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smith

  • This is finally the transitional operating system we needed. Meaning, this OS is designed to work on Desktop, Laptop and more specifically the huge wave of new Touchscreen tablet/laptops about to hit the market at the end of 2012.

  • If you are a company and avoided the Vista debacle and have started the transition to say Windows 7, right now I would say stop and wait, unless you are just so deep into the transition that it just makes financial sense to finish the transition from XP/Vista to Windows 7. (> then 78% transitioned)

  • Memory suck should be a thing of the past.

  • Compatibility issues? So far based on the W8DS1 Microsoft has gone out of the way to allow XP/Vista/7 programs you have already purchased to run, this is very important regarding legacy drivers. Will this change?? possibly and yes. Here is why. Windows 8 security wise is going to lock down the system even tighter then Vista tried too. This is in regards to signed drivers and user installed software. Again, this is the transitional OS that Vista was supposed to be and better security is always a good thing. Basically prepare yourself for programs that are not compliant/signed and may never be depending on that software's company decision not to make it so.

  • W82 is seriously designed for Touchscreens. No longer will you have a desktop, a laptop and then an iPAD. Windows 8 will create a device that will do all these things and more. This is the direction we really all want to go and Windows 8 will make that happen. A device you can use at the work desk, take to a meeting room, on the road and take home for telecommuting.

  • THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR WINDOWS 8 BEING A SUSCESS.
    W82 will only work if hardware manufactures get it right from the start. The Touchscreen laptops must be like a transformer. Having enough power to go from desktop, to laptop and then to touchscreen, if this fails to happen. Windows 8 will fail transitionally as the next OS. A good example here is the old HP TC1100, it did everything OK with XP and touch functions, it just lacked the hardware power to do everything really well.. this is not a problem today. So, really manufactures must get this transformer thing down perfectly from allowing one device to go from Desktop, to Laptop to Touchscreen and there is zero reason other then lack of innovation or foolish short sighted greed that this will not happen.

  • Microsoft please go back to the older marketing model. Believe it or not users like it simple, we never had to wade through Windows NT Basic, Advanced, Mega, Ultra, Ultra Mega, Super Advance, Mega Super Silver Advance, Gold, Mega Gold Advance or any thing like this crap. It's marketing crippleware and it's Bullshit. Please just make 2 versions, Home and Pro and be done with it. Also, don't do crippleware shit like you did in Vista that you had to have the business version to store passwords for mapped drives on the network... I mean really are you serious? On a network, every user today has some form of network and access to this thing called the Internet.

  • Lots of shiny touchscreens from manufactures with minimal of dual-core power and nice/swanky docking stations should be the future for everyone. True locked down Desktops will be fewer as touchscreen laptops have gained sufficient speed and tons of memory options.. yes even Gamers should be happy with W8 at the end of the day. Especially with all the new touchscreen games that will blow the iPAD away.

  • Get rid of all CD/DVD installation. It is 2012 already please use USB ROM thumb-drives, especially with the new USB3 standards. Again at this point no manufactures should be building anything that does not have USB3 as standard. If they do they are trying to save penny’s, makes me wonder what else they cheaped out on... USB3 is the standard, USB2 is the legacy hardware at this point. Also, other then old legacy equipment everything should be bootable VIA the USB ports.. Again it's 2012 not 1984. Let's start buying new hardware folk's.

  • During the Installation add an option that ask directly if you wish to boot into the Metro UI3, or into the antiquated XP Desktop screen. Use a picture option like they have at McDonald’s for people who cannot read to show the user what the difference is. This should help avoid those users that go nuts when things look different. Lets all keep in mind that people have been using the XP style desktop interface since October 2001 and XP still holds over 40% of all desktops. Give them this boot user interface choice or you'll regret it.

  • Even as a development snapshot this version has performed extremely well. I have purposely crashed it many times just to see how it recovers, doing things such as system reset and it performed amazingly well compared to previous operating systems (98-XP-Vista-7). Drivers were easily reloaded and the system recovered back to a nice clean install status. I noticed it did require me to place the DVD into the drive, so the development version is obviously not creating a restore partition on the drive with all the DVD contents. I'll assume that's just a quirk at this point of it being a development version? Users should never have to dig out CD/DVD or USB thumb-drives to reinstall the OS to a new/clean/repair state. Exception naturally is having to install a new HDD, SSD or Hybrid on the system.

