You were watching TV then the screen goes black. The most likely is that a capacitor blew on your TV's power supply board. Not to worry. It can be easily fixed.
Do you know what a bad capacitor looks like? A capacitor will bubble up on the top. See images to get a better understanding. you know what bad capacitors look like. Your first step is to
unplug the TV then remove the back cover and access the power
supply. Now you can get a visual of the capacitors in order to see what
shape there in; I say to unplug the TV first not just because of the
electrical hazard but also the newer TVs sometimes have a kill switch
installed. If you try to open the back with it still plugged it will
shut the TV down indefinitely; and you will only be able to turn it back
on with a special field service code. YOU DID WHAT!!!. Some Pioneer
plasma TVs are known for this.
Just
so everyone knows I’m not an electronics tech, but I would say I’m an
avid troubleshooter/tinkerer. I’m the type of person that has to know
why something is broke, and what the reason is.Im also a firm believer
in the right tools and the proper approach to fixing anything.There is
always a right way.Dont take short cuts.I also can’t stand to see
perfectly good items tossed or thrown aside because of a possibly simple
fix. Perhaps if it isn’t so simple as long as it doesn’t cost a lot of
money, why not fix it? Also at the time of this article the state of the
economy does not seem to be getting much better;and it seems like more
and more people are holding off purchasing new items in exchange for
fixing what they have,or just going without non-essentials altogether.It
also appears we have enough electronics and appliance in the local
dumps around the world why unnecessarily ad to it?
Piles of TVs
Anyhow
I have ran across this problem many times and have fixed several
electronics items such as TV and computers just by knowing the
symptoms and going right to the problem.People have tossed some really
good items away thinking they were broke or unfix-able and I have taken
them home and fixed them for less the 5 dollars, most of the time. Here
is a short video that I thought was well done showing the condition of
bad capacitors. Some are barely noticeable while others are leaking and
decomposing.
After the back panel is off,
look at the capacitors in and around the power supply. Mark all those
with a marker that need replacing. Now look at the side of the capacitor
to see what type it is. There are many types and strengths. The type
you will be replacing is “electrolytic capacitors” these are usually
made of aluminum casing that have a small amount of fluid in them to
allow them to hold a charge. They will have two small wire stems coming
out of the bottom that will be used to solder it to the board. The
important numbers are the UF and the voltage; for example I just
replaced some capacitors that were 820uf and 16volt. Yours will more
than likely be different.
After you know what you need to
purchase, buying online is usually the only way I found what I needed in
the area of electronic components. I have gone to radio shack for
capacitors in the past and they have never had what I needed off the
shelf. They usually carry very general, low capacity items,such as you
would find inside a radio...imagine that Radio Shack carrying components
for radios... preposterous!!!
Or you can try www.Newark.com they have fairly inexpensive components.
Capacitors don’t cost very much, for this type of thing it is usually a dollar or two each, plus shipping.
Jargon.vbs is a virus like the other viruses 1) the replication code 2) the payload
The job of a virus is to go forth and multiply (replication code) and do something (payload)
So
essentially, if your calculator software makes copies of itself onto
different directories. it can technically be referred to as a virus.
There are thousands upon thousands of computer viruses in the wild. Since Man is an OC animal, he tends to categorize them.
1) virus - generic term for a program that makes copies of itself
2) trojan - a virus that pretends to be a different program.
3) worm - a virus that actively looks for computers to infect. yes, by itself. It's like well, a worm..
4) adware - a virus who's payload is to show/popup ads
5) malware - trojan version 2. it does something useful but does harm in the background. they should've called it politician.
6) jokeware - a vius who's payload is a prank.
Sooner
or later, your PC will be infected by a virus. The damage will depend
on the payload the virus has. It's not an IF, but a WHEN. No antivirus
can block every virus since the disease must come before the cure
(unless it's a conspiracy. See Outbreak movie).
Always always
always have a backup of your important files. It's not the technician's
fault if your files are gone. The only virus proof computer is the one
that you don't turn on.
Here’s how you can remove JARGON.VBS from your computer and your infected flash drives.
Run
the Flash_Disinfector.exe. Explorer will close (your desktop will
disappear leaving you with windows of currently running programs) and
restart. This will have stopped the script.
