With email copy to Ed. Remove NONONO to email.lTwHaPMd2PG4uM&tbnid=IkOz4CNcM5iAZM&vet=12ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA..i&w=1600&h=1600&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA
I posted in another thread about my philips DVDR3575H dvdr with
harddrive that stopped working 2 or 3 months ago. (I've had medical
problems since Dec 11, so I've not gotten much done. They are scheduled
to end or be permanent by March 11. I'm optimistic.)
The topic here is what happened when I took apart the broken one. Since
it was totally dead, I expected to find a problem with the power supply.
I didnt' see anything burned out, and before I got out my meter, I
looked around and in the middle of another board, iirc the tuner board,
I found a little switch that looks like the middle ones in the back row
here: https://www.google.com/imgres?q=mini%20push%20button%20switch&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2F00%2Fs%2FMTYwMFgxNjAw%2Fz%2F~CQAAOSwg-NiIKR4%2F%24_57.JPG%3Fset_id%3D8800005007&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F402506084854&docid=
The little black sticks sticking up in the middle are made of plastic or rubber, so like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, I
pushed it down. And the DVDR started working again!!!
How come they don't mention this in the owners manual for my model, and
I found a service manual for a similar DVDR that doesn't say a word
about it either. The switch is labeled Reset
Sw.50
I can post the urls for the manuals if you want.
I haven't connected the output yet because I'd have to connect a RF modulator, but it shows On, Play, Rewind, none of which it did before.
I'm 95% convinced it works as good as before. Unless it fails again?
Likely? Why do they have this button if they're going to keep it
secret?
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
On 1/26/2025 12:02 PM, micky wrote:lTwHaPMd2PG4uM&tbnid=IkOz4CNcM5iAZM&vet=12ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA..i&w=1600&h=1600&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA
With email copy to Ed. Remove NONONO to email.
I posted in another thread about my philips DVDR3575H dvdr with
harddrive that stopped working 2 or 3 months ago. (I've had medical
problems since Dec 11, so I've not gotten much done. They are scheduled
to end or be permanent by March 11. I'm optimistic.)
The topic here is what happened when I took apart the broken one. Since
it was totally dead, I expected to find a problem with the power supply.
I didnt' see anything burned out, and before I got out my meter, I
looked around and in the middle of another board, iirc the tuner board,
I found a little switch that looks like the middle ones in the back row
here:
https://www.google.com/imgres?q=mini%20push%20button%20switch&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2F00%2Fs%2FMTYwMFgxNjAw%2Fz%2F~CQAAOSwg-NiIKR4%2F%24_57.JPG%3Fset_id%3D8800005007&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F402506084854&docid=
The little black sticks sticking up in the middle are made of plastic or
rubber, so like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, I
pushed it down. And the DVDR started working again!!!
How come they don't mention this in the owners manual for my model, and
I found a service manual for a similar DVDR that doesn't say a word
about it either. The switch is labeled Reset
Sw.50
I can post the urls for the manuals if you want.
I haven't connected the output yet because I'd have to connect a RF
modulator, but it shows On, Play, Rewind, none of which it did before.
I'm 95% convinced it works as good as before. Unless it fails again?
Likely? Why do they have this button if they're going to keep it
secret?
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
Glad to you you back. Hope you have a good resolution to your problem.
Seems a reset should be visible and marked. Maybe service people know
of it and can charge you $150 for a board repair when it is just push of
a button.
With email copy to Ed. Remove NONONO to email.lTwHaPMd2PG4uM&tbnid=IkOz4CNcM5iAZM&vet=12ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA..i&w=1600&h=1600&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA
I posted in another thread about my philips DVDR3575H dvdr with
harddrive that stopped working 2 or 3 months ago. (I've had medical
problems since Dec 11, so I've not gotten much done. They are scheduled
to end or be permanent by March 11. I'm optimistic.)
But I did buy another identical dvdr from ebay for 180 dollars (they had
much cheaper, but the first one lasted me 15 years, and even though the
one I just bought is also already 15 years old, I still think it will
last 15 years. See, I'm optimistic.) And he was the only one who
showed a tv with a picture on it in his photos.
I put it in and it worked fine for 2 of the 3 tv's I'm using now, but
one 14" crt tv has much more static when text or commercials come on the >screen than it did before. That is another topic. Anyone have any
ideas? I'll post details if you do.
The topic here is what happened when I took apart the broken one. Since
it was totally dead, I expected to find a problem with the power supply.
I didnt' see anything burned out, and before I got out my meter, I
looked around and in the middle of another board, iirc the tuner board,
I found a little switch that looks like the middle ones in the back row
here: >https://www.google.com/imgres?q=mini%20push%20button%20switch&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2F00%2Fs%2FMTYwMFgxNjAw%2Fz%2F~CQAAOSwg-NiIKR4%2F%24_57.JPG%3Fset_id%3D8800005007&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F402506084854&docid=
The little black sticks sticking up in the middle are made of plastic or >rubber, so like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, I
pushed it down. And the DVDR started working again!!!
How come they don't mention this in the owners manual for my model, and
I found a service manual for a similar DVDR that doesn't say a word
about it either. The switch is labeled Reset
Sw.50
I can post the urls for the manuals if you want.
I haven't connected the output yet because I'd have to connect a RF >modulator, but it shows On, Play, Rewind, none of which it did before.
I'm 95% convinced it works as good as before. Unless it fails again?
Likely? Why do they have this button if they're going to keep it
secret?
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
In sci.electronics.repair, on Sun, 26 Jan 2025 12:17:56 -0500, Ed P ><esp@snet.n> wrote:lTwHaPMd2PG4uM&tbnid=IkOz4CNcM5iAZM&vet=12ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA..i&w=1600&h=1600&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA
On 1/26/2025 12:02 PM, micky wrote:
With email copy to Ed. Remove NONONO to email.
I posted in another thread about my philips DVDR3575H dvdr with
harddrive that stopped working 2 or 3 months ago. (I've had medical
problems since Dec 11, so I've not gotten much done. They are scheduled
to end or be permanent by March 11. I'm optimistic.)
The topic here is what happened when I took apart the broken one. Since
it was totally dead, I expected to find a problem with the power supply. >>> I didnt' see anything burned out, and before I got out my meter, I
looked around and in the middle of another board, iirc the tuner board,
I found a little switch that looks like the middle ones in the back row
here:
https://www.google.com/imgres?q=mini%20push%20button%20switch&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2F00%2Fs%2FMTYwMFgxNjAw%2Fz%2F~CQAAOSwg-NiIKR4%2F%24_57.JPG%3Fset_id%3D8800005007&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F402506084854&docid=
The little black sticks sticking up in the middle are made of plastic or >>> rubber, so like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, I
pushed it down. And the DVDR started working again!!!
How come they don't mention this in the owners manual for my model, and
I found a service manual for a similar DVDR that doesn't say a word
about it either. The switch is labeled Reset
Sw.50
I can post the urls for the manuals if you want.
I haven't connected the output yet because I'd have to connect a RF
modulator, but it shows On, Play, Rewind, none of which it did before.
I'm 95% convinced it works as good as before. Unless it fails again?
Likely? Why do they have this button if they're going to keep it
secret?
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
Glad to you you back. Hope you have a good resolution to your problem.
Thank you.
Seems a reset should be visible and marked. Maybe service people know
of it and can charge you $150 for a board repair when it is just push of
a button.
Maybe.
BTW, it was a different Ed who doesn't read usenet afaik, but I'm sure
he's insterested.
Yes, Cursitor, we need a federal law to put a button like that on
everything. .
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 12:02:09 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>(...)
wrote:
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
No, but I wish to hell I had one.
Why do they have this button if they're going to keep it
secret?
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 17:33:03 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 12:02:09 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>(...)
wrote:
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
No, but I wish to hell I had one.
On behalf of hell, I'm here to answer your wishes. These buttons are
not quite what you want, but should make suitable substitutes: ><https://www.google.com/search?num=10&q=destruct%20button&udm=2> ><https://www.google.com/search?q=do%20not%20push%20&udm=2>
You only need the button and not the switch. The switch only supports
the button and otherwise does nothing useful.
Incidentally, it's acceptable to pray for a miracle. However, relying
on a miracle to make your project work is not acceptable.
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 15:54:34 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 17:33:03 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 12:02:09 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>(...)
wrote:
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
No, but I wish to hell I had one.
On behalf of hell, I'm here to answer your wishes. These buttons are
not quite what you want, but should make suitable substitutes: >><https://www.google.com/search?num=10&q=destruct%20button&udm=2> >><https://www.google.com/search?q=do%20not%20push%20&udm=2>
You only need the button and not the switch. The switch only supports
the button and otherwise does nothing useful.
Incidentally, it's acceptable to pray for a miracle. However, relying
on a miracle to make your project work is not acceptable.
Dang it, Jeff, that last suggestion of yours is my go-to principal
design technique. :(
On 2025-01-26 18:02, micky wrote:
 Why do they have this button if they're going to keep it
secret?
To charge for the repair. Yes, I have seen this before, in some
expensive machine. They told us in training about the secret reset button.
The switch is labeled Reset
Sw.50
[snip]
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
micky wrote:
The switch is labeled   Reset
                                            Sw.50
[snip]
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
Yah, and some of them have a very specific finger dance to get it to reset.
Push and hold the reset button while plugging in the power cord until
the green light flashes red 5 times.
Release the reset button for 60 seconds then press the wifi button until
the yellow led flashes red.
Warning: Failure to follow these directions exactly will turn your $500 plastic piece of crap into a forever brick.
micky wrote:
The switch is labeled   Reset
                                            Sw.50
[snip]
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
Yah, and some of them have a very specific finger dance to get it to reset.
Push and hold the reset button while plugging in the power cord until
the green light flashes red 5 times.
Release the reset button for 60 seconds then press the wifi button until
the yellow led flashes red.
Warning: Failure to follow these directions exactly will turn your $500 plastic piece of crap into a forever brick.
On 2025-01-26 18:02, micky wrote:
Why do they have this button (that made my DVDR work when it was apparently dead) if they're going to keep it
secret?
