220 to 110 converter

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History always leaves behind a trail, it reflects in the present and affects the future, but what if you have a chance to erase the inaccuracies and rebuild your credit report. Credit score is the magic figure that determines your financial credibility; it is a mirror that reflects your payment history and your responsible behavior. Lenders rely on this figure to approve your loans and credit card accounts.

The credit scoring model is not very simple; it depends on a lot of factors. It calculates the final score based on your spending behavior and the promptness to make payments. The score can vary from a range of 300-850. The broad classification that depresses the score includes bankruptcy, foreclosure, debt settlement, late payments and using maximum credit limit. It can be considered a mistake or demand of the hour to resort to such actions. What is important is to understand the degree and extent to which the numbers are crunched in each scenario.

These categories do not affect the score uniformly but affect in varying order. Whereas using maximum credit limit can fiddle 10-30 points on a credit score of 680 and 25-45 points on 780, bankruptcy can damage the figure by 130-150 points on a score of 680 and by 220-240 on a score of 740. Debt settlement is the most preferred option to get rid off the debt and it can disturb the score from as low as 45-65 points up to 105-125 points. A late payment can affect the numbers from a range of 60-80 up to 90-110 points. Foreclosure also deducts at least 85-105 points on a score of 680 and 140-160 points on a score of 780. Avoid sustaining a low balance on the credit card and requesting new accounts quite often.

Knowing these numbers is not sufficient. If they are relevant, only passage of time can heal the credit wound, but if it is inaccurate, you must get them corrected on the report immediately. There is a possibility of data theft and identity loss which might record weird items in your report. Nothing is foolproof, mistakes can happen anywhere. Get your credit report and raise a dispute on any unverifiable or questionable item. Fair Credit Reporting Act and Credit repair organizations Act entitles you to raise any doubtful item and get it corrected.

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If you have a caravan, Camper Trailer or RV you might often want to take it off the beaten track and get down and dirty with nature. I’m talking about the wilderness experience; selecting a campsite that offers little in the way of services – especially electrical power. In these cases you will have to rely on your battery power, and if you plan on staying a few days and still want the convenience of light, fans, radio and maybe DVD player, etc, you will need to boost your power reserves somehow. In this article I will discuss how you can accomplish that. It may not suit everyone’s needs or pocketbook, but if it gives you food for thought it will be a good start.

First off let’s have a look at some battery facts. There are three main types of battery, conventional wet cell, deep cycle, and AGM, and left to right reads from least to most expensive. The conventional type battery is usually found under your vehicle hood and has to provide a heavy current surge to start your engine. These batteries are not intended to be deep cycled and will have a very limited lifetime if exposed to that. Deep Cycle batteries are not meant for heavy current drains but can be discharged to lower levels. These are usually found as auxiliary batteries in a vehicle or caravan. Both of these battery types need to be vented to the open air because they can generate explosive gases during the charge/discharge cycles. Also bear in mind that batteries do not like being discharged and will rapidly deteriorate if repeatedly discharged below about 50% of their capacity. So, if you have either of these batteries with a 100 Ampere Hour rating, you only really have 50 Ampere Hours of capacity. That is the rule of thumb you should use. Now add to this the fact that if you are charging from a vehicle alternator, the electrics in the charging system will only charge the battery to around 80% of its capacity. This means that potentially you may only have a usable 40 Ampere Hours.

AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries on the other hand are in my opinion the battery of choice. They last longer than the other types. They are sealed and so can be stored just about anywhere, even on their side if you want. All they require is venting to atmosphere. Because of their construction these batteries charge faster and at a lower voltage so will charge closer to that magic 100% of capacity when using conventional chargers. They can also be occasionally discharged below the 50% threshold without long term damage. Consequently an AGM battery will last longer if treated well (typically 8 to 10 years). Now the bad news. They are more expensive than conventional batteries.

In my pop-top camper trailer I use two 110 Ampere Hour AGM batteries wired in parallel. This gives me at full charge, a usable 110 Ampere Hours (220 AH / 2). This preserves the life of my batteries and provides me plenty of power, plus a small margin if I need it in emergencies. The camper is fitted with a “smart charger” so that when I am connected to mains power the batteries will charge close to 100% capacity. I also charge the batteries from the vehicle alternator when traveling and this requires some safeguards – you do not want to discharge your starter battery below its operational level, so a battery isolator to protect it is essential.

I have used this system on several occasions for extended stay camps and had plenty of power for lighting, water pump, radio/CD player, TV/DVD player and so on. You can work out your battery drain by identifying all the appliances you want to run, what their current draw is multiplied by the use time.

For full details including schematic see my resource box below.

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Add-on accessories for your car will make your ride more enjoyable. A power cord from your cell phone to the cigarette lighter socket will keep your phone running without draining its battery. An iceless cooler will conveniently keep a drink cold. A heated mug will keep coffee hot as long as the car is running. Add-on accessories add enjoyment to your ride. Below is information and comments about five types of accessories. To locate the items online, use the link to Leisure ideas at the end of this article.

12-volt heated mug – A mug with a plug for getting power from the cigarette lighter socket. It keeps a liquid such as coffee hot for as long as the vehicle is running. Some models have a thermostat to set the temperature.

Example models:

Wagan Tech Heated Travel Mug, removeable cord plugs into cigarette lighter socket, 16-ounce capacity, double wall vacuum insulation to keep drinks hot up to an hour after you unplug, mug fits cup holders, available for about $30.

