allysum

I use Inkscape when I'm programming; I find the formatting preferable to Dia when it comes round to printing out. A few tips in here as well but I still use the connectors function: Inkscape Tips

The other sites running through the same nameservers also aren't the quickest to load. On top of that it seems the site is hosted on generic shared hosting which may not have the speediest of bandwidth available. This is in addition to the heavy content size already mentioned by Nickscape. Some of this is in due to the scripts running on the page, and scripts can also contribute to browser issues. As for not displaying all browsers this is generally a template and javascript issue and would probably need a programmer/designer to look at it or swap the template theme out. Some template themes are just very heavy weight, particularly if they came from a packaged template site rather than a custom designer. Use things like the element analysis in Firefox and Wappalyzer to see what's running to get the page displayed. In my personal opinion I've no idea why shared hosting companies offer Joomla, Drupal etc in their one-click package options because the servers and the bandwidth just are not up to supporting them.

Sorry 3dogman, been working away but let me know how you've got on with the hum I'll try and catch up this evening and see if I can think of something else. I'd ignore the post from Gerritsen as they seem to be one of the regular trolls on here that keep starting off a new username.

Probably a daft question as you're probably very familiar with the equipment but I presume you've got the phono connections on the back of the open reel the right way round? I think you also have a speaker switch on the front bottom right of the unit which should turn the open reels speaker out connection off. If you're recording from the receiver and the receiver is already outputting its sound by itself to its own speakers then with the open reels speaker connections on then you could be feeding the signal straight back into the receiver..... .... think that makes sense, I think..... ---------- Post added 23-08-2015 at 10:28 ---------- Also what are the VU meters showing when you're recording?

Just to confirm, are you getting the hum when recording or only on playback? How have you connected your receiver and reel-to-reel and what model/brand is your open reel machine? Does your open reel machine contain it's own amplifier that the speakers are connected to or are you feeding back to the receiver?

Not too much strain, and yes, safe to charge phones and sat navs at the same time.

Wasn't so sure I actually provided a reason, more just that there are a variety of reasons why they are sealed but the end result is the same, component parts in a PSU are not replaceable and the risk is somebody gets electrocuted either while repairing it or using it, or end up with a nasty electrical fire. This is why there are no user serviceable parts inside a PSU. Generally HDTV PSU's can be replaced. Also the 'no user serviceable parts inside' notices are a good thing. You may be an accomplished electronics engineer but the average user certainly isn't and repairing mainboards in TV's is not the domain of somebody who's familiarity with repairing things is changing a plug. That's who the manufacturer considers a 'user'. I do agree that there should be more remanufacturing and recycling going on though with more easily available correct spec components from the original manufactuer. I've not attempted to get inside an ATX supply in the last 10 years so can't comment on the screws but got an old ColorsIT ATX and an unbranded AT supply on the bench next to me with rivets holding the casing together.

Your cigarette socket should be fused and besides there is more than sufficient power coming from your car battery to run your LED strips. USB's on a computer typically bung out 500mA for USB 2 and 900-950mA for USB 3. My cars lighter socket is fused at 10A and my USB adapter for it has a 2.5A fuse in it but models differ. The problem with USB chargers I mentioned before is that the components in cheap charges are sometimes not good enough quality to safely deal with the conversion of 230VAC down to the 5VDC in a USB supply with a sufficient current.

I'm surprised the semiconductors are specially numbered, the component you're more likely to have trouble with is the transformer which will be custom wound to the manufacturers specifications. Anyway, power supplies are one of the most complicated electronic devices to deal with, not through structural complexity but just getting the thing to work as it should do. Engineers spend a long time getting power supplies right which is why many electronic devices manufacturers design their circuits to fit round the PSU rather than building a PSU to fit the device. Ever bought something like an answerphone or an alarm clock where you can hear a faint whining from it? Chances are the other 200 units out of the same batch didn't have the whine but that one you ended up with had a single component in the PSU just 0.5% different in it's tolerances to the others. Point I'm trying to make is that messing with PSU's is not advised for a variety of reasons, all of which explain why most are either heat sealed up (laptop supply) or riveted together (ATX supplies for example). Also the same reason there are almost no PSU refurbishers around and a secondhand PSU should not be purchased from Ebay in case it's been messed around with on the inside. If you're a determined tinkerer and know all the risks of dealing with capacitors and transformers then I might be able to help out with tracking down the right semi-C's.

Another vote for The Great Escape Game on Sydney Street, just down the road from Curry's in the city centre. They've a choice of four rooms with the Homicide Room and Alcatraz being the most atmospheric. Maybe better to avoid the Wormhole though if you get migraines.

If they came with a battery pack or a transformer already attached I shouldn't worry about it. Probably an overreaction on my part but I've avoided cheap external hard drive enclosures for the same reasons as the light strips. The caution for using USB chargers is because there are 'fake' ones on the market that are far from the standards of the ones provided with phones and tablets and even just charging a cellphone from them gets the temperatures far higher than they should be.

My bad, read it in the title of the link you posted first

Even older hardware (on the supply side) had short and overload protection but devices such as external hard drives also contain protective circuitry that works in conjunction with the mainboard electronics. Protection on one side isn't always enough. My advice is more about what is being connected to the USB ports and cheap Chinese electronics components are something I'd generally avoid.... if anybody tinkers with Arduino boards, Raspberry Pi's, Odroids etc you'll know what I mean. The laptop that came in with damaged ports was a 4th gen Core i3 and had only stopped working the very moment a pound shop reading light had been connected to the USB. Rest of the machine worked but unfortunately the two USB 3.0 ports gave up permanently. The OP also indicated he would be attaching these things to his TV and I'm not so sure the protection on that is going to be up to the same standards as a computer. A caution with USB chargers too.... many of those are also budget electronics and can get very warm when attached to something without control circuitry on the attached device.

You'll not find one of those in Sheffield unless it's from a small time reseller through Gumtree etc. Those types of electronics are usually distributed by chinese companies working out of garages and self storage companies in the UK. I'd also be wary of running LED strips from USB. The metre length version of the item you linked too has a fairly good chance of blowing your ports and don't contain the power protection circuitry that something like an external USB hard drive carries. I've even known the small 20cm LED lights from the pound shops blow ports on laptops resulting in an expensive mainboard replacement.

Some of the forum comments linked with this story are enlightening: BT Call Blocking Phone BT allegedly make a profit from all those nuisance calls you keep receiving, and 'surprisingly' will then make a profit from you trying to prevent them. I'd check with the provider of the 0800 number first. It may be free for the person calling the number but the calls usually get charged to the person paying for the 0800 service. Almost all virtual number providers work this way but some offer package deals where you get a certain number of minutes for incoming calls included. Withheld numbers are a big problem. If you call a company from home without withholding your number it can be automatically picked up by computer and stored as an active number, with more or less a guarantee that if called someone will answer. This is far more productive for marketing companies to use than auto-dialers. You've no idea if your phone number is being sold on either regardless of its legality.