Century Link Phone and DSL

History - 
Good old Century Link! On the Seahawks game (September 2011) they advertised high speed DSL for $19.95/mo for a 5 year commitment. When I called the following Monday they didn’t seem to recognize that deal but offered to cut my bill by $10/mo to $46 for a year then $56.45/month after taxes for both phone and DSL. And DSL would increase from 526 kb/s to 768 kb/s. They would also throw in call waiting and caller ID. Still not fast enough for good quality netflix which needs 3 mb/s. I checked my download speed and was getting right at 700 kb/s with the upgrade. Seemed a lot faster than before. Youtube items did not have to buffer. They said I could get DSL only for $29.99 per month or some such price even at an over 10 times speed improvement (10 mb/s).

Next upgrade -
Then about September of 2012 I purchased a Ooma phone from Costco which connects to the DSL for free. I have to pay $4.71 per month for taxes to use this phone. With this unit I can call anywhere in the US and Canada for no charge, anytime. You use the same phone as you have always used. It works rather well only a slight delay in speech but far better than a cell phone it seemed to me.

So I called CenturyLink thinking I would disconnect my land line and just keep the DSL for $29.99 per month. (I mentioned I now had the Ooma.) Now the rest of their story. That DSL price was only if I bundled with a phone and/or tv. I do not remember them saying it was a bundled price earlier.

After much discussion I settled on a world average DSL speed of 10 mb/s and my landline phone connection with free long distance for $50.00 per month not including taxes. This price is locked in for 5 years. My first bill was $140 so I called CenturyLink and they said since I upgraded after a bill cycle I was paying for almost 2 months. And they noticed an $18 service charge which they could cancel since no one came to the house. And they would get the bill down to $50 some for a month. The bill that came in November 2012 was $75.47 so I called them back up. The ensured me this was the correct charge. I explained it should be much lower as I was told it would be in the $50 range before taxes.

They finally agreed to give me a $10 loyalty discount which I think will bring my price down to $49.99 plus taxes. The loyalty discount is applied for one year but if I call them back November of 2013 they will extend it year by year. So it is on my calendar to make that call next year. ($120 a year in savings.) We have been with our local phone service with the same phone number since about 1974. We got by without a phone when we were first over here in Kingston for several years. Our first phone was on a 4 party line which was interesting at about $7 a month.

Way too much work to get this all straightened out. I don’t know how they could make it all more confusing. It is almost fraudulent advertising they do with their fliers with the rest of the story explained in faint, tiny print that I need a magnifying lens to read.  

10 mb/s is real nice DSL though. Nates is about 1.3 as is Jeremy’s. So for the first time in my life I have a faster internet. We are still on antenna tv though which only gets about 10 stations unless you turn the antenna then we would get 10 different stations.

Oh, there is another part to the story. With the upgrade they included a Century Link answer machine. They did not send me any information on how to retrieve the messages. I noticed after a day or so that the dial tone started pulsing. So eventually I got around to calling them with the following comical discussion.

Chat InformationPlease wait for a site operator to respond.

Chat InformationYou are now chatting with 'Charles M'

Charles M: Hello and thank you for contacting CenturyLink Residential Internet Tech Support. How may I assist you today?

Jim: I tried to set up an internet account but it did not like the 3 passwords I tried to select and then said contact you all. Now what?

Charles M: I'm sorry to hear that. I’ll be happy to assist you today.

Jim: great

Charles M: May I ask what account you were trying to set up: billing or email?

Charles M:

Jim: 30050xxxx

Charles M: Could you please verify the full name and billing address on the account?

Charles M:

Jim: James Anunson, xxxx xxxx Gamble Rd NE, Kingston WA 98346

Charles M: Thank you, what were you trying to do, set up your billing account online  or set up a email account?

Jim: I want to be able to get to my phone messages on line. So maybe billing account?

Charles M: Ok it sounds like you will need to contact our voice department to get this set up. You can contact them 24/7 at 800-788-3600.

Jim: ok thanks

Charles M: Thank you for choosing CenturyLink, have a good night.

Charles M:

Chat InformationChat session has been terminated by the site operator.

Fortunately I called the number above and was able to get everything straightened out in regards to our message service. I now have an internet account using a password that is secure enough to run a bank, I would think.

*** Whew ***

Leaking laundry drain

Jeremy and Jacie’s house experienced an interesting problem. Jeremy and Jacie were outside on one of our sunny evenings and noticed a wet 5 inch wide section of foundation outside their laundry room. After closer inspection and finding no water inside we cut a one foot hole in the drywall behind the washing machine just above floor level. All was dry there. So then we cut a one foot hole through the drywall on the basement ceiling where the drain comes down the wall. The basement apartment wall is held off the foundation at that point. Well, we did see water at that point but fortunately no rot. We still could not see any defect in the pipe but were rather sure it was leaking at the top of the foundation.

We cut the 2 inch drain pipe 3 inches above the first floor and at the ceiling height of the basement and removed the 18 inch section of pipe. Sure enough a 45 degree joint was cracked where the pipe penetrates the upstairs floor. Amazing place to have a break, for sure. Oh well, we were able to replace it all rather quickly and install a rubber boot for the last joint.

Now to watch for 2 weeks and ensure there are no leaks then patch the sheetrock.

Century Link DSL upgrade -

I spoke with customer support and mentioned my DSL is slow running at 0.72 Mbps for download and 0.27 Mbps for upload. I measured using “speedtest.com“. Customer support said they could increase my speed to 3 Mbps  for free or for $5 a month additional give me 10 Mbps. 3 Mbps is good enough for Hula tv speed so I figured that was fine.

