wiremunky

Saw this little guy hiding in the mall parking lot. It looked super slick. Very similar to the finish on my Mark 3 so i assume there is a matte clear on it.

My brand new Veto Pro Pac XL showed up today. This tool bag will have an identical set of tools/testers that my XL has. The only difference is that my tools are about 5 years old so the new bag has upgrades! Even the XL has improvements. An important one (to me) is the little velcro circles that hold the strap up and out of the way. My XL doesn’t have those. This sounds like a minor issue but the strap dangling can drive you crazy after a while.

I also upgraded to a Milwaukee M12 Hammer Drill. I carry a full size Milwaukee Hammer Drill and an M12 driver. I decided to combine them for this kit and get the “mini” Hammer Drill. It has the weight of a full size hammer drill but its dimensions are similar to the driver. This will make it much easier when traveling. 1 drill 1 charger.

Lots of other upgrades like a better toner/scissors/security bit set etc. Here are some pics of all the fun i had today.

Updated photo to show the black wheels.

I just got an “URGENT” email. The subject was actually “URGENT” . I got up to let my dog out at 9AM and read the email.

“None of the iPads are controlling the system. We would like to have music going today for Christmas”.

I assume the issue is the network or the crestron processor. I send the client a follow up email at 9:05 asking “check to see if you can access the internet with the study iMac (so i can verify the network and internet is working) and try one of the handheld remotes in any room (to verify if the crestron system is online).

By 9:10 i have my laptop fired up and i am already connected to the clients rack PC. I run an IP scan and find that the crestron processor is offline. I access the controllable power strip in the processors rack and cycle power.

By 9:30 the processor is back online, the system is working and the client is happy. I am in Chicago today sitting in my PJs handling a service call on the east coast. 30 minutes from the first “URGENT” email to the last “WE ARE BACK ONLINE THANKS SO MUCH” reply.

I would like to thank the following for making this magic happen:

Windows 7, Internet Explorer & The Internet!
Dell PC (mounted in rack)
TeamViewer (remote login software)
Middle Atlantic controllable RackLink power strip
My dog Nelle (for waking up right when she did! Good Job, Nelle!)

My last article about embedding emitters glossed over most of the steps and showed off a Xantech product that is no longer available. This update has a lot more detail and describes what to use now that the Xantech Pro product is no longer available.

Back of the cable box.

Security Sticker. Once you remove the back the security sticker gets peeled leaving part of it behind. I used to worry about voiding warranty or getting in to trouble. Then one day i realized that the cable company isn’t organized enough to police the scary security sticker.

Our clients call us for service so i get to the cable box first. If its defective i remove my emitter and put the cable box out for the cable guy when he drops off the replacement. Cable guy and I never see each other again.

A lot of cable & satellite boxes have security screws of some sort. Most are simple like the ones in the photo (star with pin in the middle) but some are more elaborate. Get yourself a set of “Security Bits”. Most kits will have what you need. In some cases ive had to google “security bit for_____ model cable box” because they have an even less common screw head.

Cover is off. Most slide right off. Some may have a clip somewhere.

Some devices have ribbons like this. If they are good quality ribbons i remove them. If they are very thin/fine conductors i might leave the ribbon in place. This makes the rest of the work difficult but not impossible and avoids breaking the ribbon.

Front clip removed. There are always plastic clips all the way around the front clip. I start at one end and work my way around releasing each one until the front clip is free.

Close up of board inside front clip. The screws have to be removed. Note where you take these out of. You will often find more screw locations than screws. This board had 5 screw holes but only 4 screws. 1 at each end and 1 on each side of the front panel buttons. The front panel button area is important to support so that button pushes dont pop the board back.

There are usually clips also. You can use your finger or a small slot screw driver to release them.

The other side of the board. You can see the IR receiver on the left hand side. The shiny black/dark red/purple receiver with the metal X over it. Most IR receivers look just like this. If you dont see anything like this you will need to look at the plastic part of the front clip for a “window”. This should help indicate the location of the IR receiver.

Xantech Emitter. Any emitter will work. This is what i had so this is what i used.

Cracking the shell off. The old xantech emitters were much easier to open. These take a steady hand and lots of patience. I use a razor knife to score each of the 4 sides of the diamond. Then i push the blade in at the bottom while working the two pieces apart. Once i get it separated enough i will use needle nose pliers to start pulling it off.

Eventually the bottom comes off.

Be very careful removing the emitter from the shell. The two conductors can short out if you twist/bend the wire too much.

At this point i look at the back of the chassis for a vent or some sort of entry point. If there is a large enough opening you can thread the emitter through intact. In this case all i found was these tiny slots. I used a small screw driver to bend on to the side to make room for the emitter wire.

Inside of bent slot.

Hot glue gun time. I heat the glue gun up just enough to squeeze glue out. I immediately unplug it at this point. I squeeze a very small drop on to the board. I like to keep it away from the receiver so that it doesn’t melt down under it or around it. This is so i can easily remove the hot glue later if i need to.

