In article , Rod Speed
wrote:
Johny B Good wrote
Rod Speed wrote
David.WE.Roberts wrote

The connector on the low voltage side of the power supply for our
Asus EEPC 900 netbook has frayed and no longer works. Damage just by
the moulded connector which fits into the back of the PC.

O.K. - looks fiddly to repair with all moulded components and this
cable, so look at the price of a replacement.

eBay shows on for £4.99.

Order the power supply, but unfortunately I missed the fact that the
replacement takes a different mains lead from the original - 3 pin
not 2.

O.K. - back to the seller to ask about a suitable mains lead.

I get a response with a link (strangely, from a different eBay seller
but still one based in Weston Super Mare) so I order the lead.
Another £4.99 so I would probably done as well ordering the complete
thing from Amazon.

The lead turns up, but it is a 'kettle plug' lead not the 'clover
leaf' lead shown on eBay - which hopefully would fit the 3 pin clover
leaf socket on the PSU.

So I raise a return request through eBay and get the following
response:

"Seller's message: 'Thank you for your email. We are sorry to hear
that. For this case, since it will cost much more time to return the
item, would you like us to issue 1$ refund of the item price to you
directly as compensation and you could keep the item? If you agree,
we will handle with it as soon as possible. Looking forward to your
reply soon.'"

Huh?

$1 refund (60p) on a £4.99 lead which I didn't order and don't want
or need? [I assume everyone who has owned more than a couple of PCs
over the years has a large stock of spare kettle leads.]

Perhaps the message lost something in the translation from the
original Chinese?

If they wish to make a full refund and leave me with the item, then
fine.

However that still leaves me with a PSU and no mains lead.

I fear that my reply was not of the gentlest.

Note to self: saving a couple of quid by ordering from eBay may not
always be worth it.

Not all ebay sellers are such arseholes.

I ordered some nail clippers for quite literally 1c, postage included,
from china.

When they turned up they were exactly what I wanted, but the jaws
didn't close squarely, so were made bad. I told the seller, expecting
him to ignore my email given the price he had sold the item for. He
was quite happy to send me a new one for no charge, didn't ask for the
duds back and didn't even ask for a photo to prove that the item was
bad either. The replacements were perfect.

And, now we know how all those "Pound" shops make their living! :-(
(Just imagine what the 'bulk price' would be for a ten thousand off
price on an item like that).

Yeah, I've never understood why stuff like that gets sold at those
prices, presumably just to get a significant volume of feedback or
something.

It was a proper auction, not a buy now, and the only bid was mine.

I'd also love to know what china is doing postal charges wise, why they
have now moved to a system that is so cheap postal charges wise, but
takes something like a month to get it. It cant just be a simple system
of using spare capacity in the system when almost everything takes about
a month to get it.

how long is the sea voyage?

--
From KT24

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.18

charles wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Johny B Good wrote
Rod Speed wrote
David.WE.Roberts wrote

The connector on the low voltage side of the power supply for our
Asus EEPC 900 netbook has frayed and no longer works. Damage
just by the moulded connector which fits into the back of the PC.

O.K. - looks fiddly to repair with all moulded components
and this cable, so look at the price of a replacement.

eBay shows on for £4.99.

Order the power supply, but unfortunately I missed the fact that the
replacement takes a different mains lead from the original - 3 pin
not 2.

O.K. - back to the seller to ask about a suitable mains lead.

I get a response with a link (strangely, from a different eBay seller
but still one based in Weston Super Mare) so I order the lead.
Another £4.99 so I would probably done as well ordering the complete
thing from Amazon.

The lead turns up, but it is a 'kettle plug' lead not the 'clover
leaf' lead shown on eBay - which hopefully would fit the 3
pin clover leaf socket on the PSU.

So I raise a return request through eBay and get the following
response:

"Seller's message: 'Thank you for your email. We are sorry to hear
that. For this case, since it will cost much more time to return the
item, would you like us to issue 1$ refund of the item price to you
directly as compensation and you could keep the item? If you agree,
we will handle with it as soon as possible. Looking forward to your
reply soon.'"