  • 64-bits folks, ask for it, demand it on everything new that you buy. 2-4 CPU core laptop touchscreens the standard by the end of 2012 and 4-6 cores by the end of 2013, that is what I would love to see and I think we have a good chance at it.

  • iPAD killer? Not a slight against Apple BTW, I happen to love my iPOD.
    Depends on what you are really looking for. But I'll say this. Why would I buy an iPAD for $700 when I will be able to soon buy a Toshiba touchscreen with 400x the spec's of the iPAD for the same price, or even less. Personally and from any business point of view the iPAD is what we will and are using as the limbo stick and no offense. What's really new with anything from Apple? The embedded device (iPAD) has reached a plateau that every manufacture has and will far exceed by the end of 2012. I'd relegate the iPAD to being the device that started it all in the history books and that's a great place to be, Apple has many spots in the history book. But history is supposed to march on, not stand still and that's what is about to happen with Windows 8 and all the hundreds of new touchscreen devices about to pounce onto the marketplace.
    Apple has a fan base and it may remain, but only due to new devices in the pipeline and the innovation to steal pieces from others, putting all those pieces together into one clean looking device and then to patent the hell out of every damn part of it. Sad, true and we all know it, Jobs even admitted to doing it.
    China may be the future for Apple iPAD?!? The lack of fire control over patent rights will mean that Apple has to actually innovate like a sled dog on a treadmill with a flame thrower shooting up it's ass. Not sure they are up to doing that, or even willing to put themselves into that kind of meat grinder and besides wages for Chinese workers are going up (Yeah), means lower profit margins unless Apple is heading to Africa to build the next new thing?
    After all look at how many actual products has Apple brought to market in 10 years, iPhone, iPod-iTunes and the iPad. Just because you make the device in a new color or add a new feature (iSri) does not make you innovative and people will catch on and get board. Features and price will make the sale at the end of the day and so far the iPAD has faced little if any competition, that is about to change and all the little Patent trolls will be working overtime to block everything that comes to the marketplace, even if it's just intended to hold their market share for a few extra months (Apple vs. Samsung). The patent system failure is just the beginning of the touchscreen Patent wars that will drag the entire patent system and electronics innovation down into the mud fight for several years to come until real changes come to the patent system.

  • Oh Jesus yet another Microsoft fan-boy, Apple hating MF.
    Nope, actually anyone that knows me is aware I use Linux Mint & Ubuntu every chance I get. However, I am not stupid to the fact that as of January 2012, Windows is used on 92% of all non-phone and non-tablet computers and that's just a damn well documented fact.
    Windows 8 will be and is going to be the huge move forward we have all been waiting for, pending the hardware manufactures willingness to support it and from the early peeks from them, they will do a great job. The disclaimer here naturally is a few manufactures will go the cheap route (flimsy plastic cases, crap connectors, easily damaged touch screens, poor CPU power, minimal memory and not upgradable, low battery life and so forth, just look at some of the shitty Android devices from China) and thus making W8 look like a horrible piece of crap. Hopefully these cheap guys will be the oddball and not the norm starting out the door for Windows version 8.

  • So, basically a big Cheers and Good Luck to Microsoft on a good looking product so far. I'd buy stock prior to the release of Windows 8 but I would get into trouble.

  1. Windows 8 Developer Snapshot

  2. Windows 8

  3. Metro User Interface

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"Nintendo Warns Losses Will Mount"

smith

March 18, 2011
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says that his company will not be doing any business with what it calls "hobbyist" and "garage developers" going forward.
--------------------------------------------------
JANUARY 26, 2012, 11:22 A.M. ET
Nintendo Warns Losses Will Mount
Nintendo expects a net loss of ¥65 billion on revenue
Revenue fell 31.2% to ¥556.17 billion.




Yeah and just maybe you should not have told all of us independent Nintendo game developers to go fuck ourselves... Garage Karma is the worst kind of a bitch, it itches in all the nasty places.

Want us back, start by sending out development kits to all of us unholy garage developers, you know like you use to do.


Best regards,
Jaded Nintendo Garage Developer


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UPDATE - RF Generator Mod. for 72-585

smith
Original: http://bleepmicro.livejournal.com/57141.html

Here is an update to this modification.




1. Here you can see the version number of the pcb 'Version 01'.  The two diodes on the left are what you are looking for. Btw, they are the only diodes on the pcb.. so, it should be pretty easy to find them.  ;-)




2. This is the back side of the pcb, you can can easily see the cathodes of the two diodes are tied together. This is the point we will tap from. The metal chassis is 0volts.