To charge for the repair. Yes, I have seen this before, in some
expensive machine. They told us in training about the secret reset button.
In sci.electronics.repair, on Mon, 27 Jan 2025 02:02:30 +0100, "Carlos
E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2025-01-26 18:02, micky wrote:
Why do they have this button (that made my DVDR work when it was apparently dead) if they're going to keep it
secret?
To charge for the repair. Yes, I have seen this before, in some
expensive machine. They told us in training about the secret reset button.
That's incredible. (well, not really, since I believe you, so it must be credible.)
Where was this training, in the US or Spain?
And if they tell people
like you, what prevents the people they tell from telling everyone else?
I guess they have to tell someone or it wouldn't be of any value, but
I'd think they'd be worried everyone not doing repairs would be annoyed
when they heard about this.
What made it break when it did, about 15 years after I bought it. Is it
on a timer? Will it break again in another 15 years? Or maybe it's operational time, not calendar time. For maybe 10 years I recorded 3
hours a day and played back 3 hours a day. plus some more time watching
what wasn't recorded. 3 or 4 years I left it running (and the hard
drive spinning I guess) 4 or 5 days of the week. So it was running for
5 or 6 years total, I think. That's not very much imo, compared to 15
years elapsed time.
micky wrote:
The switch is labeled Reset
Sw.50
[snip]
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
Yah, and some of them have a very specific finger dance to get it to reset.
Push and hold the reset button while plugging in the power cord until the green light flashes red 5 times.
Release the reset button for 60 seconds then press the wifi button until the yellow led flashes red.
Warning: Failure to follow these directions exactly will turn your $500 plastic piece of crap into a forever brick.
On 27/01/2025 11:53, Greta Thongturd wrote:
micky wrote:
The switch is labeled Reset
Sw.50
[snip]
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
Yah, and some of them have a very specific finger dance to get it to reset. >>
Push and hold the reset button while plugging in the power cord until
the green light flashes red 5 times.
Release the reset button for 60 seconds then press the wifi button until
the yellow led flashes red.
I recall one particularly painful reset method on an Andriod device that >required holding in the tiny on/off switch and volume-down buttons for
120s. Your fingers start to go numb after about 90s.
Warning: Failure to follow these directions exactly will turn your $500
plastic piece of crap into a forever brick.
Some things do that automatically.
Various smart speakers and some high end internet tuners for example
when the protocols are changed and the makers CBA to support old kit.
We have a horrible new Panasonic microwave oven. The BEEP is
ear-splitting. The procedure to silence it is complex, and only works if
the door is open.
On Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:56:59 -0800, john larkin wrote:
[snip]
We have a horrible new Panasonic microwave oven. The BEEP is
ear-splitting. The procedure to silence it is complex, and only works if
the door is open.
Does it keep forgetting it was silenced, so you have to do this procedure multiple times?
On 1/28/25 18:32, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:56:59 -0800, john larkin wrote:
[snip]
We have a horrible new Panasonic microwave oven. The BEEP is
ear-splitting. The procedure to silence it is complex, and only works if >>> the door is open.
Does it keep forgetting it was silenced, so you have to do this procedure
multiple times?
On one occasion, I muted an obnoxious beeper by stuffing
chewing gum into it. There! Problem solved.
Jeroen Belleman
On Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:04:05 +0100, Jeroen Belleman
<jeroen@nospam.please> wrote:
On 1/28/25 18:32, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:56:59 -0800, john larkin wrote:
[snip]
We have a horrible new Panasonic microwave oven. The BEEP is
ear-splitting. The procedure to silence it is complex, and only works if >>> the door is open.
Does it keep forgetting it was silenced, so you have to do this procedure >> multiple times?
On one occasion, I muted an obnoxious beeper by stuffing
chewing gum into it. There! Problem solved.
Jeroen Belleman
I break the piezo buzzer, if I can get at it.
We should arrest whoever invented piezo buzzers. Put him in a prison
cell with 100 piezos.
john larkin <JL@gct.com> wrote:
On Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:04:05 +0100, Jeroen Belleman
<jeroen@nospam.please> wrote:
On 1/28/25 18:32, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:56:59 -0800, john larkin wrote:
[snip]
We have a horrible new Panasonic microwave oven. The BEEP is
ear-splitting. The procedure to silence it is complex, and only works if >> >>> the door is open.
Does it keep forgetting it was silenced, so you have to do this procedure >> >> multiple times?
On one occasion, I muted an obnoxious beeper by stuffing
chewing gum into it. There! Problem solved.
Jeroen Belleman
I break the piezo buzzer, if I can get at it.
We should arrest whoever invented piezo buzzers. Put him in a prison
cell with 100 piezos.
My microwave oven has a little metal gong, When the timer has run back
to zero, it releases a tiny hammer and the gong goes "ping!" Perhaps
one day they will re-invent this idea and hail it as a great improvment.
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 16:42:50 +0000, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid
(Liz Tuddenham) wrote:
john larkin <JL@gct.com> wrote:
On Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:04:05 +0100, Jeroen Belleman
<jeroen@nospam.please> wrote:
On 1/28/25 18:32, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:56:59 -0800, john larkin wrote:
[snip]
We have a horrible new Panasonic microwave oven. The BEEP is
ear-splitting. The procedure to silence it is complex, and only
works if the door is open.
Does it keep forgetting it was silenced, so you have to do this
procedure multiple times?
On one occasion, I muted an obnoxious beeper by stuffing
chewing gum into it. There! Problem solved.
Jeroen Belleman
I break the piezo buzzer, if I can get at it.
We should arrest whoever invented piezo buzzers. Put him in a prison
cell with 100 piezos.
My microwave oven has a little metal gong, When the timer has run back
to zero, it releases a tiny hammer and the gong goes "ping!" Perhaps
one day they will re-invent this idea and hail it as a great improvment.
How about a knob that you turn, the more you turn it the longer the
microwave runs.
On Mon, 27 Jan 2025 00:23:33 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 15:54:34 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> >>wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 17:33:03 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 12:02:09 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> >>>>wrote:(...)
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
No, but I wish to hell I had one.
On behalf of hell, I'm here to answer your wishes. These buttons are
not quite what you want, but should make suitable substitutes: >>><https://www.google.com/search?num=10&q=destruct%20button&udm=2> >>><https://www.google.com/search?q=do%20not%20push%20&udm=2>
You only need the button and not the switch. The switch only supports >>>the button and otherwise does nothing useful.
Incidentally, it's acceptable to pray for a miracle. However, relying
on a miracle to make your project work is not acceptable.
Dang it, Jeff, that last suggestion of yours is my go-to principal
design technique. :(
Miraculous design worked well for biblical prototypes but not so well
meeting modern standards and safety requirements. Fortunately,
miraculous design might soon be replaced by AI and other forms of
traditional magic which does not require a miracle to function. If
you are uncertain as to which approach is best for whatever you're
building, I suggest you consider reverse engineering, patent
infringement, cloning the competition, changing the specs, faking the
test data, bribing the inspector and other modern engineering
practices. It also helps to have a designated culprit or scapegoat >available. Good luck.
micky wrote:
The switch is labeled Reset
Sw.50
[snip]
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
Yah, and some of them have a very specific finger dance to get it to reset.
Push and hold the reset button while plugging in the power cord until the green light flashes red 5 times.
Release the reset button for 60 seconds then press the wifi button until the yellow led flashes red.
Warning: Failure to follow these directions exactly will turn your $500 plastic piece of crap into a forever brick.
On Mon, 27 Jan 2025 00:23:33 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 15:54:34 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> >>wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 17:33:03 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>wrote:
On Sun, 26 Jan 2025 12:02:09 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> >>>>wrote:(...)
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
No, but I wish to hell I had one.
On behalf of hell, I'm here to answer your wishes. These buttons are
not quite what you want, but should make suitable substitutes: >>><https://www.google.com/search?num=10&q=destruct%20button&udm=2> >>><https://www.google.com/search?q=do%20not%20push%20&udm=2>
You only need the button and not the switch. The switch only supports >>>the button and otherwise does nothing useful.
Incidentally, it's acceptable to pray for a miracle. However, relying
on a miracle to make your project work is not acceptable.
Dang it, Jeff, that last suggestion of yours is my go-to principal
design technique. :(
Miraculous design worked well for biblical prototypes but not so well
meeting modern standards and safety requirements. Fortunately,
miraculous design might soon be replaced by AI and other forms of
traditional magic which does not require a miracle to function. If
you are uncertain as to which approach is best for whatever you're
building, I suggest you consider reverse engineering, patent
infringement, cloning the competition, changing the specs, faking the
test data, bribing the inspector and other modern engineering
practices. It also helps to have a designated culprit or scapegoat >available. Good luck.
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper
clip to reset the device?
No, nothing like that. Like most VCRs, DVD players, DVDRs, amplifiers,
One big piece of sheet metal covering the top with no holes, no writing.
I wonder how it decides when to break?
On 1/26/2025 9:42 AM, micky wrote:lTwHaPMd2PG4uM&tbnid=IkOz4CNcM5iAZM&vet=12ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA..i&w=1600&h=1600&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA
In sci.electronics.repair, on Sun, 26 Jan 2025 12:17:56 -0500, Ed P
<esp@snet.n> wrote:
On 1/26/2025 12:02 PM, micky wrote:
With email copy to Ed. Remove NONONO to email.
I posted in another thread about my philips DVDR3575H dvdr with
harddrive that stopped working 2 or 3 months ago. (I've had medical
problems since Dec 11, so I've not gotten much done. They are scheduled >>>> to end or be permanent by March 11. I'm optimistic.)
The topic here is what happened when I took apart the broken one. Since >>>> it was totally dead, I expected to find a problem with the power supply. >>>> I didnt' see anything burned out, and before I got out my meter, I
looked around and in the middle of another board, iirc the tuner board, >>>> I found a little switch that looks like the middle ones in the back row >>>> here:
https://www.google.com/imgres?q=mini%20push%20button%20switch&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2F00%2Fs%2FMTYwMFgxNjAw%2Fz%2F~CQAAOSwg-NiIKR4%2F%24_57.JPG%3Fset_id%3D8800005007&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F402506084854&docid=
The little black sticks sticking up in the middle are made of plastic or >>>> rubber, so like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, I
pushed it down. And the DVDR started working again!!!