New VR3 Stainless Steel Heated Insulated Travel Mug Cup, plugs into cigarette lighter socket, 14-ounce capacity, base sized to fit cup holder, about $10 plus shipping.

Bell & Howell Hot N’ Go Heated Car Mug, heats to 145 degrees F in 30 minutes, 16-ounce capacity, priced about $18.

JLR Gear Smart Mug, set the temperature you want, has ready light, 16-ounces, plugs into lighter socket, available online for about $20 plus shipping.

Cooler/warmer – These give the choice of keeping food hot or cold. Can warm food and can cool. Some are sized to hold a can of soda or a mug of coffee, larger units might hold a six pack or more.

Example models:

Coleman 12-Volt 9-Can Console Cooler/Warmer, cools to 40° F and warms to 120° F, 9-can capacity. Available online for about $60.

Vector® Thermoelectric Portable Food Cooler/Warmer Chests, cool to 40° below outside temperature, warm to approximately 130° F, 9-foot cord plugs into lighter plug. Two available, 6- and 12-can capacity, priced $75 and $85.

Koolatron 18-quart Food Cooler/Warmer, cools to 40° F below ambient temperature or warms to 125° F, detachable 10-ft. cord, 3-amp draw, holds 23 12-ounce cans. Available for about $110.

ROADPRO 12-Volt Mini Cooler / Warmer, holds 9 12-ounce cans, about $50.

12-Volt 7-Liter Cooler/Warmer 12-Volt 7-Liter Cooler/Warmer, holds 9 12-ounce cans, about $60.

Pyle – Automotive Travel Cooler/Warmer – PLCOOL6, holds two 12-ounce bottles, 9-foot detachable cord, 12 volt/120 volt/220-volt, about $40 online.

Rubbermaid® Cooler/Warmer 289377 1.1-gallon capacity, holds 6 12-ounce cans, plugs into cigarette lighter socket, in warming mode, warms to 120-degrees F., tie-down strap and buckle strap for fastening to seat back. 7′ long 12v cord. Available online for $80 plus shipping.

Cell phone charger – Plugs into the cigarette lighter socket to power or charge your cell phone.

Example models:

Virgin Mobile Silver Dolphin Car Charger, for Kyocera phones, plugs into car’s power outlet and charges phone in 2.5- to 3.5-hours, http://www.radioshack.com can locate the stores nearest you where you can get this charger, about $15.

Phoenix Wireless Vehicle Power Adapter for Samsung M300/M510, has coiled cord that plugs into cigarette lighter socket, about $25.

Quick Cell 3900 Car Charger Nokia, web site lists stores nearest you that stock this charger, about $15.

Phoenix Vehicle Power Adapter for Samsung Phones, has coiled cord that plugs into cigarette lighter socket, 3.5-mm plug, for many Samsung phones, for about $25.

Generic Car Charger for Nokia N91, N90, N80, 770, 7370, 6282, 6265i, 6165i, 6155i, 6126, 6103, 6102i, 6102, 6101, 3155i. Available for about $5.

Power inverter – Plugs into the cigarette lighter socket, clips to battery, or wire it in. The vehicle’s 12-volts dc is changed to 120-volts ac to power things like laptop computers, coffee makers, cell phones, camcorder battery chargers and other small appliances. Don’t go bigger than 400 watts unless you want to go directly to the battery with heavy wire. Even then, high power devices will drain your battery quickly and could fry the alternator if the engine is running.

example models:

Xantrex X Power Mobile Plug 75, only 75 watts, very light duty, for about $30 online.

Whistler 400-watt Power Inverter with Circuit Pro, will run TV/DVD combos, laptops, cooling fans, $30 plus shipping.

Xantrex Technologies XPower Plus 400-Watt Inverter #851-0400, 400 watts for 5-minutes, 600-watts surge for easy startups, and 300-watts continuous power, plugs into car cigarette lighter, automatic shutdown mechanism protects against overload, over-temperature and low battery conditions, two 3-prong grounded AC outlets, and a DC outlet. Available online for about $30.

mp3 player – Down load music or other audio content onto either the player’s memory or a separate flash drive. Hours of audio can be stored in a single memory device. Some content can be downloaded for free. Listen to the program any time you choose.

example models:

VR3 MP3/WMA FM Modulator w/USB Port and Audio, VRFM8BLN, plug a flash drive into its USB port and use Play, Pause, Volume, Shuffle, and Track Selection controls to play MP3 and WMA files, has a mini jack to use a mp3 player or other audio source, has cigarette lighter plug, priced about $35.

DLO TransCast FM Transmiter for MP3 Players, 0092007, use to play audio from an MP3 player through a car’s radio. Gets power from cigarette lighter jack or batteries, 3-foot cord for connecting an audio source, compatible with MP3 players, PSP, and iPod. Available from radioshack.com for about $40 plus shipping. Radio shack will ship free to the store nearest you.

USB Car MP3/WMA FM Modulator Player W/Audio Input, will accept a standard USB drive to play MP3 files with car’s FM radio, plugs in cigarette lighter jack, input jack for audio from CD, DVD or MP3 player. Available online for about $25.

Belkin TuneCast II Mobile FM Transmitter, will except audio from a MP3 player’s headphone jack and transmit it to a car’s radio to be played through the car’s existing speaker system, powered by batteries or through car’s cigarette lighter jack, available for about $24.