3. A quick measurement will show we are at the right spot. Again, not that we need to do this as there are only two diodes and they both come directly from the transformer. (Vout=Vdc+Vac) Keep in mind this is still fairly unregulated dc voltage at this point.




4. The voltage tap going to the amp board.  (unreg+24v to reg+12v)




5. A shot of the power trends voltage regulator I used. Again, it is what I had on hand, you can use a standard 7812 type voltage regulator without issue, it just burns a bit more electrons as heat.




6. The +12 volt regulated power supply schematic for the RF amp.







Disclaimer:
This information and the circuits are provided as is without any express or implied warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this text, the authors/maintainers/contributors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

I disclaim everything. The contents of the articles might be totally inaccurate, inappropriate, or misguided. There is no guarantee as to the suitability of said circuits and information for any purpose whatsoever other than as a self-training aid. I.E. If it blows your equipments, trashes your hard disc, wipes your backup, burns your building down or just plain don't work, IT ISN'T MY FAULT. In the event of judicial ruling to the contrary, any liability shall be limited to the sum charged on you by us for the aforementioned document or nothing, whichever is the lower.

I will not be held responsible for any damages or costs which might occur as a result of my advice or designs. All of my designs are allowed to be used for commercial purposes without my written authorization.

Chemical Safety:
Use of any and all Chemicals is simple “Read the damn Label” and don’t be a Hero or an Idiot.

Use, Recycle, Reuse and Dispose of everything properly.



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smith
Having a HOT SOAK ISSUE?  This will help, it will not FIX the HOT SOAK problem. The only known 100% fix for the Jeep HOT SOAK ISSUE is running the electric fan for 3-5min after the engine has turned off and or running real gas and not this ETHANOL bullshit we are FORCED to use. Hood vents an reflexxion hoods all help, wrapping everything and replacing the injectors as they become heat stressed should keep you running.


Let me also state for you to not stress out about replacing these fuel injectors on the jeep. If I can do it within an 1hr in my apartment parking lot.. so can you. I am also not going to get very detailed here as you can find plenty of information on the many Jeep Forums, or better yet pick up a FSM (Factory Service Manual) and it will walk you through the whole process. Plus, I didn't really take enough photos to make a clear process, mostly that's the reason for me not getting too detailed here. Perhaps if I help someone replace their injectors I can take more detail photos for a follow-up post.

ALWAYS Remove the battery cable!


Also, if you have not already done so, we are going to perform the OEM recall for the manifold shield.
TSB Number & Issue Date      TSB Title
B06    MAY 02                            Recall - Intake Manifold Debris Heat Shield


PARTS LIST:
Injectors:
I purchased my Bosch injectors #0280155917 from PAI (Precision Auto Injectors) for $150, yes they are rebuilt. However, I can buy 3 sets of rebuilt injectors or 1 set of new OEM injectors. Besides PAI has great ratings, lifetime warranty and the Ford injectors are a pretty orange color. ;-)


Debris Shield Recall:
Head over to the local Jeep dealer and pick up part number CBXCB060 for $2.75 or you can use this part number 53013669AA for $14.00.  It is the same part, only CBXCB060 is a recall part so its cheaper... go figure.

Service Bulletin 18-031-03:
HOT SOAK ignition wire shield #56028371AA for $7, it will not fix the issue but hey you are there and it has helped calm the HOT SOAK issue down for some folks.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+








DID YOU REMOVE THE BATTERY CABLE! Do so before performing this repair.


1. Take off the gas cap. Remove air intake hose and cables to throttle body. The metal one pops off and the plastic ones just slide forward an off. Remove port cap on the fuel rail and purge fuel rail of gasoline. Remove the quick disconnect fuel line 'disconnect tool needed'.  Keep small container and shop rags handy to collect gas when purging and pulling off the fuel rail.




2. Take out the bolts for the throttle body, cable brackets an misc. hoses. In case I have not said it before mark everything with tape for later reassembly. Also, cover the manifold opening with tape, or stuff a clean rag in the hole. Btw, my old injectors are made by Siemens.




