Sunday
28Feb2010

Acer Aspire Revo 3610 Memory Upgraded to 4GB

DateSunday, February 28, 2010 at 3:06PM

I upgraded the memory in my Acer Aspire Revo yesterday.  I had to follow a video on Youtube to be able to pry open the case.  With the cover finally off, things went much easier.  I ordered the memory from Crucial Technology.  Their part number CT1161615 is a bundle of two 2GB 200 pin DDR2 SODIMM Unbuffered PC2-6400 800 MHz 1.8V 256 Meg x 64 Class 6 memory.  Once the memory was installed, putting the case back together again went much better than taking it off.

 

Skip to position 2:55

Booting up Windows 7 and checking the memory revealed that 3GB (out of 4GB) is now available instead of just 1GB (out of 2GB).

AuthorWesley Hester | CommentPost a Comment |
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Sunday
28Feb2010

HDTV Repair the Second Time Around

DateSunday, February 28, 2010 at 1:55PM

I began having problems with my Samsung HLS-5679W LED DLP Rear Projection HDTV again early in January 2010.  On January 22nd, I got a Fan #3 error followed shortly there after with nothing: the set would not power on at all.  Before it totally went out, I purchased some reconditioned fans to test.  The #3 fan is located near the inputs, over the cable card slot (which I have never used).  Replacing the fan did not fix the issue.

Based on a previous power-on clicking issue I had experienced with the HDTV that required replacing two capacitors on the main power supply board, I pulled and inspected the power supply.  Sure enough, there were now four more blown capacitors.  The two I had replaced back in February of 2008 were still fine.  Also the four, now bad, capacitors were all ok two years previously.  I guess it just took them two years longer to go bad.  My theory has been that Samsung received a very large batch of bad capacitors from one of its suppliers.  Other capacitors on the board from the same company are all ok to this day.

Of course I didn't have the correct replacement capacitors just lying around so I had to order them from Parts Express which is were I ordered the original replacements back in 2008.  Once I received them on January 29th, I followed the general capacitor replacement procedure outlined in the AVS Forum thread covering the Samsung HLS-5679W.  Now I can't do the best soldering/desoldering in the world but I made it through ok.  After about 20 minutes, I had the caps replaced and the board back into the HDTV.  The whole process was faster and much easier the second time with my past experience.  I fired it up and it worked again!

It's great having the HDTV working again of course but I also hope to give it to my brother onced I get a new 3D HDTV and I really wish it doesn't give him any trouble.  I need to have something to watch until I get the new HDTV of course too.

I've posted (#2592) the following pictures within the AVS Forum thread: Six New Capacitors, Bad Capacitors - Top, Bad Capacitors - Bottom, Samsung HLS-5679W Power Supply (a schematic I created detailing which caps I replaced and what I replaced them with).

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Sunday
28Feb2010

Squarespace is the Bomb! Get On This Train!

DateSunday, February 28, 2010 at 12:33AM

Squarespace sponsers several web video shows I watch and enjoy.  I believe they support every show on Revision3.  They all offer discounts for starting a new Squarespace account.  This made it difficult for me to choose which show's code to use at checkout to pay for my Pro account.  I ended up using the Totally Rad Show's code for 10% off.

Although I know HTML code, I've chosen to use WYSIWYG editors over the years for their ease of use.  Squarespace continues this idea while still allowing code level additions as needed.  For this and the ability to modify the site almost anywhere using any OS, I've found the transition from Microsoft FrontPage to Squarespace quite easy.

I really appreciate the account management like detailed statistics (no more hit counters for me), easy file storage managment and social linking widgets.  There's also great host migration aids and little things like favicon support.  Oh, the price is great too.

I recommend everyone to give Squrespace a try.  They offer a free 14 day trial that gives you full access to try everything out.  Happy website building!

AuthorWesley Hester | CommentPost a Comment |
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Thursday
25Feb2010

Website Redesign: Again

DateThursday, February 25, 2010 at 10:37AM

I've decided to welcome in the new year with a website redesign.  I am finally moving away from Microsoft FrontPage which has been discontinued for quite some time now.  I've moved to Squarespace which is even easier to learn and use.  Furthermore, I can now easily edit the website and add content from any computer with an internet connection or using an iPod Touch app.  Before, I was locked to the one computer I have with FrontPage installed on it.

I hope everyone enjoys the new look and blog format.  I for one already enjoy having an even easier and quicker way to make updates.  As my "free" time dwindles down to almost nothing and news hits constantly, every little bit helps.

Goodbye old site, you served your purpose well.

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