Other accessories that can be used to enhance your car include seat covers, floor mats, steering wheel covers, sun shades, head rest covers, litter bags, can and cup holders, inside/outside thermometer, gps/map device, extra loud or novelty sound horns.

Items to keep in your car for repair, emergency, safety and miscellaneous – Jack, lug wrench, trouble light, flares, jumper cables, maps, cell phone and phone numbers, coolant for radiator, drinking water, long storage food, empty container for gasoline, various hand tools, gloves, coat, hat, blanket, rain poncho, and a first aid kit.

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With the FIFA 2010 World Cup soccer being hosted in South Africa in June, I thought it would be a rather good idea to inform potential tourists to our beautiful country about the real deal.

In my line of work I liaise with quite a few people from various countries, (USA, EUROPE, ASIA, ETC). I have heard funny and then also discerning remarks from these clients regarding the perception of South Africa out there.

Probably the most important issue is Safety. Yes we do have crime in our country but the same is experienced globally. It is not that our level of crime is higher or lower than lets say the New York, London, Hong Kong. Some media hype in international newspapers just like to blow things out of proportion. I have never (and I am touching wood while I am saying this) been a victim of crime in my 42 years of staying here. But then again I don’t go looking for trouble either. I don’t walk alone at night. I don’t leave my handbag on the front seat of my car. So let us dismiss this issue. The South African Police are easily recognised in their blue uniforms and by their white and blue patrol vehicles

Yes we do have electricity. All areas of South Africa has electricity. Even most of our informal settlements. We use 220/230 volts AC at 50 cycles per second. Three pronged plugs are universal, so take an adapter. Most hotel rooms have 110 volt outlets for electric shavers and small appliances

Yes we do have readily available safe water. South Africa is one of the countries with the safest drinkable water. Our dams are very full and there are no restrictions on water in place.

Yes we do speak English in South Africa. Although there are 11 different languages being spoken in South Africa, English is spoken everywhere. So there is no need to employ a translator (unless of course you can’t speak English).

Yes we do have currency. It is call Rand. One Rand (R) = 100 cents (c). Notes issued R200, R100, R50, R20, R10; coins R5, R2, R1, 50c 20c, 10c, 5c.

Most credit cards are accepted at most establishments, shops, restaurants, etc. And of course we do have ATM’s.

No, there is no wildlife roaming the streets in South Africa. You do have the occasional monkey or buck on offbeat roads, etc but I promise you lion, elephant, tigers, etc are only found in Game Reserves. This should definitely be on your “Things to do list” while you are visiting here.

I truly hope that I have managed to maybe answer at least one if not a few of your answers. South Africa is not a third world country. It is vibrant and is rich in culture, heritage and diversity.

Yes I am “PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN”.

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Tanning beds parts need to be routinely cleaned and repaired to ensure proper operation of the tanning bed. Some of the main tanning beds parts are described here.

Ultraviolet lamps or bulbs are the most important part of any tanning bed. Made out of quartz, these bulbs emit a safe amount of ultraviolet radiation, which results in a longer-lasting tan. Many choices of tanning bulbs are available; Wolff, Cosmedico VHR, VLR, and 9K9, and Voltrac are some among them. You can purchase the lamps from tanning bed dealers. Before purchasing, make sure that the make, model, and look of the bulb matches the bed currently in use. The life span of the lamp must also be verified. For example, the Wolf System Velocity sunlamps often last for 1000 hours.

Sometimes, UV radiations are emitted from the sides and back of the lamps. To prevent this, reflectors are used in tanning beds. Generally, they are made of highly polished aluminum and are shaped like a rounded “W”. Acrylic shields are used to prevent heat burns from the UV lamps. They allow maximum amount of UV penetration. But the transmissive property of the shield will be lost with age. So, they need to be replaced at the right time. Acrylic shields can cost a few hundred dollars or more

The tanning beds also have internal cooling fans. These fans are installed to minimize the temperature of the tanning bed. Without them, the bed equipment gets overheated and is easily worn out. Most of the tanning beds use 4? axial fans, which operate on 110 volt or 220 volt. Some models use squirrel cage or carriage fans.

Another key component is the timer, which helps to limit the maximum time per tanning session. Each timer is set with a maximum exposure time that depends on the type of tanning equipment used. Typically, the time extends up to 20 minutes. Today, all tanning beds available in the U.S are equipped with timers. According to the FDA, all commercial tanning beds should have a timer with preset maximum time.

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This article provides the recipe of tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce, a typical Italian dish that is a tasty and complete meal.

We will not see only how to cook this first course but we will also give information about how many calories are contained in a dish of tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce, why you should eat it if you are making a balanced diet, and when it is better to avoid it and how to make this dish more light and suited for people on a diet.

But let us see what ingredients you will need to prepare the tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce for 4 servings:

• 320g fresh egg pasta Tagliatelle

• 2oogr of minced meat

• 1 onion

• 1 carrot

• 1 stalk celery

• 200gr of peeled, tomatoes

• 30g of extra virgin olive oil

• 30g Grana Padano cheese (Grana Padano)

Preparation

Fry over low heat the onion, carrot, celery with butter and extra virgin olive oil; then add the minced meat, salt and pepper and brown everything for a few minutes. Next, chop and add the tomatoes.

Cover and simmer for 3 hours; once the Bolognese sauce is ready, boil the Tagliatelle in salted water, drain and season with the Bolognese sauce, sprinkle the dish with Grana Padano cheese and serve.