3. Oh NOOOOO! Not the dreaded 0331 head.  Makes me so sad!  Don't know about this issue then just GOOGLE 'jeep 0331'.  If nothing else it shows you where to look on 1999-2006 Jeeps with inline 4.0L engines to see if you are gonna have the head crack around 100K miles due to this manufacturing defect.  Heads with TUPY markings indicate the Brazil manufacture who started making the 0331 head in 2002 and they are OK. Mostly this is for Wranglers as by this time they knew of the cracking issue with the 0331 head and the Cherokee was being killed off in 2001. Some late 99's should have this head and all 2000-2001 Cherokees should have this 0331 manufacturing defective head unless already replaced VIA repair.

BTW, NEVER REPLACE A 0331 head with another 0331 unless it has the TUPY markings, or else it will crack again. See below for TUPY marking location, you need to pull the valve cover or scope it.




4. Depending on the injector o-rings condition 'how hard they are' you may need to carefully pull just on one end of the fuel rail to pop the first couple injectors loose then just move along the rail to pull the rest of the injectors out of the engine. At this time I have also lifted up the electrical rail 'wiggle and pull' to get it up in order to slip in the recall debris shield. Reinstall the electrical rail and plastic pin to lock down the debris shield.




5. Lube the injector o-rings 'petroleum jelly works awesome' just keep it away from the injector tips and also carefully clean the holes on the engine (I used q-tips to clean my injector holes).  Reinstall the injectors, fuel rail and injectors electrical connections.
A helpful hint here is to slide the electrical connectors up an down a few times to scrape off any oxidation after they have been reinstalled and also make sure to use some dielectric compound on the connectors before you reinstall.




6. Everything was installed back for fuel pressure testing (don't forget to put the gas cap back on). All went well and I finished up by adding some gold heat reflective tape onto injector #3 to help with future HOT SOAKING. Pretty orange FORD injectors in the Jeep.




7. Be very careful with these RED plastic locks on the injector electrical connections. I broke a couple of mine as they get very brittle from all the engine heat.  Beyond hitting a Crazy Rays Junkyard , I have not found any OEM part number to just order the locking clip without buying the whole connector too.  I don't need the connector as it is fine.
So, if anyone has a part number for this red locking clip, or has a few laying around they care to part with contact me.  The injector connector still latches it just does not have the lock down feature. If I cannot find some locks i'll just use some 3M fiberglass tape to lock the connector to the injector.




Anyway, pretty easy. Take your time have the few tools together an look at it before you do it, as in take some good photos of the area under the hood and look at them on screen while you are also searching the Jeep Forums and you should have no problems when it comes time to actually doing this project.

Really, as stated before this is really easy for even a basic mechanic to do an it will save you several hundred $$$ or more $$$$ and $$$$ is a good thing.



TUPY HEAD MARKING & LOCATION UNDER VALVE COVER
Photo is by: RockRodHooligan from JeepForum.com






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HiFER Beacon Project (REBUILD)

smith

Not being happy with my current HiFER beacon, it was time to perform a complete rebuild, what follows is the end result.




1. The new case, it is just a standard empty paint can from ACE HARDWARE. The board area is two double sided pcb's soldered to brass standoffs, one side will be the power supply/uC and the other will be for RF.




2. Just another shot of how I have the board mounted to the paint can lid. Thumb screws go into the standoffs to hold it into place.




3. Closer view of how I soldered the standoffs.




4. Power supply section & the PIC micro recycled from previous HiFER builds.




5. Semi-finished RF side.  Ocx, Pre-Amp, Driver, LP Filter




6. I went back in and reworked the LP filter to really knock down the harmonics. (2nd@-46dBm)




Done, adjusted to my desired freq output and Bob's your Uncle. I know this one was quick an dirty, more details may follow.







Disclaimer:
This information and the circuits are provided as is without any express or implied warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this text, the authors/maintainers/contributors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

I disclaim everything. The contents of the articles might be totally inaccurate, inappropriate, or misguided. There is no guarantee as to the suitability of said circuits and information for any purpose whatsoever other than as a self-training aid. I.E. If it blows your equipments, trashes your hard disc, wipes your backup, burns your building down or just plain don't work, IT ISN'T MY FAULT. In the event of judicial ruling to the contrary, any liability shall be limited to the sum charged on you by us for the aforementioned document or nothing, whichever is the lower.

I will not be held responsible for any damages or costs which might occur as a result of my advice or designs. All of my designs are allowed to be used for commercial purposes without my written authorization.

Chemical Safety:
Use of any and all Chemicals is simple “Read the damn Label” and don’t be a Hero or an Idiot.

