Dumbed down consumer electronics: Adding DTV channels
in [Design]
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From: Joerg on 5 Aug 2010 12:39 Joel Koltner wrote: > Hi Joerg, > > "Joerg" <invalid(a)invalid.invalid> wrote in message > news:8c00ubF6uhU1(a)mid.individual.net... > >> Make sure there is also a dial-up modem and the dial-in numbers written >> down somewhere near it. I don't use that feature (yet) but my router has >> a RS232 connector to which you can let it fall back if it can't get a >> DSL connection. Someone at the manufacturer (SMC) must have really had >> their thinking cap on. > > Routers with dual WAN connections seem to be getting popular as well... > I guess some people sign up with both, e.g., DSL and a cable modem, and > even if one goes down it's no big deal... and when they're both up, they > obtain additional bandwidth. (E.g., > http://www.draytek.us/draytek-dual-wan-solution.html) > > For us, a 3G backup is pretty good idea. I've tethered my phone to a > laptop in the past, although my wife's phone is old enough that it > doesn't support that very readily. The USB dongles certainly work well > but they want rather a lot of money for them monthly... > Unless you use it only as backup. The cards expire very quickly but if the Sprint network in your area holds up during outages and web access is super important for your wife's work then it may be an option: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/mobile-broadband I use their cell service, works well. But as usual one has to read all the fine print. I wish they had some non-expiring data plan like with their cell service. If she needs mainly low bandwidth connections to exchange things like Excel files and email then a dial-up would suffice, as long as there are some dial-in numbers farther away that are more likely to be outside the outage area. -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
From: Charlie E. on 5 Aug 2010 12:50 On Wed, 4 Aug 2010 15:12:21 -0700, "Joel Koltner" <zapwireDASHgroups(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >[Internet backup service] > >> AT&T does, at least out here. If not, it's best to have a backup service >> somewhere, some sort of cheap dial-in service. > >But if the power outage lasts for more than, e.g., a day, the phone lines are >probably all going to die anyway, aren't they? -- Only some installations have >actual backup diesel generators, the rest relying on battery banks to ride >through brief (hours long) blackouts? > >---Joel Well, unless their standards have dropped considerably in the last few years, EVERY telco CO has a back up generator, and enough diesel to last for several days if not a week or two! The batteries are just there to filter the load, and hold it for a few minutes while the generator kicks in, although they are sized to last for several hours! Charlie (former CO equipment maintainer!)
From: Joel Koltner on 5 Aug 2010 13:24 "Charlie E." <edmondson(a)ieee.org> wrote in message news:3qql56ta2ljb9uaqbv9u8dn7g9koitaako(a)4ax.com... > Well, unless their standards have dropped considerably in the last few > years, EVERY telco CO has a back up generator, and enough diesel to > last for several days if not a week or two! Thanks Charlie... do you know if those same standards apply to the cell phone carriers?
From: Charlie E. on 5 Aug 2010 13:39 On Thu, 5 Aug 2010 10:24:15 -0700, "Joel Koltner" <zapwireDASHgroups(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >"Charlie E." <edmondson(a)ieee.org> wrote in message >news:3qql56ta2ljb9uaqbv9u8dn7g9koitaako(a)4ax.com... >> Well, unless their standards have dropped considerably in the last few >> years, EVERY telco CO has a back up generator, and enough diesel to >> last for several days if not a week or two! > >Thanks Charlie... do you know if those same standards apply to the cell phone >carriers? Not really. They have hundreds (if not thousands) of towers, and the maintance costs of maintaining that many gensets would be prohibited. IIRC, they basicall just have good UPS's in the towers, so after a day or so, they are down too. I am sure that SOME of their sites will have gensets, esp. those co-located with a regular CO or other manned locations, so there may be islands of service even days after a major power outage. Charlie
From: JosephKK on 6 Aug 2010 01:50
On Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:14:29 -0700, Joerg <invalid(a)invalid.invalid> wrote: >Just curious: Why is it that "modern" TV/VCR/DVD devices only allow >auto-scan for DTV channels but no "add some later"? As most of us know >DTV is unreliable, meaning sometimes channel 6-1 pixelates out, >sometimes 58-2 is gone. So upon setup it will only catch the ones that >are currently receivable, which in our case is never more than 80% of >digital channels. Changes all the time. > >But you can't add, it does a complete new setup, upon which Murphy says >it'll miss a few channels it had detected on the previous run. That I >find a rather daft technical decision. Is it just me thinking that or is >the cleverness in electronics designs really taking a nose-dive? > >Sorry for the rant, but I had to let it out. The reasonableness is taking a nosedive. It is more the idiot managers than the engineers. Mindset is less code = fewer bugs. |