Greg In The Desert

I really like the image quality from my first generation Canon Digital Rebel but I quickly got tired of caring around a big SLR. I have a Canon G9 but it stopped working when it became out of warrantee. I’ve been looking at the 4:3 mini-SLR types cameras but they are expensive and still seem to have issues.

After my Canon G9 died, I vowed to never buy another Canon camera again. Then the G10 and G11 came out with positive reviews, I considered them but they were lacking enough features to reconsider my anti-Canon stance.

At CES last week, Sony annouced the DSC-HX5V camera loaded with nearly every feature I have been wishing for.

• First and foremost, It includes an SD slot. Being forced to use a Memory Stick was enough to keep me from even considering a Sony camera.
• It includes a GPS and Compass. I often carry around a GPS recorder so I can geotag photos later with the coordinates. It’s been a pain and sometimes the GPS doesn’t record. It’s yet to be seen if Sony uses some weird formatting of the GPS data.
• Auto HDR. I don’t have to annoy my friends by making them stay still for those multi shot pictures.
• It records full HD movies in the AVCHD format in 1080i. Why Canon didn’t include this in the G11 is beyond me but it’s something I will use often. It won’t do the 24fps mode of my dedicated HD camera, but i can live with it.

It’s not a SLR but I expect the image quality to be very good. The only missing feature I haven’t read about is if it will shoot in RAW file format. For $350 I will find out unfortunately I will have to wait until March.

I thought the fuse in my Sony rear projection TV was pretty easy to fix but now I have learned that many similar models to mine are failing due to the optical block.

According the website “Sony LCD Rear Projection TV Problems“, every model of Sony TV made between 2003 and 2007 is a subject of warranty extension or class action lawsuit. Most of the issue come from visual anomalies due to the optical block over heating. It can cost up to $1500 to repair the optical block.

Besides having information about the problems on various models, examples and what Sony may or probably won’t do about it, the site does give extensive information about the optical block and it’s various parts.

I haven’t seen anything like this on my Sony TV yet. I have a KDF-E60A20 which is specifically list as not part of the warranty recall even though people have reported issues. It annoys me to see this sort of thing going on with Sony. I already paid too much for this TV, had to replace a poorly designed fuse and now have this to look forward to.

Smarthome is finally having a decent sale. 20% Off almost all products. Use code EFEB20 at checkout.

The following is meant for informational purposes only and not meant to be an instructional guide. This information is meant to give a basic concepts on how the thermal fuse is replaced, It doesn’t cover everything thing and can vary on other TVs. If you decide to replace your own thermal fuse based on this information you do so at your OWN RISK.

A few weeks ago I was watching my Sony 60 inch rear projection TV (model KDF-E60A20) when the screen turned blank and the normally green power-on indicator started blinking red. I thought, this has to be a bad thing. My first assumption was the bulb died.

The bulb did not die, there is a whole other indicator light for a dead bulb. What was actually happening is the power-on indicator light was blinking 6 times. Some googling on this subject indicated that the thermal fuse had blown and it needed to be replaced.

Sony apparently has a service bulletin (E29102171) that covers the replacement. In order to access this information you have to be some sort of authorized service personnel. I did find a website where you could obtain the service bulletin but they wanted $12 to join the site first. Let me go on for a moment and say why I think this is a total scam. It seems the damaged thermal fuse situation is a design flaw and Sony’s replacement part is totally different from the original. This website is profiting off the situation by providing information was created by Sony. I won’t link to the site here, but if you search google for this issue you will surely find the site in question.

This is something that Sony should be fixing for free. I’m reading people are paying around $400 to get this issue repaired. I repaired mine for $17.91. The part itself was only $4.80. I ordered part 191002393 from Sony’s service site (It’s available from Amazon.com for $5.95). Here’s how I replaced mine.

First, the thermal fuse is simply a small electronics part on the end of two wires that connects to the harness in the TV. The wire comes wrapped up in a small package about the size of two dimes. Shipping costs $11.95 to ship it in a giant box full of bubble wrap. Thanks Sony for wasting resources getting this to me.

The thermal fuse is located under the lamp housing in my TV (and can be seen using the procedures for replacing the lamp in the manual). It’s a dime sized device mounted to the bottom of the TV with two wires coming out of it. It took me a while to figure out that this monstrosity is the thermal fuse considering how tiny the replacement is.

Unfortunately In order to get to the wiring harness I had to remove the rear panel of the TV. There’s about 10 screws that hold that on. Then I removed the fan housing to gain access to the original thermal fuse. I followed the wires back up to where they connected to the wiring harness. I unplugged the original fuse and plugged in the new one and ran the wires to where the original fuse is.

I did not remove the original fuse. It’s somewhat difficult to get to and doesn’t hurt to keep it on. I wrapped the new fuse wiring around the old one. There may be a actual place to mount the new fuse but i didn not see the service bulliten so I cannot say for sure. It’s important to point out here that the purpose of a thermal fuse is to shut off power in case of an over heat situation. If for some reason the lamp overheats you don’t want it to catch the TV on fire. Having the thermal fuse in close proximity to the lamp seem logical. If you happen to know exactly where the fuse should go, please leave a comment.

The preceding is meant for informational purposes only and not meant to be an instructional guide. This information is meant to give a basic concepts on how the thermal fuse is replaced, It doesn’t cover everything thing and can vary on other TVs. If you decide to replace your own thermal fuse based on this information you do so at your OWN RISK.

If you found this usefull, you can support this site by purchasing something from Amazon. How about a new Sony LCD Lamp?

Back in 2005 I bought a iHome (now called a iH8 model). It was the first real ipod compatible alarm clock radio. After a little over 2 years of usage, I think I can give a verdict: Don’t buy one.