Use, Recycle, Reuse and Dispose of everything properly.



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RF Generator Mod. for 72-585

smith
This updates the missing images for this modification. http://bleepmicro.livejournal.com/58080.html

IMPORTANT READ ME!  I failed to show you how I was supplying power to the broadband amps power supply. I am pulling this rectified +24volts directly from the 2 diodes on the RF generators power supply. These are the primary diodes that power the generator, make sure you pull from the rectified side an not the center tapped transformer AC side. No need for a ground wire as the whole case is common grounded. Measure from case ground to these diodes and you should see about +24volts, you are at the right spot. !!Really My BAD!! 

 I needed a bit more output from my signal generator naturally leads to some sort of modification. Model is Tenma 72-585  Avg. price $160 Before the mod: Avg. 100mV up to 35MHz After the mod: 8v+ up to 80MHz (Much higher levels if you are fine with some distortion level) or basically 10mW up to 160mW depending on the transistor used and having parts to really design the amp for optimal performance. Nothing I do with this RF generator will ever go over 54Mhz. So, this mod works great for me. Let's begin.

BTW, total pull from my amp design was 60mA

1. Open the case. Pull off the atten knob, remove nut from the pot shaft. Remove the IDC cables plugged into the pcb and unsolder the crystal socket wires if your unit has this option as not all do. Now unsolder the BNC center pin from the pcb, then move over to the modulation input jack tabs an do the same. After these items are unsoldered and viewing the unit from the back side you should see a small metal tab on the right bottom side of the case that is holding the pcb corner, use a screwdriver or needle nose pliers and gently bend this tab out of the way to allow the pcb to be removed from the case easily.




2. Looking at the backside of the case with the pcb removed, you will notice that the case was designed to have two BNC type connectors installed, they just did not punch the front face plate for the second BNC. We are going to drill this out to install a new BNC connector. Here I used a standard metric uni-bit to drill mine out.



3.  Once you have the hole drilled out on the front plate, insert the pcb back into the unit (DO NOT SOLDER IT BACK IN) just hold it in place by hand and from the front side use a pencil or sharpie to mark the front panel hole location onto the top of the pcb. Now remove the pcb and drill this center point for the center connection of the BNC.  Take your time here and if you think it was not lined up straight then redo it, or else the center pin for the BNC will be off center. Also, be careful around these caps as they chip easily.



4. Along the bottom of the pcb there is a 0 ohm jumper that goes to the original BNC connector, remove this jumper. When view from the backside of the pcb if you drilled that hole correctly for the BNC connector and removed the 0 ohm jumper this is what it should look like.



5. Done with this part, reinstall the OEM pcb back into the case.  (Notes: I switched the BNC. I used the original in the new hole we drilled as the post was longer and made it easier to get above the pcb as we did not cut out the front plate to recess the BNC connector. I also used a bit of 3M fiberglass tape across the backside of the BNC connectors, specifically around the ground tabs to help protect the disc capacitors on the board from damage).



6. Here is the board I created to hold the +24volt power supply and the broadband amplifier circuit. The ears are important due to the way the board is mounted onto the OEM board. The mass of the voltage regulator needed to be support very well, or it might cause the board to pull away if you just used the typical mounting of running a bead of solder across both pcb seams to try and hold it in place. Don't forget to scrape the green solder mask off the board.



7. Here I have built my test amp on some scrap pcb material first to allow for changing part values and locations.. etc. Much easier to work it out here then on the final board that will be mounted into the RF generator and it also keeps things looking nice. :-)



8. Here is the basic schematic, nothing new its just a basic broadband amp found in any RF/RADIO project book. No part values are given as I use scrap parts off of many types of boards. So, naturally the values will be different then if you were to built it with scrap board parts or design it properly with a spice program with near perfect values.



9. Here is my final version with everything tested and mounted onto the final board.



10. My amplifier board is tacked onto the OEM board and wired up for final checkout testing.  I am pulling the drive signal directly off the pot adjustment tab, unit has no loading effect or weird harmonics. I recommend using shielded wire or coax for the connection from the pot tab to broadband amp input, this should help to keep things clean an prevent unwanted UHF oscillations. (Note: not shown is a small bit of copper mesh soldered onto the transistor as a heat sink. Keep in mind this adds capacitance to the collector of the transistor. I had already designed an tested my prototype with this heat sink before adding it to the final circuit, I just failed to visually document it for you. Violet wire goes to the +24v rectified side diodes on the main power supply for the generator.



