Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
Yes, I will in fact be up at midnight tonight, getting in my word count for the day. Hopefully I can get a bit of a jump on it. Plus, you know, hanging out with friends and competing to see who can get to 1666 words first.
Posted at 16:49 permanent link category: /misc
So, earlier this year, I bought myself a Grundig FR-200 to keep at work. It's a radio which can be powered by a hand crank, making it an excellent emergency-preparedness item. I actually ended up cranking the thing for about 2 minutes almost every day, and listening to the news in the afternoon.
Yesterday, I went to crank it up again, and to my surprise, it almost immediately went POP, and cranking was suddenly interrupted every 1/5th revolution by a little grunty feeling. Clearly I had popped a tooth off one of the dynamo gears. Oh well, I thought to myself, that was fun while it lasted.
Then, today, I remembered that this had happened, and did a little bit of searching around, to see if I could locate a parts list, and maybe figure out what the specs were on the gears. I thought perhaps I could find a replacement, since nylon gears tend to be relatively standardized.
I came across the manual for the radio, and there, on page 7, I was reminded that the radio has a 1 year warranty! Ah-hah! I called the listed support number, and got the grumpiest-sounding guy I've encountered in a long time on the phone. "Uh-huh, this happens from time to time," he grumbled. "Try not to crank it for ten minutes." He took my name and address, and said he'd be sending me a new set of crank gears. Woot! That was surprisingly easy!
So, thumbs up to Eton (the parent company of Grundig) for standing behind their warranty based only on a punter's word as to purchase date -- no grilling for receipts, or warranty cards, or anything. Most excellent.
Now, of course, I have to figure out how to replace the gear cluster. One problem at a time.
Posted at 16:05 permanent link category: /gadgets
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater