FUCK YOU, STOP CALLING ME - September 2012

Can you believe it has been twenty days since my last call? Almost a month without a call.  I was worried there for a while.  I know I cannot hide from these people.  I was in a meeting, in a conference room and we got a call from some dental place.  Yeah, a business phone...in a conference room.  To top that off, I am rarely in meetings.  It was like they were tracking me down.

20 September 2012
   773-321-2084  IL, USA  - Wow, been so long I forgot how to rant.  So, bare with me.  This call came in at 19:14...which means it was a quarter after ten in Illinois.  If memory serves me correctly, Illionis is notorious for calling at late hours.  Late for me on the West Coast, even later for them in Eastern Time Zone.  Anyway, fuck off!

My New Headphones, So I Can Ignore You Better

It is generally a good thing when the voices in your head go silent.  Generally, it is not a good thing when the music in your head goes silent.  What is worse is when only one side goes out.  Whether it be kicking music or satanic voices, it is best to have them in stereo.

I have had a good pair of earbuds (MDR-EX71) for a few years, they were Sony.  I like Sony stuff, because I like name branded stuff...and I am shallow like that.  So what?  Anyway, one ear when silent...much like when Alderaan was destroyed, "as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and suddenly silenced".  Working out without my awesome tunes sucks, because I have to listen to the noises of the gym.  You know, weights slamming, treadmills whizzing, meatheads grunting, and gym music.  It also means I have to acknowledge someone when they are speaking to me.

The hunt was on for another pair of headphones...earbuds...whatever.  You know how picky I am, so it comes to no surprise that I was looking for something specific.  These were the criteria:

• Made by Sony - Remember, I am a brand-whore.
• Needs to fit in the ear - Do not want the extra weight of 'headband-type' headphones.  Plus, earbud design will somewhat block ambient gym noises.
• Needs to have a short cable - To be used with an iPod Shuffle, clipped to my collar.  Having six feet of cable is just stupid.  Short cable headphones come with extensions, like my current non-working pair.

I found a pair that met my requirements.  The Sony MDR-AS40EX, retails for $40. So, here is my review.

Sony MDR-AS40EX

The first thing you will notice is that it has 'ear hangers'.  I was not excited about these at first, but the set did have a short cable.  The great thing about the design is, the ear hangers are removable.  If I find them uncomfortable, I could just remove them.  For those not in the know, I where glasses (usually Nike or Oakley frames...brand-whore), so I was not sure if the ear hangers would get in the way. 

In addition to being removable, it comes with three sets of hangers for different sized ears.  Which means that Spock could wear theses.  Well, they work great!  With my previous pair, I would have to constantly adjust my earbuds as they would shift and loosen as I did my awesome exercises.  With the ear hangers in place, there was never a problem with the earbuds falling out.  The different size hangers also allow a custom and comfortable fit.

Look at all the crap you get with this

Like my previous earbuds, and I guess all Sony earbuds, the MDR-AS40EX comes with three sizes of silicone 'plugs'.  These offer the user a custom and comfortable fit.  In combination with the ear hangers, these are not going to fall off.  I wore these for a week while working out and never had a problem with slippage or discomfort.

These also come with a small clip so you can clip the cable to your shirt to avoid tangling or snagging.  I took it off, since I used it with a clip on iPod Shuffle.

How is the sound, you ask?  There is a reason why I buy Sony.  Sure, there are other brands out there that have great sound and are really expensive.  No need for headphones when I am listening to MP3's with earbuds, while working out.  If I was relaxing in a soundproof room with high end audio equipment...an analog source...then yeah, I might consider some $500 cans...nah, I would probably still go with Sony.

What, those two round black things in the picture...what are they?

Over-sized caring case

The carrying case is good to protect the headphones from damage.  I think just throwing my other headphones in the bag may have caused them to malfunction.  Storing your headphones/earbuds in a case is a good idea.  Having the case be so ridiculously huge is not necessarily a good idea.  The case could be about half the size and still be effective in protecting the product.

The MDR-AS40EX was designed for "sport" and "active style".  After a few hours in the gym, these have met my requirement.  Basically, they are better than good enough.  I would recommend them for anyone seeking headphones for athletic and/or everyday use.

LED-ing My DeLorean Window Switches

Some might say I have an obsession with my window switches.  I have been struggling with these switches for the last two months.  Technically, this is the fourth part of the 'window switch' series.  But, there will never be a "Part IV" with anything involving a DeLorean...just ask Bob Gale.

