Dell Laptop

Black Friday 2021 purchase

Dell Inspiron 15 3511

15.6 in touch display with webcam

Intel core i5-1135G7 Processor

8 GB 256 SSD

Window 11

This replaces wife's Sony laptop from 2011

Update Dec. 2025

The hinges holding the display has detached from the plastic.  

This happened about 3 yrs after the purchase

I have searched online and found this to be a common problem.

I am not happy with the short period of service from this laptop

Totally not recommended 

Merry Christmas 2019

Hello my friends, this was taken last month when I traveled back to Taiwan to see my family.
Comments welcome. Let me know you got the card.
I miss you all. !

中山國小三十二屆六年九班

中山國小三十二屆六年九班同學

這篇文是用來尋找小學同學的，如果您搜尋的名字出現這裡，其他人的名字又很熟息那就對了。如果願意請和我們聯絡。可以在底下留言

我是陳皇賓

email  hbchen@yahoo.com

臉書  https://www.facebook.com/hongbin.chen.7

>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員

劉志南

袁大輝

呂龍彬

莊育孝

楊迺堅

盧全一>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

蔡瑞生

李江龍

張逸村>聯絡上line成員

吳安富>聯絡上

謝明峰

朱永今>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

楊豐銘>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員

葉旭剛

藍正雄>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員

吳明德

邱金俊

李鴻杰

鄭俊宏>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

陳志堅

林錦祥

陳至德

莊志宏

黃東和

丁亨福

楊志信

陳盈州>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

陳澤龍>聯絡上

梁凱傑>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

陳皇賓>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

楊永明

史維>>聯絡上>住LA

王世榮

何啓源

王景豐

李岳勳

許惠慧

樊奇男

楊琦萍

呂玉玲>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

陳麗美

杜淳美>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員

虞秀珠

王嫣君>尋找中>哥倫比亞化工2-8-24找到了＞line成員

莊佩玲

朱雅玲

蔣靜芝

王淑慧>尋找中>十信商工畢業>according to 正佩

蔡美玲>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

陳金枝>陳品如

蕭菁菁>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

羅素幸

陳雪貞>聯絡上line成員

張蕙英>2015，10月逝世

洪秀慧>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

林恆宜>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

蔡明娥

王雅薇>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

趙以雯>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

許正佩>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

蔡筱珍

葉明玉

沈佩如>中山國小三十二屆六年九班FB成員line成員

陳月珍老師>聯絡上

范正達老師

曾淑美老師>2019，6月逝世

3/7/2023 礁溪

3/3/2023 貓空

2/28/2023 台北

2/11/2023 台北

11/13/2021 Diamond Bar CA

梁凱傑，陳皇賓，蕭菁菁，史維

11/6/2021 台北

陳盈州，洪秀慧，蔡美玲，沈珮如，許正佩，盧全一，陳澤龍

12/1/2020 台北

林恆宜，陳澤龍，吳安富，盧全一，趙以雯

9/15/2020 台北

11/16/2019 台北

林恆宜，陳皇賓，王雅薇，蔡美玲

updated 02/08/2024

onesuite.com ripped me off $50 for not crediting me for recharging

I have been with onesuite.com for quite a few years, I've never had problem with this company until this weekend 10/3/2015. That morning I use paypal to recharge my calling card account for $20, upon redirect back from paypal website, I noticed I balance was still at 0.035 cents.

Since I have an instance before that recharge was not credited, I went ahead and recharge a second time for $10. To my surprise, it did not registered again !  What the hell !?

Later that evening I recharged a third time and still nothing !

Email has been sent to support@onesuite.com since I can NEVER get thru on the toll free line.  so far all they keep asking me is for my paypal transaction and invoices number which I have supplied numerous time.  At least I get some sort of reply saying " We will get back to you in 24 to 48 hrs "


Stay tune for the outcome .....

As of today 10/13/15 still no resolution. I filled a dispute with PayPal and all is wait and see.

Two weeks after this whole ordeal, Onesuite called me and said they had credited me the money.  Reason being Paypal was the culprit, did not forward the money for the whole weekend.

If onesuite had put up a statement on the website stating this then I probably won't be as upset and at least know what's going on.  Need to do better next time.....

