CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

1)OVEN

INTRODUCTION

An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a
substance,and most commonly used for cooking. Kilns and furnaces are special-purpose
ovens, used in pottery and metalworking, respectively.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Electric ovens use a heating element to cook food. If your electric oven won't work, you will
either need to replace one of the elements or troubleshoot faulty wiring issues. The oven
elements wear out over time, so you will need to perform a little repair work. Fortunately, the
elements are in expensive to purchase.

1.Power Issues

The easiest way to resolve an electric oven problem is to check the oven for power. Blown
fuses can affect any appliance in the home, including the oven. If the surface burner on the
electric oven glows, you know that you have power. The surface burners will sometimes heat
up slightly when one side of the 240V circuit drops out. However, if the burners turn red hot,
you have electricity. Make sure that the cable connecting the power supply to the oven is
secure. Sometimes the main wiring will burn out and will need to be replaced. Check the
fuse/circuit breaker.

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2.Preventative Measures

If you must repair your electric oven, disconnect the oven from the power source first to
avoid hazardous electrical shocks. Turn off the connection at the circuit breaker or power
box.

3.Heating Element

Look at the heating element to make sure that it appears intact. If the element has broken
pieces on it, you will need to replace the entire element. Elements generally cost $20 to $30.

2)REMOTE CONTROL

INTRODUCTION

In consumer electronics, a remote control is a component of an electronic device such

as a television set, DVD player, or other home appliance, used to operate the device
wirelessly from a short distance. Remote control is a convenience feature for the consumer,
and can allow operation of devices that are out of convenient reach for direct operation of
controls.

Commonly, remote controls are Consumer IR devices which send digitally-coded

pulses of infrared radiation to control functions such as power, volume, tuning, temperature
set point, fan speed, or other features. Remote controls for these devices are usually small
wireless handheld objects with an array of buttons for adjusting various settings such as
television channel, track number, and volume. For many devices, the remote control contains
all the function controls while the controlled device itself has only a handful of essential
primary controls.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

Problem 1: During Set-Up, Close Isnt Good Enough

Most of the lasting problems with universal remotes stem from mistakes made during
set-up. Ian explains that even within the same brand, line, or even model, there are extreme
variances in the codes these devices use to perform actions on the device. If you input during
set-up that you have a Sony BDV-300 home theater, but you actually have a BDV-300a, most
of the functions may work perfectly, but some may fail. Ian also explains that the command
codes stored by universal remote companies when a new component is first released may
have slight errors. And again, a small error may lead to a big problem. Solutions: Check that
youve entered the EXACT model numbers for the devices youre trying to control. Then try
updating your universal remotes stored codes. With computer- and software-based universal
remotes, this means plugging them into your computer via USB. With other brands, it might
mean checking their website for updated command codes.

Problem 2: Is The Signal Reaching The Device?

Whether you have all your AV components out in plain sight or hidden behind a
cabinet, its hard to feel confident that the invisible wireless commands from the universal
remote are actually hitting the receivers on the devices. In my AV cabinet, I have IR blasters
these are repeaters that take the signal aimed at the TV area and broadcast it inside the
cabinet. But whenever Im having trouble with the universal remote, I always think the
problem is how I positioned the blasters. And so Im always trying to futz with them. But
according to Ian, Other than extreme distance, or an extreme acute angle between your
remote and the device, or inthis case, between the blaster and the device, its generally not a

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problem. That said, he confirms that that certain devices, like the Xbox, are picky the IR
blaster needs to be right in front, not at a rakish angle. Solution: If you have one device thats
behaving badly, its worth checking its pathway to the signal.

Problem 3: Which Wireless Frequency Do Your Devices Use RF or IR?

Audio-video components are factory-set to receive commands from their own,

dedicated remote via one of two types of signals: Infrared (IR) or Radio Frequency (RF). Out
of the box, my new DVR was set to receive RF commands from its remote - but my universal
remote was programmed to send IR. So of course the DVR didnt recognize any of the
commands coming from the universal remote. Solution: If one of your devices does not
respond to your universal remote, check that the device is set to receive the same kind of
signal your remote is sending. In my case, I dug into the settings of the DVR and switched it
to receive IR commands.