The preparation time is 3 hours long due to the preparation of the meat sauce.

The options regarding the type of meat to use depends on personal preference. The use of veal gives the Bolognese sauce a more delicate taste; if you want a more intense flavor you should add chopped ham or bacon; or you can add chicken livers into the sauce to make it more tasty.

The dish now is ready; let’s examine in detail the Tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce and how many calories a plate of Tagliatelle with this sauce has??

With the reported ingredients and a quantity of 320gr of pasta for 4 people we will have 500 calories per serving. Let’s see in detail where these calories are: 295 are made from egg pasta, 70 from olive oil, 80 from the meal used for the sauce, 30 from grana and 25 from vegetables used to make the sauce.

Tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce is a complete meal that is recommended because of the high amount of iron and magnesium, and the principal vitamin B12. Be careful that if you eat this pasta as first course and then you eat a second dish, you will increase the amount of calories and protein. So after a plate of pasta with Bolognese sauce, it’s better to match it with baked vegetables or a salad with orange juice.

If you want to cook a lighter recipe of pasta with meat sauce, we recommend to use lean meat such as beef. In fact, 200g of this meat provide about 220 calories, then 100 less than that provided by ground meat mixed of beef and pork.

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It is a sad situation when a contractor uses their knowledge in a certain field to lure a real estate investor into spending more or buying more than they really need. Sometimes it is the LACK of information they provide that ends up costing you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. This is often the case with electrical repairs in a home you have whether it is your personal residence or an investment property.

I just had a conversation with a new investor who had some questions on how to know if a contractor may be taking advantage of them when it comes to electrical repairs.

Let me say that first, I am not an electrical engineer, contractor, or in anyway a licensed and bonded electrician. I suggest strongly that you do not rely solely on the information in this article to attempt electrical repairs yourself unless you have the proper credentials to perform work in this field.

What I do offer to you are years of experience in dealing with electrical repairs, performing many of my own, and much of my knowledge working with it over the years in the aircraft, computer, and home environments.

Books are written on the complexities of electricity but the concept itself should not cause the new investor to run for cover if the light does not illuminate when you flip the switch. As humans we are naturally afraid of the unknown and I hope this article takes away a bit of the unknown and makes you less afraid to deal with a power source that is essential to our lives.

I am not afraid of electricity, I give it the healthy respect I would any other type of power source whether it is natural gas, fire, a hot stove, or even a spinning fan. Any one of these sources of power or applications of power can hurt you if you are not careful and it always helps to be somewhat knowledgeable to ensure that you are careful.

We learn at a young age not to touch a stove, bite into a hot pizza with cheese, or dive into water without first checking certain things. We take these for granted as we get older, but some things like electricity still seem mysterious and magical because we do not fully understand how they work.

A full understanding of any of these things is not necessary. We simply have to know enough to keep our environment safe whether for us, a tenant in a rental home, or a home we wish to sell. I will try my best to keep this short, simple, and understandable.

Electricity like natural gas is generally invisible to the naked eye. There are some exceptions, but for the most part this is true. You cannot tell by looking at a wire if it has electricity running too it or not. You would be foolish to grab the wire to see if it was energized (power running to it) or if it was not energized or dead in a steady state and harmless.

Here is a brief overview of how electrical power arrives at your house for use.

Electricity is generated by the power company by spinning a loop of wire in between two or more magnets in many different configurations. The machine is called a turbine and is turned by many things from powerful water behind a dam to steam generated from coal or a nuclear reactor. Other less conventional ways involve windmills, solar cells, or batteries all of which use motion or a chemical reaction to produce electricity. Electricity is energy in the form of tiny molecules called electrons which travel across wires or other surfaces.

OK, good to know, but how do I know if the contractor is cheating me?

We will get to that in a minute.

Electricity is generally transmitted over long distances by high tension lines between cities. We have all seen them.

Electricity has several components but the most important terms are volts and amps. The two multiplied together give us a definition of power. We could include resistance, ohms, and a bunch of other terms but we will keep it as simple as we can.

From the main high tension lines on the very high towers, the electricity is “stepped down” to a more manageable level. You have probably passed these places with boxes and fans on them with wires coming in and out surrounded by a fence with warning signs on it. This is the first step-down to occur. From here, the electricity is transmitted over lines usually at the top of the electrical poles in the city to various neighborhoods and business.

The voltage is still very high and powerful on these lines. Do you notice that the birds on these lines can land there without a problem? Even squirrels can run across them and not be hurt even though there may be more than 7,000 volts moving through the lines. Could you touch them and not be hurt? Sure, but only with certain conditions.

There are a couple of simple laws that electricity follows. First is that it will always seek the ground or the earth. You are in danger if you are in the path of electricity trying to reach the ground or the earth. In short, if you touch the wire while hovering magically in the air nothing would happen to you just like the bird or the squirrel. However if you are in contact with the ground and touch it your body becomes the conductor and you will receive a shock or burn. That is about as simple as it gets. You can only be hurt if electricity passes through you on its way to the place it seeks.

OK, back to the power lines or “primary lines” as they are called at the top of the poles. These lines are connected to those boxes you see attached to the power poles and are called transformers. They simply are used to reduce the voltage and power in the lines to the current or power we use in our homes. In the U.S. that is about 117 volts (115-120) that is delivered to our house. The electricity passes through a meter usually in a glass dome that shows how much power is being used. A spinning disk is used in most to increase the dials above it to reflect how much we use. The electrical company compares the last amount with the new amount and charges us based on the amount of power we use. You can look at your bill and see how many kilowatt hours you used in a given month.

