How to Fix Christmas Lights

You just finished decorating your Christmas tree with ornaments and Christmas lights. Suddenly, you notice a few bulbs are burned out. No problem; you have several spare bulbs in a drawer that you saved just for this moment. Wait, these are old bulbs from several years ago and the base of the bulbs won't fit into the socket of the burned out lights. What now?

Remove the burned-out Christmas light bulb from its socket. Do this by carefully applying upward pressure on the plastic base just below the glass bulb. It helps to have fingernails when doing this. Try not to pull on the glass bulb.

Once the old bulb has been removed, compare its base with that of the replacement bulb. If it matches, then you should have no problem easily just inserting the new bulb into the socket. If the bases do not match, then you will need to remove both bulbs from their sockets and swap them.

To remove a Christmas light from its socket, find the two copper wires at the base of the bulb. Push both wires downward so that if the tip of the bulb is pointing at the ceiling, then the wires will point towards the floor. Firmly pull upward on the glass bulb and it should separate from the base. Do the same thing with the replacement bulb.

With both copper wires from the new bulb pointing straight down, insert the new bulb into the old bulb's socket and try to align the copper wires with the two holes at the bottom of the base. Once the wires have been inserted, press the bulb completely down into the base. Push both wires upward so that they follow the groove on each side of the bulb base. Now they should be facing the same direction as the tip of the glass bulb. Insert this new arrangement into the empty light socket and the bulb should illuminate!


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How to Print to Tray 3 on a HP Laserjet P2015 Printer

The HP Laserjet P2015 printer has the option to add an additional paper tray, referred to as "Tray 3." This tray may be used to double the capacity of paper that the printer can hold. It also may be used for printing special forms or paper that differs from the plain white letter stock in the main tray. For example, if you print a lot of documents on company letterhead, but you do not want to manually load letterhead into the printer each time, Tray 3 may be used specifically for this purpose.

If you just purchased the printer, remove it from the box and be sure to remove all of the inserts that were included to protect the internal moving parts during shipment. Apply power to the printer and install the toner cartridge. If this printer will be used as a network printer, connect it to your network at this time. Now install the software that accompanied the printer.

When setup has completed and you have been able to send a test print to the printer, it is time to install Tray 3. Load the preferred paper into Tray 3 and pick up the printer and set it onto the tray. There are posts on top of the tray that must be aligned so that the printer will sit on the tray.

On your computer, click the Windows "Start" button and then choose "Settings" and then "Printers." You should see the print driver for the "HP Laserjet P2015 series PCL 6" (or 5E.) Let's assume that you are using the PCL 6 for this example. Right-click the icon for this printer and then left-click "properties." Click on the "Device Settings" tab. Under the listing "Installable Options", there should be an entry for "Tray 3: Not Installed." Click on "Not Installed" and change it to "Installed" Now, under "Form To Tray Assignment", set Tray 3 to the type of paper that will be used (ex: letter.) Configure any other options, such as duplexing, as needed and then click the "OK" button.

Open the application from which you wish to print. Click the print button to send the job to the printer. On the "Print" window that opens, click the "Paper/Quality" tab. In the field that reads "Type new Quick Set name here", type the name of the type of paper in tray 2, (ex: white paper.) Set the size to "Letter", the source to "Tray 2", and the type to "Plain." Click the "Save" button and then do the same thing for Tray 3, but for the Quick Set name, choose a different name (ex: letterhead or packing slip.) Click "Save" again. When you send a job to the printer, all you have to do is choose the type of paper that you wish to print to and the Laserjet P2015 printer does the rest!


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How to Measure Level of Material in a Large Bin or Hopper

Let's say you have a large bin or hopper and you regularly fill it with wood chips or powder or even liquid. How can you accurately measure the level in the bin?  In applications where it is necessary to measure the level of material in a large collection bin, there is not always an obvious way. This article will describe one method, using an ultrasonic sensor.

Purchase an industrial ultrasonic sensor (uses sound waves) with a range long enough to bounce from the top of the bin down to the lowest possible level of the material, or at least the lowest level that you care to measure. Be sure to select an ultrasonic sensor with an analog output.  Be aware that all ultrasonic sensors have a "blind zone" beginning at the face of the sensor and extending to various distances away. For this reason, the material to be measured should never be allowed to enter this "blind zone" because accurate measurement cannot take place in this range.  Also note that ultrasonic sensors are affected by drastic changes in temperature and may need to be recalibrated occasionally.

Install the ultrasonic sensor in the top of the bin pointing downward so that it faces the material in the bin. The analog output from the sensor will need to interface with the PLC or computer so that the reading may be interpreted and any necessary functions may take place when the level reaches certain points.

Empty the bin and take note of the output from the sensor. Then, fill the bin to the maximum desired level and take another reading from the sensor. Now you have your high and low margins. You can program certain things to happen when the material hits a certain level, for instance, when the level of water in a bin reaches the top, the pump that supplies the water shuts off until the water is lowered again to another predetermined level.



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