11. I found the signal output from the broadband amp to be cleaner. Yes, I had to double check this to make sure the noise an distortion was not due to some loading of the RF oscillator being pulled off the output pot tab and it is was not the case... the RF Generator output is just that nasty. ( .16vp-p INPUT / 4vp-p OUTPUT @ about 20MHz)



12. DONE! Buttoned up and ready for some work.


Have fun!

* pcb=printed circuit board * BNC=Bayonet Neill-Concelman connector




Disclaimer: This information and the circuits are provided as is without any express or implied warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this text, the authors/maintainers/contributors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

I disclaim everything. The contents of the articles might be totally inaccurate, inappropriate, or misguided. There is no guarantee as to the suitability of said circuits and information for any purpose whatsoever other than as a self-training aid. I.E. If it blows your equipments, trashes your hard disc, wipes your backup, burns your building down or just plain don't work, IT ISN'T MY FAULT. In the event of judicial ruling to the contrary, any liability shall be limited to the sum charged on you by us for the aforementioned document or nothing, whichever is the lower.

I will not be held responsible for any damages or costs which might occur as a result of my advice or designs. All of my designs are allowed to be used for commercial purposes without my written authorization. Chemical Safety: Use of any and all Chemicals is simple “Read the damn Label” and don’t be a Hero or an Idiot. Use, Recycle, Reuse and Dispose of everything properly.

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smith
The Quick and Dirty information for getting legal to drive in Maryland.



Safety Inspection:
STEVE'S GARAGE
1735 E. Joppa Rd.
Parkville MD 21234
Phone: 410-661-2874

http://www.mdstateinspectionstation.com/

CHECKS OR CASH ONLY

Open Monday thru Friday 8 am to 4 pm, on a first come first served basis
Open Saturday mornings, Appointments accepted

There is no charge to re-inspect the vehicle if repair work is needed.


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General Car Repairs and repairs to pass Maryland Safety Inspection:
Par's Auto Service
1766 E. Joppa Rd.
Baltimore, MD 21234
Phone: (410) 668-1393

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NEW Tag's and Drivers License:
Go to the Glen Burnie location, really only go here it will save you the headaches.
(paperwork note for drivers license: Proof of residence that does not have the associated envelope is not accepted. Let me say that again, if you have 20 documents showing your name and address as being from within the state of Maryland and you do not have the 20 USPS stamped envelopes that it was mailed to you in, then none of it is accepted as proof of residence... PERIOD).  I warned you!


TAGS:
Title, Proof of Insurance, Maryland Safety Inspection Certificate and Application for Certificate of Title (form #VR-005)  Get the 005 form from the website, fill it out and have it ready before you go.  Btw, they do take credit cards.

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Vehicle Emissions Inspection testing info will be sent to you in the mail with the time and place to have it done. This is performed by the actual state of Maryland and well after the car has plates.

VEIP Test Fee $14.00 unless you are late then its more

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Now for all the ranting stuff.

A big issue I have here is the safety inspection is not performed by the state but rather the very shops and mechanics that have a vested interest in finding as much wrong with your car as they can. The more wrong the more monies they make.. simple as that and it's a serious conflict of interest.

There is only one, you heard correctly. Only one shop in the entire state of Maryland that performs only safety inspections and it's Steve's Garage.


Also, Please take a look at the long list below of the items that will be inspected and repair it if you know its not working before having the Maryland inspection performed, or sell the car before you move here to save the huge repair cost and hassle.


Safety Inspection pricing is based on the repair shops hourly labor rates. So, if they charge $80/hr and it takes them 2 hours, the safety inspection will cost you $160.
A note here as this is just an example, most shops seem to charge a flat rate of $60-100 for the safety inspection, as they make most of their money off the repairs they are going to hit you with.


FREE Safety Inspections; Really, think about that. You really think they are not going to find all sorts of repairs to charge you for. They are not going to spend 1.5 to 2 hours for “FREE”  on the hope that maybe you will be a future customer one day... I think not. Best to avoid this setup from the start.


WOW! All that shit is wrong with my car and it's going to cost HOW FUCKING much to repair!.!.! Do yourself a favor and pay the extra cost and have a second opinion performed. Yes have another shop in a completely different part of town to re-perform the safety inspection all over, unless of course you already know the car is a POS (Piece of Shit) at which case see above about selling the car before moving to Maryland.