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3)WATER HEATER

Water heating is a thermodynamic process that uses an energy source to heat water
above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning,
bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated to steam have many
uses.Domestically, water is traditionally heated in vessels known as water heaters, kettles,
cauldrons, pots, or coppers. These metal vessels that heat a batch of water do not produce a
continual supply of heated water at a preset temperature. Rarely, hot water occurs naturally,
usually from natural hot springs. The temperature varies based on the consumption rate,
becoming cooler as flow increases.

While a water heater is probably the most costly component in your homes plumbing
system, most problems with it are usually fairly easy to figure out and fix. Some of the
common water heater problems you can run into and fix are - not enough hot water, water
thats too hot or too cold, smelly water (rotten eggs smell) or the tank is making noises. The
worst water heater problem you can run into is a leaking tank. Unfortunately, once that
happens, that tank is done. There are no fixes for a leaking water heater.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

1) Understanding how water heaters work

Water heaters are fairly simple devices. Basically its a 30, 40 50 or 60 gallon holding
tank with a cold water intake, a hot water outlet and a drain valve. Inside there are a
few other components - a heating element, a dip tube (that guides cold water coming
into the tank down to the bottom so the hot water on top will be used first) and a
sacrificial rod or anode, to help prevent corrosion inside the tank.

2) Draining a hot water heater

If youre going to be attempting to fix your water heater, the first thing you need to
know is how to drain the water heater itself.

Start by turning off the heater (at the electric panel or the gas supply), then give the
water inside some time to cool.

Close the cold water intake and attach a hose to the drain valve located near the
bottom of the tank.

Before opening the drain valve, be sure to open a hot water tap somewhere in your
home (this will allow air to get into the tank while its draining).

3) Drain the water in the tank outside, down a basement drain or into a series of
buckets. (Be careful the water may still be quite hot).

Flushing out the tank will eliminate a number of problems

After all the hot water has drained out, close the tank drain and open the cold water
intake valve. Half fill the tank, then shut off the cold water and open the drain to flush
out any sediment or crud built up inside the tank.

Repeat this process a few times or until the water coming out of the tank runs clear.

Flushing the tank annually is standard maintenance recommended by all water heater
manufacturers and will eliminate lots of water heater problems such as not enough hot
water and smelly water. Sediment inside the tank is often the source of the rotten egg

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smell and getting rid of a build up of sediment means more room for water inside the
tank.

4) Water temperature problems

If you have absolutely no hot water the heating element (electric) or gas
thermocouple is probably not working. These are replaceable components you can do
yourself and replacing them will give you back your normal hot water supply.

The thermostat on the tank being changed usually causes water thats too hot or too
cold. Its a simple matter to raise or lower the temperature a few degrees to get your
tank back to functioning properly once again.

4)WATCH

A watch is a small timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed

to keep working despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is
designed to be worn on a wrist, attached by a watch strap or other type of bracelet. A pocket
watch is designed for a person to carry in a pocket.Watches evolved in the 17th century from
spring-powered clocks, which appeared as early as the 14th century. The first watches were
strictly mechanical, driven by clockwork. As technology progressed, mechanical devices,
used to control the speed of the watch, were largely superseded by vibrating quartz crystals
that produce accurately timed electronic pulses. Some watches use radio clock technology to
regularly correct the time. The first digital electronic watch was developed in 1970.

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PROBLEM STATEMENTS

1)Why has my watch stopped?

The first step is to see if the battery needs to be replaced. Most watch batteries are designed
to last about two years, but some quartz watches are designed to have an extended battery life
and batteries for these watches can last up to three or more years. (Most of these watches do
not have second hands.) Have a watch service technician check your watch's battery.

2)Why is my second hand skipping several seconds at a time?

This is a battery end-of-life indicator. Watches with this feature have electronic circuits that
detect when the battery voltage is getting low. Their circuitry makes the second hand move
forward erratically to alert the wearer that it is time to replace the battery. Installing a new
battery should restore the watchs life so the second hand will advance normally again.

3)I use my chronograph often and the battery life seems to last less than one year. What
should I do?

Using the chronograph function often or leaving it running constantly will shorten battery life
considerably. It is important to understand that more battery power will be required to enable
all of the functions other than basic timekeeping. In fact, if left running for extended periods
of time, electronic chronograph/stopwatch functions on some watches will stop running
automatically. To conserve battery power, it is best to stop the chronograph function when
the need for timing is completed.