From here, the electricity is passed into the electrical box in our house. A main breaker determines how much electrical power we are allowed to use at the standard volts mentioned above. The standard may be 200 amps or more if you look in your box or less if you live in a manufactured home or a travel trailer. Amps are the amount of power we use at a standard voltage.

The box distributes power to the outlets, stove, pool, hot tub, AC/Heat, light sockets and dryer plugs in the home. Only two voltages are used: 230volts and 115 give or take a few.

Electrical plugs run on 115 volts and heavier powered items run on 230 volts like the stove, clothes dryer, A/C/Heater, and maybe a pool or hot tub. The breakers in the electrical box tell us the story. A 115 breaker is used for most standard outlets and light fixtures. A 220 breaker is used for the higher use items. When one or more appliances or devices “pull too many amps above the breaker’s rating” the breaker will shut off as a protection mechanism. You all have probably “popped” a breaker at one time or another.

The numbers vary. You may see voltage from 110-120 on a standard “leg” of power. A “leg” is a line of current coming in from the power pole. Most homes have two separate “legs” of power or two lines each with 110-120 volts. When we combine the two legs we have enough power to drive the A/C, pool, or clothes dryer at 220-240 volts, we simply double the voltage.

A third line is provided called the “neutral” line and is normally colored white in the box. When one or two of the “hot” legs of power are combined with the neutral line…anything in between making contact with these wires is “energized or powered”.

The Standard Outlet in the Home: Most outlets these days look the same. One of the vertical slots is slightly smaller than the other. On plugs without the third prong it prevents us from plugging the cord in to the outlet in reverse. This is called a “polarized” outlet and makes sure the hot and neutral lines on the plug fit in only one way. With a three pronged plug you do not have a choice…there is only one way it can go in the outlet. The third prong is a “ground” and protects us and the device by providing a path for the electricity to follow should a wire break and touch the outside of the appliance.

The “hot” line or leg should always be the smaller or shorter of the two inserts on the outlet. The larger insert is connected to the neutral line and the nearly circular hole is the ground insert.

Standard wiring practices use the following colors of wires:

Black is a hot or energized wire.

Red is a secondary energized wire or used between two switches that can be shut on or off from either location.

White is the neutral line. It is not powered but is the preferred path for the electricity to follow on its way out of the device.

Green is the ground line connected directly to the earth.

Note: the hot wire does not care if the neutral or the ground is its mate in the circuit–either one will complete the circuit. BUT, it should use the correct one regardless which in most cases is the neutral wire.

Note: not all homes follow the standard wiring colors!! Very important!

Shoddy installation, cutting corners, using left-over wire or miss-wiring a device is not uncommon. Knowing this will prevent a lazy contractor from not following conventional methods if you can recognize the problem. You can bet the inspector will if he has visual access to the wires!

Electrical work is often done by individuals who have limited knowledge of power and how it should be wired. If you stay in the real estate business long enough you will be amazed at what these contractors think they can get away with.

Arm yourself with this basic knowledge. It is better to learn a few basics and check the work yourself before it is hidden by the wall. The inspector will plug devices into the outlet and tell immediately if it is wired correctly. Rule: always have a licensed inspector examine work and sign off on it.

Let your contractor know up front that you will be checking the wiring and it had better be in accordance with the standards and laws. They will be less likely to cut corners and create a safety issue down the road. You do not want to face a lawsuit or a fire, injury or death because this article puts you into “mental overload”.

Lastly, Ground Fault Interrupts (GFI) plugs or circuit breakers are mandated near areas with water like the kitchen and bathrooms. You may not always SEE the GFI plug, but it should be wired in so that it control all outlets. Check by pushing the test button to pop the outlet’s interrupt and then check all outlets near water. Some homes use a GFI breaker in the box. Test it by pushing the button.

Keep your contractors on their toes and your homes safe with these simple instructions and always turn for help to a licensed electrician with any questions. Always practice safety in all projects and use education to overcome any fear of any subject.

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Why do I want a 200 bowling average? When this question was posed on a web site about the “mental game” of bowling, I shrugged it off. I dismissed it as a question that didn’t warrant a response because the answer is self-evident. I mean, doesn’t it come down to the intrinsic nature of us humans? We are competitive by nature, and that spirit manifests in sports perhaps more than anywhere else.

Bowling 200 makes you a scratch bowler, meaning you no longer have a handicap. What’s a handicap? It’s the difference between your average score and a 200 average, and this number gives you the boost you need to be competitive against the best bowlers in any given league.

Nobody wants to be handicapped. We used to call people handicapped who didn’t have the full set of capabilities most of us enjoy. Now we call them “challenged” in this new politically correct world of ours. Why? Because “handicapped” has a negative connotation. It implies being “less than” or “not up to snuff”.

I want a 200 average because I do not want to have a handicap in bowling. I’ve been doing it for 10 years, improving gradually from one season to the next. I figure spending a decade at a sport means it’s high time to shed the artificial number that enables me to be competitive against “unhandicapped” bowlers. I do not want to be “bowling challenged”. I would rather be a challenging bowler.

My current average fluctuates between 160 and 165. I’m not happy with that. It means I’m leaving open frames in most games. I know how to throw strikes and I know how to throw spares. I know how to make splits as well. So why am I leaving open frames in almost every game I bowl?