Huh?

$1 refund (60p) on a £4.99 lead which I didn't order and don't want
or need? [I assume everyone who has owned more than a couple of PCs
over the years has a large stock of spare kettle leads.]

Perhaps the message lost something in the translation from the
original Chinese?

If they wish to make a full refund and leave me with the item, then
fine.

However that still leaves me with a PSU and no mains lead.

I fear that my reply was not of the gentlest.

Note to self: saving a couple of quid by ordering from eBay may not
always be worth it.

Not all ebay sellers are such arseholes.

I ordered some nail clippers for quite literally 1c, postage included,
from china.

When they turned up they were exactly what I wanted, but the jaws
didn't close squarely, so were made bad. I told the seller, expecting
him to ignore my email given the price he had sold the item for. He
was quite happy to send me a new one for no charge, didn't ask for the
duds back and didn't even ask for a photo to prove that the item was
bad either. The replacements were perfect.

And, now we know how all those "Pound" shops make their living! :-(
(Just imagine what the 'bulk price' would be for a ten thousand off
price on an item like that).

Yeah, I've never understood why stuff like that gets sold at those
prices, presumably just to get a significant volume of feedback or
something.

It was a proper auction, not a buy now, and the only bid was mine.

I'd also love to know what china is doing postal charges wise, why they
have now moved to a system that is so cheap postal charges wise, but
takes something like a month to get it. It cant just be a simple system
of using spare capacity in the system when almost everything takes about
a month to get it.

how long is the sea voyage?

Interesting question. Not that long from China to Australia.

Guess that could be the reason, they hang around until the shipping
container
is full. Hard to believe they do it that way with the very light stuff that
is just
a thick letter with something like an Apple USB cable in it etc tho.

Or that that ends up costing a lot less than it does to move the same thing
inside this country.

En el artículo , Chris Whelan cawhelan@prej
udicentlworld.com escribió:

The answer to everything cable is Kenable:

+1. Superb service.

I also get good service from Lindy, but they're not cheap. They're good
for weird stuff like the IEC C14 + inline surge protector to 2 x IEC C13
Y-cable we needed a while back.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

On 23/02/2014 06:23, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
En el artículo , Chris Whelan cawhelan@prej
udicentlworld.com escribió:

The answer to everything cable is Kenable:

+1. Superb service.

I also get good service from Lindy, but they're not cheap. They're good
for weird stuff like the IEC C14 + inline surge protector to 2 x IEC C13
Y-cable we needed a while back.

Lindy appear to be out of stock of quite a number of cables, and have
been for weeks now.

Mind, there seem to be remarkably few 0.5 m USB 3.0 extension cables
available anywhere! At least, the few that I have seen have been
unacceptable for some reason (postage cost?, colour?, some other reason
I can't now recall? :-) ).

--
Rod

On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 08:42:08 +0000, polygonum wrote:

[...]

Mind, there seem to be remarkably few 0.5 m USB 3.0 extension cables
available anywhere! At least, the few that I have seen have been
unacceptable for some reason (postage cost?, colour?, some other reason
I can't now recall? :-) ).

There can't be much call for an extension cable that doesn't extend very
far!

If you are looking for easy access to a USB 3.0 port located at the back
of a tower, I heartily recommend one of these:

http://tinyurl.com/olohj5u

Chris

--
Remove prejudice to reply.

On 23/02/2014 08:56, Chris Whelan wrote:
On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 08:42:08 +0000, polygonum wrote:

[...]

Mind, there seem to be remarkably few 0.5 m USB 3.0 extension cables
available anywhere! At least, the few that I have seen have been
unacceptable for some reason (postage cost?, colour?, some other reason
I can't now recall? :-) ).

There can't be much call for an extension cable that doesn't extend very
far!