Now you’ll have to
delete the malware files so your system won’t get infected again, to do
this you need to display hidden files.
Open My Computer.
Select the Tools menu and click Folder Options.
Select the View Tab.
Under the Hidden files and folders heading unselect Do not show hidden files and folders.
Browse your flash drive (DON’T CLICK AUTOPLAY or you’ll run the malware again) and remove the following files:
autorun.inf
jargon.vbs
wscript.exe
Repeat this step for all infected drives.
Go to C:/Windows and delete
jargon.vbs
Congratulations, you’ve removed that annoying malware
ireless Tethering is
one of the main things I searched for in a smart phone. I specifically
bought a wifi only Xoom because I knew I could just tether it to my
phone. When I switched to the droid 3 believing it would come unlocked
it was like a kick in face.
Recently I came across a thread from
Team Black Hat describing a way of enabling free tethering on Verizon
without root. In their write up they provide . Useless for us as we
don't have root, or a recovery, but it got me thinking. All credit for
this goes to Team Black Hat. They rock, I really hope they are working
on rooting the droid 3 because they are android gods.
I'm not
going to go too in depth here, because if you screw up you have the
possibility to brick your pretty new device. Also, It goes against your
TOS with Verizon, and who knows one day they might work out a way to
tell who is doing this. The more people who know and use this trick,
the more likely it is they will find some way of detecting and or
closing the hole.
But I couldn't help but make an instructable
out of this loophole! So with the standard disclaimer (I'm not
responsible for anything you do, anything that comes of something you
do, blah blah, you know the deal) I will outline the steps required to
enable free tethering on our wonderful Droid 3s and possibly other
phones too!
Step 1: Step 1
1st.
You need the most recent drivers for your computer so that your
computer can see your phone. You can get them off the Motorola website,
same as if you were going to use adb or RSDlite. The file I downloaded
from the moto support site was called
MotoHelper_2.0.49_Driver_5.0.0.exe. and its free!
Step 2: Step 2
2nd.
You need a copy of Radiocom. Radiocom is a piece of software thats
supposed to be for moto employees only and allows you to read and write
data directly to your software radio. You need to search the internet
for it, because its a copyrighted file I can't post it for you. You
need to find the latest version. The best version I found was
RadioCOmm_v11.11.11_Install.msi - You also need the .net framework
installed on your computer. You can get that from Microsoft's site for
free.
Microsoft gives free updates and software for Framework
Step 3: Need a USB cable and your phone ( mine is a droid 3 )
step 2-A. You need a droid USB cable and a droid 3.
Now... crack a beer or soda if your under 21 and lets get down to business.
1. Install the moto drivers and the .net framework. Install Radiocom. It will give you all sorts of errors, but it will install.
2.
Next, find it under your start menu. Right click on it, and select
"trouble shoot compatibility" I just ran with the suggested settings.
Basically what this does is run the application under XP compatibility
mode. Now take a sip of beer, you are gonna get some error messages but
don't tweak.
a. You will still get the first screen that says do
you want ot the following program from an unknown company to make
changes on your computer - check yes.
b. it will say Motorola
data-card drivers 1.5.9 : this installation is intended for 32-bit os
versions only.please use the 64bit version on this machine. click okay.
c.
Installation incomplete: the installer was interrupted before moto data
card drivers 1.5.9 could be installed. You need to restart the
installer to try again. hit close.
d. Warning: Motorola Datacard
Driver installation package version mismatch. the version supplied with
this tool does not match the installed version on the machine. WE
cannot guarantee proper radio enumeration unless you install the latest
version. the installation package will start again the next item this
tool is started. Click OK
e. This version of RadioCOmm is more
that 2 months old. This version may be out of date. Please visit the
PDO compass webpage and download the latest version of RadioComm. -
Click OK.
Step 4: Here come the tricky part ,depending on the 32 bit or 64 bit version of windows 7
This part varies depending if your running windows 32 bit or 64 bit version of windows 7
Radiocom
will start you will have to select the Chipset at start: I selected
CDMA 1x (MSM 7500) w/ Android. I don't know if this is the best or most
accurate one. I actually spent 45 minutes trying to search for exactly
what our chipset base was... but I decided to be brave (or stupid) and
went with this one and it worked. after it boots, Under settings in
radiocom, USB, Select PST USB Driver.