The answer is as simple and as self-evident as the one I started out with about why I want a 200 average. I am missing strikes, spares and splits because I am failing to hit my target more often than I am hitting it.

I know exactly where I need to put the ball on, say, a 6-7-10 split. I’m a lefty, so this should be a relatively easy shot for me. I need to hit the 10-pin slightly right of center while cutting the 6-pin on the far right to send it over to the left to tackle the 7-pin. I know exactly where I need to put the ball to spare on the split. Yet I fail more often than I succeed. Why is that?

It’s because I believe I’m more likely to miss my target than hit it. It’s because of what my bowling blog buddy and fellow ezine articles author Jeffrey Hardwick calls the “mental game,” which is all about what you allow yourself to believe. Believe that you are throwing strike after strike and you will throw strike after strike.

Believe that when you miss a strike you will make the spare and you will make your spares. Believe that when there’s a nasty split up there thumbing its nose at you, you will make it. Believe it on the inside and you will make it on the outside. That is how the mental game works.

Lately I am training myself to be in the habit of visualizing numbers over 200. I’m seeing nice round numbers like 220, 225, 230. Part of the mental method I’m learning is to set the mental image higher than the actual goal to accelerate the process of achieving my goal.

There’s really not a big difference between a 160 average and a 200 average, when it comes right down to it. The difference is hitting the target more often than missing it. By equipping myself with these simple tools for winning the mental game, I should be a 200 bowler in no time! That’s how it works.

Wish me luck. No, don’t, because it’s not about luck. It’s about the mental game.

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The difference between an ordinary and high definition DVD player

It is not only the fact that a high definition DVD player provides us with the combination of very high quality audio and video. It also provides us with the ability to play the latest DVDs from any region of the world. A costly and good quality DVD player that is not region free or high definition can also provide quality audio and video. But the performance of such equipment is restricted in the sense that it can only play DVDs from that particular region, with that region standard built-in. The standard video resolution can be at best 480 visible lines of details. On the other hand a high definition DVD player enables you to view 1080 visible lines providing a greater detail of a picture or image. When it is a region free DVD player, it can play any DVD from any part of the world, with precision, on your TV, that might not be originally compatible with the standard of the DVD. Therefore, the differences are, that an ordinary DVD player will allow you visualise up-to 480 lines while a high definition, with its 1080 lines, provides a better picture clarity. The High definition DVD player also comes in two categories; one is of 720 pixels while the other is of 1080 pixels. Thus resolution and quality wise, there is quite a big difference between an ordinary DVD player and a high definition DVD player.

The High definition region free DVD player

Now we come to the object of our study, the high definition region free DVD player. After having a brief overview of the ordinary and high definition DVD player and their basic differences, we now move on to the term ‘region free’. A region free DVD player is one that can play DVD of any standard to be viewed on your TV without going for the compatibility equipments. DVDs cannot be played on all players. Different regions in the world use different standards for a DVD, like PAL, NSTC, and SECAM, as used in Asia, Europe and North America, except that France with few of its neighbouring countries, use SECAM. A region free DVD player will play all types of DVD irrespective of whatever standard they might follow, which solves your problem of not being able to play a DVD of a different standard.

Generally, three standards are followed all over the world in case of DVDs. These are PAL standard, that are used in most part of Asia, Europe and Africa; the NSTC standard used in North America and major part of United States; and SECAM standard, followed in France and few other European countries and Middle East. The problem with these standards is that they are not compatible to each other. As a result, a DVD procured from Europe or Asia, is not compatible with your NSTC compatible TVs used in America. Similarly, the NSTC compatible DVDs from the United States cannot be played in most part of Europe and Asia since they use PAL compatible TVs. The same principle is applied to playing SECAM, the oldest of the standards, on non-compatible TVs elsewhere. A region free DVD player solves these problems by allowing you to view DVD with any standard on any type of TV with its inbuilt system of conversion to compatible standards.

Real use of a high definition region free DVD player

Most people who travel frequently have great use for a high level region free DVD player. There are moments when you would like to watch a movie on a DVD on your own, and within the comfort of your room. You may also like to watch the recorded moments of that holiday that you had with your family last year. Not only sportsmen and travelers, but, people engaged in different professions and business, are always on the move, traveling the world, and a region free high definition DVD player may be their solution for a quiet personal entertainment. Whether you are an official, a businessman, a professional, or a simple traveler, you may like to have themes recorded or view things that you are acquainted with. A high definition region free DVD player, makes this all possible as your personal entertainer.

This is not only the case of an individual, but when you move in groups; such equipment can be a real asset being both an entertainer as well as a knowledge base. Moreover, the added advantage is that, while you will be able to play the local DVDs of the place you are visiting, even though they are not the standard you use back home, you can also play such DVDs that you have brought along with you. You will be able to play them even though they are not compatible to your standards.

Basic elements of a region free high definition DVD player

Now we may have a basic reference to the technicalities involved in a high definition region free DVD player. A region free DVD player is one, in which the manufacturer has not used the region based lock system. Ordinarily, the video game DVDs are always made free from region locking, because they are used universally. But other types of DVDs, especially movie DVDs, have the regional locks, which mean that DVDs of a particular zone will not be play in another zone. The high definition region free DVD players overcome these problems using a unique unlocking mechanism.

