Unlocking the ZTE V9 Tablet PC for free!

If you just purchased a Optus Mytab, it will he locked and branded with Optus.  You can easily unlock it for Free and Online.

You will need:

• ZTE V9 upgraded to Android 2.2 (see my other article)
• Your IMEI number
• APN details for the non Optus sim
  
• Internet

If you don't know either of the above then you fail.


Go to

www.nextgenserver.com/calculator/

Enter your IMEI, select ZTE on the form and type the captcha.

You will be given a unlock number.

When you insert a non Optus sim you will need to enter this number to unlock it.

Now go to Settings -> Wireless and networks -> Mobile networks -> Access Point Names and tap the menu side key to add a new APN.

Enter the APN and check internet connectivity!

Open Ports on FetchTV Box

Nmaping the Ethernet port on FetchTv box gave open ports on 80, 111 and 8000

Telneting into each one does not give much from GET or HELO, only port 80 on Firefox gave this.

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FetchTv yx-6936u STB Tear Down

I found one of these being put out with the rubbish, not being so sure what it was, I decided to grab it and check it out in the workshop.  The model was a YX-6936U aka Fetch TV, a IP TV & DVB-T Receiver.

The unit is secured with eight T10 Torx screws, opening the lid gave me a surprise of what was inside.

Three Tuners all daisy chained.

A smartcard (credit card) reader.

A Seagate 1TB SATA Hard Drive.

And the rest....

A good find indeed, power supply puts out 12, 5 and 7.5volts.





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Optus ZTE V9 Android device review + Upgrade to 2.2

This is a great price tablet, $149 through Optus prepaid and comes with PP net and phone access.

It has:

• Micro USB port for PC connection
• Phone
• Bluetooth
• Camera
• Headphone Jack
• Sim Slot for 3G
• Micro SD slot
• 7 Inch Touch Screen
• FM Radio
• Wifi
• and GPS (undocumented)

It fails:

• It can't play AVI files!
• You will need a google account to install apps, it asks you to sign in.
• Locked to Optus network and Optus branded outside and in. For now ;)
• Too big to use as a phone :()

The touch screen is good and the whole device is very simple and minimalistic.  When purchasing it you will have to surrender your identity to the retailer.

We decided to upgrade to Android 2.2 to get flash player working and to use the device to share 3G over WIFI.


Upgrading the ZTE V9 to Android 2.2.

Download the upgrade package application to your PC (Optus_V9 Upgrade Tool_30th_April.zip).


Run the Upgrade tool and install the driver to your PC and keep the upgrade package application open.

Switch off the ZTE device, power it down, connect it to the PC via the USB cable.

Put the ZTE device into FTM mode by pressing power and quickly holding both volume buttons until FTM is displayed on the screen.

The ZTE device will open another com port and the upgrade application will upload the new OS via USB.

When done, disconnect the USB cable and with a few minutes until it boots up, be patient.






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Acer LNBFQUW1 LNB tear down pics

Some pic of inside a LNB from a Foxtel satellite dish.

Acer LNBFQUW1 Quad Digital LNBF

Frequency 11.7 - 12.75 Ghz

Local Oscillator 10.7 Ghz

Torx in the middle is for cavity tuning

Each outlet has a 78M06 Regulator to power the LNB

Right shell has the tuning slug (center)

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iPod Fail, Cracked Screen

Fail iPod Fail!

Ultra Fail, iRobot cleans up!

This is a old one, but it is still funny!

Easy way! Ubuntu 11.04 Samba File Sharing with Windows Machines

Why is it a PITA to share files with other Windows machines.  If you want to share files and folders to other computers just follow these simple tips.

• Don't edit the /etc/samba/smb.conf file directly.
• Don't use the Gnome / Nautilus sharing options menu (right click on a folder...)
• Do only the following below.

Open Ubuntu Software Center and search for samba.

Ensure that SMB/CIFS file, print, and login server for UNIX is installed.
Ensure that Samba is installed.

Once that is done, click System->Administration->Samba to open up the Samba Server Configuration.

In the Samba Server Configuration, click Preferences->Server Settings.
Edit the settings for the Basic tab to change the Workgroup name if you like.  Personally I left it as workgroup.

Edit the settings for the Security tab.  Note you must use your user name for the guest account not 'nobody'.  If you fail to do this the linux file permissions will override the samba file permissions and no sharing will happen!

Now you have a samba setup where anyone on the LAN can access your shared files without asking for username or password, aka. guest account.

Now create a samba share by clicking the Plus symbol on the Samba Server Configuration and browsing to the folder you want to share.

Check to see that you are sharing on your Windows machines!





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Death of a GMC Blower - Motor Failure

Here are some pics of a GMC blower that was give to me, not working. 

I decided to rip it open an find out what could be wrong.  Opening it was a bit difficult, several philips heads and two snake eyes security bits.

Comm. failure, it would of went bang!

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Vodafone are crooks, they locked my phone!

What is it with Australia, seems like everyone is in it just to rip everyone off.

I brought a phone from Vodafone 4 years ago, it was a Nokia 6300.  A great phone which served me well, it was unlocked and worked with Optus, Three & Telstra. 
Recentley, I decided to port my number across to Amaysim, guess what happened, Vodafone found out that they were going to loose me and decided to fuck me over by network locking my phone!  Haha, I checked the Vodafone website which gives you the ability to unlock your phone using your credit card ($25), fuck that.  I called Vodafone and asked them to unlock it for free (I had been a paying customer for 4+ years) and their response was the same, $25 please. 
I gave them the ultimatum that I was going to Amaysim and the guy then offered me $25 phone credit on my account in exchange.  Shitty phone credit does not equal cash out of my wallet, I declined, it is not worth it siting with fuckwits.

Being a BB5 phone it is a PITA to unlock, so FML, Im using another phone that is unlocked.

How To Fix Ubuntu Shutdown Message

Why do they do this, if I click shutdown, then shutdown the computer!  Don't ask for a stupid message saying, "Are you sure"...  This is the kind of BS that I used to tolerate using windows.

Here's how to fix it.

Open a command terminal and type:

gconf-editor

Then navigate to apps/indicator-session/ and tick suppress_logout_restart_shutdown

No more stupid message!

 

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JVC DVD Jukebox ready for the trash

This dinosaur aged quickly, it little than four years, it has been replaced by a few hard drives. 

It had the capacity of 600 DVD-RAM disc and could read six dics at once.  A mechanical arm would grab the disc from the stack and put it in the drive for burning / reading.

1.4TB capacity over the 600 discs, LVD SCSI interface.

Now the DVD-Ram discs have been removed and it is ready for the bin.

 

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3 Watt Argon Gas Laser Pictures

Here are some pictures of a 3 Watt Argon gas laser, which we decommissioned recently.

The laser tube and power electronics were water cooled with a pump and radiator.

The tube is a heavy beast, featuring a huge copper magnetic coil around the tube to maintain plasma conditions for lasing.

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