Just to note\-I tried it first on a 32 bit version and was unsuccessful , then I tried it on 64 bit version and it worked and really fast
Here's a link to what the radio comm software should look like http://www.mydroidworld.com/forumimages/RC_Tether_1.jpg
Step 5: PLEASE! be careful!(If u dont u can brick ur phone,so i heard!)otherwise its super easy
Now,
Connect your droid 3 to your computer and put it in PC mode. If you
installed the drivers correctly you should get this cool little screen
showing your phone and telling you some info about it that pops up from
motos software. in radiocom software in the upper right of the screen
right under the RC logo, the lgiht should turn green to show the phone
is connected. You can test by pushing the GET button under the SW
version. It should return your Android software version. DON'T PUSH ANY
OTHER BUTTONS. YOU COULD REALLY SCREW SOMETHING UP.
Now a little
background, you can read TBH's awesome explanation, but the quick and
dirty one is that moto's software radio uses three different 128 char
string identifiers for data requests. Thats how they can tell the
difference between your phones web browser asking for data, and a
laptop or Xoom connected to your phone asking for data. We are going to
use Radiocom to make all three strings match the first string - so all
data appears to be just for the phone. After doing so - your verizon
installed hotspot app will work and the usb tethering option will too!
ta da
Step 6: If you have any questions or cant find the software i can help you out al little
If you have any questions or cant find the software i can help you out!
PS This SH*T works and its saving me 20.00 a month and I didn't even have to root my phone to do it !!!!
Not
very long ago, prank calling consisted of a room full of bored teens, a
rotary phone and a phone book flipped open to the “pizza delivery”
section of the Yellow Pages. You’d pick straws to choose who went first,
and then take turns seeing who could make the funniest prank call.
However,
the rapid advancement of VOIP technology has led to an interesting
integration between the Internet and phone lines. That integration now
provides teens with prank call websites and other Internet technologies
that make prank calls not only easier and more anonymous, but even
completely automated.
How Prank Call Websites Work
If
you consider how making a call from a VOIP application like Skype
works, this process is much the same. When you dial a landline number
from Skype, your call travels through what’s called an IP gateway that
transfers data from the Internet to phone networks. In fact, more and
more phone companies are switching over to IP telephony, making the
entire line between “landlines” and “VOIP” even more vague.
MakeUseOf covers VOIP technologies often, such as Finding the Cheapest VOIP Calling Rates or Charnita’s article on The Best Sites For Making International Telephone Calls.
Another aspect to VOIP are applications where instead of initiating the
call yourself, you have the computer do it for you. And whenever you
have the computer do anything, an entire world of possibilities open up
such as scheduling calls or playing music or hilarious sounds and
voices.
If you and your friends are
the type that likes to poke a little fun at each other, using the
following prank call websites on your friends is sure to give them a
good laugh.
Bored.com – An Automated Prank Call
One of the simplest websites for making prank calls is Bored.com,
which is basically a website for bored people, filled with categories
like videos, games and humor. Under the “dumb” category, Bored.com
offers this tool where you can enter the phone number to call, the
number that you want to show up on Caller ID, and what you want the
automated message to say.
Once
you submit the information, Bored.com’s computer system places a VOIP
phonecall to the number that you specified. The system utilizes
text-to-voice technology, so that when your friend answers the call,
your message is repeated in a digitized voice. There are a few things to
take note of here; first, this particular tool allows you to make just 3
calls a day (from your IP anyway), and second, don’t even bother typing
in any vulgar or curse words – vulgarity is filtered and your call
won’t be made. This site could be a riot for a group of friends who
occasionally want to fire off a prank call to each other containing some
inside joke or really funny quote.
MyPhoneBlaster – Blast Them With an MP3
If a computerized voice reading off your message just doesn’t cut it for you, then consider MyPhoneBlaster,
a free service that lets you send an MP3 sound file to someone’s phone
number. The sound file can be anything at all, from a song clip to a
voice recording that you create yourself.
The
only limitations for the free calls on this site are that the files
need to be under 8MB, and the call will only allow 30 second clips.
