Geek-of-All

 Most countries in North and South America, including the US and Canada, utilize the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) format, while Europe, Australia and parts of Asia use a competing format called Phase Alternating Line (PAL). The major distinction between these two formats is the rate at which a broadcast is displayed on a TV screen: NTSC displays at 30 frames per second (fps), while PAL provides 25 fps. Each format also uses a different number of lines on an old analog TV display when showing the signal, creating two different resolutions. The widespread adoption of High-Definition Televisions (HDTVs) by many consumers has not eliminated this difference, however, since older broadcasting methods have influenced digital signal playback. Primary Difference The differences between these formats really start with the electrical power system behind the transmissions viewed on a TV. In the US and countries like Canada and Mexico, electric...

A plasma TV is a high definition (HDTV) alternative to the standard cathode ray televisions sold today. It provides sharp images and vibrant colors, especially when used in conjunction with high definition broadcasts. Quite often a plasma screen is designed in a 16:9 ratio for wide screen movie formats, as opposed to the box-like 4:3 ratio of standard televisions. A quality plasma TV is not cheap, however. One of the chief selling points of a plasma TV is a flat screen, which allows it to be mounted directly on a wall without a lot of clearance required. Investors in this type of TV may also employ surround-sound theater speakers and high-end receivers to complete the feeling of luxury. Plasma televisions have become status symbols among technophiles and other wealthy consumers. The science behind a plasma TV is very complicated, so welcome to the geek_of_all school of oversimplification.             ...

So it's 11:45 p.m. and you're laying alone on your dust ridden bed watching fancy television series (GoT, maybe) and suddenly your phone lines up with a message from a friend who reminds you of a deadline to submit a copy of a very important document, to the administration, that is sitting in your closet dust covered. So you're going to take a picture of it with your phone but you realize your crappy built-in phone camera and the poor lighting from the dingy bare bulb hanging from the ceiling just aren't helping. So decisively you dash to your PC and use your flatbed scanner and as you sit there listening to the whirling of the scanning mechanism and pondering how your life got to this point you find yourself asking how the heck do these things work anyway. Great question, your typical scanner uses something called a charge-coupled device or CCD to determine what's on the page. The main idea here being that the CCD can convert light into an electrical cha...

A surge protective device, also known as a surge suppressor or a surge protector, is a device designed to protect electrical equipment from the harmful effects of electrical spikes and surges. The two most common methods that surge protection devices use to serve this function are diverting any excess electrical surge to a ground and blocking the surge. Most residential surge protection devices make use of the grounding method, which diverts excess voltage to a power outlet's ground wire. An electrical surge is classified based on the length of time it lasts. A spike lasts less than three nanoseconds, or three-billionths of a second. Any power flux that lasts longer than a spike is known as a power surge. Any electrical value higher than the standard voltage in an area — such as 240 volts in the India — qualifies as either a spike or a surge. Surge protection devices are designed to protect against the effects of both spikes and surges. When a surge protec...

A current probe is a device that can measure amperage without breaking a circuit. Current probes can be self contained devices, or they may be designed to work in conjunction with a multimeter. Most current probes consist of a set of clamshell jaws that can be opened in order for a wire to be passed through and then clamped closed. When the jaws are closed, the current probe can use one of a few different methods to indirectly measure any amperage passing through the wire. Most current probes use either a transformer, Hall effect sensor, or iron vane to measure amperage. Due to the way that electrical circuits work, current can be more complicated to measure than voltage or resistance. Both voltage and resistance can be measured by probing the ends of a component, since voltage remains the same in parallel circuits and resistance is measured directly. Current is uniform in series circuits, so a direct measurement of amperage must involve breaking the circuit. This...

A subscriber identity module, otherwise known as a SIM, is a circuit which stores networking information and subscriber information for a mobile device, such as a cell phone or computer. The subscriber identity module acts to uniquely identify an individual on the specific network, validating their right to use the network along with other specific information such as passwords and services to which the user has subscribed. Without a working subscriber identity module, the network capabilities of the associated device are thereby crippled. Think of a subscriber identity module as ticket allowing the end-user to see a movie or show. It provides them with access to the theater, the mobile network to which they are connecting. It does this by storing Integrated Circuit Card Identifiers (ICCID) numbers. Integrated Circuit Card Identifiers numbers are comprised by a combination of the identifier for the network carrier — such as the specific cell phone company — the cou...

Have you been in the market for a new TV lately if so you've probably noticed that the TV manufacturers and big-box stores use a number of tricks to lure you in, they mostly focus their advertising on the same stuff high resolutions huge screen sizes and rock-bottom prices all designed to convince you to buy them but there's a crucial often ignored element, one that is arguably the biggest determinant of overall picture quality Constrast Ratio. But what the heck is that, well although it's not something that's always easy to find if you're buying a TV or a monitor off the shelf at a brick-and-mortar store but you should have encountered contrast ratio at some point on a spec page if you're shopping online. What do those values one thousand to one 1 billion to one even mean??? Well you see contrast ratio is essentially the difference between the brightest white that a screen can produce and the darkest black, which is very important because having the corr...