Maryland Repair Shops:
I have only experience with a couple of shops and so far the best one I have found is the Iranian brothers over at Par's Auto Service down the street from Steve's Garage. The best way to describe them is FUCKING AWESOME and I would not ever hesitate driving, or having my car towed half way across Maryland for them to be the ones to work on anything I cannot.  I was gonna say they ROCKED but it just did not express how awesome they are and that's with them handling the repair on our POS KIA.



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MARYLAND STATE SAFETY INSPECTION CHECKS THESE ITEMS


1.OBTAIN VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER AND ODOMETER READING

2. INSPECT STEERING FOR:
   (A) STEERING WHEEL CONDITION
   (B) STEERING COLUMN CONDITION
   (C) LASH
   (D) TRAVEL FOR JAMMING OR BINDING
   (E) LINKAGE FOR EXCESSIVE FREE PLAY
   (F) POWER STEERING CONDITION
   (G) VEHICLE MUST BE ROAD TESTED

3. INSPECT WHEEL ALIGNMENT FOR:
   (A) TOE READING
   (B) CASTER AND CAMBER ONLY IF ROAD TEST INDICATES
   (C) REAR WHEEL ALIGNMENT & AXLE

4. INSPECT SUSPENSION FOR:
   (A) BALL JOINT WEAR
   (B) KING PIN OR SPINDLE BOLT CONDITION
   (C) WHEEL BEARING CONDITION
   (D) SPRINGS AND TORSION BAR CONDITION
   (E) SHOCK ABSORBER OR STRUT CONDITION

5. INSPECT BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR:
   (A) STOPPING DISTANCE, EITHER ROAD TEST OR DECELEROMETER
   (B) HYDRAULIC SYSTEM CONDITION
   (C) DRUM AND DISC CONDITION
   (D) LINING AND PAD CONDITION
        2/32 INCH GENERAL MINIMUM
   (E) GENERAL CONDITION OF MECHANICAL LINKAGE
   (F) VACUUM OR HYDRAULIC BOOSTER SYSTEM
        CONDITION
   (G) PARKING BRAKE FUNCTION

6. INSPECT TIRES AND WHEELS FOR:
   (A) CONDITION OF TIRES, SIZE, TYPE AND TREAD DEPTH
   (B) CONDITION OF WHEELS, NUTS, STUDS, OR LUGS

7. INSPECT FUEL SYSTEM FOR:
   (A) FUEL TANK CONDITION AND LEAKS
   (B) CHOKE, HAND THROTTLE AND ACCELERATOR OPERATION

8. INSPECT EXHAUST SYSTEM FOR:
   (A) CONDITION OF MANIFOLD, ALL PIPING, MUFFLER, RESONATOR AND THE TAIL PIPING. TO INCLUDE LEAKS AND PROPER MOUNTING

9. INSPECT BUMPERS FOR:
   (A) CONDITION OF BUMPERS INCLUDING HEIGHT AND PROPER MOUNTING

10. INSPECT FENDERS FOR:
     (A) CONDITION OF FENDERS TO INCLUDE MOUNTING AND COVERAGE OF WHEELS AND TIRES

11. INSPECT LIGHTING FOR:
    (A) CONDITION AND FUNCTION OF OF ALL ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT LIGHTING AND WHATEVER ADDED LIGHTS ARE AUTHORIZED.
    (B) INSPECT HEAD LIGHTS FOR CONDITION, CANDLE POWER OUTPUT AND AIM
    (C) INSPECT AUXILIARY OR FOG LIGHTS FOR AIM AND PROPER MOUNTING

12. INSPECT MIRRORS FOR:
    (A) CONDITION OF MIRRORS TO INCLUDE UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW OF BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE MIRRORS WHEN REQUIRED

13. INSPECT VEHICLE GLAZING FOR:
     (A) PROPER MATERIALS USED FOR SPECIFIC LOCATIONS
     (B) OPERATION OF DRIVER WINDOW
     (C) DAMAGE THAT EXCEEDS ALLOWABLE LIMITS
     (D) TINTING NOT INCORPORATED INTO THE GLAZING EXCEPT AS NOTED IN THE PROCEDURES.

