My electronic UV light mosquito trap

There has been increased dengue fever cases in my residential area. As a preventive measure, I have bought some electronic ultraviolet light mosquito traps to capture the mosquitoes found in my house.

The body of this mosquito trap is mostly made by plastic, which might be the reason for its cheap price selling at around RM25 only. Anyhow, as long as it works, I am happy with it.

The most important parts of this mosquito trap are its 6 LED lights on top which emit purplish visible light and ultraviolet light which function to attract the mosquitoes to fly to it, and a small fan to suck the mosquitoes down into the trapping chamber.

As you can see from the photo, the trapping chamber can be opened up like a drawer, and you can inspect the amount of insects trapped and died inside, wash it and put it back to the device.

Its fan will generate some noise during operation, not very loud, but still audible at close distance, especially during quiet time. It's suction is not very powerful, so probably can only able to suck in the mosquitoes which flied very near to it, and might not be strong enough to suck in larger insects such as flies, cockroaches, etc.

Now, this question is, does it really work? I really can find dead mosquitoes in the trap. There isn't much mosquito in my house all the while though.

So, it really works! It might not be as effective as those models that use electrocute to kill the insects, but at this price I think is a worth.

My Ooree 8 inch USB table fan (UF108)

If you need a small table fan at your workplace or study desk, or you tend to work with your laptop at outdoor café and nice to have some cooling breeze, perhaps you can consider this Ooree UF108 8 inch USB table fan.

This USB table fan is good enough to generate breezing wind that you can feel within 1 meter in front of it, yet its size (8 inch diameter end-to-end) and weight (416 gram) are also good enough for it to be portable.

It is powered by USB source, which can be the USB port of your laptop / desktop / monitor, or the USB charging port of your power bank / charging adapter. By powering it with a mobile electricity source such as  power bank, you can use it anytime and anywhere, such as during camping, during electricity blackout, etc. The fan has a low power consumption of around 2.5W only.

Its 1.2 meter USB cable is detachable. It has an on/off switch behind too.

It will have some noise of fan rotating during operation, but overall still considered pretty quiet.

Note that the 8 inch as advertised is the diameter of its metal frame. The diameter of its fan blade is around 5.5 inch only. Its build is pretty solid, despite its packaging box is hollow inside (without any foam or paper support) which does not provide much protection to the fan during delivery.

As you can see, its packaging box deformed during the courier process, which is the main complaint I have with this product. Luckily the fan is not too fragile and still in good condition during unboxing.

Its price is quite reasonable. If you search around carefully, you can find online seller selling it at less than RM20, despite most of the sellers are putting a price tag of RM30-RM40 to it.

There is another model UF110 which is 10 inch and with double speed control, selling at a higher price. If you need stronger wind, you can probably look into the UF110 model.

My Cashido 10 second ozone anti-bacterial water-treatment machine

Ozone has been used over the past 150++ years for water treatment since its discovery by a German-Swiss chemist called Christian Friedrich Schönbein.

A brief history of ozone usage in water treatment is as below:

• 1886: The ability of ozone to disinfect polluted water is recognized in Europe.
• 1891: Test results from Germany show that ozone is effective against bacteria.
• 1893: The Netherlands started to use ozone in large scale as disinfectant in drinking water.
• 1906: France city Nice commissioned first municipal ozone plant for drinking water.
• 1909: Ozone is used as a food preservative for cold storage of meats.
• 1915: Ozone is widely used in Europe with at least 49 major installations throughout the region.
• 1939: Ozone is found to be able to prevent the growth of yeast and mold during the storage of fruits.
• 1965: Scotland employs ozone for colour control in surface water.
• 1970: French exploited the use of ozone in algae control.

Today, Ozone is known to be a very strong oxidizing reagent which able to effectively:

• Kill bacteria and viruses.
• Remove 75% of pesticides.
• Remove bad smell (such as fish-smell, smoke odour, etc.)
• Remove colour formed by organic compound.
• Keep food fresh.
• Settle down heavy metals in water for easier filtration.

Its effectiveness is well supported by academic researches. To name a few of them:

 

 

However, Ozone in gas form, when inhaled into our lung, is harmful to human health. The following bodies have specified the safety level of maximum concentration of ozone permissible in occupied space:

• FDA: 0.05 ppm
• ASHRAE: 0.05 ppm
• EPA: 0.08 ppm
• OSHA: 0.10 ppm

My Cashido 10 second ozone anti-bacterial water-treatment machine is an electronic device that can generate ozone almost instantly and mix it with normal tap water to form ozonized water. Its operation is claimed to release less than 0.01 ppm ozone into the air, which is well controlled below the permissible level.

The ozone gas generated is directly transmitted via a soft silica tube to its ozone mixer installed at the water outlet of faucet. Therefore, very minimal amount of ozone gas is released into the air during its operation.

This machine has additional safety measures to prevent excessive ozone from being released into the air:

• It only start producing ozone when it has detected water flow at the faucet. It will immediately stop working once the water flow stopped, or it detected the water is just dripping instead of flowing.
• It will auto cut-off itself after 10 minutes of continuous operation, even if the water is still flowing.
• It has 2 LEDs. The red LED will turn on when it is connected with electric power, even when it is in standby mode. The blue LED will turn on whenever it is generating ozone to be mixed with the water, and will turn off when no ozone is generated.

With the ozone in the ozonized water made by this machine, we can use the water to:

• Wash our hands, face, legs and other body parts. (The machine can be installed for shower too)
• Rinse our mouth and teeth.
• Bath our pet(s).
• Wash fruits, vegetables and meats (before refrigerator storage and/or before cooking).
• Wash kitchen utensil, cups, bottles, baby products, toys, clothes, etc.
• Clean the floor, table, kitchen, bathroom, toilet, etc.
• Sanitize dentures, contact lens, etc.
• Wash and sanitize pimples, surface wound, insect bites, etc.

This Cashido machine is called 10 second machine because the generated ozonized water only needs as short as 10 seconds to complete its function to oxidize, disinfect, deodourize and decompose pesticides & harmful materials of the target object you are washing or cleaning with it. If the contact is less than 10 seconds, then the washing/cleaning is considered partial, with some left out remains untreated.

Note that the ozone in the water has a short half-life of 20 minutes and will eventually disappear from the water (released as oxygen), leaving no residue in the water.

Therefore, ozonized water cannot be stored as it will soon lost its effect in disinfection of bacteria and viruses, pesticides removal, bad smell removal, etc. due to its short half-life period. It needs to be generated on the spot when use.

With this Cashido 10 second ozone anti-bacterial water-treatment machine, we can expect a more hygiene living environment, healthier & fresher food, and better health (by eliminating as well as preventing bad breath, body odour, Athlete's foot, skin problems, etc.).

My SUM 0026 digital programmable timer 3-pin plug socket

Electrical programmable timer plug socket is very useful for you to automate the time to turn off a particular electrical/electronic appliance, and the time to turn it on again.

Some of its usage scenario including:

• Switching off your WiFi at mid-night and switching it on again in early morning.
• Switching off your television and set-top-box at mid-night and switching them on again the next morning.
• Switching on water sprinkler system in your garden at certain hour everyday, and switching it off again after some times.
• Switching on night lights at night and switching them off during day time.
• Charge the BC-01 multimedia Bluetooth speaker with alarm clock and FM radio for 2 hours everyday.

Typically, there are 2 types of electrical programmable timer plug socket: mechanical and digital. Mechanical programmable timer is usually cheaper, but has limitation of 24 hours single setting only. Digital programmable timer such as this SUM 0026 supports 7-days on/off setting and can accommodate up to 10 different on/off settings.

This SUM 0026 digital programmable timer 3-pin plug socket is certified by SIRIM with a SIRIM sticker.

It has an internal NiMH 1.2V battery which is able to remember its clock time and settings for more than 100 hours even when their is no power supplied to the unit.

Before you can use it for the first time after unpack, you need to plug it in an electrical socket and charge its internal battery for about half a day. Initially, you might see its LCD display showing distorted characters. That is normal. After some times, the unit will function well with the correct info display.

After that, you need to reset its memory by pressing the small round Master Clear button with a sharp object for a few seconds, then release it.

Then, you need to set its clock time:

• Press and hold the Clock button.
• With Clock button pressed, press the Week button again and again until current day is shown.
• Continue the same step with the Hour button and Minute button.
• With Clock button pressed, press the Timer button to toggle between 12 hour and 24 hour clock mode.

