Yes. I'm one of these stupid people who's smart phone looks like new after two years. I have a price limit of 200€ and expect it to last about two years +x. It is anoying if you have a perfectly working phone with a good camera and enough speed for your mostly technical apps, and some spammer/scammer/crook makes it useless. Two "Vernee" phones. Disabeled by self installing Chinese apps, taking over the phone.
Bought Motorola to replace them, only to find out it is also a Chinese s***show company, not US any more. This world is not what it used to be. Maybe I get old.
Bought Motorola to replace them, only to find out it is also a Chinese s***show company, not US any more. This world is not what it used to be. Maybe I get old.
For a race car, the first you do is to remove anything useless for performance on the track. Like air condition, electric window lifter, audio, heater and so on. With audio it is quite the same. The more you reduce it to the important functions, the better. Some have misused this idea to sell customers bare "nothing" products at an elevated price, but thats not the point. All the hype on the market are 100% useless wireless functions, apps and the like. The remaining audio is some plastic yougurt cup speaker... but it is OT here. Sorry.
Not to brag, but my moto was purchased Jan, 2018, so 5+ now. It is the one that allows snap in back packs, and I'd purchased the extra battery when I bought it. I still get 2+ days of usage. It also has the indestructible plastic screen that is easily scratched, but the easy solution is screen protectors. The protectors take the scratches and the phone screen never cracks. I think I've gone thru maybe 10 protectors. Every time I put a new one on, its like a new phone. Thankfully it has 4G, but obviously no 5G. No extra apps, disabled or removed most the builtins. For me a phone is for one main purpose, a phone. The only apps I use are the builtin camera and waze. I don't even browse the web with it, and I've set the text option to not download automatically. So if I don't know your text is coming with MMS, it gets deleted. Oh, did I mention, I'm paranoid! I've worked in defense, and I also worked at a startup where we noted a beat up old van that looked abandoned way out in the parking lot. Turned out it was a PI being paid by a competitor. It was there for months. To this day if I see a van near the house I make a point of looking in the windows.
When did they give it up? Link? I thought I read there was some crime and they refused, maybe that's changed now.
Ok @NareshBrd I will keep that in mind, all good points.
It's a 4G phone with vanilla Android from 2017 and it just works, the battery parcel included tools to remove the display 18e shipped, I already bought a Pixie Seven which was introduced on the market 2yrs ago but the shift have drawn out over a year for various reasons which one of them being me not having much energy, I do also need a new "battery".., the pixie was much more money than I intended to splurge on a smart phone, but then it has some of the better phone cameras out there and I like photography, and the "best camera" is the one which is with you, the little milc clunker always stays at home and so doesn't seize any fun memories..
Anyways, it's a matter of fact it's becoming increasingly difficult to live without a smart phone, or in other cases missing out on many offers only available with an installed app from any of those common food and warehouses who have jumped on the bandwagon scrutinizing their customers shopping behavior and selling or unknowingly transferring the data to a third party by the app, I have done what I can on an unrooted phone and turned of most unnecessary and potentially vulnerable stuff, wifi bluetooth nfc definitely gets turned off when not needed.
An app I have come to appreciate highly is a good firewall, one of the best and open source is Neguard.
That will also prevent some apps displaying ads or other annoyances showing up, but make sure to install/or reinstall the app with the FW enabled.
Watching the phonehome sheitshow, go to 3-dots upper right corner -> Settings -> Advanced options -> make sure to enable "Log internet access" and "Notify on internet access" and see your phone phoning home all day long, even the keylogerrr.. ahem I mean the keyboard have to phone home once in a while, wt*.. for what!?!
The app (which for some unfathomable reason had to take up a whole 100 Megabytes) I had to install just to open the locker did phone home to InMobi an IT company in Bangalore (India's silicon valley), India.
When I get there the pixie is going to get a custom ROM from Lineage OS.
But for daily use I will allow myself being a little careless, at least with my trivial fart clown stuff, got to have something not the least important... plausible deniability, just in case you one day get framed you are still that politically correct innocent average Joe Banana citizen, just like me. :)
It's a 4G phone with vanilla Android from 2017 and it just works, the battery parcel included tools to remove the display 18e shipped, I already bought a Pixie Seven which was introduced on the market 2yrs ago but the shift have drawn out over a year for various reasons which one of them being me not having much energy, I do also need a new "battery".., the pixie was much more money than I intended to splurge on a smart phone, but then it has some of the better phone cameras out there and I like photography, and the "best camera" is the one which is with you, the little milc clunker always stays at home and so doesn't seize any fun memories..
Anyways, it's a matter of fact it's becoming increasingly difficult to live without a smart phone, or in other cases missing out on many offers only available with an installed app from any of those common food and warehouses who have jumped on the bandwagon scrutinizing their customers shopping behavior and selling or unknowingly transferring the data to a third party by the app, I have done what I can on an unrooted phone and turned of most unnecessary and potentially vulnerable stuff, wifi bluetooth nfc definitely gets turned off when not needed.