If you are looking for easy access to a USB 3.0 port located at the back
of a tower, I heartily recommend one of these:

http://tinyurl.com/olohj5u

Chris

Thanks - I had seen that, and wondered... Nice to know it is good.

My specific issue is that I have a backup drive with a very short
integrated cable. Which is too short - it is awkward to find somewhere
that the drive and lappie can sit comfortably together whilst in use.
The integrated cable is very stiff and will not allow the twists
required in some locations. (When not in active use I can find
somewhere.) A longer cable will simply get in the way!

My partner is also an avid user of short USB extension cables - 20 cm
ones are ideal for plugging into an iMac to make the USB sockets more
usable - and so you can see the activity lights on USB sticks and plug
in/remove readily. With the sockets being hidden behind the monitor,
that is not usually easy.

She also finds it useful for her sewing machine. There is one USB stick
it uses that is somehow special (think if it breaks she has to buy a new
one at some inflated price). So a very short extension cable allows her
to avoid most of the wear and physical damage that USB sticks are prone to.

--
Rod

On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 09:12:03 +0000, polygonum
wrote:

My partner is also an avid user of short USB extension cables - 20 cm
ones are ideal for plugging into an iMac to make the USB sockets more
usable

I recommend getting a wired Apple keyboard. They have two USB sockets
in, as well as having all the keys and no batteries.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
"Frankly, I have no feelings towards penguins one way or the other"
- Arthur C. Clarke

On 23/02/2014 11:29, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote:
On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 09:12:03 +0000, polygonum
wrote:

My partner is also an avid user of short USB extension cables - 20 cm
ones are ideal for plugging into an iMac to make the USB sockets more
usable

I recommend getting a wired Apple keyboard. They have two USB sockets
in, as well as having all the keys and no batteries.

Cheers - Jaimie

Understood - but for some very important reasons, a wireless one is
required.

--
Rod

On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 11:36:18 +0000, polygonum
wrote:

On 23/02/2014 11:29, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote:
On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 09:12:03 +0000, polygonum
wrote:

My partner is also an avid user of short USB extension cables - 20 cm
ones are ideal for plugging into an iMac to make the USB sockets more
usable

I recommend getting a wired Apple keyboard. They have two USB sockets
in, as well as having all the keys and no batteries.

Understood - but for some very important reasons, a wireless one is
required.

Reaching a bit, but there's no technical reason not to have both!
There may be other reasons, of course.

I've got one five-headed cable (actually a hub) coming round from the
back of mine, it has two USB female sockets and miniUSB, microUSB, and
an ipod connector. Got it from dx.com ages ago, they don't seem to
have it now or I'd give the URL.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
"Hey T-Rex! This ice cream cake is delicious!"
"Thanks! You don't think it tastes like... *philosophical compromise*?"
"Only a little!
-- http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1093

On 21 Feb 2014 09:57:09 GMT, Huge wrote:

On 2014-02-21, David.WE.Roberts wrote:

Note to self: saving a couple of quid by ordering from eBay may not always
be worth it.

Agreed (the HP LJ5M toner cartridge that arrived yesterday is FUBAR) but the
savings you make on all the good stuff makes the odd duffer worth it.

It depends whether you're in a hurry or not. Sometimes I don't want
to have to wait more time for a replacement to arrive. My son got two
electric train sets instead of one for this reason.

On Fri, 21 Feb 2014 16:58:15 +0000 (UTC), Scion
wrote:

David.WE.Roberts put finger to keyboard:

On Fri, 21 Feb 2014 13:02:18 +0000, Scion wrote:

Huge put finger to keyboard:

On 2014-02-21, David.WE.Roberts wrote:

Note to self: saving a couple of quid by ordering from eBay may not
always be worth it.

Agreed (the HP LJ5M toner cartridge that arrived yesterday is FUBAR)
but the savings you make on all the good stuff makes the odd duffer
worth it.

For original HP toners I've been happy with a seller called The Jolly
Savage. http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/thejollysavage No connection, but
have bought several times. It's old stock but not had a problem.

Much easier than trying to determine which Amazon sellers are selling
3rd party items. All of them, I think, but with images and descriptions
showing real HP stock. Amazon aren't interested in fixing this
deception.

I've had problems with Amazon Marketplace where the same item with the
same reviews keeps having the supplier changed.

So you can't trust the reviews because they quite possibly don't relate
to the current supplier.

In my case I ordered an item, something completely different turned up,
and I couldn't contact the supplier for a return/refund.

The good thing is that Amazon sorts the refund out pretty quickly.

However I noticed soon after that the same item with the same reviews
(clicked through from my original order) was now listed with a
completely different supplier.

So the refund policy is all.

Cheers

Dave R

I don't use Amazon Marketplace any more - too many problems.

"Original" toner cartridges being some third-party tat;
"Software" being disk media only with no licence;
One item not delivered at all, and no response from the seller. Took five
or six weeks before Amazon would cancel the order and I could then buy
from someone else (didn't want two of the same) - and there was no
opportunity to neg the seller because the item was never delivered!

Amazon marketplace is pot luck; there's an even mix of good and
terrible sellers. Feedback isn't always accurate either.

On 22/02/2014 11:48, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
On Fri, 21 Feb 2014 09:49:50 +0000, David.WE.Roberts wrote:

The connector on the low voltage side of the power supply for our Asus
EEPC 900 netbook has frayed and no longer works. Damage just by the
moulded connector which fits into the back of the PC.

O.K. - looks fiddly to repair with all moulded components and this
cable, so look at the price of a replacement.

eBay shows on for £4.99.

Order the power supply, but unfortunately I missed the fact that the
replacement takes a different mains lead from the original - 3 pin not
2.

O.K. - back to the seller to ask about a suitable mains lead.

I get a response with a link (strangely, from a different eBay seller
but still one based in Weston Super Mare) so I order the lead. Another
£4.99 so I would probably done as well ordering the complete thing from
Amazon.

The lead turns up, but it is a 'kettle plug' lead not the 'clover leaf'
lead shown on eBay - which hopefully would fit the 3 pin clover leaf
socket on the PSU.

So I raise a return request through eBay and get the following response:

"Seller's message:
'Thank you for your email. We are sorry to hear that. For this case,
since it will cost much more time to return the item, would you like us
to issue 1$ refund of the item price to you directly as compensation and
you could keep the item? If you agree, we will handle with it as soon as
possible. Looking forward to your reply soon.'"

Huh?

$1 refund (60p) on a £4.99 lead which I didn't order and don't want or
need?
[I assume everyone who has owned more than a couple of PCs over the
years has a large stock of spare kettle leads.]

Perhaps the message lost something in the translation from the original
Chinese?

If they wish to make a full refund and leave me with the item, then
fine.

However that still leaves me with a PSU and no mains lead.

I fear that my reply was not of the gentlest.

Note to self: saving a couple of quid by ordering from eBay may not
always be worth it.

Turns out that they ARE two shop fronts for the same organisation.

I complained to the original one and chased the refund on the second one
quoting the Sale Of Goods Act.

I now have a full refund.

This is the cheapest option for the supplier, as they don't send me 'free'
stock and don't pay for return postage on the wrong cable.

I am not out of pocket, but not a happy customer.

I also have an unwanted kettle lead and a PSU I have paid for but cannot
yet use.

So off to hunt for a clover leaf connector.

Do they supply such things ready to be wired in?

I do happen to have a spare sacrificial power lead......although the cable
is probably too thick.

Being 3 pin I assume that it requires earth, which means that I can't
modify the old cable with the 2 pin connector.

Also, if I end up sourcing a plug and modifying a cable I might just as
well have sourced a new jack plug for the old cable.

Ho hum.

Dave R


I recently bout a laptop screen form a company in Manchester.
I did an online search using the original part number and came across
one on laptopscreenonline.com for a reasonable price, as this was known
as a CCLD screen as against LED for the same model number of laptop.