How come they don't mention this in the owners manual for my model, and >>>> I found a service manual for a similar DVDR that doesn't say a word
about it either. The switch is labeled Reset
Sw.50
I can post the urls for the manuals if you want.
I haven't connected the output yet because I'd have to connect a RF
modulator, but it shows On, Play, Rewind, none of which it did before. >>>> I'm 95% convinced it works as good as before. Unless it fails again?
Likely? Why do they have this button if they're going to keep it
secret?
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
Glad to you you back. Hope you have a good resolution to your problem.
Thank you.
Seems a reset should be visible and marked. Maybe service people know
of it and can charge you $150 for a board repair when it is just push of >>> a button.
Maybe.
BTW, it was a different Ed who doesn't read usenet afaik, but I'm sure
he's insterested.
Yes, Cursitor, we need a federal law to put a button like that on
everything. .
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper
clip to reset the device?
On Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:04:05 +0100, Jeroen Belleman wrote:
On 1/28/25 18:32, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:56:59 -0800, john larkin wrote:
[snip]
We have a horrible new Panasonic microwave oven. The BEEP is
ear-splitting. The procedure to silence it is complex, and only
works if the door is open.
On one occasion, I muted an obnoxious beeper by stuffing
chewing gum into it. There! Problem solved.
I break the piezo buzzer, if I can get at it.
We should arrest whoever invented piezo buzzers.
Put him in a prison cell with 100 piezos.
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 08:07:28 -0800, john larkin wrote:
On Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:04:05 +0100, Jeroen Belleman wrote:
On 1/28/25 18:32, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:56:59 -0800, john larkin wrote:
[snip]
We have a horrible new Panasonic microwave oven. The BEEP is
ear-splitting. The procedure to silence it is complex, and only
works if the door is open.
On one occasion, I muted an obnoxious beeper by stuffing
chewing gum into it. There! Problem solved.
I break the piezo buzzer, if I can get at it.
We should arrest whoever invented piezo buzzers.
Put him in a prison cell with 100 piezos.
Additionaly, if you have 'normal' hearing loss, those piezo buzzers
cannot be heard without hearing aids. I don't wear hearing aids
to bed -- so smoke and carbon monoxide alarms will never awaken me.
We had a CO 'incident' several years ago, and my wife heard the alarm.
Not me. I can be standing in front of the microwave and I won't know
my coffee is hot until the "END" lights up.
In sci.electronics.repair, on Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:38:40 -0800, Bob F ><bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper
clip to reset the device?
No, nothing like that. Like most VCRs, DVD players, DVDRs, amplifiers,
One big piece of sheet metal covering the top with no holes, no writing.
I wonder how it decides when to break?
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 23:41:08 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>
wrote:
In sci.electronics.repair, on Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:38:40 -0800, Bob F >><bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper >>>clip to reset the device?
No, nothing like that. Like most VCRs, DVD players, DVDRs, amplifiers,
One big piece of sheet metal covering the top with no holes, no writing.
I wonder how it decides when to break?
Several ways to determine when to self-destruct:
1. Warranty timer. The timer records how many elapsed days between
when power was first applied and the current date. When the timer
shows 110% of the warranty period, it declares a fault or failure. The
extra 10% is to deal with errors in the timer.
2. Predicted use. The "chip" in many inkjet printer cartridges is a
good example. The manufacturer decrees that the inkjet cartridge
should last 1,000 pages. When the chip counts 1,001 printed pages, it
ceases printing and produces a difficult to decode error message. It's
much the same with laser toner carts and drums. With older iPhone
batteries, the clock was slowed down to simulate the effects of an
aging battery.
3. Predictive QA. Estimating the length of time a product and its >individual components might last is calculated by the QA department.
If a component survives longer than the approved warranty period, the >component is subjected to a "cost reduction", which reduces the
component lifetime, quality and cost. If this ritual is performed
often enough, all the components in the product will fail almost >simultaneously.
The actual length of time or number of operations before
self-destruction is set by the manufactory marketing department.
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 23:41:08 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>
wrote:
In sci.electronics.repair, on Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:38:40 -0800, Bob F >><bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper >>>clip to reset the device?
No, nothing like that. Like most VCRs, DVD players, DVDRs, amplifiers,
One big piece of sheet metal covering the top with no holes, no writing.
I wonder how it decides when to break?
Several ways to determine when to self-destruct:
1. Warranty timer. The timer records how many elapsed days between
when power was first applied and the current date. When the timer
shows 110% of the warranty period, it declares a fault or failure. The
extra 10% is to deal with errors in the timer.
2. Predicted use. The "chip" in many inkjet printer cartridges is a
good example. The manufacturer decrees that the inkjet cartridge
should last 1,000 pages. When the chip counts 1,001 printed pages, it
ceases printing and produces a difficult to decode error message. It's
much the same with laser toner carts and drums. With older iPhone
batteries, the clock was slowed down to simulate the effects of an
aging battery.
On Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:09:22 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 23:41:08 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>
wrote:
In sci.electronics.repair, on Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:38:40 -0800, Bob F >>><bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper >>>>clip to reset the device?
No, nothing like that. Like most VCRs, DVD players, DVDRs, amplifiers, >>>One big piece of sheet metal covering the top with no holes, no writing. >>>I wonder how it decides when to break?
Several ways to determine when to self-destruct:
1. Warranty timer. The timer records how many elapsed days between
when power was first applied and the current date. When the timer
shows 110% of the warranty period, it declares a fault or failure. The >>extra 10% is to deal with errors in the timer.
2. Predicted use. The "chip" in many inkjet printer cartridges is a
good example. The manufacturer decrees that the inkjet cartridge
should last 1,000 pages. When the chip counts 1,001 printed pages, it >>ceases printing and produces a difficult to decode error message. It's
much the same with laser toner carts and drums. With older iPhone >>batteries, the clock was slowed down to simulate the effects of an
aging battery.
3. Predictive QA. Estimating the length of time a product and its >>individual components might last is calculated by the QA department.
If a component survives longer than the approved warranty period, the >>component is subjected to a "cost reduction", which reduces the
component lifetime, quality and cost. If this ritual is performed
often enough, all the components in the product will fail almost >>simultaneously.
The actual length of time or number of operations before
self-destruction is set by the manufactory marketing department.
Any companies we might have heard of been found out doing this, Jeff?
On Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:09:22 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 23:41:08 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>
wrote:
In sci.electronics.repair, on Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:38:40 -0800, Bob F >>><bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper >>>>clip to reset the device?
No, nothing like that. Like most VCRs, DVD players, DVDRs, amplifiers, >>>One big piece of sheet metal covering the top with no holes, no writing. >>>I wonder how it decides when to break?
Several ways to determine when to self-destruct:
1. Warranty timer. The timer records how many elapsed days between
when power was first applied and the current date. When the timer
shows 110% of the warranty period, it declares a fault or failure. The >>extra 10% is to deal with errors in the timer.
2. Predicted use. The "chip" in many inkjet printer cartridges is a
good example. The manufacturer decrees that the inkjet cartridge
should last 1,000 pages. When the chip counts 1,001 printed pages, it >>ceases printing and produces a difficult to decode error message. It's
much the same with laser toner carts and drums. With older iPhone >>batteries, the clock was slowed down to simulate the effects of an
aging battery.
Don't buy HP printers. They are in the theft business.
Brother is a much better deal, both laser and inkjet.
On Fri, 31 Jan 2025 12:23:06 -0800, john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com>
wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:09:22 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> >>wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 23:41:08 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>
wrote:
In sci.electronics.repair, on Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:38:40 -0800, Bob F >>>><bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper >>>>>clip to reset the device?
No, nothing like that. Like most VCRs, DVD players, DVDRs, amplifiers, >>>>One big piece of sheet metal covering the top with no holes, no writing. >>>>I wonder how it decides when to break?
Several ways to determine when to self-destruct:
1. Warranty timer. The timer records how many elapsed days between
when power was first applied and the current date. When the timer
shows 110% of the warranty period, it declares a fault or failure. The >>>extra 10% is to deal with errors in the timer.
2. Predicted use. The "chip" in many inkjet printer cartridges is a >>>good example. The manufacturer decrees that the inkjet cartridge
should last 1,000 pages. When the chip counts 1,001 printed pages, it >>>ceases printing and produces a difficult to decode error message. It's >>>much the same with laser toner carts and drums. With older iPhone >>>batteries, the clock was slowed down to simulate the effects of an
aging battery.
Don't buy HP printers. They are in the theft business.
Brother is a much better deal, both laser and inkjet.
I fix a few home and small biz laser printers. The low end inkjets go >directly to the recycler. My favorite brands are HP and Brother. Home
users tend to keep their HP laser printers far longer than their
computers which translates into HP repairs instead of replacements. A
few business users recycle their HP printers immediately after they
run out of toner. ><https://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/e-waste/printer-eWaste.jpg>
I usually rebuild Brother laser printers for loaners and resale.
I like HP because some (not all) of their printers are good quality.
OEM and aftermarket parts are erratically available. Brother laser >printers also have their problems. However, I can buy 2.5 Brother
printers for the price of an equivalent HP printer. Both companies
have baked in design defects which they seem to be ignoring. Looking
around my house, I have 2 HP color laserjet printers and 3 Brother >laserprinters.
On Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:09:22 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 23:41:08 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>
wrote:
In sci.electronics.repair, on Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:38:40 -0800, Bob F >>><bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper >>>>clip to reset the device?
No, nothing like that. Like most VCRs, DVD players, DVDRs, amplifiers, >>>One big piece of sheet metal covering the top with no holes, no writing. >>>I wonder how it decides when to break?