I touch the IR emitter to the dab of hot glue. It usually sets very quick. Placement of the IR emitter depends on the component. This component had an open area between the board and the front clip. Some have plastic tube shaped pieces that fit over the IR receiver. They force you to put the emitter in the tube so that the board and clip can be put back together.

Always be aware of how the board and front clip fit together. Make sure that your emitter wire doesn’t get in the way of buttons or screws.

Board is clipped back in place. Emitter wire is threaded through an existing opening.

Front clip reinstalled. Thread the emitter though an open slot. Reinstall the ribbon. Make sure ribbon is fully seated.

Pull the slack out of the wire and make a small bundle. I always try and avoid any moving parts like drive trays or stuff that has heat sinks.

At the back i put a dab of hot glue by the slot. Keep in mind that the glue gun has been cooling and you are adding this dab about 2 minutes after unplugging the glue gun. This helps make it easier to remove. Hot glue and slotted metal/plastic are very difficult to separate.

Letting the glue get cool makes it less likely to push far through the slots. Push the emitter into the dab of glue. This will hold the emitter wire in place so that its not moving back and forth across the rough edge in the metal slot.

You can see that the glue did not squeeze out of the slot.

Since i had to cut the 1/8″ connector off to thread the wire through the small slot…i get to solder. Yay (he says sarcastically). Nothing fancy. Twist wires together.

Tin. Snip about half the length off. Fold to the side. Slide heat shrink over each conductor. Heat. Slide larger heat shrink over both conductors. Heat. Done. Angrily throw soldering gun back in the corner pocket of tool bag.

Install component on rack shelf. This rack is 4 racks over from the control processor so i used 1/8″ extension cables. That is what you see with the white label on it. Emitter connector is yellow.

Rant//

I used to be able to use Xantechs PRO emitters. They had a nice little block that you attached to the shelf or component. Then you used an 1/8″ patch cable to get to the control processor. Like this…

Xantech discontinued the PRO emitter. I heard (from a friend of a friend) that they stopped making it because no one bought them. .

I am part of the CEPRO Blog Mob this year. First round of CEDIA swag Pic below. Thanks CEPRO, Julie Jacobson, URC, RTI, Panasonic and Monoprice!

Follow me on twitter for more CEDIA 2012 coverage.

http://www.twitter.com/39centstamp

My girlfriend has been telling me about these super cute photos from Petco for 6 weeks. She recently called Petco about it and they told her to wait another week…even though they were supposed to arrive within 3 weeks from purchase. Before calling petco directly she called their “straight to voicemail” line 855-pets-111 and never got a call back. Tonight we were talking about it and i decided to google it. I immediately found complaints dating back a couple of months at various “bitch boards” and then i found this at facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PawPrintsPhotographyPortraitsUnleashed.

Apparently some loser named David Myers of DS Myers LTD is headed out of business and taking a bunch of peoples money and photos of their pets with him. One of the posts was from a lady whos dog died recently so not only was she robbed financially…she was robbed of the last photos taken of her best friend. David Myers is officially a douche bag. They closed their facebook account after people started complaining. There are at least 4 photography companies all sharing the same phone number. Petco Portraits, Picture People, Paw Prints, Portraits Unleashed.

If you paid with a credit card you should be able to get your money back. First try complaining in the store you purchased at. Hopefully petco i smart enough to refund your money. If not contact your credit card company to get your refund and then spend at least an hour a day for the next month at every review and complaint site you can find.

Sorry folks if the title of this post misled you . I was talking about wire strippers! Over the years i have seen a lot of posts asking about wire strippers. My favorite has always been the miller 100s. Occasionally i have had to try other brands but none of them measure up. After a recent forum post i decided to dig thru my tool bag and i found 4 pairs from different companies so i decided to post about them.

Yellow = Miller 100
My favorite. Made in Taiwan. This is the first time i had all of them side by side and i realize how much bigger the millers are. Another thing i noticed is that every other pair looks exactly the same.

Red = GB Electric
Made in Usa. These are nice because of the thinner handles they can close up tighter. The major problem with these is that every edge is sharp all the way around the tool. A couple of hours of filing could probably turn these into perfect strippers. I got them on the way to a service call i went to without my tools (was supposed to be off that day). Its like they didnt finish them. Some edges are sharp enough to cut your hand.

Green = Commercial Electric
Chinese made. Green handles are too thich and they are painted with a thick coat of black paint making them super hard to open and close. I tried sanding them down and soaking them in oil for a week but even after they loosened a little the handles still sucked.

Black = Wirepro
Just says “wirepro usa” so not sure where they are made. I actually forgot i had these. I used them for a solid year so they are broken in perfectly. The only problem with these are that the handles are like foam instead of vinyl. The material began to break down and the handles have holes in them and they slide right off.

The reason i love these strippers is because they never get dull…or if they do you never notice it because they don’t have a predetermined cutting depth. You use your finger as a gauge. Once you use them a few times it becomes second nature. They work very well and you can go much faster than you can with other wire stripping tools.