A Personal Timeline of Mobile Telecom Generations

People talk about how 5G is here and the how everyone should dream about it.

Based on my history with mobile phone tech, I call BS. Industry-driven engineering and deployment finances have nothing to do with the reality of making a service widely available to customers. It takes many years to deploy to a level where it impacts most customers.

I don't have a 5G phone yet, and that's because 5G deployment is in its early infancy, with no mature handsets on the market and ridiculously limited tower deployments. I'm sure that'll change once the mobile phone companies experience increasing failure of their legacy equipment in the field.

The LTE rollout was a mess, with VoLTE maturing years after LTE rolled out. Let's hope the 5G deployment isn't as awful.

My Timeline of Mobile Deployments

2G........: 11 Years, 1997 - 2008

3G........: 04 Years, 2008 - 2012

4G........: 06 Years, 2012 - 2018

4G (VoLTE): 05 Years, 2018 - 2023?

5G........: ?? Years, 2023? - 2034?

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair. Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator. Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way. Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver. I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...

Sodastream Carbonator Leakage, Usage, and Weight

SodaStream 60L "Carbonator" CO2 cylinders have a specific weight when empty, plus about 410 or so grams for the CO2 they should have when they're "full". A little while ago I went to buy a replacement Carbonator from my local hardware store. The dealer pulled a new Carbonator out of the box and sensed it was lighter than usual. He put the "light" Carbonator in the "empty" pile and sold me a different one. At that moment I concluded that it would be smart of me to weigh both new and empty SodaStream carbonators. Here are the results. Weighing a SodaStream Carbonator - for both Science and Consumer Protection. The dealer told me that sometimes the carbonators leak after they leave the SodaStream filling facility. That means there could be an opportunity for customers like me to get ripped off! The SodaStream cylinders I buy claim to have a net product weight of 410 grams - and that means that a full Soda Stream Carbonator shou...

Fixing my Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer

Not everyone would bother repairing a $25 beard trimmer, but why not fix something for under $5 instead of spending another $25? My Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer has admirably performed its beauty duty for many years, but the time came when the battery just wasn't holding a charge any more. Most people would just put the trimmer in the trash and buy a new one, but I figured I could repair my otherwise excellent Wahl and save some money. In fact, even high priced trimmer and rotary shaver brands, like Norelco and Remington, can be easily repaired using a process similar to the one I used to fix my Wahl. Read on to find out how. I opened up the Wahl by popping off the black plastic faceplate with a tiny flathead screwdriver, which revealed two screws. By removing the two screws I was able to easily open up the unit, revealing the guts of the device. Backplate off, Revealing the screws The internals are rather simple: a motor, a...

Macintosh: Upgrading an eMac

It's been a long time since I wrote this article, but the fact remains: The good old eMac can still be useful if you take the simple steps to keep it as good as it can be. All can run Tiger, and most can run Leopard - great operating systems for their day with a bit of useful life. This article describes the procedure I used to upgrade my old eMac, including: Replacing the internal hard disk with a large capacity drive. Increasing the memory for performance Upgrading the operating system Here I'm upgrading a 700 MHz eMac, but the procedure and tasks for upgrading other eMac models should be almost identical. Upgrading versus Replacing My sister's eMac is of the 700 mhz variety, with 256 MB of memory. The machine seemed to be getting "slower", and the original 40 GB disk was becoming jammed packed with photos and iTunes, and within a few months she'd be out of disk space. There were two options to address the problems: upgrade the eMac, or go o...

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, Repair #2 - Broken Fill Button

My Soda Stream Jet's fill button broke, which means I can not longer carbonate water by pressing the pushbutton. This caused all sorts of grief in my household. Here is how I managed to repair my Jet to give it another 10 years of life (hopefully). First, a look at the button The fill button on the top of the SodaStream is actually a simple lever. Pressing down on the button moves a pin that does the actual work of pressing open the Carbonator's valve. Unfortunately, the axis point is fairly thin and can see a lot of stress. That's where my Soda Stream button cracked. [ I think the usage tip here is "don't over-press the button like a gorilla, it doesn't do anything but put high stress on the button."] Cracked levering point of the button The Pesky Lever Retaining Pin The Fix It was pretty easy for me to replace the button: Take off the back of the Soda Stream and remove the carbonator. Push out the the button lever's steel retaining pin. This takes qu...

Leaving Sprint for Huge Cost Savings

So my friend is under a Sprint contract, and it's killing him. He pays $145 a month for service for two lines, and he has 8 months left on his contract. That is $1745 a year! He came to me because he wanted to upgrade his phones - he has two iPhone 5c's with 8 GB of storage - not enough - and so he was thinking of signing up with Sprint for another two years to get "new phones". Stop! Stop the contracts! $1745 a year is a LOT OF MONEY. So we have THREE problems: He is under contract for 8 more months, at $145 a month. He has two phones that are too limiting for his day-to-day use He has two phones that are locked to the Sprint network We have FOUR goals: Reduce money being sucked out the door Get phones that are not so limiting Get phones that are not locked exclusively to Sprint Get out of any "contracts" Stage 1: New phones! So our first step is to get new phones - phones that will work with Sprint or any other carrier. Well, not ...

The Lance J. Technoweb

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