14. INSPECT WINDSHIELD WIPERS FOR:
    (A) SATISFACTORY OPERATION AND CONDITION OF ARMS AND BLADES

15. INSPECT HOOD/CATCHES FOR:
    (A) CONDITION AND PROPER FUNCTION OF HOOD FOR FULL CLOSURE

16. INSPECT DOORS, HANDLES AND LATCHES FOR:
    (A) CONDITION AND PROPER FUNCTION OF ALL DOORS, LATCHES, HINGES AND
          HANDLES

17. INSPECT FLOOR AND TRUNK FOR:
     (A) HOLES OR RUSTED OUT AND WEAKENED CONDITIONS IN FLOOR OR TRUNK PAN

18. INSPECT SPEEDOMETER AND ODOMETER FOR:
     (A) OPERATION AND LEGIBILITY
     (B) REGISTER IN MPH OR KILOMETERS

19. INSPECT ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FOR:
    (A) PROPER CONDITION AND FUNCTION OF HORN
    (B) CONDITION OF WIRING AND SWITCHES
    (C) NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH IN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS ONLY
    (D) CONDITION OF BATTERY CABLES AND HOLD DOWN

20. INSPECT DRIVERS SEAT FOR:
    (A) PRESENCE, CONDITION AND MOUNTING

21. INSPECT SAFETY BELTS FOR:
     (A) PRESENCE, CONDITION AND OPERATION AND MOUNTING

22. INSPECT MOTOR MOUNTS:
     (A) IF ORIGINALLY MANUFACTURED WITH; CHECK PRESENCE AND CONDITION

23. INSPECT GEAR SELECTION INDICATOR FOR:
     (A) PROPER INDICATION OF CORRECT POSITION

24. INSPECT UNIVERSAL JOINTS / CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINTS FOR:
    (A) ATTACHMENT AND WORN, DAMAGED, OR LOOSE JOINTS
    (B) TORN OF DAMAGED CV BOOTS

25. INSPECT EMISSIONS EQUIPMENT FOR PRESENCE AND PROPER CONNECTION:
   (A) CATALYTIC CONVERTER
   (B) POSITIVE CRANKCASE VENTILATION
   (C) AIR INJECTION SYSTEM
   (D) EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION SYSTEM
   (E) EVAPORATIVE EMISSIONS SYSTEM






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SNOW...SNOW...SNOW...SNOW

smith
I finished shoveling out the parking spaces and didn't have a heart attack... WOOT!

Nothing of a big deal here, just a quick photo with a scale stuck into the snow shows about 19.8cm.



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Leslie William Nielsen

smith





Leslie William Nielsen
November 28, 2010 (age 84)





"I am serious. and don't call me Shirley"

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FCC to auction off amateur radio spectrum

smith
Got your attention? 

Then be aware President Barack Obama on Monday JUNE 28, 2010 signed a memorandum to nearly double the amount of federal and commercial spectrum available for smartphones and wireless Internet devices.

The memorandum directs federal agencies to find ways to free up 500 megahertz of airwaves for consumer mobile broadband services over the next 10 years. While the directive applies to all federal agencies and may take years to fully realize, there are some other areas that may have spectrum ripe for being freed.


SO, how long will it take before those eyes start looking to sell off all that amateur radio spectrum?


    * 70 centimeters (420 - 450 MHz)
    * 33 centimeters (902 - 928 MHz)
    * 23 centimeters (1.24 - 1.3 GHz)
    * 13 centimeters (2.30 - 2.31 GHz and 2.39 - 2.45 GHz)
    * 9 centimeters (3.3 - 3.5 GHz)
    * 5 centimeters (5.65 - 5.925 GHz)
    * 3 centimeters (10.0 - 10.5 GHz)
    * 1.2 centimeters (24.00 - 24.25 GHz)
    * 6 millimeters (47.0 - 47.2 GHz)
    * 4 millimeters (75.5 - 81.0 GHz)
    * 2.5 millimeters (119.98 - 120.02 GHz)
    * 2 millimeters (142 - 149 GHz)
    * 1 millimeter (241 - 250 GHz)




Just as a reference;

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/allochrt.pdf

http://www.fcc.gov/oet/info/software/suss/

http://www.arrl.org/band-plan-1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_frequency_allocations#Ultra_High_Frequency_.28UHF.29_.28300_MHz_to_3_GHz.29





Just a Monday afternoon rant.
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  • Item# FCA-14 FA-vintage CDs from 1995 to 2008 - 14-CD pack (www.box73.de)


  • I'll also accept any books that cover QRP, RF, RADIO, Electronics, Physics, Optics... etc.


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