Personally, I think a full half of a minute is more than enough to put
together a hilarious MP3 that a friend will get a kick out of. I have a
few friends who would really get a kick out of a 30 second clip from the
movie Office Space, or from the TV show King of the Hill. Of course, then they’d immediately know it’s from me.
PrankDialier – Just Pick A Sound and Send
Now, if you really don’t have time to put together a sound file of your own, PrankDialer
is a fun option. It’s also one of the few free services that offers
non-US service to select countries. All you have to do is select one of
the pranks and type in the phone number that you want the service to
call. The pranks range from various song clips to some pretty comical
clips.
One
of the funniest clips I found in this decent sized selection is one
called “David after the Dentist.” Basically, the clip is an audio of
this 9 or 10 year old kid who just left the dentist’s office. He’s still
feeling a bit drugged up – possibly either from the novocaine or
laughing gas. The kid really starts to freak out. At first he just says,
“I see two fingers. Okay now I see four fingers… I can’t see anything!”
And then, he lets out an ear-splitting panic-attack scream that – I’m
telling the absolute truth here – had me on the floor in stitches for a
full ten minutes. Funniest clip ever.
Wakerupper – Using a CallBack Service
Another method people use to make prank calls on the Internet is by using one of the many free callback services, such as the ones Aibek reviewed, that have sprung up all around the Internet ever since free VOIP calling became viable and popular. One of those is Wakerupper,
which is a lot like the automated prank call sites above that used a
digitized voice, except with this site you can schedule the call at some
point in the future.
While
the service was intended as a tool people can use to schedule birthday
wishes or to remind yourself about an important appointment, obviously
it can also be used as a free prank call website that let’s you schedule
exactly when the call will be placed. This is perfect if you have
friends who are on different time zones and really don’t want to fire
off an Internet prank call and wake them up at two in the morning.
There’s funny, and then there’s just plain rude.
When a Prank Call Goes Over the Line
For
many kids, making prank calls is just a part of growing up. For adults,
prank calling friends is a really fun way to keep in touch with people
in a hilarious way. However, these services also allow people additional
anonymity and security – which makes it more comfortable to cross over a
dangerous line. In fact, some things can get you arrested in many
countries – such as prank calling 911 or the police, calling in bomb
threats, and threatening or harassing people. Just this year, a teenage boy was arrested
by the FBI for “prank calling” bomb threats to North Carolina schools
in order to shut them down for a day. So, prank calls are fun, but
remember to use common sense whenever using any of these free sites.
Have you ever made or received VOIP prank calls? Tell other MakeUseOf readers about it in the comments section below.
Well in my opinion, I would call it a legal scam. Talk Fusion is a legal company. But the Time and Money put in Vrs the Payout is small. Make sure you read all the fine print and do your homework before you sign up. I would like to also mention that Youtube offers the same services for FREE. Also do some research on Bob Renia, the CEO of Talk Fusion. He is only in business to take your money.
What is Talk Fusion? Talk Fusion is an email video service that does something very clever;
it automatically includes your video image right into the email you send
it along with. The person receiving the mail can watch it simply by
clicking play.
Talk Fusion offers a legitimate opportunity to market a
desperately-needed service and does so at a cost less than half of most
every other home based business opportunity. But is not worth the price.
How much does talk Fusion cost? The start up kit for Talk Fusion
home sales costs $50. Start up kit description: The only requirement to
become an Associate is $50, which provides Associates with 3 marketing
websites to help you build your business. YouTube offers this service for Free.
Before a person is accepted as an independent associate of Talk Fusion,
he/she must acknowledge and agree to the Talk Fusion Associate
Agreement, inclusive of the Policies and Procedures, Terms of Service,
Terms and Conditions and the Refund Policy. Please note that these MUST
be acknowledged these during the application process, pursuant to the
enclosed E-Sign Notice- Consent to Electronic Record- before a purchase
may be made.
IMPORTANT E-SIGN NOTICE - CONSENT TO ELECTRONIC RECORD
E-SIGN,
the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (15
U.S.C. § 7001, et seq.), requires that you consent to entering into an
electronic agreement with Talk Fusion before the agreement is executed.
Please read the following information carefully.
