Control, Natural, Seven, Termite, Tips

When you run a popular blog that covers a ton of different topics that people get confused about, hardly a day goes by that you don’t get surprised by something that one of your readers comes up with.

Now, even though what I try and do is to look into popular products and services to find the best deals for my readers, every once in a while someone will make me realize that in rare cases I will overlook the obvious.

That’s kind of what happened when people started asking me about remote access software. I’m well aware that people don’t necessarily want to spend tons of time researching every purchase, so I really take pride in being able to check these things out and letting people know where I think they can get the best deals.

But now here’s where this gets interesting. I never even thought that I would wind up covering the topic of remote access software. The reason why this is so strange, and the reason why I basically gave myself a slap across the forehead when it was brought up, is because if it wasn’t for software packages like GoToMyPC, I wouldn’t be here writing this today.

Thanks to these little wonders of technology that allow you to access and control your computer from remote locations from down the street to halfway around the world, I was able to completely run my home-based business even though I didn’t have access to my home office or my main computer for a full two years.

So yeah, I think I know a thing or two about remote access software, and I’m pretty passionate about letting people know just how effective this stuff is, how important it can be for anyone who needs to access a computer but who doesn’t want to be chained to their desk all the time, and what a life saver it can be for anyone who depends on their PC.

Just some quick background — even though I run my little business from home, that still didn’t mean that I was going to be immune from the standard things that affect many new parents.

When my second child was born, since the only room available for his nursery was my home office, I needed to start making contingency plans because I knew my hours of burning the midnight oil in front of the computer were going to be over.

So rather than freak out about it, I started doing some research into various remote access software solutions — like Go To My PC, which I mentioned above — and decided I would put them to the test.

Most of the time, testing new software for me is like doing my taxes. I absolutely can’t stand the process, but I feel really good when it’s over and if I’ve managed to find something amazing (like a really sweet deduction in the case of taxes, or a beautifully designed piece of genius in the case of software), well then I’m pretty much ahead of the game.

That’s the way I felt after I got finished testing the software. I definitely did find one that completely saved my bacon and allowed me to give up my home office without giving up access to my computer or my business.

And the cherry on top was that I was able to find some sites where I could (and you can too!!) get a free 30 day trial of the package I chose, and get some great coupons where I saved some coin when I actually did decide to go ahead and invest in the software.

Access, Best, Choosing, Remote, Software, Tips

FTA FORUM is ripe with posts made by numerous members seeking remedy from the various problems they have faced time and again with FTA. This article is a compilation of the most commonly encountered problems and will act as a guide to all users of FTA, both novices as well as experienced and will surely contribute a lot towards a hassle free FTA experience. Of course, for a comprehensive solution to any specific problem that you might be facing, an interaction with experts at FTA FILES is strongly recommended.

So to begin with, the first thing that you can do when faced with a problem is to turn off the box using the rear switch, and to leave it off for a few minutes before switching it on again. This alone will work towards resolving the majority of your problems, which also explains why it?s also sometimes referred to as the magic switch. Also there?s nothing to be worried if this does not solve your problem, for listed below are a number of commonly encountered problems as well as ways to get around them.

Problem 1 – No Picture:

Things that can contribute to this include keys that have stopped rolling or if the keys are not current. Also, while most of the newer units come equipped with auto roll processing screens, some do not.

A way out is to make sure auto/roll feature is turned on and to download a good key grabber, which will get you the keys. Also, auto roll feature seems to work faster on certain channels like 150/200 … 217/214.

If your keys are correct then make sure if your signal and quality levels are within acceptable limits, or whether your antenna settings have changed. Your lnb type should be correct since even a simple change here can lead to loss of certain channels. Switch ports, if any, too should be correct. Next, its time to check hardware ? like cable should be free of any knicks or cuts etc., switch should be working, lnb should be ok and that the dish was not moved.