To set a timer setting:

• Press and release the Timer button. The LCD will show ON_1 for the "switch on" time for 1st set of setting.
• Press the Week button again and again to set the day or block of days for timer on.
• Repeat the same to set for Hour and Minute.
• Press and release the Timer button. The LCD will now show OFF_1 for the "switch off" time for 1st set of setting.
• Set the timer off settings for Week, Hour and Minute respectively.
• Note: timer on can be either earlier or later than timer off.
• Press the Clock button to exit from timer setting mode.

To use the timer function, you need to press the On/Auto/Off button until you see Auto displayed on the screen. When it is in On position, device plugged into it will always turned on; when it is in Off position, device plugged into it will always turned off.

There is a Random button, which will randomly pick a time between 6pm and 6am.

Note that this SUM 0026 digital programmable timer 3-pin plug socket has a maximum load of 13A and 3.12 kW.

Auspicious dates for renovation in 2018

Here is the list of auspicious dates for home or office renovation in year 2018, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates for moving to new house / office in 2018

Here is the list of auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in year 2018, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

 

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

My Jean Perry coating cool gel comfort memory pillow

I have just bought some Jean Perry coating cool gel comfort memory pillows for my household.

As described in the product's description, the pillow is made with high density memory foam that is able to provide nice comfortable neck support for all kind of back, side and stomach sleepers. It has highly ventilated 3D mesh gusset allowing the memory foam within to "breath" thus minimizing heat build-up.

On one side, it is coated with a layer of cooling gel (the dark blue layer in the photo), material similar to those used in fever cooling pad. The other side of it does not have this cooling gel layer. As the pillow design is flat on both side (non-contour design), you can sleep with either side of it. When the sleeping environment is warm, you can sleep on the side with cooling gel to enjoy its cooling effect; when the environment is cold (such as on top of highlands), you can also sleep on the side without the cooling gel.

The pillow comes wrapped with a blue colour compact cooling satin stripe cover which is said to be naturally hypoallergenic, anti-microbial and dust mites resistant. Just like the fever cooling pad, the cooling gel has a kind of chemical smell. But after covered with this cooling satin stripe cover, you can hardly smell it. So don't worry about the smell with this Jean Perry pillow, as it might be an issue with certain competitors but for this Jean Perry pillow with satin stripe cover, the smell is mostly eliminated.

This is what inside the packaging box: the pillow nicely wrapped in plastic.

Sleeping with this pillow is really comfortable. You will not feel too cold at your head, as the cooling effect is more on eliminating heat from building up rather than providing ice cooling type of effect, so it is just nice and perfect for sleeping. Perhaps the effect can prevent people who used to sweat on pillow from sweating again.

You might note that below the "Jean Perry" trademark logo there is a word "Paris". I believe that "Paris" is part of the branding, rather than a place on earth. Jean Perry is actually a Malaysia product made by public listed company Yoong Onn Corporation Bhd (YOCB, 5159). Other brands of products by this same company include Novelle, Ann Taylor, Louis Casa, Genova, Niki Cains, Diana, Cotonsoft, Red Danielle, etc. The same company also has retail outlets called Home's Harmony which you can find in certain shopping malls, mostly in Klang Valley. Nevertheless, their products are of good quality and match with their price tag. Price discount is given during their sales promotional roadshow event in particular shopping mall, and sometimes in their online shop in Lazada.

Repaired my Alpha Smart 18EP instant shower water heater

Few days ago, the Alpha Smart 18EP instant shower water heater in one of my bathrooms failed its start-up test. All its LEDs were blinking in red colour.

This water heater has different warranty period for different parts as follow:

• Heating element: 5 years
• Brushless DC motor: 5 years
• Brushed AC motor: 1 year
• Anti-leak tank: 10 years
• Other internal parts: 1 year

My unit has already been used for more than 1 year. I tried my luck and called the company to send technician to my house for inspection and repair, which possibly cost much cheaper than buying and replacing with a new unit.

Alpha customer service supports reporting via Whatsapp, which I found is very convenient. You can find their Whatsapp / SMS number in this webpage. Alternatively, you can also report a problem using email or direct phone call too.