1. To become a Talk
Fusion Independent Associate, you must consent to the use of an
electronic record and must read the Terms and Conditions of the
Independent Associate Agreement, Talk Fusion's Policies and Procedures,
and the Marketing and Compensation Plan from Talk Fusion's official web
site at www.talkfusion.com, and electronically acknowledge that you have
read these documents.
2. To access these documents and submit
your online application, you will need the following hardware and
software: A Personal Computer (PC) with modem or other Internet access
device and operational Internet browser software (e.g., Netscape
Communicator or Internet Explorer)
3. You may withdraw your
consent to the use of electronic records at any time. However, should
you do so, your Associate Agreement will be automatically terminated and
you will lose all rights to any downline organization (including but
not limited to any property rights you may have), and you will lose all
rights to all remuneration under the Talk Fusion Compensation Plan.
Should you wish to withdraw your consent to the exclusive use an
electronic agreement (and thereby terminate your agreement with Talk
Fusion), or update any of personal information, you must do so by
emailing support@talkfusion.com.
4. You agree that Talk Fusion may
amend the Policies and Procedures, and the Marketing and Compensation
Plan at its sole discretion at any time. You may also access the version
of these documents that were in effect at the time you executed your
electronic agreement. Any outdated documents are archived in Talk
Fusion's administrative backoffice. The most current version of the
Terms and Conditions, the Policies and Procedures, and the Marketing and
Compensation Plan are always available at Talk Fusion's official web
site for viewing, printing and downloading at www.talkfusion.com.
5.
Should there ever be a change in the equipment or software necessary to
access the Terms and Conditions, Policies and Procedures, and the
Marketing and Compensation Plan, Talk Fusion will advise you of the same
and will provide you with a list of the equipment and software that is
necessary. Upon such event, you may voluntarily terminate your agreement
with Talk Fusion.
6. By clicking on I AGREE below, you consent to
use of electronic records evidencing your Talk Fusion Independent
Associate Agreement. If you click on the I Decline box, the enrollment
process will be terminated and you will be returned to the Talk Fusion
home page.
The persons complaints that he/she did not make any
money. Please see the Talk Fusion Income Disclaimer which is prominently
posted on our web site and included in our marketing materials:
Are you tired of the income hype you've heard from other companies?
At Talk Fusion, we believe that you deserve honesty when it comes to everything, including income disclaimers.
Please
note that Talk Fusion is not a get rich quick scheme. For the
overwhelming majority, it is not even a get rich program. In reality,
most people enroll as Talk Fusion Independent Associates simply to buy
the products. Many also enroll in the Talk Fusion income opportunity at
the same time, thinking they might try it eventually; but they never
really apply themselves. In other cases, people lack the skill,
trainability, or diligence necessary for success. In any case, it is
rare for the Talk Fusion Independent Associate to earn any income at
all. The few who will be financially successful will diligently apply
themselves and have, or learn, the sales and leadership skills necessary
to be successful in Talk Fusion. This is the truth in all Multi-Level
Marketing programs. However, most will not admit it and instead choose
to market hype and exaggerated publicity. Be clear that the Talk Fusion
compensation plan is NOT an automatic means to acquire wealth. Like any
other Multi-Level Marketing company, it takes work and skill to earn at
Talk Fusion. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is making a
false claim.
At Talk Fusion, we sell the best video email
products available and we guarantee them. However, we do not guarantee
that you will earn an income. That is because we sell video email
products; we do not, and never will, sell an opportunity driven by hype.
It is also important to note that if hypothetical examples are used in a
Talk Fusion presentation or marketing materials, they are simply to
help you understand how the compensation plan operates. These are
fictional examples and are not in any way a representation of the income
you will make as a Talk Fusion Independent Associate. All examples
given by Talk Fusion are for educational purposes only and are not a
guarantee of income.
If you have any questions about this
information, please call Talk Fusion at +1 813 651 4030 or email us at
support@talkfusion.com.
The Talk Fusion Refund Policy is as follows:
If
any Independent Associate or Customer is unsatisfied with any product
purchase for personal use, Talk Fusion offers a 100% three (3) day
money-back guarantee. Please note that shipping charges and sales tax
are not refundable. Returns in excess of the purchase price of $250 will
be deemed inventory returns and will he handled in accordance to
section 7.2 of the Policies and Procedures titled - Return of Sales Aids
by Associates Upon Cancellation. Returns in excess of the purchase
price of $250 shall also constitute an Associate's voluntary request to
cancel.