Things you can do are: run the cable straight to the receiver bypassing the switch to make sure the problem is not with the lnb or switch. And if you think the problem is with the switch or the port, move ports to find out if any of them has gone bad. Visually check all the lines and switches, LNB’s, and dish angles, and verify if the dish was moved. A good idea will be to mark a straight line over all adjustment points, both azimuth and elevation, after you have confirmed the alignment. This will act as a reference of a ?known working alignment?. So if has gone out of alignment, all that you have to do is to just move it back to where the marks line up and you have a dish that is aligned. This will also allow you to visually check to see if the dish has moved.

Problem 2 – Missing Channels (or scanning very little):

A common problem, for which, you have to make sure you are aimed at the right satellite, your antenna settings are correct as per your lnb type and that there?s nothing wrong with your frequency or transponder or, for that matter, with your switch and port settings. Other things that you have to be sure of are whether your satellite file is updated or whether you are running a new channel list.

As a way out, perform a factory reset from within the menus, or you can delete all the channels and do a fresh rescan.

When setting up your antennae, you can use 12224 as transponder frequency for most dish satellite, with the exception of 119(12239) and 121(11724). Also, on 119, scan on 12239 though it will revert to 12224 since default(24) is spot-beamed.

Another factor that can lead to this problem is uploading an ?incorrect? channel list, since channel list tend to vary with location. So you should do a scan of all available satellites. Another thing you got to be sure of is whether the style of lnb that you have does match with your antenna setup or else, you will miss out on many channels.

Also, lnbs are not immune to failures and a major symptom of a failed lnb is if you are receiving only vertical or horizontal tps. And in case of total failure, you will loose signal and quality completely. So, swap the LNBs to find out if these are at fault.

Another thing you have to be sure of is whether you have plugged your RG6 cable in the correct spot in the back of your STB. This might sound silly but such errors does happen; so better check out.

Problem 3 – Wait for Picture or Standby:

The reason for this might be that your bin is out of date and that its time to load the latest and best bin. Auto roll feature should be on. It works best on certain channels, so allow it to work. It may take some time.

Also, auto roll seems to work fastest on channels 150/200 on dick and 212/417 for the guy up north. You can check Problem 1 above that deals with auto roll/keys issue.

Problem 4 – No EPG Displaying:

If this is the case then you have to ensure your date/time and GMT is correct. Do keep in mind that GMT should be set to reflect Daylight saving time. See to it that epg is selected for the number of hours and that your sat file is current and correct. You can try receiving guide on some models. If the device allows you to choose the number of hours your guide should be, cut that to half so that there is more memory available to other channels.

If you?re using a pansat (may work for others) and your guide isn?t working properly with provider up north then you have to rename the satellite to an appropriate name.

Epg tends to populate on certain channels. So a look at the FAQ section of the providers will throw up some good pointers.

And if you are confronted with something like Dish 119 info fills up but not Dish 110, then here?s what you should do.

In order to have a 7-Day Guide on Dish 110 and 119, press the SAT button on your remote.

Highlight ?Dish Package? and then press ?OK?.

In case you don’t have both 110 and 119, select the Dish Sat that you do have.

Exit out of the menu and Press the Guide button.
Press the ?FIND? button while still in the guide and let it sit on that channel for a few minutes.
The longer it is there, the more EPG will fill up, up to a maximum of 7-Days.

To have a 3-Day Guide, press the SAT button on your remote.
Highlight the relevant package.
If you don’t have both, then select what you do have.
Exit out of the menu and Press the Guide button.
Press the “FIND” button while in the guide and let it to sit on that channel for a few minutes.
The longer it sits, the more EPG will get filled up, up to a maximum of 2-3 Days.

Do take into account that the EPG cannot fill up if you’ve selected ?All SAT? from the Satellite List button. Also, it cannot fill the latter EPG while watching Dish and vice-versa. This is simply not possible since the EPG fills Guide data ONLY from the
provider you are watching.