Since my water heater lifespan has already passed its 1 year warranty period, it cost me RM53 (including 6% GST) for them to dispatch a technician to my house for checking and repairing.

After the checking, a circuit board inside the water heater was found faulty and need replacement. That cost me another RM68 (including 6% GST).

So, the total cost of repair is RM121 (including 6% GST). This is indeed much cheaper than buying a replacement unit and get someone to change it for me.

Overall, I am pretty satisfied with their service, particularly the availability of Whatsapp as one of the customer service channel. Their respond is fast, and the repairing cost is reasonable. Now, my water heater is up and running again.

My Neato XV-11 all floor robotic vacuum cleaner

Talking about robotic vacuum cleaner, you might first thought of the famous iRobot Roomba. It is fantastic but it is quite pricy too.

There are many other robotic vacuum cleaners available in the market now, but not so many can perform as good as the iRobot Roomba. I found Neato as the one which is much cheaper than iRobot and also many people commented that it performs even better than iRobot.

Neato has several ranges of robotic vacuum cleaners. I purchased the basic one called Neato XV-11 from Corvan Asia at the online price of RM1,732 only. This company normally selling this model at the price of RM1,888, so you have to patiently wait for special discount occasion to get the RM1,7xx price tag.

Unlike most other round-shape robotic vacuum cleaners, the Neato robots are D-shape, specially designed to clean the wall and furniture lining better.

The Neato XV-11 consists of 2 main parts: the robot vacuum itself, and its charging station. The robot is intelligent enough to be able to find this charging station provided there is no obstacle (leave at least 3 feet clear space) at the right, left and front of the charging station.

The robot will automatically find its way to this charging base whenever its battery is low, or when it has completed its vacuuming job. It will then recharge itself and get ready for the next mission.

When operate, the robot sounds like a hair dryer. Some people might find it a bit noisy, but thinking on the positive side, the noise enables us to locate the position of the robot easily. Sometimes it might need a little bit help from us to escape from being stuck in places with a lot of obstacles.

I noticed one interesting thing about this cute robot. It is able to step down from dining area to my kitchen floor, which is a bit lower. However, it is unable to climb back up to the dining area later to return to its base. It will keep on trying to climb up the level. A little help from me to lift it up, then it will continue with its journey.

Unlike most of the dumb robot vacuum you see in the market, this Neato XV-11 is really intelligent with a laser based navigation system. It has eyes to scan through your house layout and furniture position, then plan its path to vacuum in a systematic way. You won't find it wandering randomly like those dumb robots. It will seldom knock on something too, and it won't fell down from staircase, since its eyes are able to tell it to avoid hitting on walls and things, and not to fell down a cliff. I believe this is where I paid for its price, compared with those dumb robots that you can get at a few hundreds ringgit only.

The Neato XV-11 can be scheduled to work automatically at a user defined time. Its scheduler is by day of the week, so you can set different schedule for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The limitation is only one schedule can be set for one day. Anyhow, you can always press the Start button for it to work immediately outside the scheduled time.

The dust, dirt and debris collected are stored in its transparent plastic container, which is pretty easy to take out and clean.

Like some other robot vacuum, we can use magnetic stripe to block it from going to the region which it not suppose to go, such as the bathroom. Note that this Neato XV-11 works indoor on dry floor. Excessive water on the floor might cause damage to the robot, so bathroom with potential wet floor is its forbidden place.

One thing I don't like about this Neato XV-11 is that its battery is of NiMH type, which is considered old battery technology. Neato does produce robots that use Li-ion battery for its higher end models, at more expensive price.

Corvan Asia is giving a generous 5 years warranty plus 5 years of free yearly service to Neato robots, which I think is irresistible to bring home this robot vacuum at such a good price. Currently, the seller is also giving an upgrade from normal brush to combo brush to its online buyers, and an upgrade from normal filter to HEPA filter to buyers who reviewed and rated the Neato product at the e-Commerce website where it was bought.

Auspicious dates for moving to new house / office in 2017

Here is the list of auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in year 2017, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates for renovation in 2017

Here is the list of auspicious dates for home or office renovation in year 2017, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

 

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Clean and sanitize my washing machine with Xin Juke tub cleaning powder

Washing machine is commonly used in modern household to help us wash and clean our clothes without much hassle.

