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| Solar panels in the UK |
Monday, 14 May 2012
Solar Panels - How Much Electricity Is Generated in UK?
There is now a website that shows the output month by month that can be generated by UK solar panels in South East England. The site has details of the solar PV system specification as well as photos of the solar panel installation.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
SLR Hut Reviews - Sales of Cheap iPads, DSLR cameras, Camcorder
There are many reviews of online retailer SLRHut on Trusted Pilot website. Look a bit closer and the majority, if not all, of the reviews appear to be faked. It is highly unusual for people to create a single review of one supplier and never comment again - almost every review of SLR hut is by someone who has not reviewed any other company which makes it look like SLR hut themselves have created the reviews.
The facts about SLR Hut.co.uk
1) Despite their website title SLRHut - consumer electronics in UK SLR hut are not based in the UK and operate from the USA.
2) The address they quote in London is just a mailbox next to a takeaway, it is not a store at all
3) All goods will be supplied from the USA as grey imports so you will not have a UK warranty
4) Their phone number may be a London number but it diverts to the USA as shown by the opening hours which are USA office hours not UK
5) Prices shown do not include UK taxes, VAT or duty. The checkout process adds to the price but you have no guarantee that you will not be hit with more duty when the goods are delivered.
6) SLR hut claim to have been trading in the USA for 10 years but there is no company of that name trading in the USA. The SLR hut.COM website is the same as the UK one so is not usable by USA customers as all prices are in pounds. SLR hut website was only created in 2011.
7) Fake reviews on the web to give impression of
Based on all the above facts would you trust a company that misleads in this way to resolve any problems if you did buy your iPad or DSLR camera from them?
Think about all these points when looking at an online retailer to buy your iPad 3, DSLR camera or camcorder from. Companies like Amazon or Park Cameras may be higher priced but at least you have a guarantee
The facts about SLR Hut.co.uk
1) Despite their website title SLRHut - consumer electronics in UK SLR hut are not based in the UK and operate from the USA.
2) The address they quote in London is just a mailbox next to a takeaway, it is not a store at all
3) All goods will be supplied from the USA as grey imports so you will not have a UK warranty
4) Their phone number may be a London number but it diverts to the USA as shown by the opening hours which are USA office hours not UK
5) Prices shown do not include UK taxes, VAT or duty. The checkout process adds to the price but you have no guarantee that you will not be hit with more duty when the goods are delivered.
6) SLR hut claim to have been trading in the USA for 10 years but there is no company of that name trading in the USA. The SLR hut.COM website is the same as the UK one so is not usable by USA customers as all prices are in pounds. SLR hut website was only created in 2011.
7) Fake reviews on the web to give impression of
Based on all the above facts would you trust a company that misleads in this way to resolve any problems if you did buy your iPad or DSLR camera from them?
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| SLR hut reviews - cheap ipads, cameras, camcorders |
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
How to Find Mobile Phone Masts/Transmitters in Your Area
Are you worried about mobile phone masts in your area or just want to locate which mobile transmitter network is nearest to you?
If you put in your town or post code to the Ofcom website then you can see all the different mobile phone masts in your area and which mobile phone network company operates them.
http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/search
There are many different designs of mobile phone masts now ranging from the traditional several elements arranged around a central pole to the more disguised designs that are more like thin lollipops!
If you put in your town or post code to the Ofcom website then you can see all the different mobile phone masts in your area and which mobile phone network company operates them.
http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/search
There are many different designs of mobile phone masts now ranging from the traditional several elements arranged around a central pole to the more disguised designs that are more like thin lollipops!
Monday, 5 December 2011
Partypop UK - Scam Email? Is Partypop a ripoff?
Over the last few days I've had several voicemails left for my from Partypop.co.uk stating that I've registered our details on their website and they need my approval to continue them. This is complete fiction and has all the hallmarks of a scam. We have never ever registered on Partypop and have no idea how they harvested our details so it appears that this email is a con as the email also states that the cost is from £192. The email they sent reads:
"This is the second time we have tried to reach you in order to verify your listing's information.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to keep your business' listing without proper verification.
Please call us at 0800 7310219 so you will not lose your listing. Just to remind you why you registered on PartyPOP in the first place: "
It appears that we are not the only people that are unhappy with Partypop. This is a site that has similar reports about the sales tactics from Partypop
http://djakib.blogspot.com/2010/07/partypopcom-huge-scam.html
"This is the second time we have tried to reach you in order to verify your listing's information.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to keep your business' listing without proper verification.
Please call us at 0800 7310219 so you will not lose your listing. Just to remind you why you registered on PartyPOP in the first place: "
It appears that we are not the only people that are unhappy with Partypop. This is a site that has similar reports about the sales tactics from Partypop
http://djakib.blogspot.com/2010/07/partypopcom-huge-scam.html
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
VW Golf Central Locking Fault - Key Only Unlocks Drivers Door, Can Open via Car Switch
Our VW Golf has recently had a problem with the central locking where the key remote fob only unlocks the drivers door not the other doors or boot. You can open the rest of the doors using the switch on the drivers door so it is clear there is no actual fault with the central locking wiring.
Normally with a VW Golf (and indeed other VW cars such as the Passat) a single press of the key fob will remotely open the drivers door and a second press will open the rest of the doors and the boot. It appears that when the car battery is getting low a fault can develop where only the drivers door unlocks and the rest of the doors remain locked even when you press the key fob twice.