Several ways to determine when to self-destruct:
1. Warranty timer. The timer records how many elapsed days between
when power was first applied and the current date. When the timer
shows 110% of the warranty period, it declares a fault or failure. The >>extra 10% is to deal with errors in the timer.
2. Predicted use. The "chip" in many inkjet printer cartridges is a
good example. The manufacturer decrees that the inkjet cartridge
should last 1,000 pages. When the chip counts 1,001 printed pages, it >>ceases printing and produces a difficult to decode error message. It's
much the same with laser toner carts and drums. With older iPhone >>batteries, the clock was slowed down to simulate the effects of an
aging battery.
Don't buy HP printers. They are in the theft business.
Brother is a much better deal, both laser and inkjet.
HP sells printers cheap with half-filled cartriges, and charges as
much as a new printer for a new set, which don't last long. If their
printers came with full cartriges, people would throw away the printer
when it ran out of toner.
Our Brother B-size inkjet printer/copier/scanner is great, and ink
refills are cheap. We do B-size schematics. They have a giant black
cartrige too; we mostly use black.
What are the Brother design defects?
Glad to you you back. Hope you have a good resolution to your problem.
Thank you.
In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:24:16 -0800, john
larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> wrote:
HP sells printers cheap with half-filled cartriges, and charges as
much as a new printer for a new set, which don't last long. If their
printers came with full cartriges, people would throw away the printer
when it ran out of toner.
Our Brother B-size inkjet printer/copier/scanner is great, and ink
refills are cheap. We do B-size schematics. They have a giant black
cartrige too; we mostly use black.
What does B-size mean? Is it bigger than 8 1/2 x 14?
What are the Brother design defects?
On Fri, 31 Jan 2025 12:23:06 -0800, john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com>
wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:09:22 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> >>wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 23:41:08 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>
wrote:
In sci.electronics.repair, on Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:38:40 -0800, Bob F >>>><bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper >>>>>clip to reset the device?
No, nothing like that. Like most VCRs, DVD players, DVDRs, amplifiers, >>>>One big piece of sheet metal covering the top with no holes, no writing. >>>>I wonder how it decides when to break?
Several ways to determine when to self-destruct:
1. Warranty timer. The timer records how many elapsed days between
when power was first applied and the current date. When the timer
shows 110% of the warranty period, it declares a fault or failure. The >>>extra 10% is to deal with errors in the timer.
2. Predicted use. The "chip" in many inkjet printer cartridges is a >>>good example. The manufacturer decrees that the inkjet cartridge
should last 1,000 pages. When the chip counts 1,001 printed pages, it >>>ceases printing and produces a difficult to decode error message. It's >>>much the same with laser toner carts and drums. With older iPhone >>>batteries, the clock was slowed down to simulate the effects of an
aging battery.
Don't buy HP printers. They are in the theft business.
Brother is a much better deal, both laser and inkjet.
Wasn't it HP that was spying on customers by some ingenious yellow
pixel scheme? Then made some excuse about catching forgers or some
such claim.
What are the Brother design defects?
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:28:24 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Fri, 31 Jan 2025 12:23:06 -0800, john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com> >>wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:09:22 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> >>>wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jan 2025 23:41:08 -0500, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> >>>>wrote:
In sci.electronics.repair, on Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:38:40 -0800, Bob F >>>>><bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
Is there a tiny hole in the case above that switch for usimg as paper >>>>>>clip to reset the device?
No, nothing like that. Like most VCRs, DVD players, DVDRs, amplifiers, >>>>>One big piece of sheet metal covering the top with no holes, no writing. >>>>>I wonder how it decides when to break?
Several ways to determine when to self-destruct:
1. Warranty timer. The timer records how many elapsed days between >>>>when power was first applied and the current date. When the timer >>>>shows 110% of the warranty period, it declares a fault or failure. The >>>>extra 10% is to deal with errors in the timer.
2. Predicted use. The "chip" in many inkjet printer cartridges is a >>>>good example. The manufacturer decrees that the inkjet cartridge >>>>should last 1,000 pages. When the chip counts 1,001 printed pages, it >>>>ceases printing and produces a difficult to decode error message. It's >>>>much the same with laser toner carts and drums. With older iPhone >>>>batteries, the clock was slowed down to simulate the effects of an >>>>aging battery.
Don't buy HP printers. They are in the theft business.
Brother is a much better deal, both laser and inkjet.
Wasn't it HP that was spying on customers by some ingenious yellow
pixel scheme? Then made some excuse about catching forgers or some
such claim.
The yellow dots are for identifying the printer for tracking ransom
notes, forgeries, fake documents, currency, etc. The yellow dots are
why your printer runs out of yellow toner or ink before the other
toner colors. See:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots> ><https://www.instructables.com/Yellow-Dots-of-Mystery-Is-Your-Printer-Spying-on-/>
Methinks this is where the "spying" story may have originated:
"Tracking codes in photocopiers and colour laser printers"
(Aug 11, 2007) ><https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-6-2007-5724_EN.html>
If you want to see the yellow dots, you'll need a UV LED flashlight. I
had the not-so-bright idea of pouring some black toner into an old
yellow toner cartridge. The dots were easily visible with a
magnifying glass. However, it took me about an hour to clean up the
transfer belt mechanism so that yellow would print normally. Not >recommended.
On Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:24:16 -0800, john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com>
wrote:
What are the Brother design defects?
Brother MFC-L2740DW printer: ><https://www.google.com/search?q=brother%20mfc%20L2740dw&udm=2>
The problem appears on many similar Brother laser printers.
If the owner pulls out the paper tray while it's printing, the printer
does not stop printing. Instead, it cracks the tiny feed gear. I
have some photos I took of the damage and subsequent repair, but I
can't find them right now.
In the front center of the paper tray, there is a translucent roller
that is part of the paper feed mechanism. Static electricity causes
this roller to be packed with paper dust and eventually stop turning,
causing a paper jam or other paper feed failure. The paper dust hides
UNDER the translucent roller and is easily cleaned out if you can
figure out how it's done. I can take a few photos showing how if you
want them.
Near the translucent roller in the paper tray is a friction pap. The
pad and the feed roller above its position in the paper tray tend to
develop a smooth polish. The loss of friction causes feed failures. >Brother's idea of repair parts are toner carts and drums: ><https://www.brother-usa.com/supplies-and-accessories-search-result#q=MFC-L2740dw>
A trick the works on some printers is to remove the rubber roller or
pad, flip it over, and reinstall it. Fortunately, 3rd party vendors
carry suck parts.
The paper stop near the back of the paper tray is fragile. Push too
hard inserting a stack of paper and it will break. This should work
as a replacement: ><https://www.parts-distribution.com/collections/brother/products/new-oem-brother-250-page-rear-paper-guide-for-mfcl2700dw-mfc-l2700dw>
The main PCB in the printer uses a super capacitor instead of the
usual lithium coin cell to provide power to the circuitry that stores
the printer settings. When it fails, printer won't turn on. Replacing
the super capacitor involves disassembly and soldering. YouTube video
on how to replace the super cap: ><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgkHv1c01tQ> ><https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Brother+MFC-J4420DW+Capacitor+Replacement/74271> >The caps are 5.5VDC 0.22Farads. ><https://www.google.com/search?q=KR-5r5V224-R>
That should be enough for now...
With email copy to Ed. Remove NONONO to email.
I posted in another thread about my philips DVDR3575H dvdr withlTwHaPMd2PG4uM&tbnid=IkOz4CNcM5iAZM&vet=12ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA..i&w=1600&h=1600&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwiUzL-g8JKLAxUckokEHQRPGacQM3oECGUQAA
harddrive that stopped working 2 or 3 months ago. (I've had medical
problems since Dec 11, so I've not gotten much done. They are scheduled
to end or be permanent by March 11. I'm optimistic.)
But I did buy another identical dvdr from ebay for 180 dollars (they had
much cheaper, but the first one lasted me 15 years, and even though the
one I just bought is also already 15 years old, I still think it will
last 15 years. See, I'm optimistic.) And he was the only one who
showed a tv with a picture on it in his photos.
I put it in and it worked fine for 2 of the 3 tv's I'm using now, but
one 14" crt tv has much more static when text or commercials come on the >screen than it did before. That is another topic. Anyone have any
ideas? I'll post details if you do.
The topic here is what happened when I took apart the broken one. Since
it was totally dead, I expected to find a problem with the power supply.
I didnt' see anything burned out, and before I got out my meter, I
looked around and in the middle of another board, iirc the tuner board,
I found a little switch that looks like the middle ones in the back row
here: >https://www.google.com/imgres?q=mini%20push%20button%20switch&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2F00%2Fs%2FMTYwMFgxNjAw%2Fz%2F~CQAAOSwg-NiIKR4%2F%24_57.JPG%3Fset_id%3D8800005007&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F402506084854&docid=
The little black sticks sticking up in the middle are made of plastic or >rubber, so like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, I
pushed it down. And the DVDR started working again!!!
How come they don't mention this in the owners manual for my model, and
I found a service manual for a similar DVDR that doesn't say a word
about it either. The switch is labeled Reset
Sw.50
I can post the urls for the manuals if you want.
I haven't connected the output yet because I'd have to connect a RF >modulator, but it shows On, Play, Rewind, none of which it did before.
I'm 95% convinced it works as good as before. Unless it fails again?
Likely? Why do they have this button if they're going to keep it
secret?
Have you ever heard of a button like this before?
Very interesting in general, and I just bought a Brother MFC-L8905CDW.
Have you encountered any of those yet?
What the above replaced was an ancient Brother MFC-9840CDW, and I did
have and repair many problems, and got 15 years out of it.
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:07:18 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>
wrote:
Very interesting in general, and I just bought a Brother MFC-L8905CDW.
Have you encountered any of those yet?
What the above replaced was an ancient Brother MFC-9840CDW, and I did
have and repair many problems, and got 15 years out of it.
I retired from the daily grind just after the CZU fire and Covid. I currently don't see many repairs on larger and heavier printers
because I would need to carry the printers up and down 50 stairs to
work on them. I also don't have the necessary bench space available.