An app I have come to appreciate highly is a good firewall, one of the best and open source is Neguard.
That will also prevent some apps displaying ads or other annoyances showing up, but make sure to install/or reinstall the app with the FW enabled.
Watching the phonehome sheitshow, go to 3-dots upper right corner -> Settings -> Advanced options -> make sure to enable "Log internet access" and "Notify on internet access" and see your phone phoning home all day long, even the keylogerrr.. ahem I mean the keyboard have to phone home once in a while, wt*.. for what!?!
The app (which for some unfathomable reason had to take up a whole 100 Megabytes) I had to install just to open the locker did phone home to InMobi an IT company in Bangalore (India's silicon valley), India.
When I get there the pixie is going to get a custom ROM from Lineage OS.
But for daily use I will allow myself being a little careless, at least with my trivial fart clown stuff, got to have something not the least important... plausible deniability, just in case you one day get framed you are still that politically correct innocent average Joe Banana citizen, just like me. :)
Affordable cable management from Aliexpress. I cut the indents somewhat bigger to fit 4-6 mm cables and drilled small holes for the 30 mm nails I used to mount them to my (wooden) cabinet. The selfadhesive pad is not strong enough to stay in place with all cables. The nails fixed that.
Regards, Gerrit
Regards, Gerrit
Interesting link, thanks! "The unidentified method used to unlock Farook's phone - costing more than $1 million to obtain - quit working once Apple updated their operating system" As does lots of stuff, with M$ too.
0-150VDC meter with 7" (178mm) face. It works. 1930s or '40s vintage? Was $5 at auction.
People have no idea what's good when they pass things like this up.
People have no idea what's good when they pass things like this up.
I spent 41 years of my life working for Motorola in Florida, part of that time was in the phone development group when Motorola actually developed and BUILT cell phones in Florida. Those days are indeed gone. For some time phone development was still done in the US with manufacturing in Malaysia, and then finally China. Motorola phones were built in the SAME FOXCONN FACTORY as APPLE iPhones! As Motorola was being dismantled, broken up and parted out like a junk car by the Wall Street Wizards led by Carl Icahn, the phone group was sold to Google who kept the patents, then sold the rest to Lenovo, a Chinese company.
I still worked at Motorola in the research group through the breakup and dismantling. I carried a Samsung phone in the Motorola plant, while my boss and most other Motorola employees had iPhones! Now that I am retired an on a fixed income, Samsung and Apple phones are well beyond my budget, so I carry a Motorola. The low buck phones from Lenovorola as we called it do work good and will last a few years at least. I have only upgraded when my daughter breaks her phone, takes mine and I get a new one. USD $200 is my limit, and there are a few Motorola phones available on Amazon that fit this limit. Some are even 5G. Pair that with Mint Mobile's $15 per month service and save big bucks compared to the typical ripoffs by the big three US carrier's direct to consumer prices.
There are only three nationwide cell service providers in the USA, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. All other sellers buy large blocks of air time from the big three. Mint uses T-Mobile.
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I see building and decoration counts in this thread.
Repainted the smallest room in the house over the weekend.
Sneaked a small paint job for a small computer speaker with Mark Audio CHP-70.
SWMBO cannot complain...
Here the low end phones are around $100, with 4GB RAM and 64 GB storage.
Most are 5G at $125 and up.
Samsung is the leader here, Lenovo and Motorola are sold like VW /Audi, Motorola is the more expensive and with the latest features, gap of six months for same spec item in the Lenovo range!
Low market share here, expensive and heavy weight compared to competition.
No ties to any names here.
Bought a 4 Watt insect zapper tube, changed it, $1.25.
Label says not replaceable, scrap it if lamp fails.
Crazy...made in China.
Most are 5G at $125 and up.
Samsung is the leader here, Lenovo and Motorola are sold like VW /Audi, Motorola is the more expensive and with the latest features, gap of six months for same spec item in the Lenovo range!
Low market share here, expensive and heavy weight compared to competition.
No ties to any names here.
Bought a 4 Watt insect zapper tube, changed it, $1.25.
Label says not replaceable, scrap it if lamp fails.
Crazy...made in China.
Really cheap feature phone with buttons is INR 1400 ($18), and a newer version is about $30.
The phone works well enough on 4G, and the operator had a $2 plan, now it is $2.50 or so, per month, free calls, and 1.5 GB data monthly.
Other operators also have similar plans, we have 4 national operators, the local guys went bankrupt or closed long back.
The phone works well enough on 4G, and the operator had a $2 plan, now it is $2.50 or so, per month, free calls, and 1.5 GB data monthly.