The prices between them varied by up to £70, so £53 looked a good deal.
I checked the part number, rang the company up to check it was what I
wanted, yes it was so I ordered it.

3 days later it came, and I started to inpack and fit it. The
connections were different, and when I looked at the part number, that
was different also.

So I sent it back, and emailed them quoting sale of goods act.
I also sent them a recorded delivery letter, again quoting the sale of
goods act and I expected a full refund plus consequential losses. That
was the cost of me sending the wrong screen back.

In article ,
Bob H wrote:
I recently bout a laptop screen form a company in Manchester.
I did an online search using the original part number and came across
one on laptopscreenonline.com for a reasonable price, as this was known
as a CCLD screen as against LED for the same model number of laptop.

The prices between them varied by up to £70, so £53 looked a good deal.
I checked the part number, rang the company up to check it was what I
wanted, yes it was so I ordered it.

3 days later it came, and I started to inpack and fit it. The
connections were different, and when I looked at the part number, that
was different also.

So I sent it back, and emailed them quoting sale of goods act.
I also sent them a recorded delivery letter, again quoting the sale of
goods act and I expected a full refund plus consequential losses. That
was the cost of me sending the wrong screen back.

Did you first not try phoning them to see if they had just made a mistake?
Before going in all guns blazing? ;-)

--
*Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"David.WE.Roberts" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 11:17:40 +0000, Theo Markettos wrote:

In uk.d-i-y Scion wrote:
I don't use Amazon Marketplace any more - too many problems.

I don't understand how people find Amazon usable:

The search is awful, it doesn't find what you want You can't sort the
results, you have to 'choose a department' first The prices of search
results don't include delivery, which can vary hugely You can't get a
delivery discount for ordering multiples (I think)
You don't actually get to see the item you're ordering There's almost no
space for the seller to describe the item

The /only/ useful purposes I can see is buying new items that have a
part number - if you want a new laptop where only that model will do -
or used things where the condition is easy to describe (there's only so
much that can happen to a book and still remain saleable) Anything else
is too much work to hunt through the results.

Theo

Amazon search sucks donkey nuts!!

However using Google to search Amazon links often works much better.

Not for exclusion search keywords, essentially because the amazon
pages include too much irrelevant **** like what others who have
bought this item have also bought which often includes the stuff
you are trying to exclude from the search. Try a search for an
alcohol hydrometer that is used for spirits and you will find that
you get lots of hits for beer and wine hydrometers which are
useless. You can't exclude using those terms because the amazon
pages usually do include those words in that other **** when the
page is offering a spirits hydrometer.

At least with an ebay search the search is restricted to either the
title or the full description and doesnt include the rest of the page.

I favour anything "Fulfilled by Amazon" because I can be reasonably sure
that it is in stock, will be delivered promptly, and can be delivered to
my local Co-op for later collection if I don't want to wait in for it.

Marketplace not fulfilled by Amazon is more of a lottery.

On 23/02/2014 14:03, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote:
On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 11:36:18 +0000, polygonum
wrote:

On 23/02/2014 11:29, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote:
On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 09:12:03 +0000, polygonum
wrote:

My partner is also an avid user of short USB extension cables - 20 cm
ones are ideal for plugging into an iMac to make the USB sockets more
usable

I recommend getting a wired Apple keyboard. They have two USB sockets
in, as well as having all the keys and no batteries.

Understood - but for some very important reasons, a wireless one is
required.

Reaching a bit, but there's no technical reason not to have both!
There may be other reasons, of course.

I've got one five-headed cable (actually a hub) coming round from the
back of mine, it has two USB female sockets and miniUSB, microUSB, and
an ipod connector. Got it from dx.com ages ago, they don't seem to
have it now or I'd give the URL.