Over time, external surface of the inner tub of the washing machine will develop many of these contaminations, which might in turn contaminate the clothes in it:

• Residue of detergent
• Lint
• Dirt
• Mildew
• Fungal
• Allergens
• Bacteria (including staphylococcus aureus, escherichia coli, etc.)

Therefore, it is advisable to regularly clean and sanitize your washing machine.

You can DIY your own homemade washing machine tub cleaning formula by washing it with the following one-by-one:

• Baking soda powder (1 tea cup + full tank of water)
• White vinegar (2 tea cups + full tank of water)
• Bleach (1 tea cup + full tank of water) 

I use Xin Juke tub cleaning powder for this purpose, one 90 gram packet at a time. Each 90 gram packet cost RM3.90 only. This washing machine cleaning power is suitable for both the top loaded and front loaded types of washing machine.

Using Xin Juke or other similar washing machine cleaning solution can save some hassle, time, and water used. The Xin Juke doesn't cost much too, although some other brand of similar solution might cost a lot.

The steps for using Xin Juke in top loading washing machine are:

• Dissolve one to two packets of the powder into warm water of around 40~80 degree Celcius.
• Fill up the washing machine with near full tank water.
• Pour the Xin Juke solution into the tank. (Alternatively, you can combine the above 2 steps and skip this step, if you can fill the washing machine with warm water. The temperature is suitable to fully dissolve the Xin Juke powder)
• Put in one to two pieces of cleaning cloth so that the washing machine not running with empty tub.
• Operate the washing machine for about 10 minutes.
• Stop the washing machine and let the cleaning solution to work for 3 to 4 hours in still water (but not too long until more than half a day)
• There might be dirty substances floating on top of the water. Remove them.
• Continue the washing cycle until it complete. You can use the "tub cleaning" washing cycle if your washing machine support this mode.

The steps for using Xin Juke in front loading washing machine are:

• Pour one to two packets of the powder into the tub and close the door.
• Put in one to two pieces of cleaning cloth so that the washing machine not running with empty tub.
• Fill up half the tub with water, preferably warm water.
• Operate the washing machine for about 10 minutes.
• Stop the washing machine and let the cleaning solution to work for 3 to 4 hours in still water (but not too long until more than half a day)
• Continue the washing cycle until it complete.

The steps are different because once the front loading washing machine is filled up with water, you can't simply open its door!

Docasa DCS-BS02W non-electric water bidet for toilet water closet

I have just installed some Docasa DCS-BS02W non-electric water bidets in my residence's toilets. Each set of them cost only RM175 (or RM185.50 after GST).

This type of water bidet spray is pretty simple in design, and does not need to use electric to function. Just affix it onto the toilet bowl and attach its pipe to the existing water inlet of the water tank, and it is ready to function.

Its nozzle is able to spray water at the pressure of 0.05 MPa to 0.8 MPa, and its spraying angle is adjustable.

This Docasa DCS-BS02W is very easy to use. It has a level to adjust the high/low angle of water spray, and a big knob which clockwise is to spray the water at different intensity, and anticlockwise is a self-cleaning function whereby water is flowing down instead of spraying out.

This kind of water bidet is very popular in Japan, Taiwan and some other places. Normally they are electrical which can heat up and supply warm water, and the price is quite expensive. Although this Docasa DCS-BS02W is not able to heat up water, it is non-electric and very easy to install, and its price is much more affordable.

If you are still using toilet papers or external spraying hose, you might probably also want to switch to this type of bidet. It is gentle, clean and environmental friendly. I also makes your toilet looks modern and classy to your guests.

BC-01 multimedia bluetooth speaker with alarm clock and FM radio

I have purchased a BC-01 multimedia bluetooth speaker with alarm clock and FM radio for my kid. This made-in-China gadget is pretty cheap, with the price of around RM60 only, and its quality is not too bad.

The BC-01 has 2 colour options: white and black. It is pretty small, with surface about the size of the palm of an adult. This small footprint, together with its built-in 1,500 mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery, makes it very portable and easy to carry long, especially when travelling.

With a low power consumption of around 3W, the battery is good enough to support for many hours of continuous music playback. It can operate in clock display and alarm mode for a few days at a single charge cycle.

