Tuesday, August 05, 2008
01:00 by FoxTwo
In IT, one of the first and most basic form of troubleshooting any network connectivity problem is - to check the cables! If it's not plugged in, you won't see anything. Of course this doesn't apply to wireless networks that is so prevalent now.
Anyhow, recently I had thought that the battery charger for my Canon Digital Ixus 60 camera had died. I slipped in the battery, and .... nothing. Nada. Not even a blip. The charging light didn't come on.
After hammering on the charger for abit (hey it just might work you know?), it still didn't work. So, I resigned myself to the realization that I'd either have to buy a new camera or to get in touch with Canon and see if they have a replacement battery charger for sale.
So I shot an email off to Canon support. They called me back promptly (next business day, pretty dang prompt if you ask me) and informed me that regretfully, the charger isn't covered by warranty, but they would be more than happy to sell me a replacement battery charger for a mere pittance - $99.00. Not only that, they'd "reserve" it at the Canon Service Centre in Vivocity for me till Friday.
I did a double-take.
Wha-?! Ninety-nine bucks for a charger?
Ok so I told them thanks, hold it for me till Friday. If I don't turn up to grab it, they can feel free to release it.
So, I ran off to Plurk and asked if anyone knew of a cheaper way to get a charger. Soon enough I was pointed to Alan Photos, and I called them for enquiries. I was told a "3rd party" charger was available for $35.00.
It was a no-brainer. $35 beats $99 any day. So right after work, I trotted off to the shop and got myself the 3rd-party charger.
As a quick aside, I must say that the service at Alan Photo's is great. Although I was just buying a cheap $35.00 item, they didn't treat me like a second class customer. The guy was helpful and gave me advice on camera and battery care, and such. He also told me that he has never heard of a Canon battery charger dying - ever. Mine would be the first time he's heard about it. He mostly sell these "3rd party chargers" to people who travel alot and want to bring a compact charger along with them.
So, I got home. As I was dismantling the Canon charger from the power outlet, I remembered what the guy at Alan Photo's said, and I thought to myself - why not try it once again? Could he be right?
For some reason, I didn't use the original power cord that came with the charger. This time I used another power cord, and plugged it right in. Then I slipped the battery in.
THE LIGHT CAME ON!
So I swapped the power cord again, back to the original one. No light. Swapped out to another power cord - light came on.
And I kicked myself. I could have saved myself $35.00 if I had just swapped power cords!
On the bright side, I could have wasted $99.00 on another Canon charger only to realise it was just the power cord that was the problem. I took it that I bought a spare charger for "travelling", so I don't have to bring the original one out with me. The "3rd party" charger was more compact and had foldable power pins, which made it into a nice snug rectangular brick.
If you ask me how a power cord could fail I have no idea. I thought they're basically just copper wires encased in rubber, that's it. They conduct electricity. What can fail? Well, other than the copper wire actually breaking inside the rubber. I find it highly unlikely since I have never subjected the power cord to any extreme movements. Once I had set it up, I had left it there.
Well after learning this $35.00 lesson, I packed the "3rd party" charger back nicely into the box, and kept it in storage. Then, I charged the battery on the original charger. Now, if only I had charged the battery a couple of days ago. Then, the previous post could have had nicer pictures.
Ah well, lesson learnt I guess.
01:00 by FoxTwo
Remember To Check Your Cables!
In IT, one of the first and most basic form of troubleshooting any network connectivity problem is - to check the cables! If it's not plugged in, you won't see anything. Of course this doesn't apply to wireless networks that is so prevalent now.
Anyhow, recently I had thought that the battery charger for my Canon Digital Ixus 60 camera had died. I slipped in the battery, and .... nothing. Nada. Not even a blip. The charging light didn't come on.
After hammering on the charger for abit (hey it just might work you know?), it still didn't work. So, I resigned myself to the realization that I'd either have to buy a new camera or to get in touch with Canon and see if they have a replacement battery charger for sale.
So I shot an email off to Canon support. They called me back promptly (next business day, pretty dang prompt if you ask me) and informed me that regretfully, the charger isn't covered by warranty, but they would be more than happy to sell me a replacement battery charger for a mere pittance - $99.00. Not only that, they'd "reserve" it at the Canon Service Centre in Vivocity for me till Friday.
I did a double-take.
Wha-?! Ninety-nine bucks for a charger?
Ok so I told them thanks, hold it for me till Friday. If I don't turn up to grab it, they can feel free to release it.
So, I ran off to Plurk and asked if anyone knew of a cheaper way to get a charger. Soon enough I was pointed to Alan Photos, and I called them for enquiries. I was told a "3rd party" charger was available for $35.00.
It was a no-brainer. $35 beats $99 any day. So right after work, I trotted off to the shop and got myself the 3rd-party charger.
As a quick aside, I must say that the service at Alan Photo's is great. Although I was just buying a cheap $35.00 item, they didn't treat me like a second class customer. The guy was helpful and gave me advice on camera and battery care, and such. He also told me that he has never heard of a Canon battery charger dying - ever. Mine would be the first time he's heard about it. He mostly sell these "3rd party chargers" to people who travel alot and want to bring a compact charger along with them.
So, I got home. As I was dismantling the Canon charger from the power outlet, I remembered what the guy at Alan Photo's said, and I thought to myself - why not try it once again? Could he be right?
For some reason, I didn't use the original power cord that came with the charger. This time I used another power cord, and plugged it right in. Then I slipped the battery in.
THE LIGHT CAME ON!
So I swapped the power cord again, back to the original one. No light. Swapped out to another power cord - light came on.
And I kicked myself. I could have saved myself $35.00 if I had just swapped power cords!
On the bright side, I could have wasted $99.00 on another Canon charger only to realise it was just the power cord that was the problem. I took it that I bought a spare charger for "travelling", so I don't have to bring the original one out with me. The "3rd party" charger was more compact and had foldable power pins, which made it into a nice snug rectangular brick.
If you ask me how a power cord could fail I have no idea. I thought they're basically just copper wires encased in rubber, that's it. They conduct electricity. What can fail? Well, other than the copper wire actually breaking inside the rubber. I find it highly unlikely since I have never subjected the power cord to any extreme movements. Once I had set it up, I had left it there.
Well after learning this $35.00 lesson, I packed the "3rd party" charger back nicely into the box, and kept it in storage. Then, I charged the battery on the original charger. Now, if only I had charged the battery a couple of days ago. Then, the previous post could have had nicer pictures.
Ah well, lesson learnt I guess.
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