"It's a huge day for the nation, it's a huge day for all of our partners
and it's a huge day for the American people," he said. "Everybody in
the morning should be sticking their chests out, saying 'that's my rover
on Mars.' Because it belongs to all of us."
In an unparalleled technological triumph, a one-ton nuclear-powered
rover the size of a small car was lowered to the surface of Mars on the
end of a 25-foot-long bridle suspended from the belly of a
rocket-powered flying crane late Sunday to kick off an unprecedented
$2.5 billion mission.
With flight controllers at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory anxiously watching telemetry flowing in from Mars,
154 million miles away and 13.8 minutes after the fact, the Mars
Science Laboratory rover -- Curiosity -- radioed confirmation of
touchdown at 10:32 p.m. PDT (GMT-7; 1:32 a.m. EDT Monday).
"Touchdown
confirmed. We're safe on Mars!" said mission control commentator Allen
Chen as the flight control team erupted in boisterous cheers and
applause.
"It's just absolutely incredible, it doesn't get any
better than this," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "I was a
basket case in there, I was really on pins and needles.
The target landing zone was the floor of Gale Crater near the base of
a three-mile-high mound of layered rock that represents hundreds of
thousands to tens of millions of years of martian history, a frozen
record of the planet's changing environment and evolution.
While
the rover's exact position was not immediately known, there were no
obvious problems during the dramatic entry, descent and landing and
Curiosity presumably made it down inside a predicted footprint measuring
four miles wide and 12 miles long -- a pinpoint landing compared to
previous missions.
The seven-minute descent to the surface
provided high drama as flight controllers monitored telemetry from the
spacecraft, relayed through NASA's aging Mars Odyssey orbiter. As each
major milestone ticked off, engineers clapped and cheered, increasingly
optimistic as the spacecraft passed one hurdle after another.
Adam Steltzner, the engineer in charge of Curiosity's entry, descent and landing team, reacts to telemetry confirming touchdown.
NASA
"Vehicle
reports entry interface," Chen said as the descent vehicle plunged into
the discernible atmosphere at a blistering 13,200 mph. "At this time it
will begin pressurizing the propulsion system to increase the thrust of
the system. It'll use that for all the maneuvering in the atmosphere
we're about to do... We are standing by for guidance start and the start
of guided entry."
A few moments later: "We are beginning to feel
the atmosphere as we go in here," Chen said. "The vehicle has just
reported via tones that it has started guided entry. At this time, the
vehicle is beginning to steer its way to the target... It's starting its
first bank reversal."
As the spacecraft guided itself through two
banking roll reversals to bleed off velocity as it zeroed in on the
target landing zone, Chen noted "we have seen peak deceleration. We've
passed through peak heating and peak deceleration. It is reporting we
are seeing Gs on the order of 11 to 12 Earth Gs."
Guided entry
then ended as expected and the spacecraft's huge parachute deployed and
inflated as it fell toward Mars at 1.7 times the speed of sound, quickly
decelerating as required.
"Stand by for parachute deploy...
Parachute deploy!" Chen reported as the flight control team applauded.
"Thrusters have been re-enabled, we will control attitude on chute, we
are decelerating. About 10 kilometers (10.2 miles) and descending, we
are at 150 meters per second (335 mph)..."
"We are nine kilometers
(5.6 miles) and descending... We have acquired the ground with the
radar (applause). Heat shield has separated, we have found the ground.
We're standing by to prime the MLE engines in preparation for powered
flight. We're down to 90 meters per second (201 mph) at an altitude of
6.9 kilometers (4.3 miles) and descending."
As Curiosity fell,
Earth dropped below the martian horizon, cutting off simple tones sent
back by the spacecraft to mark major events. But the Mars Odyssey
orbiter continued beaming back an uninterrupted flow of telemetry,
giving flight engineers a ringside seat.
"We're down to 86 meters
per second (192 mph) at an altitude of four kilometers (2.5 miles) and
descending," Chen said. "We have lost tones from Earth at this time,
this is expected. We're continuing on Odyssey telemetry... Standing by
for backshell separation..."