Head Lamp Restoring on 2007 Honda Fit

Head Lamp Restoring on 2007 Honda Fit

Wife is out of town and while in the garage on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I decided to clean up the foggy residues on the head lamp cover of the Honda Fit.




Saw all the head lamp restoring kit online and in store also saw some youtube videos on other different techniques.  I decided to take the toothpaste challenge.



All I can say was it works.  I use a wet towel with plenty of toothpaste and elbow grease! Didn't come out like new, but so much better compare to before.

Fixing My Sony DVD Recorder RDR GX-300

After years of faithful service from my Sony DVD recorder, it finally had it.  Every time I inserted a disc, it said the disc is dirty and C1300 code.  Even though it was a new disc and I know it is "clean".

Last month I opened up the machine and disassembled the components all the way down to the DVD drive and vacuum every part to rid of dust.  It has accumulated quite a thick layer on the circuit boards and fan.  To my surprise the DVD lens was clean with no dust on it.  I re-assembled the parts, the symptoms remain.

Disassemble Sony RDR GX-300

 I was already looking online to find a replacement, when I thought why not look online to see if there is a solution for this.  If I am having this problem then someone else must be having the same problem.  To my surprise, there are many documented problems on this issue regarding these Sony DVD recorder models (RDR-GX300, RDR-GX315, RDR-GX330 just to mention a few). Namely the DVD drive not recognize the disc.

During one search I found a posting on Fixya.com stating my exact problem and steps to fix the problem.  Since I had already opened up the machine once already, it was very easy to get down to the anatomy of the drive.

Pro tip : before disassemble, press the eject button so the disc tray is open before starting removing the screws on the chassis.   

The laser carriage attached to the slide rails was loose on the grub screw side (If looking from opening tray toward the back it is on the the left side of the rail). All I did was finding an hex key small enough to fit in the screw and tighten it until it touches the rail then back it off about 1/4 turn just so the laser carriage will slide freely on the slide rail.

Sony DW-U15A Drive with grub screw adjusting location

Reassemble the parts and Done! So far it has worked flawlessly, just like a brand new machine. If you have the same trouble, hopefully this will help!

Mazda B2200 Dimmer Switch Gone Bad

One early morning on the way to work, I noticed all the dash lights weren't working as I turn on the  headlights.  After about 15 minutes of driving, the lights slowly came back on. The same goes for the next week where the lights will turn on slowly on its own after about 30 minutes of driving.  

I did a search online and found this to be a common occurrence for the Mazda pickup trucks.  The problem appeared to be a faulty dimmer switch.  Since these trucks are over 20 years old, parts are not very easy to come by.  

Using online instructions, I make a short wire with two blade connectors and inserted into the connector that was connected to the dimmer switch*.  This process completely bypass the dimmer switch. The dash lights will stay at full illumination.  It was a very simple 15 minute job to get it working again.  

Remove the 4 screws holding the bezel to the instrument panel.

Remove bezel,  disconnect the connector to dimmer switch.

Insert a short wire with two male blades into the two connectors that are parallel to each other.

Tuck it away and re-install the bezel.  

Its that easy!

*Always remember to disconnect the battery's negative terminal before doing any electrical work. 

Fixing our cloth dryer, total cost under $20

Wife called yesterday and said " Dryer is not working, it stopped in the middle of drying cycle and nothing is moving now, no lights inside the drum either."  I ask her to make sure the circuit breaker on the outer wall is not tripped, and it wasn't.  I did some research online (this is a Maytag model HYE3657AYW purchased in 7/2004) before headed home and most online posts indicated the thermal fuse that monitors the temperature of the heater is the most likely culprit.  Lint accumulated over time blocking the exhaust vent and causing heat blockage.  Clothes will take longer to dry.

When I got home, I pulled the dryer out, and clean around it, there were lots of lint and dirt accumulate around it.  I was looking for a panel in the back where I can remove and look for the thermal fuse.  Instead, the back of the dryer is all one piece, no panel to remove.  I noticed there is some kind of hinge on the back of the dryer.  I thought to myself, it can't be this easy.  I came  around the front of the dryer and lifted the top cover.  One loud popping sound and top of the dryer opens revealing the drum and the heating element behind it.