5)SMARTPHONES

A smartphone (or smart phone) is a mobile phone with an advanced mobile operating
system which combines features of a personal computer operating system with other features
useful for mobile or handheld use.They typically combine the features of a cell phone with
those of other popular mobile devices, such as personal digital assistant (PDA), media player
and GPS navigation unit. Most smartphones can access the Internet, have a touchscreen user
interface, can run third-party apps, music players and are camera phones. Most Smartphones
produced from 2012 onwards also have high-speed mobile broadband 4G LTE internet,
motion sensors, and mobile payment mechanisms.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

1)Battery wearing out

This is a common song sung about all models of smartphones, truth is with more features and
processing power, you need more power. The battery is becoming more and more less
sufficient to meet the ever increasing needs of these phones. According to fixya a study was
done on some of the most common smartphones and battery life cut across all the phone
models as the most popular problem. This report was done with 25 million users, 650000
experts and 15 million product problems and solutions. It includes some of the common
problems popular smartphone models have and how they can be fixed.

Solution

If your phone battery starts to need charge every 2-3 hours with regular usage, its time to buy
another battery. If your battery works fine and you just need it to push through a typical work
day or you want it to last you till you upgrade your phone,then here are some simple solutions
you already know:

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Turn down screen brightness

Closing all the apps you are not using

Turning off the extra things like wifi and bluetooth when not in use

If you need to listen to music whole day everyday, get an mp3 player

Not using your phone beyond certain battery percentage (15-20%)

Even with knowledge of these simple solutions we are still reluctant to follow through.
Blame it on laziness or just the thought that if the app is closed you are missing out on
something. This is something we need to consciously put into practice to maximize our time
with these gadgets a personal discipline.

2)Phone not charging

Now this is one problem i experienced with my galaxy nexus. You plugin as always, only this
time both the charger and phone get really hot and the battery is not charging. A lot of people
have had this problem with phones that charge with micro usb cables. If this happens to you
and your phone is still on warranty, take it for repair but if you are interested in attempting to
fix things like me( i must add daring too) troubleshooting is the way to go. Find out if its your
battery, cable/plug in charger or if its the phone itself.

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Try charging a different battery with your phone

Try a different charger with your phone

Try a different power outlet or use your computer

If this doesnt work, you need to seek some technical help because its a phone problem.
Either a software problem or internal hardware problem especially if the thunder bolt is
showing on the battery icon but the battery settings say it is not charging. I took it a notch
higher with my phone since all the troubleshooting above didnt seem to work. One last
attempt after reading some phone forums was to lift the female micro usb tongue(gently) such
that it makes good contact with the male plug. This idea seemed to work for people with the
same problem so i gave it a shot and it worked for a while. Lets just say that wasnt the
problem with my phone, at this point it was time for me to make use of my warranty, thank
God for warranty.Different companies offer product service and sometimes you can find a lot
of help in the faq support or troubleshooting pages.

3)Freezing or hanging

The first time you use your smartphone, the speed switching between apps and tabs is
amazing. After a couple of days or weeks when you have installed all the apps, some of
which you barely use. Then the freezing starts, even a few micro seconds feel like forever.
This calls for what i would name app control.

Before you install an app read its system requirements it may task your processor more than
you expect

Delete any app you havent used in 2 weeks because honestly, you dont need it
If an app is causing your phone to hung, update it or reinstall it
Expand your internal memory if your phone allows it

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Those pictures you have had since you got the phone, once you have them backed up (which
can be made automatic with dropbox, picasa, instagram etc) save your phone some memory
and delete them. Basically free up as much space as you can.

4)Camera not working

This is really annoying just when you want to save that memory of a lifetime. Quick check
for this is to make sure you still have enough memory for more pictures. Also make sure your
operating system is updated. This simple solution works if you havent had any hardware
damage to your camera. Else take it for repair.

These are just a few of the recurring problems with smartphones. We all love smartphones
especially for their features and capabilities irrespective of these problems. The best thing to
do is make the most of it and get over what you cant fix.

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REFERENCE

1)http://www.dignited.com/4709/some-common-smartphone-problems-and-how-you-could-
solve-them/

2)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone

3)http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upgrade-your-life/5-reasons-your-universal-remote-is-not-
working-correctly-

4)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_control

5)http://www.ehow.com/info_8029191_common-electric-oven-problems.html

6)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oven

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