It has a pair of stereo speakers, which is pretty decent with sufficient loudness in volume. Do not unfairly compete it with Hi-Fi speakers, but its sound quality can really beat the speakers of most of the smartphones and tablets nowadays. However, probably due to the use of internal antenna, you'll probably be disturbed with some hissing sound when using it as a radio.

So, what can this small gadget do?

First of all, it is an alarm clock with pretty large LED time display, as you can see from its photo above.

Then, it is a Bluetooth wireless speaker for any multimedia devices that support Bluetooth pairing. It also has a built-in microphone and can act as Bluetooth hands free speaker for mobile phone, able to pick up calls and have phone conversation with it.

The phone recognizes it for phone audio (to handle phone calls) as well as media audio (to play music streaming from the phone).

It also has a micro SD slot that supports micro SD up to 32GB. You can store music files of MP3, WAV, APE or WMA format in a micro SD card, slot in the card into its slot, and use it as a music player.

It comes with a special USB cable with 2 split connectors. One of it is the USB connector used as external power source and for battery charging, another is an audio jack which you can plug into another music device, computer, handphone, etc. and use it as an external speaker for such device.

Lastly, it is also an FM radio with internal antenna. It is able to automatically search for radio stations and remember their frequency.

Despite its multiple functions and features, it only has 6 control buttons, as shown in its photo above. Therefore, it takes some time to figure out how to use it. It comes with a paper User Manual and I highly recommend you to RTFM before you start using it.

One thing I dislike about this device is that, it only uses a single button to sequentially rotate and switch among its functions as Bluetooth speaker, micro SD card multimedia player, FM radio, AUX line-in speaker, and alarm clock. So you need to keep on pressing its right button until you reach your desired function.

All in all, this is a pretty cool device for bedroom radio and alarm. It is a good candidate as Christmas or birthday present too.

LED light bulb that fit in PLC downlight fixture

I have been wondering for a long time if the PLC downlights in my house that use CFL (compact fluorescence) bulbs can be replaced with LED light bulb without much modification. Today, I've finally found the answer.

One of my PLC downlights is faulty and I need to replace its 18W CFL bulb. While searching for its replacement at the shop, I found this...

Yes, it is the PLC light bulb with 2-pin leg that fit with the fixture of my downlight. Instead of CFL tubes, this product is using LED as its lighting source.

So, this is exactly the LED solution that I've been searching for years. Even better, this kind of LED light bulb fit exactly to the existing PLC fixture, and totally no modification is needed.

This LED light bulb is more environmental friendly than the CFL, as it contains no mercury. It also claims to have longer lifespan than CFL, and consume less electricity to obtain the same amount of lumen output. In addition, LED light generates much less heat than CFL. It is also said that LED light does not attract insects, which is a desirable feature. However, this LED bulb is a little bit more expensive than its CFL counterparts.

I have purchased one to replace the faulty CFL bulb. See it in action below:

Finally, I've found the solution to change my PLC based downlights at my house to LED type.

I have been gradually changing the CFL bulbs with E27 base to LED type, as LED light with E27 base has been around for a few years.

Eventually, most if not all the lamps at my house will be LED based, when the CFLs are gradually replaced after they have reached their end of life.

My TP-Link AC2600 wireless dual band gigabit router Archer C2600 with TM UniFi and Maxis Home Fibre support

I have been using TP-Link TL-WDR3600 dual band wireless-N router for home Internet access for about 3 years, and have just changed it with a new TP-Link AC2600 dual band wireless-AC router.

The TL-WDR3600 router is still functioning well, and I changed it for better home network experience. The reason for the change includes:

• The 5GHz WiFi band of TL-WDR3600 has a short coverage area. I can only connect to this 5GHz band when my mobile device is near to the router. Further away, the connection speed on 5GHz band dropped drastically, and I ended up only have the choice of using the 2.4GHz band.
• The TL-WDR3600 is a wireless-N router and does not support wireless-AC connection. As more and more wireless devices at my home are supported with dual band and wireless-AC, I have to retire it and change to a newer router with wireless-AC support to enjoy the benefit of wireless-AC network and new features such as Beamforming and MU-MIMO. I have chosen the Archer C2600 as its successor.
• The price I paid for the TL-WDR3600 3 years ago was RM17x. Depreciating this cost over a 3 years period, it cost me less than RM60 per year. I don't feel financially guilty to replace it with a better one after using it for over thousand days.