Internet and World Wide Web plays an important part here too, since a whole database of DVD unlock codes are available at the DVD code unlock website. In technical terms, a HD DVD or High Definition DVD is a optical disc fromat that can store both high definition video and audio data. In fact it is an expansion of the DVD optical disc format. Instead of the blue violet laser with 405 nm used by a standard DVD, a HD DVD uses a 650 nm wavelength red laser. Therefore, a high definition region free DVD player is an affordable alternative to the price of blue laser optical devices. One basic advantage of the high definition DVD player is its superior image display capability. The high definition region free DVD player is gradually gaining popularity and most of the leading companies in the business have come out with their respective models. Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Phillips, Sharp, Samsung, and NeuNeo are some of the leading companies producing high defintion region free DVD players.

Why buy a high definition region free DVD player

With the improvement in audio-video technology, almost all new TVs are high definition ready and compatible. If you do not have a high definition DVD player or not upgrade the existing one, it means you are not using your TV to its full potential. A high definition DVD player will provide you with 720, 768, and 1080i pixel resolutions. However, while purchasing a code free or region free high definition DVD player you must be careful of two things. First you must ensure that it provides a life time guarantee. Second, you should also opt for equipment with at least an 8 MB video converter that is good for any TV upto 27″ size to give good picture quality. For larger TVs you may use 14 MB video converter. Once these aspects are taken care of, along-with the feature future up-gradations, you have a deserving equipment.

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The movie tape that you bought in a foreign land, most likely will not play in your VCR and also, you will not be able to watch it on your TV. It is also true the other way round. Video standards differ from country to country. There are three types of video standards that are being used in the world and these are, PAL, NTSC and SECAM. PAL standard is used in Western Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand, India, and China. South America uses the derivatives of the PAL system, PAL-M, PAL-N, PAL with the Unites States using National Television Standards Committee (NTSC). SECAM is being the standard in France and some other neighbouring countries of France, which were once under the French colonial rule. Every part of the world uses a mixture of these standards and as a result, video tapes from one part of the country are found to be incompatible with the standard prevalent in the other.

It is interesting to note as to why this difference in standards were first created. In order to work, TV receivers need to have a source for its field timing reference signals. The timing signals enable the TV to receive the next frame in a synchronised manner, that is, these signals tells the TV to be ready to receive the next picture in the stream of images. At the beginning of early design consideration, TV designers decided to use the mains power frequency as a source to generate the synchronisation signals. The decision to do so had two very good reasons.

 In old designs of power supply, you would get the rolling hums in the TV picture tubes, which happened because of the mismatch of the TV power supply frequency with that of the main power supply.

 The TV cameras in those days would have much flicker which created enormous problem when shooting programs.

There are two main power frequency standards that are being used in the world – 50Hz and 60Hz. This immediately divided the world into different TV standards, with one having 25 frames per second (50Hz) and the other, 30 frames per second (60Hz). At a later time, the 60Hz standard frequency was adjusted to 59.94Hz in order to accommodate colour signals. The issue relating to field frequency remained with the design, even after the original technical reasons had gone. The biggest problem regarding TV standards remain related to the field rate and it is hard to find a solution.

Besides the difference between the standards using 50Hz and 60Hz, further division appeared since the time the colour broadcasting came in. The majority of the 60Hz countries started to use a technology called NTSC standard, developed in the United States by a committee called the National Television Standards Committee. With NTSC a video or closed circuit environment works perfectly, while a broadcasting environment displays a hue of different colours with this standard.

Most of the countries using 50Hz as their main power frequency have adopted the PAL standard. It is not that the PAL system is the only colour system standard using the 50Hz main power frequency, the French developed their own SECAM (SEquential Couleur Avec Memoire) standard. This they did for some political reasons, mainly to protect the interest of their own TV manufacturers. SECAM has been also adopted by most of the East European countries, in order to be different with its western counterparts.

PAL Technology

PAL technology was developed in Germany by Walter Bruch, and was first introduced in the year 1967. It is an analog video format used in television transmission and is widely used in Europe, Australia and some Asian, African, and South American countries. Within Europe – France, Bulgaria, Russia, Yugoslavia, and some other countries in Eastern Europe mainly uses SECAM technology. PAL system uses 625 lines per frame, with the refresh rate at 25 frames per second, inter-laced. This interlacing feature improves the picture quality without consuming any extra bandwidth. In PAL system, each frame consists of two fields, which is termed as half-a-frame. In each of these two fields, the first one displays all the even lines and the other one displays the odd, within these 625 lines. These two fields are displayed in succession and there are 50 fields per second, corroborating with the 50Hz mains power frequency.

There are variants in PAL. PAL-M is a combination of PAL and NTSC, using 525 lines per frame at 60Hz. This standard is used in Brazil, while PAL-N is another derivative of PAL, using narrow bandwidth and the standard is used in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. United Kingdom uses the other variant of PAL, PAL-I, with other European countries using PAL-B/G. PAL60 is similar to NTSC and uses 59.94 fields per second. It is used mainly for displaying NTSC video or DVD on a PAL TV set.

NTSC Technology

The video standard in the United States have been set by the National Television Standards Committee, which is called NTSC in short. This standard has been adopted in other countries as well, such as, Japan. NTSC standard has 29.97 interlaced frames of video a second, often specified as 30 frames per second, with 525 lines per frame. Out of these 525 lines, 480 lines are used for vertical resolution and the rest are used for synchronisation, vertical retrace, and other data such as captioning. The scan lines in NTSC are interlaced, with two fields containing the odd scanned lines and the even ones respectively. This provides a near flicker free image utilising 59.94Hz refresh rate, which comes to 60 cycles at 1.001 seconds. This is close to 60Hz alternating current power used in the United States.