Problem 5 ? Glitches:

Factory file time, this restores the unit to almost virgin status. Download the factory Bin, which will clean all those glitches. Next, download the Current bin. However, this will also change all of your settings back to original, so you?ll have to work on that.

Watch out for signal and quality levels since anything less then 50% quality is prone to be affected by weather related hazards.

Problem 6 ? ?Night Rider? (flashing lights):

This is usually a sign of bad or corrupt flash or even interrupted process in some cases. Re-flashing the factory flash again using correct procedures for your unit might solve the problem. STB’s processing of the data that has been transferred gets interrupted if you don?t wait till the all Zero display to come up. This in turn, may leave the STB with a corrupted file, which is also a sign of wrong file for wrong unit. So be sure you are using correct file for your unit.

Therefore, see to it that you are using the latest flash to get the scrambled channels. It may take several attempts to reload factory flash and after having reloaded the latest bin, reset your antenna settings since they will revert back to factory settings with factory flash. Also, its important that when flashing, you should wait not only till it says its done, but also until it reboots and actually goes to a channel number.

The difference between the cables:

Null Modem cable, also referred to as ?cross-over? or ?twisted pair? cable:

Used for Viewsat, this cable has 9 pins, though only the following are required:

Pin 2 to Pin 3
Pin 3 to Pin 2
Pin 5 to Pin 5

Straight through serial cable:

Problems, Tips, Tricks, Troubleshooting

Security, Tips

Scenario…you are in a hurry. You need to do pick up the dry cleaning, do some grocery shopping and get home to make dinner to be ready for the parent teacher conference. You have it planned to the minute. But what happens instead is that while rushing to the grocery store you manage to lock yourself out of your car. However you don’t realize this until you get back to the car with all those groceries and it is a hot summer day.

Reactions…Well like most people you first get mad at yourself, then you panic about the time, then it dawns on you that you have milk then complete melt down hits. Well if you had planned ahead you wouldn’t find yourself in this position.

Precautions…

Keep a spare key in your wallet or purse.
Have your other half carry a spare. A simple call on the cell will fix this problem (but not the embarrassment.)
Hide a spare key on the exterior of the car. Most auto supply stores have magnetic key cases, just supply a bit of creativity as to where to hide the case.
The old tape it to the underside of the bumper but this is too obvious not mention this takes a lot of tape.
Get into the habit of locking your car from the outside so that it takes having your keys in your hand.

However if you hadn’t taken any of those precautions then here are some solutions.

Solutions…
Hopefully you are a member of an auto club. They generally have free unlock service.
If you have a service like OnStar and have access to a phone, you can give them a call and they can by remote unlock your car.
You could call the police department (major embarrassment)
or you can call a company that specialist in unlocking vehicles.

However there are ways to unlock your car yourself.

Buy a tennis ball and somehow create a hole in it. Then place it on the outside lock and exert enough muscle power to create enough pressure to cause a vacuum to pop the inside lock.
If the car has a keyless lock and you don’t have something like OnStar then here’s a way to unlock your door. Call on the cell phone the person that has your spare key. Holding the cell a foot away have the person press the unlock button while on their cell phone.

While advancements in security in cars are a good thing it also poses a slight problem for the busy car owner. As the scenario pointed out it is all too easy to lock yourself out. But now is harder to “break into” your own car. In the old day’s all it took was a wire coat hanger bent into a hook to get back into the car. And hopefully not get questioned by a passing police officer. Now it takes a bit more ingenuity or comes with a bigger price tag then a wire coat hanger. And hopefully not be embarrassed in the process.

Come, Handy, Locked, Tips

Do you believe that prevention is better than cure? Maybe that?s why you are searching for a reputable locksmith ? to help avoid those inevitable key catastrophes that happen to all of us sooner or later. But, how do you choose? Well, you could use our eight handy tips to help you zero in on the best locksmiths in Arlington.

1. Authorized Locksmith Arlington Service Providers

The first thing you should do is check that the locksmith is licensed. Talking to the company will give you a good idea of their professional attitude ? or lack of it!

