Everybody Staze...

Technician mode on WelchAllyn 678

2015/03/08 By staze

When my son was “on the way” we went looking to buy a thermometer since we knew we’d need one. Being a geek, I looked on eBay and found a hospital/clinic grade WelchAllyn SureTemp. It was an older model, but seemed to be in good shape, and I got it for pretty cheap (like $30). It came with the Oral/Aux probe, but didn’t come with the wall holder, which is a slight issue, as I’ll find.

The unit, by and large, works great. It was pretty grimy when I got it, but it cleaned up with some IPA and cotton swabs. The problem was, since I was using it for my baby (then toddler) son, I wanted to use the under-arm mode. It defaults to the Oral mode, and you have to hold the mode button for 2 seconds to switch it. This can be changed if you read the Service Manual by placing the unit in the wall holder, and holding the mode button down while removing the probe. I don’t have the wall holder. Damn. A bit more reading in the Service Manual showed there is a magnetic read switch on the PCB that’s being toggled when placed in the wall holder. So, I grabbed a largish magnet (circular) ((the type you see a hook attached to. Think I got it at Harbor Freight)), and placed it on the front of the unit while holding Mode, and removing the probe. Viola! It went into Service, and I was able to change the default to ALY (Auxiliary) mode by default. Yay! Good luck (if you have one of these, and this behavior annoys you).

Chamberlin/Liftmaster MyQ 821LM

2015/02/18 By staze

For years I’ve had a bit of an OCD moment every time I leave the house and think “Did I close the garage door?”. So, if I don’t actually look back at the house, and say out loud “Garage door is closed”, I will often turn around a few blocks later, come back, confirm that I did close it, then go on my way. It’s basically the same as “Did I turn the stove off”, but I’ve never had that concern, so it’s manifested in garage door concerns.

Figuring there must be a better way, I started looking online, and quickly found Chamberlin has a whole line of Garage Door openers that have wifi and the ability to say if they’re open or closed, and control from a phone. They also make add-ons for their other garage doors, and finally I found they make the 821LM that is for all other garage door openers ((Note, I’m using Chamberlin and Liftmaster interchangeably since they are the same company. Chamberlin caters to consumers, where Liftmaster is their installer line. The Chamberlin version of this same device is the MyQ Garage MYQ-G0201. They are identical. Oddly, though, they have different Apps on the iOS App Store.)). Ordering one off Amazon for just north of $100, I figured this would be the end of my OCD. Unit arrived quickly (even without Amazon Prime), and install was mostly easy. Screw the sensor unit to the door, and then program the Wifi base unit. They say to install next to the door opener, but really that’s just for range of the signal. Basically you can install the unit anywhere near the opener (probably within 40-50 feet, line of sight, but I haven’t really tested this). I installed it in the same area as my router and cable modem (in the garage).

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New Nintendo 3DS XL

2015/02/15 By staze

This last weekend I purchased the New Nintendo 3DS XL that was just released here in the US. I had previously been using an original 3DS that was given to me a while ago. It worked fine, but I only ever played anything in 2D as the 3D gave me a headache, and overall, the unit felt a bit like the original Nintendo controller: a sharp cornered brick. But, I’ve completed a games on it, and played several more (including a VERY long game of Bravely Default at over 110 hours and counting) and it serves it’s purpose. But, I wouldn’t call the original overly enjoyable. It was really just a DS with 3d capability that I never used (think I turned it on once or twice for Link Between Worlds). When the “New” 3DS was released in Japan, and reviews started showing up, I actually got excited that this may actually be the 3DS that everyone thought the original was. Then, when it finally released in the US last week, and I had some money made from a contract gig sitting around, I decided to buy one and give it a whirl.

Short version: it’s pretty great.

Long version: The migration from my original 3DS was painless, if not a touch annoying given Nintendo’s overly paranoid piracy concerns. You’re greeted several times by warnings that the old device will be wiped, as will the new one, and that it’ll take HOURS to do the migration, etc etc. Once I finally got through all the prompts for the migration, it only took about 30 minutes to migrate from my 3DS with a 2GB SD card, to my “New 3DS” with a 32GB MicroSD card I put in it (I had one laying around I’d bought for my Raspberry Pi. It came with a 4GB card). The transfer creates a point-to-point (AdHoc) wifi connection between the devices (sadly only 802.11G), but it seemed fast enough (albeit with kind of annoying Pikmin noises). Once that was done, it was finally time to try out the “New 3DS”. I fired up Bravely Default, and first off, noticed it loaded in what seemed like (at least) 2x the speed. Also, the sound was amazing. Stereo! The original 3DS was only mono sound (it only had one speaker). Then I tried the 3D. Wow, it actually looks decent, and after 30 minutes of playing, doesn’t give me a headache! There is occasional 3D flicker that happens as the 3DS tries to find your “head”, but it’s rare and usually stops once it gets a good “lock”. I’m sure they’ll make more tweaks to that algorithm as time goes on. I haven’t yet had a chance to play “Link Between Worlds” on it yet, but I’m sure it will be much more enjoyable with 3D, and better sound.

Overall, I’m extremely happy with the unit. It is a bit bigger than I was expecting (since I’d never used a 3D XL before), but it feels good in the hands, and plays very well. I will really enjoy playing Xenoblade Chronicles on it since I have long ago stalled out on the Wii version (just don’t fire up the Wii much anymore).

[xrr rating=5/5]

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