Cheers - Jaimie

Not having a wired keyboard is a reason! Especially as all Apple devices
are relatively expensive. :-)

Have quite often had two or three keyboards and/or mice attached to
various Windows boxes - can be very convenient.

--
Rod

On 23/02/2014 18:55, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Bob H wrote:
I recently bout a laptop screen form a company in Manchester.
I did an online search using the original part number and came across
one on laptopscreenonline.com for a reasonable price, as this was known
as a CCLD screen as against LED for the same model number of laptop.

The prices between them varied by up to £70, so £53 looked a good deal.
I checked the part number, rang the company up to check it was what I
wanted, yes it was so I ordered it.

3 days later it came, and I started to inpack and fit it. The
connections were different, and when I looked at the part number, that
was different also.

So I sent it back, and emailed them quoting sale of goods act.
I also sent them a recorded delivery letter, again quoting the sale of
goods act and I expected a full refund plus consequential losses. That
was the cost of me sending the wrong screen back.

Did you first not try phoning them to see if they had just made a mistake?
Before going in all guns blazing? ;-)


Yes I did phone them up as soon as I realised it was the wrong one.
I was told by a female that the correct screen was £145, so I asked why
was I told that the one I ordered and querried before I ordered was the
right screen for what I wanted. She then put the phone down on me.

Chris Whelan wrote:

... I heartily recommend one of these:

http://tinyurl.com/olohj5u

I've a pair (in different locations) of the USB2 ones, and would agree with
that recommendation.

I use mine to reduce the strain on a laptop's USB socket so that for days at
a time the machine's socket has the extender plugged into it; all sorts of
things are plugged into and unplugged from the extension socket. I also
like the way that the socket stays where I leave it, because of the weighted
part.

--
Jeremy C B Nicoll - my opinions are my own.

Email sent to my from-address will be deleted. Instead, please reply
to replacing "aaa" by "284".

Chris Whelan wrote:

I heartily recommend one of these:
http://tinyurl.com/olohj5u

Great, a one port hub :-)

On Mon, 24 Feb 2014 07:41:31 +0000, Andy Burns wrote:

Chris Whelan wrote:

I heartily recommend one of these:
http://tinyurl.com/olohj5u

Great, a one port hub :-)

Or as I prefer to think of it, a USB extension cable that stays where I
put it!

Chris

--
Remove prejudice to reply.

On Mon, 24 Feb 2014 07:41:31 +0000
Andy Burns wrote:

Chris Whelan wrote:

I heartily recommend one of these:
http://tinyurl.com/olohj5u

Great, a one port hub :-)

With a 5 foot cable. I just bought some 8 inch USB cables because
the regular ~1m ones create an untidy tangle.

In article ,
Bob H wrote:
Did you first not try phoning them to see if they had just made a
mistake? Before going in all guns blazing? ;-)


Yes I did phone them up as soon as I realised it was the wrong one.
I was told by a female that the correct screen was £145, so I asked why
was I told that the one I ordered and querried before I ordered was the
right screen for what I wanted. She then put the phone down on me.

Ah - not surprised you got stroppy, then. ;-)

--
*Vegetarians taste great*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 24 Feb 2014 08:05:55 +0000, Chris Whelan wrote:

On Mon, 24 Feb 2014 07:41:31 +0000, Andy Burns wrote:

Chris Whelan wrote:

I heartily recommend one of these:
http://tinyurl.com/olohj5u

Great, a one port hub :-)

Or as I prefer to think of it, a USB extension cable that stays where I
put it!

I've had one on my desk fro years. It's actually quite useful.


--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
My posts (including this one) are my copyright and if @diy_forums on
Twitter wish to tweet them they can pay me £30 a post
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

In article , Huge wrote:
I have a [Asus EEEPC] '701 with a very old Ubuntu on it, which
is the same, there isn't enough room to run updates.

I stuck a 16GB SD card in mine and installed Ubuntu with /usr (I think
it was) and /home on the card. It runs well enough for the tiny little
thing that it is.

Cheers,
Daniel.