In trying to convert NTSC to PAL or SECAM, the most difficult part is the mismatch of the frame rate between the three. In the process of this conversion, the equipment used is made to guess the contents of the intermediate frames which introduce artifacts. This is quite detectable by trained eyes. A frame consists of a packet of composite image information and the 525 lines per frame in the NTSC standard may contain up to 16 million colours. A composite signal would mean a video signal which contains all the colours, such as, red, blue, and green signals and may also consist of audio signals.

Radio interferences is known to disturb NTSC transmission, therefore by the time the picture gets transmitted on to your TV screen, the picture often loses its colour balance. This necessitates the inclusion of a “tone” or “hue” control on NTSC sets, which is not necessary in PAL and SECAM TV sets. Further more, some observers find that with NTSC, the 525 line resolution of NTSC results in a lower quality image than the hardware is capable of.

SECAM Technology

SECAM is the short form of Sequentiel Couleur avec Mémoire, French for “sequential color with memory”. This is an analog system which uses Frequency Modulation (FM) for encoding the chrominance information. SECAM technology stores the lines of colour information in a memory. This does not produce the colour artifacts that are found in the NTSC systems. SECAM was developed with PAL as the basic design. Contrary to PAL, it transmits Red-Yellow and Blue-Yellow information in alternate lines and they are combined by storing the video lines.

SECAM was introduced in France in the year 1967 and it is still being used. It is also being used in the countries which were French colonies before, as well as parts of Eastern Europe, like, Bulgaria, Hungary, and former Soviet Union. It is observed that this had a political motive, mainly with the former Soviet Union restricting their broadcasts along with its member East European countries, within its own people, making it impossible for most Eastern Europeans to view television which was broadcasted from outside the Iron Curtain which were mostly using PAL.

The Conversion – PAL to NTSC

The heart of conversion is the converter itself. There are many converters available in the market in different qualities. There are service providers who would convert your tapes to the appropriate standard against a charge. In converting a PAL standard to NTSC, the most difficult part is the different numbers of lines and different frequencies of fields/frames in video pictures that exist in the two standards. Considering that that PAL has is 625 lines at 50 fields per second and with NTSC, having 525 lines at 60 fields per second, it is quite difficult to convert one to the other. Further, generating 60 fields per second from a format with 50 fields per second is quite a challenging task. In doing so, every second new 10 fields need to be generated out of nothing. The converter has to create new image at the output from the PAL input signals and that too in real time. Therefore, converting an incoming 50 frames per second PAL signal to 60 frames per second NTSC signal requires much skill, so as to use the existing information to provide a quality conversion.

If a video image can be taken as a series of individual picture elements or pixels, arranged across the screen as a grid, the number of rows can be taken as the number of lines in the displayed image. In order to interpolate the number of lines at the output in relation to that of the input, some mathematical process is involved in placing the pixel on the output line along with the hue and luminance for each pixel. The interpolation algorithm enables a pixel to be picked up from the video that is the input side, and placing it appropriately on the output buffer side.

Conversion interpolation methods used in converters are much the same, except that the process have a three dimensional relationship and these are, the horizontal and vertical dimensions plus the added dimension of time to account for motion between fields. This complicates the earlier thought-out method, as we are now thinking of 3 grids to match three dimensional arrays. The third dimension is related to time which represents motion from one field to the other. Therefore, the relationship between the input and the output becomes complicated.

In processing a motion effectively, you need to detect the motion and its direction at the first place. There are various kinds of converters dealing with this motion and the direction of it, in various ways. The cheapest kind never bothers with it. The next grade of converters is those which track the motion over two fields, while the professional grade tracks up to 6 fields. The greater numbers of field tracked, provides more accurate predictions of motion.

In converting a PAL system to NTSC, having 625 lines @ 25 frames per second and 525 lines at 30 frames per second respectively, it can be observed that every second 100 lines needs to be dropped in the process of conversion. With dropping 100 lines, an additional 5 frames need to be created. In the inexpensive converters, the 100 lines are just dropped to create 525 lines out of PAL 625 equally spaced through frames. In order to create 5 new frames, it just repeats a single frame 5 times, thus effectively adding 5 frames. It works fine as along as the image is not moving or is in motion.

Video is a dynamic medium and with the kind of conversion just discussed, the effect is highly undesirable. The more sophisticated converters measure the nature of motion within the video and then employing a more complex algorithm dynamically produce a corrected and well compensated output.

The mid-range converters deploy inter-field interpolation, which create new frame not by just repeating one frame but by averaging adjacent fields. In converting PAL to NTSC, there are two method used by these converters, one being the 2-line, where the converter creates a new line by comparing adjacent two lines and the 4-line ones, creating the 5th line comparing 4 adjacent lines. As the averaging of the adjacent lines goes up, the greater is the picture smear. There needs to be a compromise. As the complexity increases, the price tag of the converter goes up.

There are various other kinds of quite complex converters, which produce better and better converted output as the price of the converter goes up. There are many service providers offering PAL to NTSC conversion with price ranging fro $20 to $40 for a 120 minute to 6 and 8 hours of play time. When you buy a video tape in a foreign land, in a country which uses PAL, you can drop the tape with one of these service providers who would give you a converted tape on NTSC for your viewing, with some of them providing volume discount. The prices are generally exclusive of delivery charges.