The Lance J. Technoweb

MilnakSkits S9 Overview The MilnakSkits S-9 is a basic butt set that can be used to test telephone circuits.  It can be found on-line for as little as $20.  It may be sold under various brand names, such as the TelPal S-9 and the Zolicom Testset 100. It has enough features useful to many home owners and small office professionals. It includes a cable with both RJ11 connectors and tip/ring alligator clips. In includes an FSK "caller id" display, which can be useful for diagnostics It includes a standard DTMF keypad It is very compact and easy to carry Limitations Unlike, say, the well-featured Tempo TM-700 , this set does have significant limitations: It does not report directly on faults.  It's up the the user to do diagnostics using different tools. The build quality is weak.  A few drops may render it non-functional. It is, in short, it a convenient low-cost POTS handset with caller-id and a non-traditional cable Replacing the alligator clips with bed-of-nail style...

I love my dishwasher and I want it to last forever. Here is my non-obvious advice for getting a dishwasher to live a long life: Leave the door ajar at least a little, especially after a run. Yes, it looks perhaps a little sloppy to leave the door open a little, but it allows the air inside the dishwasher to dry out.  Leaving the door ajar greatly lowers the humidity inside the dishwasher, greatly slowing down the formation of rust within the racks and other internal components.   It also slows or stops any mold growth. Use a rinse agent This helps keep your dishwasher dry after a run.  Rinse agent is very inexpensive.  Definitely use it, it's very simple and not the nasty chemical some people pretend it is. Use good detergent I like the name-brand pods.  They prevent me from using too much detergent.  Detergent is caustic - just like soap.  Using too much soap isn't a great idea because then it can cake up. Make sure the filters a...

Here is a summary of weird iPhone problems I've personally seen, and suspected cause: iPhone 4S Unreliable WiFi (WiFi function not available) Diagnosis: logic board fault. Potentially requires logic board re-work or replacement. Thoughts: Perhaps caused by a drop.  iPhone 5 Volume Buttons Don't Function Diagnosis: logic board fault (and not the buttons or its cable). Potentially requires logic board re-work or replacement. Thoughts: misbehaving aftermarket charger put out high voltage, damaging logic board. iPhone 6 GPS doesn't work well (or at all). Diagnosis: GPS antenna needs reseating and/or replacement.  I recently fixed this by merely reseating the antenna assembly. Thoughts: Perhaps caused by a drop, or just random. iPhone 6S cell service gives no signal. Diagnosis: cell circuitry dead on logic board. Potentially requires logic board re-work or replacement. Thoughts: Perhaps damaged by hard drop. iPhone 7 bad audio circuit. Diagnosis: logic board ...

I bought a new iPhone 11!  This is my first new iPhone since the iPhone 6 way back in 2014.   I didn't keep the iPhone 6 for 5 years, but only because I was able to upgrade to an "in-the-family" used iPhone 6S last year. I was going to keep my iPhone 6S for another year, but a confluence of events led me to buy a new iPhone 11: (1) I was at the Apple store, and (2) a relative needed a good used, inexpensive iPhone, and my 6S seemed to fit that need best. Anyhow, now I'm in the modern era.  Here are my thoughts: Surprising Likes: Face ID.  It's cool and fast.  It's far better than I expected. Cameras.  The 11's cameras are a big step up from the 6S. Battery life.  Obviously a new, bigger battery performs better than an old, smaller battery. Wireless charging.  This is nice for my night table. Indifferent: I haven't missed the headphone port. Performance is likely fantastic, but as a normal person, my 6S seemed great too. Disl...

Some Lightning-style cables seem to take longer to charge up my devices.  Is it true?  Yes! I buy a lot of aftermarket products (read: cheap knockoff junk), and after a few months I noticed that one of my knockoff iPhone and iPad Lightning cables was really slow at charging. I decided to measure the power delivered over a various collection of Lightning cables, and I can say with near certainty that some knock-off cables result in slow charging. Measuring Lightning Cable Performance I took my 2018 iPad, along with its genuine Apple 12 watt charger and a USB power meter.  I plugged my nearly depleted iPad into this system with various lightning-style cables.  The following table shows what I found after numerous samples.  All numbers are estimated given a few samples. Lightning Cable Performance with Apple 12 watt charger Genuine cable, delivered with an iPad from Apple...: 2.05 Amps Genuine cable, delivered with an iPad from Apple...: 2.10 Amps Gen...

I've been developing my own perfect "cold brew" coffee at home since 2015.  Since then I've developed techniques to improve the flavor and simplify the process. Here's my current recipe: Ingredients Needed: Dark-Roast Coffee Beans Water   Optional: Sugar syrup Equipment Needed: Coffee maker, such as Mr. Coffee Coffee Bean Grinder, such as this model by Bunt A clean bottle or pitcher, with cap Quality Coffee Filters Process: Fill coffee maker with water Put a new, quality paper filter into brew basket Grind beans very finely Put finely-ground beans into filter Turn on machine to start brewing process Turn off coffee maker immediately after brewing.  DO NOT DELAY! Put used grounds and filter into compost bin Let brewed coffee slowly cool to room temperature (roughly 4 hours) Pour contents of brewing carafe into a bottle Put bottle in refrigerator overnight. Enjoy black, or with your favorite additives.  Note that sugar syrups are more...

Aftermarket Brick for my Airport Extreme I have two Airport Extremes, but one was without its power adapter.  It was lost in transport, and Apple-original Extreme AC adapters are very expensive. Instead of having a useless paperweight around, I decided to buy an aftermarket adapter that meets all the specifications. Modern USB power bricks are great, but only recently could they provide enough power for something like a high-end WiFi router.  And sadly, there are many unscrupulous sellers that sell inexpensive "Extreme compatible" bricks for a premium.  I decided that I wanted an affordable adapter. The Specs of the Original The A1202 Power Adapter Specs Label I was lucky enough to have an original Extreme power brick, the Apple A1202 adapter that came with my other Extreme.  I read the specs, I tested it with my multimeter, and I measured the physical connector with my micrometer!  This is what I found: 12 Volts DC 1.8 Amps (per label) Center pin is positi...