Now that I have solved the problem of the switches, I have decided to have them light up.  The little jumper plates have been located and installed.  So now, they light up.  Everything is fine...or is it?  You know that I cannot just this go without more modification.  The lights are green, using an incandescent bulb and a green lens.  I like blue, and LED's...just like how I prefer Luke's blue lightsaber over the green on.  Wait, wrong trilogy.

Here are my two options for LED window switches.

1.  In addition to the incandescent ones (K101177) for $70 a pair, DMC sells an LED version (K101177A) of the light switches for $85.  I already have the incandescent ones and I am too cheap to pay another $85 for another set.  I am not even sure if the LED ones are green or blue.  Which leave me to the other option.

K101177(A) - DeLorean Window Switches

2.  Do the modification myself using my existing switches and some LED's....blue LED's  The good part of this option is I can get the LED's at work for free.  I like free.  Plus, it gives me a chance to play with my wire welding skills, some people call it soldering, and learn something about LED's.

Green lens with incandescent bulb

How am I going to do this?  As usual, I am just going to wing it...gull wing it.  When the lens is removed you can see that how the bulb gets power from the contacts.  I will use these contacts to power the LED's.  Well, what else am I going to use.  First, I have to build some sort of 'platform' for the LED's to rest on.  Then figure out how to route the wires to get power to the light emitting diodes.

Now, I know very little about electronics.  I know how to solder and to line up "+" and "-"...but that is about it.  So, I enlisted help from co-workers and staff from the Electronics Lab.  These guys in the Electronics Lab are crazy smart.  My though was, "just solder some LED bulbs onto the contacts and call it a day".  I was informed that I needed resistors for the LED's.  I told him there would be twelve volts running through this thing and he did the math on what resistor I need...right there, in his head.  It was like Rain Man.  I got my LED bulbs and resistors and ready to go.

Surface mount resistors are really small

Each switch will use two LED's for maximum light output.  Originally, I was going to use the bulb kind of LED's, but they were too big as I have limited space to work in.  So, the solution was surface mount LED's and resistors.  Surface mount resistors are really really small.  My first attempt at soldering resulted in two burnt lights and two burn resistors.   The problem was, other than the fact that I have no idea what I am really doing, was the wires I had were too small and the soldering iron I had did not have a temperature control.

L to R:  Original lens and bulb assembly, custom made platform, surface mount blue LED's, 560 ohm resistors

On the fly design, I had to find a solution to another problem.  Solution, keep the surface mount LED's and use the regular resistors as a 'wire' to connect all the elements.  Easier to solder the regular resistors.

Wire welding

Wire welding is fun when you do it right, frustrating when you burn bulbs and resistors.  I got the hang of it after a while.  I really admire the folks in the Electronics Lab who do this every day and on a smaller scale.  I guess it can me a form of meditation...like sculpting.

Soldered parts, LED with resistor

A resistor was soldered on to one side of the LED.  After clipping the extra wire from the resistor, I soldered it to the other side of the LED.  This was done twice for each switch.  Notice that the parts are mirrored to each other.  This is to allow for connection to the positive and negative (or is it live and ground?) contacts already in the switch.

LED assembly

The soldered parts go on the custom platform I made.  The wires go into the slot, pushing against the contacts to close the circuit.  This again, is my 'on the fly design'.  I should trade mark that.  My original plan was to solder directly to the contacts.  This new design will allow me to switch out the assembly and parts in case a bulb burns or if I want to chose another colour LED.  I also have the option of going back to original incandescent bulb with lens...highly unlikely.  One older idea was to recast the lens in a blue to get my desired blue light.

Incandescent bulb with lens vs. my LED assembly, no need for lens

These suckers are bright,  I guess I could have went with one LED.  But, if you are going to do it right, you might as well over do it.  After a lot of testing to see if my soldering was good, everything seems okay and we have light.

New blue LED's vs. incandescent bulb with green lens

The incandescent bulb gives off a softer glow.  I have not seen this since I first got the window switches.  While it matches the green in colour and intensity of the shifter plate, I still like the blue.  Pictures shows some ridiculous bleeding and glow from the LED's.  This is due to the camera I used and the ambient lighting.  There is a little bleeding of light.  Time to duplicate what I did for the other switch.

Completed LED modifications

The design is rough, but it works.

Cool blue lights in the center console

Project complete!  Final stats:  Three burnt surface mount LED's, two burn surface mount resistors, two burnt #11 (30A) fuses.  Hopefully, this is my last issue/modification with these window switches.  Now, I need to figure out how to make the shifter light blue.  Looks like I will need to make a blue shifter panel and replace bulb with a blue one.  Another day.