Just measured the speed at 2.98 Mbps! That is a speed increase of 4 times. So now for $50 a month we have a land line phone and the 2.98 Mbps DSL. Oh, the world average speed is about 12 Mbps according to the “speedtest.com“ sites table, meaning we are still in the dark ages.

Another interesting option would be to get just DSL at 10 Mbps for $29.95 a month and purchase a DSL type phone box from COSTCO for $130 and then I would only need to pay like $4 per month for taxes and could call all USA for free any time. But if we loose DSL we would have no phone. I suspect the voice quality would be ok as Nate has one and it sounded fine.

Interesting enough I was unable to view Mark’s Takhlakh Lake pictures as a Goggle+ slide show until we received the “higher” speed DSL. Then all worked just fine.  

Sonicare Toothbrush Repair

My Sonicare toothbrush went totally dead after just over 4 years of service. Per the manual this battery cannot be replaced. (Brilliant plan by Sonicare!) I went on Youtube and there was a good video of battery replacement.



So I did purchase a battery and was able to replace it. ($15.44 including shipping.) (Now that I know what the battery is I probably can get it for under $7 including shipping.)The connections need to be unsoldered and re-soldered. I was able to replace the original NiCad with a NIMH battery which I would think is much better. The battery is an odd size so I did not even know what the voltage was! After receiving the replacement the voltage measured 1.25 volts indicating it is just a large one cell battery. (MH-4/5A2200) The battery stores 2200 mHh. The leads for the new battery did not fit into the circuit board so I added short lengths of wire. All seems to work fine after repair. Even though there is an o-ring to keep water out of the circuit I did add a little caulking at the joint to ensure no water enters the unit. Maybe I will get more than 4 years out of the repaired unit. I at least can hope.

 


***  August 2014 the second units battery failed. I was able to purchase replacement battery this time for $10 on Ebay. All worked fine after replacement. Was really quick and easy this time. This battery had stores 2200 mHh and came with convenient wire lead easy to solder.

Aliner RV electrical work

The night before taking the Aliner RV on our first trip to Spring Canyon Campground we noticed the AC outlets cycled to no power and then after about a minute power returned. I isolated the problem to a overheated 10 gauge power cord wire at the RV’s power panel. There was a wire nut on the wire attaching an extra 6 inch chunk of wire which was attached to the power panel clamp. The wire nut fell off after pulling on the wire while moving the wire for a visual inspection. The overheated section was over the last 2 inches. See pictures below. I was able to remove and clean and polish the power panel lug using a Dremel tool. I removed the 6 inch section of wire and fed the original power cord wire through the tight opening and attach the wire to the now bright and shinny lug. Now all works fine.

 Notice the nice bright shinny wire at top and the overheated dull, corroded wire below. All should work fine now. The bright wire and overheated wire are both ends of the 6 inch added on piece of wire.

Next problem -

After our trip I observed the refrigerator was cold after our 6 hour drive home. The refrigerator was running on 12 volt power while we were driving. However the RV battery was dead reading only 6.69 volts. The problem was isolated to the trailer to car plug. The lugs on the trailers plug were spread too wide. I could simply yank on the plug and the 12 volt accessory power from the cars battery to the RV’s battery would come and go. I compressed the lugs on the trailers plug and verified the connection was consistent. The trailers plug is molded to the wire so I sort of hate to cut the plug off and attach a new plug, at least until the failure returns. The refrigerator draws 7 amps which would be easy for the car’s 90 amp alternator to supply. (Notice the spread is reduced on all the pins and especially the two large pins in the bottom photo.)

Window motor replacement in 2000 Caravan

It can be difficult to replace the window motor on 2000 Caravan. The passenger door window stopped working and after inspecting determined the power window motor had failed. I was able to locate a new replacement motor for $50 on EBay. All would have worked out better if the coil of cable in the window regulator assembly would have lined up with the new motor but the coil slipped then uncoiled the cables. Then the cable dropped off the pulley’s up in the door frame where I couldn’t quite get the wire restrung. So with some difficulty I removed the regulator and placed all the hardware on the workbench and was able to get the cables restrung correctly and then with some maneuvering I was able to get the regulator and motor located back inside the door and secured. All is now working. Too much effort however. Crappy design if repair is a consideration. Thanks Chrysler

.(Found the brushes were completely worn out on window motor.)

Defective Motor Assembly

Replacing Hot Tub

We installed a used hot tub in 2003 and used it until 2009. The tub had previously been repainted on the inside and lacked cosmetic beauty. I found a nice looking free tub and while installing, I found it leak under the seats, an area hard to get to for repairs. By this time I had damaged the original tub while borrowing a jet for the pretty tub. I took both tubs to the dump and began looking for a replacement. Recently I did find another nice looking tub with a good cover.
After plumbing and filling with water this one leaks at the air inlet port which again is under the bench seat and the only way to get to the fitting is by cutting a hole under the seat.












Close up. Notice the drip. Looks like the leak is in the seam of the PCV pipe and fitting.

Further I have no idea what this through port looks like. Maybe I can fix this leak externally since there is little water pressure at this point.

Well, a couple weeks have gone by and I have been thinking. I tried several ways to stop the one leak and may have slowed the leak down some. The other leak seems to be slowing down a bunch also.

Then the filter case lid started leaking significantly especially with an increase in water pressure with the circulation pump running. I found the case lid to have a crack likely due to age and fittings too tight. So I removed the filter and now the leaks are sort of under control. They are just an occasional drip and maybe will not cause a problem. So I turned on the heat and we have been enjoying the hot tub for 3 nights. I have not added chemicals yet as I plan to use this water for 2 weeks at most then I plan to drain and fill with fresh water and at that time will add the chemicals. Looks like we are having success.