First problem is the often complained about back light. It’s bright even at the lowest settings. The entire screen is backlight instead of just the numbers. Second problem is the somewhat confusing button layout. Including the buttons on the very back related to setting the time. Finally the fact the the thing breaks over time is the main reason I cannot recommend it.

My iHome’s back light stopped working over 6 months ago. I could live with that. About a month ago all the buttons stopped working. I cannot control a ipod, though at least it still charges one. My one data point doesn’t do it alone. A little over a year ago a friend bought one. It too has also no longer is able to control a iPod, although it is still able to charge it.

That’s two data points, enough for me to say the makers of the iHome have a quality control issue. I’m looking forward to purchasing the Sony XDR-S10HDiP HD Radio with iPod dock this summer.

I’ve got a pretty good reputation on being on top of the latest technology. I’m usually considered a early adopter. I spent $1000 on a DVD player back in the mid nineties (which by the way that Sony 5 Disc player still works). Yet I don’t have a iPhone, I don’t like ebook readers and here I am about to say why I don’t recommend HD discs of either flavor. Perhaps I’m getting older and smarter, perhaps technology sucks more than it used to.

Movie studio fragmentation is the problem with Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. Half the studios are on one format and the other half are on the other format. You need a Blu-ray player to see Spiderman, you need a HD DVD player to see Transformers. Thus, I haven’t purchased either and haven’t recommended either. The situation is improving and it looks like one format could be a winner.

Up until last week a 60% of the studios made Blu-ray discs, now Warner has announced it is switching to Blu-ray and it looks like Paramount may be making the switch as well. This just leaves Universal and a few small studios to make HD DVD disc.

I still say wait and see until one or the other format is declared dead by the sponsoring forums. Microsoft is a backer of HD DVD, for example, and won’t let it die so easily.

The following is in Sony’s FAQ on why they are closing their Connect online music store

Why is the store closing?
We are moving to the open Windows Media® platform in North America. In line with hat, Sony will phase out the CONNECT™ Music Service in the U.S. and Canada. Specific timing will depend on market demand, but will not be before March 2008. To be clear, the CONNECT eBook service for the Sony Reader will not be affected.

Uh what? Windows Media is open? I don’t think so. It may be very much more popular than ATRAC (Sony’s music format) and licensed by a lot more companies, but it isn’t open.

Ive been watching the iphone rumors since I started this blog. There’s no one that’s a bigger fan of an Apple cell phone than I. But my excitement has waivered and I wont be buying one.

1. Nothing to do with technical issues, but I simply cannot afford a large purchase at this time.
2. How much are they going to over charge for a voice and data plan. Why won’t they say before June 29th? Because it’s going to cost a freaking arm and a leg.
3. It has to replace my Sony Ericsson K750i on T-Mobil. It appears that it can replace all the applications on the SE and will sync with my address book. But will it be able to work with Salling Clicker? Will it take the beating that my SE does (I drop it all the time and it works as good as if it was new). Seems unlikely.
4. T-Mobil sucks at my house. I barely get a signal. Will AT&T be any better? I doubt it. I can’t roam onto AT&T or Cingular because I can’t get their signal at home either.
5. It has to replace my Palm TX. Since real applications cannot be written for the iPhone, i would still have to carry around my Palm, web based apps wont cut it.
6. I sync my Palm with Outlook using PocketMirror and sync between my Palm and Mac using Missing Sync. It works pretty flawlessly. Not sure that will work with the iPhone.
7. It has to replace my 60GB iPod Photo. I could cut out some of my playlists, but i’m not sure 8GB is enough room for music and photos.

People at work know what a Apple fan boy I am. I constantly get asked if I have pre ordered my iPhone. Uh no, bitches, YOU CAN’T PRE ORDER A IPHONE. Then I try to explain to them why I’m not buying one, but I usually just get blank stares.

Maybe 2.0 will be better

Think Secret says:

Apple and Cingular have signed an agreement that will make the US’ largest cell phone provider the exclusive carrier of Apple’s forthcoming phone, sources report. Apple’s iPhone remains on track for an early 2007 release.

Apple’s exclusive contract with Cingular is said to be good for the first six months, sources report, meaning other providers will be able to sell the phone in the second-half of 2007. Cingular had an exclusive on the Motorola ROKR—the first phone to feature iTunes—when it launched last year.

If this is true I might be willing to switch, but I’m not going to buy a crippled phone like what Cingular does to the Motorola phones. If Apple designs the phone like Motorola, then hopefully it has a sim card and I can use it with T-Mobile. In which case I will wait patiently and buy a unlocked version off ebay.

In either case I really hate this Motorola SLVR that I bought. I should have stuck with Sony Ericsson.

PalmInfoCenter is celebrating 10 years since the original Plam 1000 by giving away a Palm LifeDrive and a Palm 1000 (new in it’s box). To enter to win the LifeDrive simply make a comment in this article about your first Palm. Here’s my entry:

I bought my first Palm (a 1000) on ebay, which was the first thing I ever bought on ebay. In the excitement of things I ended up paying way too much for it. To add insult to injury I ended up dropping within a few weeks, forcing a upgrade to the next version of Pilot (the 2000? don’t recall). Since then I owned several versions of PalmOS computers including the IIIx, Prism and Sony CLIE. I “upgraded” to most of them after I broke the Palm that I had at the time, keeping each model for a year or two. Currently I have a T3 which I have managed to own longer than any other Palm (and did have to replace a broken screen). I’m looking to upgrade to a TX sometime in the future mainly for the WiFi capabilities, but a LifeDrive would do quite nice too!