The suggested cure to fix the problem is to disconnect the battery for 10 seconds and then reconnect it. This should resolve the problem and get all doors unlocking together again. In our case the battery was nearing the end of its life and occasionally proving difficult to start the car so we also took the opportunity to replace the battery at the same time.
New battery fitted and the doors on the VW Golf are all now opening as expected with one or two presses of the key fob.
More info about the VW Golf TDi 130 available here
Normally with a VW Golf (and indeed other VW cars such as the Passat) a single press of the key fob will remotely open the drivers door and a second press will open the rest of the doors and the boot. It appears that when the car battery is getting low a fault can develop where only the drivers door unlocks and the rest of the doors remain locked even when you press the key fob twice.
The suggested cure to fix the problem is to disconnect the battery for 10 seconds and then reconnect it. This should resolve the problem and get all doors unlocking together again. In our case the battery was nearing the end of its life and occasionally proving difficult to start the car so we also took the opportunity to replace the battery at the same time.
New battery fitted and the doors on the VW Golf are all now opening as expected with one or two presses of the key fob.
More info about the VW Golf TDi 130 available here
Sunday, 20 November 2011
How to View Solar Panel Generation Data via Bluetooth from SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF Inverter
How to View Solar Panel Generation Data via Bluetooth from SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF Inverter
Having just had our Sungrid PV solar panels installed by Solar Advanced Systems we were keen to be able to monitor the production of electricity by the PV panels without needing to visit the Sunny Boy inverter each time to view the display.
SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF (as well as the 2500HF and 4000HF) inverters have the capability to display data using Bluetooth. SMA Sunny Boy supply a device called the Sunny Beam that will show the production from your solar panel system. However this costs around £175 in the UK and there are much cheaper alternatives to the Sunny Beam to show this data on your PC or laptop.
Step 1)
Firstly you need a laptop or PC that has Bluetooth capability. If your PC doesn't have this built in then you can buy an external USB Bluetooth dongle for approx £10. This is one such device from Ebuyer A class 1 Bluetooth adapter would probably be a better bet than a Class 2 adapter as it will give a much longer range than class 2. The difference between a Bluetooth class 1 range of 100m and class 2 range of 10m is very significant and would mean the difference between being to view the data from any room in your house to only being able to view from the room next to the inverter.
Step 2)
Once the Bluetooth dongle is installed you need to download the free Sunny Explorer software. This is available as a free download from the SMA website.
http://www.sma.de/en/products/software/sunny-explorer.html
Step 3)
Install the Sunny Explorer software, let it detect your system. You will need to enter its password which is set as default to 0000.
Step 4)
View your data and download the log files to your PC. By default these are stored in a folder called SMA under the My Documents folder.
Step 5)
Additional tools are also available to analyse and store the data from the SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF./2500HF/4000HF inverter range and I will cover those in another blog post.
Having just had our Sungrid PV solar panels installed by Solar Advanced Systems we were keen to be able to monitor the production of electricity by the PV panels without needing to visit the Sunny Boy inverter each time to view the display.
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| 14 Solar panel array - Sungrid PV installation with Sunny Boy 3000HF inverter |
SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF (as well as the 2500HF and 4000HF) inverters have the capability to display data using Bluetooth. SMA Sunny Boy supply a device called the Sunny Beam that will show the production from your solar panel system. However this costs around £175 in the UK and there are much cheaper alternatives to the Sunny Beam to show this data on your PC or laptop.
Step 1)
Firstly you need a laptop or PC that has Bluetooth capability. If your PC doesn't have this built in then you can buy an external USB Bluetooth dongle for approx £10. This is one such device from Ebuyer A class 1 Bluetooth adapter would probably be a better bet than a Class 2 adapter as it will give a much longer range than class 2. The difference between a Bluetooth class 1 range of 100m and class 2 range of 10m is very significant and would mean the difference between being to view the data from any room in your house to only being able to view from the room next to the inverter.
Step 2)
Once the Bluetooth dongle is installed you need to download the free Sunny Explorer software. This is available as a free download from the SMA website.
http://www.sma.de/en/products/software/sunny-explorer.html
Step 3)
Install the Sunny Explorer software, let it detect your system. You will need to enter its password which is set as default to 0000.
Step 4)
View your data and download the log files to your PC. By default these are stored in a folder called SMA under the My Documents folder.
Step 5)
Additional tools are also available to analyse and store the data from the SMA Sunny Boy 3000HF./2500HF/4000HF inverter range and I will cover those in another blog post.
Solar Panel Fitting Video - Time Lapse Video of UK Solar Panel Installation
This is a time lapse video taken of our solar panel installation being fitted by Solar Advanced Systems of Edenbridge Kent. The solar panel array is 14 solar panels of 215W capacity giving a total potential output of 3kWp.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ukxKHW6-c
The solar panels are now generating electricity and on 20 November generated a total of 6.46kWh of electricity, somewhat above the quoted average for November of 4.87kWh so it will be interesting to see how they perform over a longer period.
Review of Solar Advanced Systems panel installation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ukxKHW6-c
The solar panels are now generating electricity and on 20 November generated a total of 6.46kWh of electricity, somewhat above the quoted average for November of 4.87kWh so it will be interesting to see how they perform over a longer period.
Review of Solar Advanced Systems panel installation.
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