My current customers are mostly home users who normally don't need or purchase big and heavy business class printers.
I haven't worked on any MFC-L8905CDW printers but have recently
cleaned a similar model after an aftermarket toner cartridge dumped
toner everywhere. I didn't see anything unusual when I tested it. <https://www.brother-usa.com/products/mfcl8905cdw>
The old MFC-9840CDW (discontinued) was not a good printer. <https://www.google.com/search?q=MFC-9840CDW&udm=2>
Two of my customer bought them many years ago. As I vaguely recall,
the colors did not print true, the color self-calibration didn't quite
work, and I had to clean toner from the belt with almost every
cartridge change. I don't recall any component failures or
replacement. The rubber parts, which are usually the first to die,
held up well, mostly because the printer was lightly used.
Try:
<https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/Device/Brother_Printer> <https://www.printerforums.net/forums/brother.19/>
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:28:24 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
Wasn't it HP that was spying on customers by some ingenious yellow
pixel scheme? Then made some excuse about catching forgers or some
such claim.
The yellow dots are for identifying the printer for tracking ransom
notes, forgeries, fake documents, currency, etc. The yellow dots are
why your printer runs out of yellow toner or ink before the other
toner colors. See:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots> <https://www.instructables.com/Yellow-Dots-of-Mystery-Is-Your-Printer-Spying-on-/>
Methinks this is where the "spying" story may have originated:
"Tracking codes in photocopiers and colour laser printers"
(Aug 11, 2007) <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-6-2007-5724_EN.html>
If you want to see the yellow dots, you'll need a UV LED flashlight. I
had the not-so-bright idea of pouring some black toner into an old
yellow toner cartridge. The dots were easily visible with a
magnifying glass. However, it took me about an hour to clean up the
transfer belt mechanism so that yellow would print normally. Not recommended.
I have a couple of Brother MFC-6490CW B-size all-in-ones that I just love. >Excellent print quality with cheap, chip-free ink cartridges, good
scanning, no worries.
Good Medicine!
Cheers--
Phil Hobbs
On 2025-02-01 06:19, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:28:24 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
Wasn't it HP that was spying on customers by some ingenious yellow
pixel scheme? Then made some excuse about catching forgers or some
such claim.
The yellow dots are for identifying the printer for tracking ransom
notes, forgeries, fake documents, currency, etc. The yellow dots are
why your printer runs out of yellow toner or ink before the other
toner colors. See:
Are they still doing this? :-o
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots>
<https://www.instructables.com/Yellow-Dots-of-Mystery-Is-Your-Printer-Spying-on-/>
Methinks this is where the "spying" story may have originated:
"Tracking codes in photocopiers and colour laser printers"
(Aug 11, 2007)
<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-6-2007-5724_EN.html>
If you want to see the yellow dots, you'll need a UV LED flashlight. I
had the not-so-bright idea of pouring some black toner into an old
yellow toner cartridge. The dots were easily visible with a
magnifying glass. However, it took me about an hour to clean up the
transfer belt mechanism so that yellow would print normally. Not
recommended.
I carefully examined printouts from my printer long ago, did not find >anything.
I examined some prints last night and also couldn't find any yellow
dots. Brain function returned this morning when I realized that I was >looking at B&W prints from my monochrome laser printer.
Yellow dots
require yellow toner. I'll try again, this time using my HP Color
Laser Jet Pro MFP M477fnw printer.
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:07:18 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>
wrote:
Very interesting in general, and I just bought a Brother MFC-L8905CDW.
Have you encountered any of those yet?
What the above replaced was an ancient Brother MFC-9840CDW, and I did
have and repair many problems, and got 15 years out of it.
I retired from the daily grind just after the CZU fire and Covid. I >currently don't see many repairs on larger and heavier printers
because I would need to carry the printers up and down 50 stairs to
work on them. I also don't have the necessary bench space available.
My current customers are mostly home users who normally don't need or >purchase big and heavy business class printers.
I haven't worked on any MFC-L8905CDW printers but have recently
cleaned a similar model after an aftermarket toner cartridge dumped
toner everywhere. I didn't see anything unusual when I tested it. ><https://www.brother-usa.com/products/mfcl8905cdw>
The old MFC-9840CDW (discontinued) was not a good printer. ><https://www.google.com/search?q=MFC-9840CDW&udm=2>
Two of my customers bought them many years ago. As I vaguely recall,
the colors did not print true, the color self-calibration didn't quite
work, and I had to clean toner from the belt with almost every
cartridge change.
I don't recall any component failures or
replacement. The rubber parts, which are usually the first to die,
held up well, mostly because the printer was lightly used.
Try:
<https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/Device/Brother_Printer> ><https://www.printerforums.net/forums/brother.19/>
On Sat, 1 Feb 2025 21:06:45 +0100, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2025-02-01 06:19, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:28:24 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
Wasn't it HP that was spying on customers by some ingenious yellow
pixel scheme? Then made some excuse about catching forgers or some
such claim.
The yellow dots are for identifying the printer for tracking ransom
notes, forgeries, fake documents, currency, etc. The yellow dots are
why your printer runs out of yellow toner or ink before the other
toner colors. See:
Are they still doing this? :-o
As far as I know, and can determine from skimming various related web
sites, they're all doing it and have not added any way to turn it off.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots>
<https://www.instructables.com/Yellow-Dots-of-Mystery-Is-Your-Printer-Spying-on-/>
Methinks this is where the "spying" story may have originated:
"Tracking codes in photocopiers and colour laser printers"
(Aug 11, 2007)
<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-6-2007-5724_EN.html>
If you want to see the yellow dots, you'll need a UV LED flashlight. I
had the not-so-bright idea of pouring some black toner into an old
yellow toner cartridge. The dots were easily visible with a
magnifying glass. However, it took me about an hour to clean up the
transfer belt mechanism so that yellow would print normally. Not
recommended.
I carefully examined printouts from my printer long ago, did not find >>anything.
I examined some prints last night and also couldn't find any yellow
dots. Brain function returned this morning when I realized that I was >looking at B&W prints from my monochrome laser printer. Yellow dots
require yellow toner. I'll try again, this time using my HP Color
Laser Jet Pro MFP M477fnw printer.
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 14:02:57 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 1 Feb 2025 21:06:45 +0100, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2025-02-01 06:19, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:28:24 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
Wasn't it HP that was spying on customers by some ingenious yellow
pixel scheme? Then made some excuse about catching forgers or some
such claim.
The yellow dots are for identifying the printer for tracking ransom
notes, forgeries, fake documents, currency, etc. The yellow dots are
why your printer runs out of yellow toner or ink before the other
toner colors. See:
Are they still doing this? :-o
As far as I know, and can determine from skimming various related web >>sites, they're all doing it and have not added any way to turn it off.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots>
<https://www.instructables.com/Yellow-Dots-of-Mystery-Is-Your-Printer-Spying-on-/>
Methinks this is where the "spying" story may have originated:
"Tracking codes in photocopiers and colour laser printers"
(Aug 11, 2007)
<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-6-2007-5724_EN.html>
If you want to see the yellow dots, you'll need a UV LED flashlight. I >>>> had the not-so-bright idea of pouring some black toner into an old
yellow toner cartridge. The dots were easily visible with a
magnifying glass. However, it took me about an hour to clean up the
transfer belt mechanism so that yellow would print normally. Not
recommended.
I carefully examined printouts from my printer long ago, did not find >>>anything.
I examined some prints last night and also couldn't find any yellow
dots. Brain function returned this morning when I realized that I was >>looking at B&W prints from my monochrome laser printer. Yellow dots >>require yellow toner. I'll try again, this time using my HP Color
Laser Jet Pro MFP M477fnw printer.
I found the yellow dots, but it wasn't easy. As usual, I did
everything wrong the first time I tried it.
1. Use a magnifier. I found that a folding jewelers 30x loupe, with
a built in white LED, worked well. This what I used: ><https://www.ebay.com/itm/116331398465>
Both loupes were low quality, but the price was right. The UV light
didn't do anything useful. I could try using one of my microscopes,
but the kitchen table is currently occupied.
2. Don't use paper with a rough or textured (linen, felt, laid, etc) >surface. Try to find paper with a smooth surface. If it looks like
the surface of the moon with a magnifier, find some other paper.
3. Some articles suggest using UV illumination. I have a wide
variety of UV lights in both LED and fluorescent in various
wavelengths. However, yellow toner is not phosphorescent, so it must
be the phosphors they add to paper to make them appear "bright". Sure >enough, UV illumination worked best with 96 bright paper. I didn't
have any 100 bright. However, UV illumination didn't improve
visibility much.
4. The tiny dots seem unevenly spread over the surface of the paper.
You'll need to move the magnifying glass around the page to find the
yellow dots. At 30x the depth of field is small. That means put the
printed page on something flat.
5. When I first started looking for the dots, I almost instantly saw
them. About 1 minute later, the dots disappeared. What happened is
that I had cataract surgery about 1 year ago. The problem was that it
wasn't totally successful. As soon as I was able to rest my eyes a
little, the dots re-appeared.
6. I guessed that the designers did not include a feature where the
dots moved around the page after each printed page. Therefore,
over-printing the same page multiple times should improve visibility. >Unfortunately, my laser printer has a registration problem causing the >overprinted dots and text on the page to move. However, I have more
dots to view. I found more barely visible yellow dots, but also a few
very bright yellow dots.
It's my understanding that the yellow dots also appear when "printing"
to a file. I suspect that printing on dark paper will improve the
contrast and make the yellow dots more visible. I would guess(tm)
that a yellow filter might also help improve contrast. I haven't
tried any of these (yet).
Good luck.
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 15:29:51 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 14:02:57 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> >>wrote:
On Sat, 1 Feb 2025 21:06:45 +0100, "Carlos E.R." >>><robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2025-02-01 06:19, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:28:24 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>>> wrote:
Wasn't it HP that was spying on customers by some ingenious yellow >>>>>> pixel scheme? Then made some excuse about catching forgers or some >>>>>> such claim.
The yellow dots are for identifying the printer for tracking ransom
notes, forgeries, fake documents, currency, etc. The yellow dots are >>>>> why your printer runs out of yellow toner or ink before the other
toner colors. See:
Are they still doing this? :-o
As far as I know, and can determine from skimming various related web >>>sites, they're all doing it and have not added any way to turn it off.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots>
<https://www.instructables.com/Yellow-Dots-of-Mystery-Is-Your-Printer-Spying-on-/>
Methinks this is where the "spying" story may have originated:
"Tracking codes in photocopiers and colour laser printers"
(Aug 11, 2007)
<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-6-2007-5724_EN.html> >>>>>
If you want to see the yellow dots, you'll need a UV LED flashlight. I >>>>> had the not-so-bright idea of pouring some black toner into an old
yellow toner cartridge. The dots were easily visible with a
magnifying glass. However, it took me about an hour to clean up the >>>>> transfer belt mechanism so that yellow would print normally. Not
recommended.
I carefully examined printouts from my printer long ago, did not find >>>>anything.
I examined some prints last night and also couldn't find any yellow
dots. Brain function returned this morning when I realized that I was >>>looking at B&W prints from my monochrome laser printer. Yellow dots >>>require yellow toner. I'll try again, this time using my HP Color
Laser Jet Pro MFP M477fnw printer.
I found the yellow dots, but it wasn't easy. As usual, I did
everything wrong the first time I tried it.
1. Use a magnifier. I found that a folding jewelers 30x loupe, with
a built in white LED, worked well. This what I used: >><https://www.ebay.com/itm/116331398465>
Both loupes were low quality, but the price was right. The UV light
didn't do anything useful. I could try using one of my microscopes,
but the kitchen table is currently occupied.
2. Don't use paper with a rough or textured (linen, felt, laid, etc) >>surface. Try to find paper with a smooth surface. If it looks like
the surface of the moon with a magnifier, find some other paper.
3. Some articles suggest using UV illumination. I have a wide
variety of UV lights in both LED and fluorescent in various
wavelengths. However, yellow toner is not phosphorescent, so it must
be the phosphors they add to paper to make them appear "bright". Sure >>enough, UV illumination worked best with 96 bright paper. I didn't
have any 100 bright. However, UV illumination didn't improve
visibility much.
4. The tiny dots seem unevenly spread over the surface of the paper. >>You'll need to move the magnifying glass around the page to find the
yellow dots. At 30x the depth of field is small. That means put the >>printed page on something flat.
5. When I first started looking for the dots, I almost instantly saw
them. About 1 minute later, the dots disappeared. What happened is
that I had cataract surgery about 1 year ago. The problem was that it >>wasn't totally successful. As soon as I was able to rest my eyes a
little, the dots re-appeared.
6. I guessed that the designers did not include a feature where the
dots moved around the page after each printed page. Therefore, >>over-printing the same page multiple times should improve visibility. >>Unfortunately, my laser printer has a registration problem causing the >>overprinted dots and text on the page to move. However, I have more
dots to view. I found more barely visible yellow dots, but also a few
very bright yellow dots.
It's my understanding that the yellow dots also appear when "printing"
to a file. I suspect that printing on dark paper will improve the
contrast and make the yellow dots more visible. I would guess(tm)
that a yellow filter might also help improve contrast. I haven't
tried any of these (yet).
Good luck.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 09:57:51 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:07:18 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>
wrote:
Very interesting in general, and I just bought a Brother MFC-L8905CDW. >>>Have you encountered any of those yet?
What the above replaced was an ancient Brother MFC-9840CDW, and I did >>>have and repair many problems, and got 15 years out of it.
I retired from the daily grind just after the CZU fire and Covid. I >>currently don't see many repairs on larger and heavier printers
because I would need to carry the printers up and down 50 stairs to
work on them. I also don't have the necessary bench space available.
My current customers are mostly home users who normally don't need or >>purchase big and heavy business class printers.
I tend to buy the industrial stuff, but at their lower end, because
the extra expense is worth it for better quality.
Sometimes the industrial stuff is cheaper as well. Like for instance
metro wire shelves.
And one of my selection criteria was weight, with heavier preferred
(meaning more metal and less plastic).
I haven't worked on any MFC-L8905CDW printers but have recently
cleaned a similar model after an aftermarket toner cartridge dumped
toner everywhere. I didn't see anything unusual when I tested it. >><https://www.brother-usa.com/products/mfcl8905cdw>
The old MFC-9840CDW (discontinued) was not a good printer. >><https://www.google.com/search?q=MFC-9840CDW&udm=2>
Two of my customers bought them many years ago. As I vaguely recall,
the colors did not print true, the color self-calibration didn't quite >>work, and I had to clean toner from the belt with almost every
cartridge change.
The color was never all that good to be sure, but it was good enough
for me. Nor did I clean the belt all that often.
I don't recall any component failures or
replacement. The rubber parts, which are usually the first to die,
held up well, mostly because the printer was lightly used.
It worked well for many years, but it developed problems as it became >elderly. In all cases, the underlying problem was that some rubber or >plastic component had aged and become glazed. Disassembly and
cleaning with a fiberglass brush followed by ethanol wiping helped a
lot. The famed "Stable 32" error was fixed by a carefully placed
piece of mylar tape that prevented sticking.
But finally it all had worn out too much, and the common wear-out
parts could no longer be purchased anywhere. And while toner was
still available, the large-capacity cartridges were not, which I took
as an omen.
And after 15 years, it owed me nothing, and many things were greatly
improved over those years. The new printer is twice as fast as the
old printer, and the color is far better. And does not misfeed when
humidity is low.
--Try:
<https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/Device/Brother_Printer> >><https://www.printerforums.net/forums/brother.19/>
Will do, thanks
Joe Gwinn
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 15:45:36 -0800, john larkin <JL@gct.com> wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 15:29:51 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>I already posted that link a few messages upstream. It doesn't say
wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 14:02:57 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots
wrote:
On Sat, 1 Feb 2025 21:06:45 +0100, "Carlos E.R."I found the yellow dots, but it wasn't easy. As usual, I did
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2025-02-01 06:19, Jeff Liebermann wrote:As far as I know, and can determine from skimming various related web
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:28:24 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>>>> wrote:Are they still doing this? :-o
Wasn't it HP that was spying on customers by some ingenious yellow >>>>>>> pixel scheme? Then made some excuse about catching forgers or some >>>>>>> such claim.The yellow dots are for identifying the printer for tracking ransom >>>>>> notes, forgeries, fake documents, currency, etc. The yellow dots are >>>>>> why your printer runs out of yellow toner or ink before the other
toner colors. See:
sites, they're all doing it and have not added any way to turn it off. >>>>
I examined some prints last night and also couldn't find any yellow<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots>I carefully examined printouts from my printer long ago, did not find >>>>> anything.
<https://www.instructables.com/Yellow-Dots-of-Mystery-Is-Your-Printer-Spying-on-/>
Methinks this is where the "spying" story may have originated:
"Tracking codes in photocopiers and colour laser printers"
(Aug 11, 2007)
<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-6-2007-5724_EN.html> >>>>>>
If you want to see the yellow dots, you'll need a UV LED flashlight. I >>>>>> had the not-so-bright idea of pouring some black toner into an old >>>>>> yellow toner cartridge. The dots were easily visible with a
magnifying glass. However, it took me about an hour to clean up the >>>>>> transfer belt mechanism so that yellow would print normally. Not
recommended.
dots. Brain function returned this morning when I realized that I was >>>> looking at B&W prints from my monochrome laser printer. Yellow dots
require yellow toner. I'll try again, this time using my HP Color
Laser Jet Pro MFP M477fnw printer.
everything wrong the first time I tried it.
1. Use a magnifier. I found that a folding jewelers 30x loupe, with
a built in white LED, worked well. This what I used:
<https://www.ebay.com/itm/116331398465>
Both loupes were low quality, but the price was right. The UV light
didn't do anything useful. I could try using one of my microscopes,
but the kitchen table is currently occupied.
2. Don't use paper with a rough or textured (linen, felt, laid, etc)
surface. Try to find paper with a smooth surface. If it looks like
the surface of the moon with a magnifier, find some other paper.
3. Some articles suggest using UV illumination. I have a wide
variety of UV lights in both LED and fluorescent in various
wavelengths. However, yellow toner is not phosphorescent, so it must
be the phosphors they add to paper to make them appear "bright". Sure
enough, UV illumination worked best with 96 bright paper. I didn't
have any 100 bright. However, UV illumination didn't improve
visibility much.
4. The tiny dots seem unevenly spread over the surface of the paper.
You'll need to move the magnifying glass around the page to find the
yellow dots. At 30x the depth of field is small. That means put the
printed page on something flat.
5. When I first started looking for the dots, I almost instantly saw
them. About 1 minute later, the dots disappeared. What happened is
that I had cataract surgery about 1 year ago. The problem was that it
wasn't totally successful. As soon as I was able to rest my eyes a
little, the dots re-appeared.
6. I guessed that the designers did not include a feature where the
dots moved around the page after each printed page. Therefore,
over-printing the same page multiple times should improve visibility.
Unfortunately, my laser printer has a registration problem causing the
overprinted dots and text on the page to move. However, I have more
dots to view. I found more barely visible yellow dots, but also a few
very bright yellow dots.
It's my understanding that the yellow dots also appear when "printing"
to a file. I suspect that printing on dark paper will improve the
contrast and make the yellow dots more visible. I would guess(tm)
that a yellow filter might also help improve contrast. I haven't
tried any of these (yet).
Good luck.
much about how to best view the dots. So, I went to YouTube (as
suggested).
Here's one that features your favorite microscope:
"Yellow Dots of Mystery: Is Your Printer Spying on You?" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sit6zUQKpJc>
and one from EFF:
"Yellow Dots of Mystery: Is Your Printer Spying on You?" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izMGMsIZK4U>
As usual, I was doing it all wrong. I tried illuminating with UV, but
should have used a blue LED and turned off the room lights.
Dots all folks.
Jeff Liebermann wrote:
Dots all folks.
I suspect Obamba's fake birth certificate has yellow dots on it.
On Sun, 02 Feb 25 11:31:29 UTC, Lizard Cheney ><lizard.cheney@j6.insurrection.dept> wrote:
Jeff Liebermann wrote:
Dots all folks.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FHEeG_uq5Y>
I suspect Obamba's fake birth certificate has yellow dots on it.
Nope. It was printed using a monochrome typewriter. We didn't have
color laser printers in 1961: ><https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/birth-certificate-long-form.pdf>
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 18:39:11 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>
wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 09:57:51 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> >>wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:07:18 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net> >>>wrote:
Very interesting in general, and I just bought a Brother MFC-L8905CDW. >>>>Have you encountered any of those yet?
What the above replaced was an ancient Brother MFC-9840CDW, and I did >>>>have and repair many problems, and got 15 years out of it.
I retired from the daily grind just after the CZU fire and Covid. I >>>currently don't see many repairs on larger and heavier printers
because I would need to carry the printers up and down 50 stairs to
work on them. I also don't have the necessary bench space available.
My current customers are mostly home users who normally don't need or >>>purchase big and heavy business class printers.
I tend to buy the industrial stuff, but at their lower end, because
the extra expense is worth it for better quality.
For printers, I buy new printers for my customers and inherit their
previous printer for free or at least a substantial discount on my
labor charges.
An industrial printer is what's used for commercial production
printing. These are well above the needs of the typical small
business.
For example, what small business needs a printer that can
continuously print bills, promotional literature, tickets, etc all day
long? Running a business class printer continuously like that would
kill it rather soon. At this time, business class can perhaps print
25,000 pages before requiring all the plastic and rubber parts need to
be replaced.
I've maintained ancient LaserJet 4 and 4 Si printers,
which printed about 125,000 pages before needing any major service.
Yes, that would be nice for home use, but certainly overkill. HP and
others realized that such a long life printer would not be a good
thing for a company that made and sold printers, so they redesigned
the stamped steel tank of a printer into a lower cost but shorter life
all plastic toy.
Sometimes the industrial stuff is cheaper as well. Like for instance
metro wire shelves.
<https://metro.com/commercial/>
I have several rows of those shelves (on rollers) in what used to be
my bedroom. When I retired and closed my formerly palatial office,
all the storage racks and most of the junk on them, were transported
intact into my house. The #1 project for the last 4 years has been to
purge the junk and get rid of the industrial warehouse decor.
And one of my selection criteria was weight, with heavier preferred >>(meaning more metal and less plastic).
As I get older, cost has become the primary criteria. I don't expect
or want to live longer than my furniture and toys.
I haven't worked on any MFC-L8905CDW printers but have recently
cleaned a similar model after an aftermarket toner cartridge dumped
toner everywhere. I didn't see anything unusual when I tested it. >>><https://www.brother-usa.com/products/mfcl8905cdw>
The old MFC-9840CDW (discontinued) was not a good printer. >>><https://www.google.com/search?q=MFC-9840CDW&udm=2>
Two of my customers bought them many years ago. As I vaguely recall,
the colors did not print true, the color self-calibration didn't quite >>>work, and I had to clean toner from the belt with almost every
cartridge change.
The color was never all that good to be sure, but it was good enough
for me. Nor did I clean the belt all that often.
I'm told that it is possible to get descent color from the Brother >MFC-9840CDW. However, it requires tearing it apart and cleaning the
toner dust off the color calibration optics and sensors.
To maintain
the color settings, don't let loose toner collect inside the machine, >especially around the waste box. ><https://www.amazon.com/NUCALA-Compatible-WT100CL-Replacement-DCP-9040CN/dp/B0BHSHDHMQ>
Notice that waste toner box is only good for:
Page volume: Approximately 20,500 pages with 5% coverage.
As you approach this limit, clean out the waste toner box or you will
soon be dealing with a big mess. (Clue: Nobody does this until it's
too late).
I don't recall any component failures or
replacement. The rubber parts, which are usually the first to die,
held up well, mostly because the printer was lightly used.
It worked well for many years, but it developed problems as it became >>elderly. In all cases, the underlying problem was that some rubber or >>plastic component had aged and become glazed. Disassembly and
cleaning with a fiberglass brush followed by ethanol wiping helped a
lot. The famed "Stable 32" error was fixed by a carefully placed
piece of mylar tape that prevented sticking.
Ummmm... I think you mean "Print Unable 32" error message. The means
you have either paper, or more likely labels, stuck on the rollers or
drum. If it's the fuser roller or imager drum, and you get anywhere
near them with any kind of cleaner or solvent, you'll destroy the
coating. Don't ask me how I learned this fact. Even isopropyl
alcohol is to strong. Instead, I use hot water, to melt the stick
label glue or scrape off the glue with a Teflon kitchen scraper.
I won't say anything about resurfacing the roller using mylar tape
except that I've never tried it, don't think it will work, and have no >intention of trying it.
Also, most of the solvents will attack rubber and cause it swell.
Resurfacing the rubber rollers with wire bushes, sandpaper, file
cards, and other mechanical methods will work if the rubber is
reasonably intact.
The way it works is that the rubber cracks as the plasticizer
evaporates from the rubber. It's the plasticizer that makes the
rubber flexible. It also provides a high friction surface. What
alcohol and other solvents do is remove the plasticizer. This causes
the rubber roller to swell and eventually harden. Whenever I found a
rock hard rubber roller, it was either from old age or someone had
tried to clean the roller with alcohol.
I once bought a bottle of "rubber renewer" on eBay. Nasty smelling
stuff but it did the job. It seemed to be a mixture of xylene and
some kind of oil. The idea was to expand the cracked rubber surface
which allowed the oil to migrate into the cracks. Xylene evaporates
very quickly which prevents deep penetration in the rubber. That
allows enough oil to replace any lost plasticizer and also not turn
the rubber surface into a sticky goo. It worked fairly well, but a
new replacement rubber roller lasted longer. If possible, I flipped
over the rubber on plastic rollers before using rubber restorer. ><https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=rubber%20restorer%20printer%20rollers>
But finally it all had worn out too much, and the common wear-out
parts could no longer be purchased anywhere. And while toner was
still available, the large-capacity cartridges were not, which I took
as an omen.
And after 15 years, it owed me nothing, and many things were greatly >>improved over those years. The new printer is twice as fast as the
old printer, and the color is far better. And does not misfeed when >>humidity is low.
Try:
<https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/Device/Brother_Printer> >>><https://www.printerforums.net/forums/brother.19/>
Will do, thanks
Joe Gwinn
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 18:19:53 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 18:39:11 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>
wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 09:57:51 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> >>>wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:07:18 -0500, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net> >>>>wrote:
Very interesting in general, and I just bought a Brother MFC-L8905CDW. >>>>>Have you encountered any of those yet?
What the above replaced was an ancient Brother MFC-9840CDW, and I did >>>>>have and repair many problems, and got 15 years out of it.
I retired from the daily grind just after the CZU fire and Covid. I >>>>currently don't see many repairs on larger and heavier printers
because I would need to carry the printers up and down 50 stairs to >>>>work on them. I also don't have the necessary bench space available. >>>>My current customers are mostly home users who normally don't need or >>>>purchase big and heavy business class printers.
I tend to buy the industrial stuff, but at their lower end, because
the extra expense is worth it for better quality.
For printers, I buy new printers for my customers and inherit their >>previous printer for free or at least a substantial discount on my
labor charges.
Here I am both customer and tech.
An industrial printer is what's used for commercial production
printing. These are well above the needs of the typical small
business.
Yes, and these cost tens of thousands of dollars minimum. Only large >companies have these.
For example, what small business needs a printer that can
continuously print bills, promotional literature, tickets, etc all day >>long? Running a business class printer continuously like that would
kill it rather soon. At this time, business class can perhaps print
25,000 pages before requiring all the plastic and rubber parts need to
be replaced.
That would be a the all-plastic wonders. I've gotten far more from
the Brother, and from the legacy HP printers that proceeded it.
My first laser was a HP LaserJet 5MP bought in 1996 for about $1K, as
I recall. It needed few repairs, although I did upgrade the memory to
max when that became cheap. I finally recycled it circa 2015. It
still worked, but with crippling limitations, like inability to handle
most modern print file formats. And sunlight had made some critical
plastic components to become brittle and crack.
I've maintained ancient LaserJet 4 and 4 Si printers,
which printed about 125,000 pages before needing any major service.
Yes, that would be nice for home use, but certainly overkill. HP and >>others realized that such a long life printer would not be a good
thing for a company that made and sold printers, so they redesigned
the stamped steel tank of a printer into a lower cost but shorter life
all plastic toy.
Yes. But I've found the Brother units quite suitable. Also, this is
not just a printer, it's an all-in-one units.
Sometimes the industrial stuff is cheaper as well. Like for instance >>>metro wire shelves.
<https://metro.com/commercial/>
I have several rows of those shelves (on rollers) in what used to be
my bedroom. When I retired and closed my formerly palatial office,
all the storage racks and most of the junk on them, were transported
intact into my house. The #1 project for the last 4 years has been to >>purge the junk and get rid of the industrial warehouse decor.
And one of my selection criteria was weight, with heavier preferred >>>(meaning more metal and less plastic).
As I get older, cost has become the primary criteria. I don't expect
or want to live longer than my furniture and toys.
I also won't have the energy or maybe ability to do much repairing as
I get grayer and grayer.
I haven't worked on any MFC-L8905CDW printers but have recently
cleaned a similar model after an aftermarket toner cartridge dumped >>>>toner everywhere. I didn't see anything unusual when I tested it. >>>><https://www.brother-usa.com/products/mfcl8905cdw>
The old MFC-9840CDW (discontinued) was not a good printer. >>>><https://www.google.com/search?q=MFC-9840CDW&udm=2>
Two of my customers bought them many years ago. As I vaguely recall, >>>>the colors did not print true, the color self-calibration didn't quite >>>>work, and I had to clean toner from the belt with almost every >>>>cartridge change.