Right on schedule, less than a mile
above the surface, Curiosity and its "sky crane" backpack fell away from
the parachute and backshell and an instant later, eight rocket engines,
two on each corner ignited to stabilize the craft and slow it to a
sedate 1.7 mph.
"We are in powered flight," Chen reported,
prompting more applause. "We're at an altitude of one kilometer (0.6
miles) and descending about 70 meters per second (157 mph)... Down to 50
meters per second (112 mph), 500 meters (1,640 feet) in altitude,
standing by for sky crane... We found a nice flat place, we're coming in
ready for sky crane... Down to 10 meters per second (22 mph), 40 meters
altitude (131 feet)...
"Sky crane has started (applause)...
Descending at about point 75 meters per second (1.7 mph) as expected...
Expecting bridle cut shortly."
One
of the initial images downlinked from Curiosity's hazard avoidance
cameras, showing the rover's shadow on the surface of Mars.
High-resolution pictures are expected later, after extensive tests and
checkout.
NASA
As
Curiosity's wheels settled to the surface, the flight computer sent
commands to cut the cables connecting it to the sky crane descent stage,
which then flew away to a crash landing as planned.
Finally, after checking telemetry and confirming its status, Chen reported "touchdown confirmed. We're safe on Mars!"
Amid jubilant applause and cheers, he added: "Time to see where Curiosity will take us!"
While
engineers did not expect pictures right away, blurry low-resolution
thumbnails from the rover's rear hazard avoidance cameras were
transmitted within minutes of touchdown showing a wheel on the surface
of Mars.
"Odyssey data is still strong," Chen reported. "Odyssey
is nice and high in the sky. At this time we're standing by for
images..."
"We've got thumbnails," someone said.
"We are wheels down on Mars!" Chen reported.
"Oh my God," someone else said in the background.
Exploring
the crater floor and climbing Mount Sharp over the next two years,
Curiosity will look for signs of past or present habitability and search
for carbon compounds, the building blocks of life as it is known on
Earth.
But before the rover's geological fieldwork can begin,
engineers will devote several weeks to carefully checking out
Curiosity's complex systems and testing its state-of-the-art instruments
and cameras.
"I can guarantee you in the days, months and years
from now you'll be hearing an incredible science story," said Project
Scientist John Grotzinger. "The money, two-and-a-half billion dollars,
we don't put it in the rover and send it to mars, we spend it on Earth.
"This
whole enterprise, if you divide by every woman, man and child in this
country, comes out to be the cost of a movie (about $7). I speak on
behalf of all my colleagues in science, that's a movie I want to see!"
John Holdren, President Obama's science adviser, said the landing was a "technological tour de force."
"It's
an enormous step forward in planetary exploration, nobody has ever done
anything like this," he said. "This lander is vastly bigger, vastly
more capable, much more complicated to bring in, many new technologies
had to work in perfect succession and perfect synchronization for this
to happen.
"This is by far the most capable device, set of
instruments, we've put up there for determining whether Mars every could
have supported life. ... We stand to learn a tremendous amount from
this Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory. It's going to do incredible
things." While precise numbers were not expected until the
telemetry could be analyzed, the entry, descent and landing appeared to
follow the EDL team's script without any major problems.
"It
looked extremely clean," said Adam Seltzner, the lead engineer on the
entry, descent and landing team. "Our navigation error was on the low
side of our expectation. ... Our powered flight appears to have been
excellent. We landed with 140 kilograms of fuel reserves out of a total
of 400 kilos we carried in.
"It looked good, in short, good and clean," he said.
The
timing of events in the following description were predicted and may be
slightly different from the actual values, which depended on
atmospheric conditions and other factors. But given the successful
touchdown, the spacecraft lived up to the team's sky-high expectations.
The
Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft consisted of an interplanetary
cruise stage, providing power and communications during the long-flight
out from Earth, and the Curiosity rover, cocooned inside a heat shield
and aeroshell to protect it from the extreme temperatures of atmospheric
entry.
After covering 352 million miles since launch from Cape
Canaveral, Fla., last November, the cruise stage separated from the
lander around 10 p.m. But because of the distance between Earth and Mars
-- 154 million miles -- it took radio signals confirming critical
events 13.8 minutes to reach the flight control team at JPL. That
translated into 10:14 p.m. "Earth-received time."
