OT: Tempermental electronics

[Baron Munchausen]

Well, Hellmart wasn't much help referring me to the manufacturer warranty... but the service company that handled the manufacturer warranty did a real zip-bang job. I left it with them (yes, had to drive there myself) and they called the next day saying it was repaired and ready for pickup. Wow... And now that I've got it back and setup it seems to work fine again. The repair form said they found an 'open transistor' and replaced it. I've never seen the word 'open' used in relation to a transistor before. Why not just 'burned out' or 'shorted'? Is this a 'technical' term?

The remaining question is, how long will it remain in good working order? The problem was apparently in the power supply and that makes me wonder if my habit of unplugging it every night to kill the annoying glow of the display panel might have had something to do with the problem. Heating up and cooling down every single day might be a good deal more stress than being plugged in all the time since being 'turned off' just reduces the amount of power in the unit and probably doesn't affect the heat level of the central power supply regulator much at all.

[ July 08, 2004, 22:54: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]

[Fyron]

Does the display panel have a "dim" feature?

[Parasite]

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
'open transistor' and replaced it. I've never seen the word 'open' used in relation to a transistor before. Why not just 'burned out' or 'shorted'? Is this a 'technical' term?

The remaining question is, how long will it remain in good working order? The problem was apparently in the power supply and that makes me wonder if my habit of unplugging it every night to kill the annoying glow of the display panel might have had something to do with the problem. Heating up and cooling down every single day might be a good deal more stress than being plugged in all the time since being 'turned off' just reduces the amount of power in the unit and probably doesn't affect the heat level of the central power supply regulator much at all.

"Open" is a kind of technical term. It means "broken apart" so no current will flow through it. 'burned out' will work. "Shorted" is the opposite problem. Current will always flow through it.

I don't think the turning it off at night could harm the new transistor. It was probobly a little bad to start with or not soldered in right. The sparking noises were it eating itself up till it went bad. If it had a habit of sparking or snapping when you turned it off though I would start to worry, but not if it happened randomly while turned on.

[Baron Munchausen]

It defaults to the dimmest mode when it's in 'standby' (off but plugged in) mode. It's still annoyingly bright in a dark room when you are trying to sleep. If I wanted a night-light I'd have bought one. Perhaps I'll devise a cover for it.