Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.
The trash truck drives up to the dumpster, stops with its front tires barely on the concrete pad, extracts the dumpster contents, and backs away over the same two tire tracks. The crushed asphalt tracks extend halfway to the perimeter road circling around on the far right, where another crushed area shows the truck’s route into the parking lot.
Google Streetview’s history suggests the parking lot was sealed and striped five years ago. The motel predates the earliest pictures from 2007, although the tree sizes suggest the place was maybe five years old by then, so we’re looking at two decades of regular use.
As far as I can tell, dribbling hot tar along asphalt cracks does absolutely nothing except give the appearance of someone caring.
It turns out the camera’s case seal isn’t quite up to the task:
SJCam M50 camera condensation – detail
The lip around the front half of the case presses against a rubber gasket around the rear half, which means the water on the electronics chassis is inside the camera case:
SJCam M50 camera condensation – case edge
Fortunately, the water condensed on the inside of the glass lens protector, rather than on the camera itself:
SJCam M50 camera condensation – interior
I let the whole thing dry out on the bench for a few days and all seems right again.
The leak does make me think leaving it out in the rain is a Bad Idea™, which isn’t the sort of thought one should have about a trail camera.
For just under twenty bucks, Mary has a new clothes iron and I harvested the heating element from the longsuffering Sunbeam iron:
Sunbeam clothes iron – heater connections
Per the notations:
AC Line enters on middle terminal to thermostat
Thermostat controlled Line on left terminal to heater
AC Neutral to heater terminal on right
The heater measures 12.6 Ω cold, so 9.5 A → 1.1 kW.
The iron had an insulating sleeve on the thermostat shaft capped with a plastic dial, which makes perfect sense for something in contact with the hot side of the AC power cord.
The IC date codes suggest it’s been around since 2002, so it’s about two decades old. In that time, one of the two electrolytic capacitors succumbed to the plague:
Sunbeam clothes iron – capacitor plague
I think the relay and electronics implemented the iron’s timed shutoff function, but it does seem rather complex for that.
The black plate on the front may be a door panel from the other contestant, because it obviously does not match the vehicle. Perhaps the wrecker crew strapped it on to hold the debris in place?
The front end submarined under the obstacle and stopped just before the passenger compartment reached the excitement.
A view of the windshield and top of the dashboard:
Guardian Angel at Work – dashboard
The fan may have been tucked in there by the wrecker crew, along with assorted chunks of plastic and metal.
A closer look at the medallion resting on the dash, rotated for your viewing convenience:
Guardian Angel at Work – medallion
The steering wheel airbag had deployed, so perhaps the driver emerged relatively undamaged, but, as always, guardian angels seem unconcerned with property damage.
The last three years have pretty conclusively shown the various gods do not care about individuals and, in fact, their presumed acts closely resemble epidemiology in action.
So the oven igniter I installed in January failed to ignite the oven when its current draw fell far enough below the valve’s 3.3 A minimum:
Oven Igniter – 2.3 A current
Of course, the seller no longer offers that particular igniter.
I described the problem:
The igniter just failed. The oven gas valve requires 3.3 to 3.6 amps to open, but this igniter now draws only 2.3 amps, as shown by the clamp-on current meter.
Because of the low current, the valve does not open and the oven does not heat.
The igniter should last more than five months! How do I go about getting a replacement or a refund? Thanks …
Which generated pretty much the reply you’d expect:
We are very sorry, because your product is 5 months from the date of purchase, we cannot offer you a refund. Please purchase another replacement.
Which made me a bit salty:
” the best quality for greater power connection, higher load and longer service life “
” We stand by our products, and our customers are our focus as a business. If you have any quality problem, please contact Funmit customer service team in time, and we will try our best to solve your problems “
So five months is “longer service life” with “the best quality”.
Bonus: now I understand what “try our best” means, too.
But to no avail:
Have a nice day! We are glad to serve you. We are very sorry that you are not satisfied with our products. Amazon.com Return Policy:Amazon.com Voluntary 30-Day Return Guarantee: You can return many items you have purchased within 30 days following delivery of the item to you. Our Voluntary 30-Day Return Guarantee does not affect your legal right of withdrawal in any way. However, the product has passed the return and exchange period, so it cannot provide you with a warranty. If you have other questions, please contact us in time, we will serve you wholeheartedly. Thank you. Sincere wishes, –By Funmit
So I bought a slightly more expensive igniter from a different randomly named seller that draws a slightly under-spec but entirely typical 3 A:
Oven Igniter – 3.0 A initial current
This one, however, allegedly comes with a one year warranty:
Quality you can Trust – All Snap Products are made with premium materials and are tested so they last Buy with Confidence – Snap Supply Parts always come with a 1 Year Warranty
Which surely requires the seller remaining in business until then.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 