One minute
later, thrusters fired to stop the entry vehicle's 2-rpm rotation and
the spacecraft re-oriented itself heat shield forward and slammed into
the discernible atmosphere at 10:24 p.m. at an altitude of about 78
miles and a velocity of 13,200 mph. At that point, it was about 390
miles -- seven minutes -- from touchdown in Gale Crater.
The Mars Science Laboratory was the first spacecraft to attempt a so-called guided entry on another planet.
To
control its lift, which allowed Curiosity's flight computer to make a
pinpoint landing, two 165-pound tungsten weights were ejected just
before entry to change the spacecraft's center of mass. During
hypersonic flight, thruster firings controlled the orientation of the
vehicle's "lift vector" to compensate for actual atmospheric conditions
as it precisely controlled its path toward Gale Crater.
The heat shield was expected to be jettisoned about 24 seconds later,
at an altitude of about five miles and a descent rate of 280 mph,
exposing the rover's undercarriage to view.
A sophisticated radar
altimeter then began measuring altitude and velocity, feeding those data
to the rover's flight computer while a high-definition camera began
recording video of the remaining few minutes of the descent.
Six
minutes after entry, now one mile up and falling toward the surface at
roughly 180 mph, the rover and its rocket pack were cut away from the
parachute and backshell, falling like a rock through the thin martian
atmosphere.
An instant later, eight hydrazine-burning rocket
engines, two at each corner of the descent stage, ignited to stabilize
and quickly slow the craft's vertical velocity to less than 2 mph.
About
16 seconds before touchdown, at an altitude of just under 70 feet,
Curiosity was lowered on the end of a 25-foot-long bridle made up of
three cables. As the support and data cables unreeled, the rover's six
motorized wheels presumably snapped into position for touchdown.
Finally,
seven minutes after the entry began and descending at a gentle 1.7 mph,
Curiosity's wheels touched the surface of Mars. Radio confirmation of
landing came in at 10:32 p.m., about 3 p.m. local time on Mars.
Curiosity's
flight computer, sensing "weight on wheels," then sent commands to fire
small explosive devices that severed the cables connecting the rover to
the still-firing propulsion system. Its work complete, the descent
stage flew away to a crash landing a safe distance away.
"We have
three different signals we would use to confirm touchdown and we need
all three of those things to look right before we say so," Steltzner
said earlier Sunday. "One of those is a message from the spacecraft that
says 'I touched down, and this is the velocity I touched down at and
where I think I am.'
"The rover has an inertial measurement unit, a
gyro and an accelerometer set, and we look at that stream to say the
rover's not moving at all, that signal says 'I think I'm on the ground
and I'm not moving.' And the third is, we wait a safe period of time and
confirm we're getting continuous UHF (radio) transmission. And frankly,
that's there to make sure the descent stage hasn't fallen back down on
top of the rover. When all three of those signals are positive, we
declare touchdown confirmation."
Do you know what a bad capacitor looks like? A capacitor will bubble up on the top. See images to get a better understanding. you know what bad capacitors look like. Your first step is to
unplug the TV then remove the back cover and access the power
supply. Now you can get a visual of the capacitors in order to see what
shape there in; I say to unplug the TV first not just because of the
electrical hazard but also the newer TVs sometimes have a kill switch
installed. If you try to open the back with it still plugged it will
shut the TV down indefinitely; and you will only be able to turn it back
on with a special field service code. YOU DID WHAT!!!. Some Pioneer
plasma TVs are known for this.
Just
so everyone knows I’m not an electronics tech, but I would say I’m an
avid troubleshooter/tinkerer. I’m the type of person that has to know
why something is broke, and what the reason is.Im also a firm believer
in the right tools and the proper approach to fixing anything.There is
always a right way.Dont take short cuts.I also can’t stand to see
perfectly good items tossed or thrown aside because of a possibly simple
fix. Perhaps if it isn’t so simple as long as it doesn’t cost a lot of
money, why not fix it? Also at the time of this article the state of the
economy does not seem to be getting much better;and it seems like more
and more people are holding off purchasing new items in exchange for
fixing what they have,or just going without non-essentials altogether.It
also appears we have enough electronics and appliance in the local
dumps around the world why unnecessarily ad to it?