Other than the limitation on 5GHz band coverage and lacking of wireless-AC support, I would say the TL-WDR3600 is a great WiFi router with stable, consistence and quality performance.

Coming on stage is my new TP-Link Archer C2600 router, which I purchased online at the price of RM68x (RM64x +6% GST) with Hari Raya promotion. At the front cover of its packaging box, there is a red sticker about its 2 years warranty support, and a blue sticker stating its UniFi and Maxis Fibre support.

At the back of the box, there is a comparison table for Archer 2600, Archer C9 and Archer C5.

I have also made a comparison table for Archer C7, Archer C8 and Archer C9 in March 2016. (Yeah, I have been surveying and researching around for the router replacement for quite some times, before finalized to this Archer C2600.)

The size of this Archer C2600 is larger than I expected. It is 10.4" X 7.8" which is about the size of a 10-inch netbook.

It has a larger power adaptor than the WDR-3600 too, and is of the same type with the laptop power adaptor. The adaptor converts AC current from wall socket into 12V/4A DC supply to power up the router.

The Archer C2600 is a MU-MIMO router with 4 antennas, which mean it is able to individually serve up to 4 MU-MIMO supported devices at full bandwidth on the 2.4GHz band and another 4 MU-MIMO on the 5GHz band. If the connecting wireless device does not support MU-MIMO, or the amount of MU-MIMO connections at the router has reached the maximum, the connection will fall into SU-MIMO mode, which means its connection bandwidth will be shared with other SU-MIMO connected devices. (For MU-MIMO routers, the more antenna the merrier, so this type of wireless routers usually have more antennas than the older non-MU-MIMO routers)

The Archer C2600 also comes with a modern looking web user interface, which looks nicer than the traditional TP-Link web interface for router administration. Anyhow, there is not much different in features and functionalities between the newer and older interfaces.

Setting up for UniFi IPTV is much easier than before, just a 2-step action of select and save.

Special note on turning on the UniFi IPTV setting:

• Do not access the router administration web interface by connecting your PC to LAN Port #1 of the router, you should connect your HyppTV STB to that port instead. If you connect your PC to that port, you will end up unable to access the administration web interface after you click on the Save button, because that port will be assigned to a separate VLAN.
• There is an option for IGMP Version 2 and Version 3. If you choose IGMP V3, your Internet link will be down. Your Internet link can only work properly with IGMP V2.
• Certain function of the router, such as QoS, will need to be disabled once you enable the IPTV setting. Probably because they are not compatible with each other.

This Archer C2600 also supports the TP-Link Tether mobile app for you to manage it with your smartphone.

My experience of using the Archer C2600:

• The LED is less brighter than the WDR-3600, which is good after you turned off all your lights for sleeping at night. In fact, the LED of the Archer C2600 can be configured to turn off by itself during sleeping time too. There is also a button on it to manually turn the LED lights on/off.
• The 5GHz band coverage improved a lot. Now my Samsung UHD 4K smart TV downstairs is able to connect with it using the 5GHz band. Previously it can only connect with my WDR-3600 using the 2.4GHz band.
• The overall WiFi coverage (2.4GHz band and 5GHz band) is much larger than the WDR-3600 too. Previously I can only get a poor 2.4GHz connection with very low speed at my car poach area outside the building, which is a few walls and some distance away from the location of the router. Now my mobile devices still able to detect the 2.4GHz WiFi with moderate signal at the car poach, and able to connect to the router at speed of single digit Mbps only. The 5GHz WiFi is also detected but signal is much weaker than the 2.4GHz. 
• The connection speed improved a lot too. My HTC One M8 smartphone used to get a 150Mbps connection at home, now can get a 433Mbps connection. My newer Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone is able to get a 866Mbps connection, with its dual channel support.
• My external harddisk connected to the router's USB 3.0 port has faster read/write speed too. Time taken to copy large file is shorter.

Therefore, I can say that the performance of this Archer C2600 wireless router is as advertised. At the price of RM68x, it really worth the upgrade from WDR-3600.