The color was never all that good to be sure, but it was good enough
for me. Nor did I clean the belt all that often.
I'm told that it is possible to get descent color from the Brother >>MFC-9840CDW. However, it requires tearing it apart and cleaning the
toner dust off the color calibration optics and sensors.
Ahh. So that's why. Wonder if Brother has improved that part of the
design. One assumes so, after 15 years.
To maintain
the color settings, don't let loose toner collect inside the machine, >>especially around the waste box. >><https://www.amazon.com/NUCALA-Compatible-WT100CL-Replacement-DCP-9040CN/dp/B0BHSHDHMQ>
Notice that waste toner box is only good for:
Page volume: Approximately 20,500 pages with 5% coverage.
As you approach this limit, clean out the waste toner box or you will
soon be dealing with a big mess. (Clue: Nobody does this until it's
too late).
Hmm. The 9840 started to complains about that, so I dutifully
replaced the waste toner box well in time.
I don't recall any component failures or
replacement. The rubber parts, which are usually the first to die, >>>>held up well, mostly because the printer was lightly used.
It worked well for many years, but it developed problems as it became >>>elderly. In all cases, the underlying problem was that some rubber or >>>plastic component had aged and become glazed. Disassembly and
cleaning with a fiberglass brush followed by ethanol wiping helped a
lot. The famed "Stable 32" error was fixed by a carefully placed
piece of mylar tape that prevented sticking.
Ummmm... I think you mean "Print Unable 32" error message. The means
you have either paper, or more likely labels, stuck on the rollers or
drum. If it's the fuser roller or imager drum, and you get anywhere
near them with any kind of cleaner or solvent, you'll destroy the
coating. Don't ask me how I learned this fact. Even isopropyl
alcohol is to strong. Instead, I use hot water, to melt the stick
label glue or scrape off the glue with a Teflon kitchen scraper.
Yes, its "Print Unable 32". I don't print labels or the like. Or
envelopes. Too much trouble.
I won't say anything about resurfacing the roller using mylar tape
except that I've never tried it, don't think it will work, and have no >>intention of trying it.
The piece of tape was on a location sensing pad of some kind; don't
recall where. The rollers I was resurfacing were made of rubber of
some kind, and were not destroyed by this treatment.
Also, most of the solvents will attack rubber and cause it swell. >>Resurfacing the rubber rollers with wire bushes, sandpaper, file
cards, and other mechanical methods will work if the rubber is
reasonably intact.
Ethanol is safe.
The way it works is that the rubber cracks as the plasticizer
evaporates from the rubber. It's the plasticizer that makes the
rubber flexible. It also provides a high friction surface. What
alcohol and other solvents do is remove the plasticizer. This causes
the rubber roller to swell and eventually harden. Whenever I found a
rock hard rubber roller, it was either from old age or someone had
tried to clean the roller with alcohol.
The rollers that needed the treatment were already glazed, probably
due to plasticizer evaporation, and the objective was to physically
remove the hardened layer and remove the sanding grit and debris using
the ethanol. This did not re-glaze the rollers. The exposure was
short.
I once bought a bottle of "rubber renewer" on eBay. Nasty smelling
stuff but it did the job. It seemed to be a mixture of xylene and
some kind of oil. The idea was to expand the cracked rubber surface
which allowed the oil to migrate into the cracks. Xylene evaporates
very quickly which prevents deep penetration in the rubber. That
allows enough oil to replace any lost plasticizer and also not turn
the rubber surface into a sticky goo. It worked fairly well, but a
new replacement rubber roller lasted longer. If possible, I flipped
over the rubber on plastic rollers before using rubber restorer. >><https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=rubber%20restorer%20printer%20rollers>
I looked at that. It lists C3H8O and C8H8O3 as ingredients.
The first is also known as isopropyl alcohol.
The second is probably a plasticizer, but many chemicals answer to
that formula, maybe it's what is used in platen rubber rollers during >manufacture.
I would guess that there is no Xylene ((CH3)2C6H4), or it would have
been mentioned.
I did not find out who is making this stuff, and it may be a one-man >operation.
Joe Gwinn
But finally it all had worn out too much, and the common wear-out
parts could no longer be purchased anywhere. And while toner was
still available, the large-capacity cartridges were not, which I took
as an omen.
And after 15 years, it owed me nothing, and many things were greatly >>>improved over those years. The new printer is twice as fast as the
old printer, and the color is far better. And does not misfeed when >>>humidity is low.
Try:
<https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/Device/Brother_Printer> >>>><https://www.printerforums.net/forums/brother.19/>
Will do, thanks
Joe Gwinn
On Sun, 02 Feb 25 11:31:29 UTC, Lizard Cheney <lizard.cheney@j6.insurrection.dept> wrote:
Jeff Liebermann wrote:<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FHEeG_uq5Y>
Dots all folks.
I suspect Obamba's fake birth certificate has yellow dots on it.Nope. It was printed using a monochrome typewriter. We didn't have
color laser printers in 1961: <https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/birth-certificate-long-form.pdf>
Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 15:45:36 -0800, john larkin <JL@gct.com> wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 15:29:51 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>I already posted that link a few messages upstream. It doesn't say
wrote:
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 14:02:57 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> >>>> wrote:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots
On Sat, 1 Feb 2025 21:06:45 +0100, "Carlos E.R."I found the yellow dots, but it wasn't easy. As usual, I did
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2025-02-01 06:19, Jeff Liebermann wrote:As far as I know, and can determine from skimming various related web >>>>> sites, they're all doing it and have not added any way to turn it off. >>>>>
On Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:28:24 +0000, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>>>>>> wrote:Are they still doing this? :-o
Wasn't it HP that was spying on customers by some ingenious yellow >>>>>>>> pixel scheme? Then made some excuse about catching forgers or some >>>>>>>> such claim.The yellow dots are for identifying the printer for tracking ransom >>>>>>> notes, forgeries, fake documents, currency, etc. The yellow dots are >>>>>>> why your printer runs out of yellow toner or ink before the other >>>>>>> toner colors. See:
I examined some prints last night and also couldn't find any yellow<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer_tracking_dots>I carefully examined printouts from my printer long ago, did not find >>>>>> anything.
<https://www.instructables.com/Yellow-Dots-of-Mystery-Is-Your-Printer-Spying-on-/>
Methinks this is where the "spying" story may have originated:
"Tracking codes in photocopiers and colour laser printers"
(Aug 11, 2007)
<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-6-2007-5724_EN.html> >>>>>>>
If you want to see the yellow dots, you'll need a UV LED flashlight. I >>>>>>> had the not-so-bright idea of pouring some black toner into an old >>>>>>> yellow toner cartridge. The dots were easily visible with a
magnifying glass. However, it took me about an hour to clean up the >>>>>>> transfer belt mechanism so that yellow would print normally. Not >>>>>>> recommended.
dots. Brain function returned this morning when I realized that I was >>>>> looking at B&W prints from my monochrome laser printer. Yellow dots >>>>> require yellow toner. I'll try again, this time using my HP Color
Laser Jet Pro MFP M477fnw printer.
everything wrong the first time I tried it.
1. Use a magnifier. I found that a folding jewelers 30x loupe, with
a built in white LED, worked well. This what I used:
<https://www.ebay.com/itm/116331398465>
Both loupes were low quality, but the price was right. The UV light
didn't do anything useful. I could try using one of my microscopes,
but the kitchen table is currently occupied.
2. Don't use paper with a rough or textured (linen, felt, laid, etc)
surface. Try to find paper with a smooth surface. If it looks like
the surface of the moon with a magnifier, find some other paper.
3. Some articles suggest using UV illumination. I have a wide
variety of UV lights in both LED and fluorescent in various
wavelengths. However, yellow toner is not phosphorescent, so it must
be the phosphors they add to paper to make them appear "bright". Sure >>>> enough, UV illumination worked best with 96 bright paper. I didn't
have any 100 bright. However, UV illumination didn't improve
visibility much.
4. The tiny dots seem unevenly spread over the surface of the paper.
You'll need to move the magnifying glass around the page to find the
yellow dots. At 30x the depth of field is small. That means put the
printed page on something flat.
5. When I first started looking for the dots, I almost instantly saw
them. About 1 minute later, the dots disappeared. What happened is
that I had cataract surgery about 1 year ago. The problem was that it >>>> wasn't totally successful. As soon as I was able to rest my eyes a
little, the dots re-appeared.
6. I guessed that the designers did not include a feature where the
dots moved around the page after each printed page. Therefore,
over-printing the same page multiple times should improve visibility.
Unfortunately, my laser printer has a registration problem causing the >>>> overprinted dots and text on the page to move. However, I have more
dots to view. I found more barely visible yellow dots, but also a few >>>> very bright yellow dots.
It's my understanding that the yellow dots also appear when "printing" >>>> to a file. I suspect that printing on dark paper will improve the
contrast and make the yellow dots more visible. I would guess(tm)
that a yellow filter might also help improve contrast. I haven't
tried any of these (yet).
Good luck.
much about how to best view the dots. So, I went to YouTube (as
suggested).
Here's one that features your favorite microscope:
"Yellow Dots of Mystery: Is Your Printer Spying on You?"
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sit6zUQKpJc>
and one from EFF:
"Yellow Dots of Mystery: Is Your Printer Spying on You?"
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izMGMsIZK4U>
As usual, I was doing it all wrong. I tried illuminating with UV, but
should have used a blue LED and turned off the room lights.
Dots all folks.
I suspect Obamba's fake birth certificate has yellow dots on it.
Please don't pollute a technical thread with political nonsense.
Especially obsolete allegations, especially my thread.
If you continue to do this, I won't include AHR in technical posts and
you'll be an even bigger blight on AHR.
In sci.electronics.repair, on Sun, 02 Feb 25 11:31:29 UTC, Lizard Cheney <lizard.cheney@j6.insurrection.dept> wrote:
I suspect Obamba's fake birth certificate has yellow dots on it.
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