Rechargeable batteries. The new Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni MH) formula does not need to be fully discharged before recharging like the older NiCads did. The number on the label is like MPG on a car. The higher the number, the farther you go. Let’s say your AA battery is 2400 MA/h. That also means 1200 milliamps for 2 hours. If your radio takes 100 milliamps per hour to make music, doing the math, your batteries will supply 24 hours of music when fully charged. The charger pushes all the electrons to one side of a wall. This flow of pressure is what makes things happen in your appliance. This chemical process does wear out with time.
One application that will destroy the chemicals in a rechargeable battery is a hot wire. The rapid discharge boils the chemicals inside and they won’t charge anymore. The chargers are made to back off when the battery is full, so leaving it in for an extra day or two won’t hurt it. The smaller chargers have a circuit inside that creates noise on AM and FM radios that can travel through the extension cord.

You’ve seen the commercials with the clothing storage bags you vacuum the air out of to get more stuff in your closet? Digital TV is like that. The signal is compressed and harder to deal with. The computer processor in the tuner gets hot unfolding all this stuff, so don’t block your lower and upper vents.
When you shut your TV off, did you know a third of it is still oscillating at ten thousand times a second? Waiting night and day for your command to wake up the other sections? This causes three problems. 1. It wears out certain (cheap) components prematurely. Many flat screens just quit working. The filter capacitors swollen from overheating and fatigue. 2. The TV power supply noise while off blocks AM and FM radio reception. 3. More of a concern outside, the TV in standby mode runs the electric meter up. When you’re done watching at night, turn it off and unplug it to help it last longer, and enjoy the late night talk shows on the radio.
The RCA tube sets were built without installing the left audio channel parts – a cost saving measure. I noticed concerts with missing left stage instruments, or shows like Family Guy where the closed captioning showed dialog in a room to the left, but nothing was heard in the headphones. Thank you very much. The KTV’s have stereo, but the HP plug is very weakly attached. Don’t bump the headphone plug or use adaptors that act like a crowbar on the delicate jack inside.
The flat screen TV’s use a tiny fluorescent lamp to light the screen. These have limited lifetimes. It costs about $75 to replace the bulb. The meter’s running…
Some KTV tuner boards can come loose in the socket if your TV is transported upside down and the TV won’t turn on. For RCA / KTV tube sets, don’t clean your screen while wearing ear buds! You’ll get a 17,000 volt static spark in your ears. Maybe you can have your celly do it while you watch.

Last month, the CSI team covered basic headphone and cord problems. Wrapping cords tight breaks the tiny wires inside over time.
This month, CD players and small radios. Over the years, people have brought me many hand-held players with the statement; “I dropped it and it won’t play anymore”. My reply; “Dropping it is not in the instruction manual.” The CD laser eye is on a delicate suspension system that can bend when dropped. Finding music data on the disc is like looking for a grain of rice at Candlestick Park. Treat your player like a warm jar of nitroglycerin. Anticipate dropping it and prevent it ahead of time.
If there is a fingerprint on the lens, DON’T use an alcohol wipe. It leaves a cloudy film. Don’t use tissue, it’s made from scratchy wood. Only if it’s smudgy, use a clean t-shirt in a gentle circular motion. You can wash CDs with a few drops of shampoo and warm water, rinse, wipe dry with a clean shirt, not tissue.
While the Sony player is the best because all the works are in the bottom with better switches, its spindle is the weak link. I’ve carefully removed the springs on new units and cut a third off which helps remove the force when loading CDs. With all players, set the disc in gently and nudge it into place. Slamming it slides the platform down the motor shaft and bottoms it out. Removing: thumb in middle while pulling up on the edges. Capping the top of the spindle with a drop of glue helps also. Internal battery lids with broken latches can scratch CDs while playing. A piece of tape will hold it down.
The small rotary volume controls on radios and CDs have a sprayed on resistive coating that wears off quickly. Set your volume AND LEAVE IT ALONE! Your headphone cord is your FM antenna. All FM stations are between channel 6 and 7 on the TV band. A hook-up to your splitter should help reception.
Next time: Your TV is watching you while you’re sleeping.