Other operators also have similar plans, we have 4 national operators, the local guys went bankrupt or closed long back.
Sorry, please read that as 2GB data monthly, there are other plans available, up to 3 GB data daily, some people watch TV and movies on line while commuting, for example.
There are also monthly and annual data plans, with no daily limit.
It is best to change the phone after two to three years, use and battery wear, apart from software upgrades, can make an old phone less than desirable.
There are also monthly and annual data plans, with no daily limit.
It is best to change the phone after two to three years, use and battery wear, apart from software upgrades, can make an old phone less than desirable.
I didn't see this coming...
My wife received a cheap turntable and a few old albums on her last birthday and has been collecting more, here and there, since. I had avoided that whole scene through the re-emergence of vinyl, preferring to spend money on tools/parts, but I have been looking at phone preamp circuits and thinking about building her a little system (M2/F5/F5m) and replacing her turntable with something better. well, today she wanted to stop by a local shop neither of us had been to. it turned out to be a cool little place with some guitars, amps and small selection of vintage hifi gear along with the vinyl. having spent my teen years listening to a Pioneer SX1250, I immediately noticed an SX650 on the shelf. it was the only piece without a price tag so I ask the owner about it. She through out a figure of $100, mentions a little noise in the pots but said it hadn't been on the bench yet. It was in relatively good shape but has some damage to the plastic "veneer". I was semi thinking about it and started to walk away when my wife walks over and says, " hey, my dad had a stereo like that". When I saw the stack of albums she had, I figured why not?
At home I pulled the cover, blew it out with the compressor and started testing. No crackle at all in the pots, everything worked perfectly, except for the 3 little display backlight lamps. I may or may not recap the PS, leaning toward not, unless its prudent. The plastic veneer will either be replaced or, I can remake the top in solid walnut... she has a late December birthday, so I'll also need to build a pair of speakers and do something about a turntable in the next 2 months. Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised and looking forward to the project. Yeah, I'll have to start collecting too.
Phones? Our MO has been to buy the outgoing flagship samsungs on a BOGO deal when the new ones are released and use then for 4-5 years. I replaced my S10+ earlier this year but its still in perfect shape and serves as my shop music source (and emergency backup phone).
My wife received a cheap turntable and a few old albums on her last birthday and has been collecting more, here and there, since. I had avoided that whole scene through the re-emergence of vinyl, preferring to spend money on tools/parts, but I have been looking at phone preamp circuits and thinking about building her a little system (M2/F5/F5m) and replacing her turntable with something better. well, today she wanted to stop by a local shop neither of us had been to. it turned out to be a cool little place with some guitars, amps and small selection of vintage hifi gear along with the vinyl. having spent my teen years listening to a Pioneer SX1250, I immediately noticed an SX650 on the shelf. it was the only piece without a price tag so I ask the owner about it. She through out a figure of $100, mentions a little noise in the pots but said it hadn't been on the bench yet. It was in relatively good shape but has some damage to the plastic "veneer". I was semi thinking about it and started to walk away when my wife walks over and says, " hey, my dad had a stereo like that". When I saw the stack of albums she had, I figured why not?
At home I pulled the cover, blew it out with the compressor and started testing. No crackle at all in the pots, everything worked perfectly, except for the 3 little display backlight lamps. I may or may not recap the PS, leaning toward not, unless its prudent. The plastic veneer will either be replaced or, I can remake the top in solid walnut... she has a late December birthday, so I'll also need to build a pair of speakers and do something about a turntable in the next 2 months. Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised and looking forward to the project. Yeah, I'll have to start collecting too.
Phones? Our MO has been to buy the outgoing flagship samsungs on a BOGO deal when the new ones are released and use then for 4-5 years. I replaced my S10+ earlier this year but its still in perfect shape and serves as my shop music source (and emergency backup phone).
I would use the unit for a week, for the capacitors to reform, then check, replace if needed.
Lamps can be replaced with LEDs, the issue is finding dim and diffused ones now!
And do check whatever mechanical parts need a dose of switch cleaner / lube.
And if it has STK chips, please rework the heat sink compound, think about it if it is transistors, wait for other members to give their opinion on that.
Lamps can be replaced with LEDs, the issue is finding dim and diffused ones now!
And do check whatever mechanical parts need a dose of switch cleaner / lube.
And if it has STK chips, please rework the heat sink compound, think about it if it is transistors, wait for other members to give their opinion on that.
Thank you @NareshBrd , I really appreciate the advice. I'm calling a buddy that restores model A and Model T fords to see what his suppliers carry and have a couple other places to check. My neighbor was recently task with cataloging/selling a bunch of parts from a radio and antique electronics club member that passed away. I know he had a bunch of 10-cards of 6.3v lamps but not much else. its a nice excuse to visit if nothing else. cheers