The DRSNews
July 2003

Many Thanks to our Veterans, who have paid so much to preserve our Freedom.
We take neither it nor you for granted, and we salute you!

In this issue:

1) Use Your Digital Camera to Test Remote Controls
2) Perils & Pitfalls of Prewashing Plates in Palmolive!
3) The Kelvinator Brand Name to be Retired

1)  If you’re like me, you have 5 or 6 remotes that wander all around your living room. We’re even seeing them used in major appliances, air conditioners being the most common.

When one of them stops working, here’s a simple way to tell whether it’s sending any IR light to your TV, VCR, DVD, or cable box (or air conditioner).

Just point it at a digital camera or camcorder, and if it’s working, the light will show up in the viewfinder! Fast and easy!

I purchased a small sensor years ago for this very purpose, but if I’d thought of this first, it would’ve saved some money.  Try it - it works great!

Evidently CCD’s used in digicams are sensitive to IR, even though our eyes aren’t.

2) Here’s a ‘heads-up’ on what used to be an uncommon dishwasher problem. But I’m seeing more of lately, so I thought it worth mention.

If you pre-rinse your dishes, be careful to leave no (high-sudsing) hand-wash detergent residue on them when loading them into your dishwasher.

This is especially important with the newer, ‘tall-tub’ models, because they use less water than previous designs. That means any detergent left on your dishes becomes less diluted and will cause more problems than in older machines.

An incredible amount of foam can develop inside a dishwasher from this small amount of residue, especially if your water is ‘softened’. The suds will actually seep out the bottom of the door, and you’ll think you’re in an old ‘B’ horror movie!

The solution is simply to use only water to pre-rinse dishes.

3) And now, a moment of silence…

We learned recently that the old Kelvinator brand name is going the way of the Passenger Pigeon. Our nation’s second oldest appliance brand in continuous use will soon be ‘retired’, according to sources at Electrolux (prev. Frigidaire).

Kelvinator was the first name to appear on US electric refrigerators, in 1914, and the only brand in longer use is Hotpoint, which first appeared on electric irons in 1903.

For the last couple of decades, Kelvinator equipment has been mechanically identical to Frigidaire, Gibson, Westinghouse, and Tappan products, and sales have been declining, so I can understand the logic behind the company’s decision. But it’s still a little sad to see it go…

May the Lord bless you & yours, and may He continue to have mercy on America.

Your friend, 
Dave Harnish
drs@sosbbs.com

***************************************
‘Freedom in America is wonderful. But freedom
 in Christ is far better!’ - John 8:31-32
***************************************

Don't Forget to Visit Our Sponsor:

The ‘Silent Sales Machine’ Hiding on Bay:
(This WORKS, folks!!)