From reading the posts online, there were two thermal fuses in the dryer, a thermal fuse and a hi-limit thermal fuse.  If one is tripped, both should be replaced.  A simple continuity test with a multimeter will tell if the fuse is bad.

This is the Hi-Limit Thermostat (Electric model) 53-0771

Thermal Fuse 53-1182 (Electric model)

I just ordered an oem replacement part from ebay for around $17 (Thermal fuse kit LA-1053) and should arrive hopefully by this weekend.

10/6/2012

The part arrived this afternoon in the mail.  Installed both thermostat in about 15 min.  Also clean up the lint around the lint filter.  All is well now.  Total cost $18.43

Now the clothes take half the time to dry, lesson learned, clean up the lint filter area and periodically checking the flexible pipe behind the dryer.

January 2024

Some 12 years after weekly faithful service from this Maytag dryer, The driving belt circled the drum had had it.  Read on here

Mazda B2200 Automatic Transmission Fluid Change

Started working on replacing the transmission fluid around 10 am, by the time I was done it was almost 1 pm.  I had to stop by the part store to pick up a scraper to remove the old gasket stuck on the pan. The fluid was still in good condition, I did see very small amount of white cloudy fluid on the bottom of the transmission pan(not sure what cause it?), however there wasn't much of anything (metal shaving) else there.  

The transmission filter seem to be in good shape, but I replaced it anyway since I have the part.  In the service manual it didn't mention about replacing the filter.

I was careful when removing the screws holding the transmission filter, but very strangely, (the screw circled) after removed, I can't put the screw back on, it seemed the thread inside had mysteriously disappeared.  After tighten all the other screws, i manage to get the screw to catch something inside (very loosely).

View after removing the fluid pan

I filled with 3.75 qt of Valvoline MaxLife Dexron III and it was already at full.  I got the turck at 243K, now it is at 291K, the fluid change was long overdue.  Next week I will tackle the differential fluid, should be a much easier task.

B2200 transmission oil pan

Pan gasket and transmission filter

Switching Internet Services to Comcast

After years of DSL service from the phone company (Frontier), I am sick of the slow internet service.  Their maximum reliable speed deliverable to my home is around 4Mb/s. Living in a rural area meaning not having competitions on the phone service, translation sub par and below standard choices and services.  I think for the same amount of money ($60) I can get faster and hopefully better service else where.

Since my contract is due this month, I look up other options.  There were Clear Wire and Comcast.  I've heard that Clear would throttle back speed when reach certain limit. Signals from radio towers might be affected when indoor.  So I decided to go with Comcast and their service.

Order their installation online and schedule an installation appointment two weeks away, meanwhile I ordered a Motorola SB6121 cable modem from Amazon ($86) so I don't have to pay for their $7 monthly rental fee.  Should arrive just in time before the cable guy show up next weekend.

Stay tune.

7/18/2012 my Motorola surfboard sb6121 arrived in the mail

7/21/2012
The technician showed up 1/2 hr early, after looking inside to see where he need to install a new cable, he started working on the outside first.  He first connect the service to the house by connecting the junction box across the house.  Since I also have dish service he had to replace my service box to accommodate addition cables.  He replaced both ground wirings since it was weather in the sun and cover had become brittle. I also learned that the dish service and the cable service can not share the same grounding wire so two grounding wires must be installed.  This guy is sort of a perfectionist, he line up all wiring vertically and make sure the junction box is perfectly square (not bad).

After working in 95 degree heat for about 45 min, we moved inside the house.  It was much easier indoor.  Routing the wiring along the closet walls and through sheet rock into the junction box on the other side of the wall.  He custom drill a second hole on top of the covering plate so both dish and cable service come out of the same cover plate.

After connection the cable and power up the modem, it went through a series of downloading and resetting.  I was told the modem is updating the software and firmware.  It took over 15 min for the technician to connect to the Comcast call center and call in my modem info.  Then setting up a username and password.

Here is my speedtest.net speed result.  Wow !!  Finally broadband speed.  At $30/mo for 1st 6 mo. and $45/mo for 2nd 6 mo.  It's well worth it.

And the best part, I just fired my phone company.