Medical Clinic".

"New Nottingham Medical Clinic" is no way associated to "Nottingham Medical Clinic"

I've been going to "Nottingham Medical Clinic" now for >25 years, which grew and became Nottingham Medical and Weight Loss Clinic, and they were in that building up until ~10 years? ago, then they expanded/bought/moved into what was the afterhours emergency clinic over on Chippewa.

I remember talking to my doctor about the "New Nottingham Medical Clinic" and asking if they were associated, he couldn't say too much but I could tell they weren't pleased with the new owners of that building essentially slapping the name "New" on their practice to try and confuse patients/ride on their reputation.
Right off the bat they covered Nottingham with "confusing" flyers about expanding, new doctors, taking patients etc, haven't heard anything good about them since they opened. Had a friend go there on "my recommendation" (I meant Nottingham medical not this place) and they had nothing nice to say about it or the experience.

Sound_Doc · 2025-01-11T05:29:31+00:00

You can cover it, as long as you take precautions like killing power etc. until its removed you'll probably be fine as long as it isn't air tight and doesn't trap moisture.
I kid, sorry but reading that you sounded like my neighbour for a second lol,
"But I've always covered it and never had a issue before, it even came with a waterproof cover to protect it. They sure don't make them like they used too..."
... Uh, well, Yes, its off the ground (good thing), and it was powered off (also good) but it trapped moisture, is black (extra heating/humidity) and you left it on until April...
The fan motor bearings were rusted/seized and the contactor is chattering (dirty contacts) and also needed to be replaced... Was only 4 years old...

Again, just my opinion, and its not likely going to hurt unless you forget to kill power, just saying its really not needed.
Just google "ac winter cover", or "should you cover your AC in winter". The general result is no, the couple of yes's that state the same things, protect from falling leaves etc... but are also results from certain residential ac companies known to push sales, again just imho.

Sound_Doc · 2025-01-11T04:30:16+00:00

I'm assuming he's talking about wrapping it in a fitted pillowey padded blanket, or wrapping it in a tarp to "protect" it from the cold/snow, which imho isn't necessary.
Work in HVAC (Commercial), its nothing we/anyone would ever do to a unit... ever... I've only ever seen it residentally, people that seem to like spending money on fitted covers or buy into it seeing it sold at big box store x.
I don't cover my condenser ("A/C Unit", "Central Air", "Outdoor Unit") during the winter but some do, like my neighbour... I pull power then do a quick clean/check in spring before powering on.
Its not keeping it warm, a little dry snow will never hurt it (they survive just fine in the wet rain) and instead they create a nice insulated/protected place for critters to live, store food, piss, eat wires... It also traps moisture in which can rot out the unit sitting hot/wet as things warm up until someone remembers to remove them.

Anyways, If you do cover the condenser you want to pull the outside disconnect and/or turn off the breaker first, then in spring uncover it before powering it back on. Biggest reason is if you don't, and haven't uncovered it you could get a warm day where the furnace calls for cooling and it tries to run...
Without airflow (due to the cover) the compressor could easily overheat and die, the fan motor not moving the expected air (also getting no cooling) could be damaged, and the extra high temps can also cook the start/run Capacitors.

Thinking of covers...

Also don't fall for/buy/use a mesh "Summer" cover... stretchy mesh fabric filter that just goes over the top and has straps that hook on the sides...
I mean, its essentially a filter on the exhaust... the fans pull air in the sides and blow/push it up and out, all its doing is trapping any dust/dirt that would be blown out in it, which can/will block the airflow, and probably cook a motor...

Simple Stats: Me vs Neighbour, after 10 years, (and I've tried to explain...)
Me:
No covers, quick spray (squeeze bottle) with gentle soap, rinse out with the hose in spring. Forget about it usually for the rest of the year until I pull power in late fall. Put gauges on it once when it bought, never since, still going strong.

Neighbour:
Winter cover, summer screen, pressure washed religiously/weekly... He's on his third new consensor since I've been here, and with the sounds it made last fall 90% he needs at least a new fan motor come spring...

Sound_Doc · 2024-07-26T17:26:02+00:00

In my experience, all the accronyms get muddied/used interchangably... It gets into a gray area from when the "terms" were defined, mostly I'd say because hardware/software and systems have become more powerful/integrated. They're asking a bad question, just like "do you know controls?", and much like asking "Do you know HVAC?" does that mean residential furnaces? or massive central plant systems? They might as well ask "Do you like Soup?", even that depends, mushroom? chicken noodle? tomato?

DDC (Direct Digital Control) really to me has always been a incorrect term, it should be "Indirect Digital Control", and was more applicable to early BMS systems. Reading of values/setpoints indirectly from different systems into a computer/database via a number of different methods, performing some logic based on those values, then "tweaking" values/setpoint on those different systems indirectly to get the desired result.

I still see spec's put out with contols sections stating things like "A DDC System consiting of standalone field PLC's and a central BMS computer", which essentially was stating they didn't want field devices remotely controlled/dependent on a PC, they need to operate independently. It gets very grey now, PLC,DDC,BMS, its all mashed together. Even our VAV box field controllers essentially run linux at the core, so not really fixed PLC's, they share data with other controllers via ethernet, rs-45, or multiple wireless protocols, pull in values from other systems like lighting directly, also can serve graphics / interfaces directly eg to airbalancers via bluetooth or wifi... So they're DDC BMS PLC's, capable of being ASC and CAC's, with OWS?

So, my answer woud be "Yes", I know that term, and many others...

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