My MEC iPort G9000 PR1C 1HP portable air-cond

I have just purchased this MEC iPort G9000 PR1C 1HP portable air-cond last month for a small room in my house that is without wall mounted air-cond, and now the weather has become so hot that I feel this purchase was rally made at the right time.

MEC is a Malaysian brand. The size of this portable air-cond is in fact larger than my perception from its photo. It is quite thick, with the dimension of 458 x 745 x 348.

It looks stylish, with an automatic sliding panel that will completely cover up its louver blades outlet when it is turned off, to cover it from dust. The panel will automatically slide down when the air-cond is turned on.

This portable air-cond comes with quite a lot of accessories, including the standard accessory of remote controller with battery, and exhaust hose with wall exhaust adaptor. In addition, it also comes with window slider kit and 4 pieces of foam seal that can be applied to most vertical and horizontal windows. It also comes with a water drain hose for dehumidifying mode usage.

 

This portable air-cond has a modern look, with quite a lot of air filters, located behind it and also at its both sides. It has all the functions that you need, including the louver auto-swing feature, 4 selection modes of Auto, Cool, Dry and Fan, 4 fan speed selection of Low, Med, High and Auto, Sleep mode, Timer setting, LED display, intelligent self-diagnosis and auto-protection function, panel Lock function, auto-restart after power cut off, 3 minutes protection before resuming operation, etc. It makes use of the condensed water for cooling, evaporating the water during the process, therefore for normal operation with this self-evaporating system, it doesn't need to drain out water.

One unique feature is the Follow Me button on its remote control. In Follow Me mode, the remote control will send signal to the air-cond every 3 minutes, and the air-cond will direct the cool air to its direction. So, you just need to put the remote control beside you to get the breezing cool air blowing towards you.

This air-cond is pretty quiet during operation, and quite energy saving too. It has a current rating of 4.4A with 1000W power input, cooling capacity of 9000 Btu/h, EER rating of 8.9, airflow of 440 cubic meter per hour, which is equivalent to 259 CFM.

Overall, I am satisfied with this portable air-cond.

You might be interested to also read about:

• How to select air-conditioner wisely

Upgraded my UniFi HyppTV set top box (STB) from Huawei EC2108E to Huawei EC6108V8

If you are new home subscriber to TM UniFi with HyppTV package, you will probably get the new Huawei EC6108V8 set top box (STB) as your IPTV service decoder.

If you are existing TM UniFi VIP package user, your HyppTV STB might be of the old Huawei EC6106V5 model...

or even the older Huawei EC2108E...

The Huawei EC2108E STB can only run the HyppTV app, and provides the least control to user.

The Huawei EC6106V5 STB comes with higher hardware specs as well as later version of Android, and is possible to install with other Android apps with some hacking.

The Huawei EC6108V8 is much smaller in size, has even better hardware specs, running on Android 4.4.2, and comes with Google Play Store which makes installation of Android apps even easier.

If you are using the older HyppTV STB and have recently upgraded your UniFi to the 30Mbps or 50Mbps package, you can request to replace your old STB with the latest model for free. As a result, I've upgraded my Huawei EC2108E STB to EC6108V8.

Note that the LAN port of your STB is connected to the LAN port of your router with VLAN 600, which is dedicated for IPTV service. So you can't use it to access to the Internet.

In order for your STB to access to Internet and download apps from Google Play Store, you need to enable WLAN under Settings > Wireless and Network > Enable WLAN.

With this, you can connect the STB to your home WiFi network provided by your router, and use it to connect to the Internet.

Changed my last Panasonic FM14C5 ceiling fan to Alpha Reno 699

About 9 years ago, I installed 3 Panasonic FM14C5 ceiling fans in my house, 2 of them went faulty 4 years ago and I replaced them with Alpha VS-5.

Recently, my last Panasonic FM14C5 ceiling fan also facing the same  motor control circuit faulty problem, and I've replaced it with Reno 699, also manufactured by Alpha Electric Co.

This Alpha Reno 699 ceiling fan only cost me RM160. It has 5 ABS blades (56" each) which are light and anti-rusting.

This is a remote control fan with basic function of 3 speeds selection and timer of 1hr, 3hr or 6hr.

Now I have more confident in Alpha brand ceiling fan than Panasonic or KDK.

Auspicious dates for moving to new house / office in 2016

Here is the list of auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in year 2016, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.