2. Spectrum of Services

It is a good idea to choose a locksmith company which offers a wide spectrum of services to its customers. You never know when will you lose your home keys or break a car key. The locksmith company selected by you must be efficient enough to deal with different type of situations. For instance, the list of services must include lock re-keying, lockout services, key replacement, lock replacement, repair of jammed doors, and so on.

3. Look for Emergency Services

It is important to check out emergency services offered by the company. The professionals of the Arlington locksmith company you select must be available around the clock and be able to reach its customers within a few minutes of the call.

Arlington, Best, Important, Locksmith, Selecting, Tips

At one time or another, every household will require the services of a professional locksmith. Nowadays, locksmiths provide a range of services: from traditional key-cutting and re-keying of locks, to security solutions for the office, such as high security locks. Once you find a professional and reliable local locksmith, you will probably want to use the same tradesman again when the need arises.

Here are the top ten tips for choosing a professional Houston locksmith out of the dozens of listings on the Internet or your local area directory:

1. Find locksmith services that are available 24 hours a day. You never know at what time of day you will need the service. Also, find out what the response time is. A good call-out response time is 30 minutes. You don?t want to have to wait for hours if you have locked yourself out of your home.

2. Consider all your present and future locksmith needs. If you are a new homeowner, ask a friend for advice about what type of eventualities are likely to arise that will require the services of a local locksmith.

3. You want to locate a locksmith that offers all or most of the services that you are likely to require. It?s so much easier and reassuring to rehire a professional Houston locksmith that you already know and trust.

4. You might want to use locksmith services your business needs. A commercial locksmith will be able to fit high security locks, as well as filing cabinet locks.

5. Consider choosing an emergency locksmith that also deals with automobile call-outs. Potential scenarios include car lockouts, and the extraction of broken ignition keys.

6. If you are considering a security upgrade for your home, try and find a locksmith that will give a free estimate for the work. A good Houston locksmith will perform such a service.

7. It is very important to know that the locksmith you are considering is reputable and qualified for the job. Don?t be bashful about asking for professional qualifications and membership with professional associations, such as the Associated Locksmiths of America.

8. It is certainly worthwhile getting recommendations from friends and neighbors about locksmith services that they trust. Also, check for online testimonials: In short, the more information you have about the locksmith that you are considering hiring, the easier it will be to make a decision.

9. Once you have selected a trustworthy local locksmith, make sure you have the telephone number at all times. Enter it into your cell phone or blackberry, keep a note in your wallet, and leave a note on the refrigerator.

And finally:

10. Don?t do it yourself! It might be tempting to try and fix a lock yourself, but if you get it wrong you are likely to incur even more costs. Locksmithing is a highly skilled trade, and the security of your home and possessions is best left in the hands of a qualified professional.

Hiring, Houston, Locksmith, Tips

While performing locksmith duties in Plano Texas, our company has to open a lot of car doors for women who locked their keys in their cars.

Gives, Locked, Locksmith, Plano, Safe, Stay, Texas, Tips, Women

Next month I’ll be cutting off 10 inches for Locks of Love. Does anyone have any suggestions from previous experiences about sending the hair or what to tell the hairdresser? Thanks!

About, Donating, Hair, Locks, Love, Tips

Any situation where a problem arises between a lock, a key, and the operation of a vehicle can be considered a vehicle lock emergency. Although these types of emergencies are not life threatening, and do not warrant a call to 911, the urgency of the issue cannot be denied no matter how humorous the scenario may seem at a later date.

Unlike residentialor commercial locksmith issues, careful research and price comparisons have no place when it comes to locating the appropriate locksmith for the job in an auto lock emergency.

Following are a few tips to keep in mind:

A mobile locksmith operating 24/7, who can arrive on the scene within 30 minutes is not hard to find, especially in Marietta and metro Atlanta.

Auto, Emergencies, Lock, Locksmith, Marietta, Offers, Tips