How To Backup APKs in Xiaomi TV (小米电视)

18 January 2018 
https://tinyurl.com/y925zm63 


 

Introduction

Xiaomi TV is a very popular Chinese made TV.  It is one of the cheapest TV that is packed with lots of Chinese serials and Television programs.   One of the problems with Xiaomi TV is the lack of  technical support in English and also,  it does not support Youtube and other Google services unless one is prepared to root the device and void the warranty.   Therefore, backing up all the APKs to external devices becomes a challenge in an unrooted TV.   This article will deal with one method where one can back up all the APKs to the local drive or network or cloud  drives such as google drive,  dropbox etc without rooting the TV. 

What’s Required?

1.  esexplorer APK for Andriod TV (download link)

2.  USB mouse

3.  USB thumb drive

It is assumed that the Xiaomi TV is already connected to a Network and a computer PC is available to download the APKs to a thumb drive for the APK to be installed to the TV.

Setup

a)  Open Google Drive,  select APK and save it to internal storage

      1. Download  esexplorer APK to a USB stick and install the APK 

      2.  Start up esexplorer from the TV's Apps store and navigate to this home screen

3.  Find the Network Menu on the left panel and click the “Cloud” to reveal the following screen

4. Select "Gdrive" and the following familiar screen will appear to prompt for google username and password

   

5. Proceed back to the "Home screen" and click App to show all the Apps stored in the TV;  then  click and hold the icon until a tick appears.   To select all icons,  click the Select All button at the top right hand corner.  After that, click Backup at the bottom to save the APKs to the internal storage。

 b)      Transfer APKs from internal storage to Google Drive

1)  Click the “Local” on the left hand menu to bring up the following local screen.  and then click “backups” folder to show all the backed up APKs in the internal storage。

3. Select one or all the APKs and click “more” at the bottom right hand corner to bring up the side manual as shown

  

4. Click “Move to” and the following screen will appear

5. Click “/storage/emulated/0” and after that,  select “Gdrive” and the appropriate folder to move all the APKs to the Google Drive as shown.

Other Articles About Xiaomi TV or Box 

Can be found here

Tinyurl :   https://tinyurl.com/ycpm2tcl

Reference:

1.  Install Google Chrume and Youtube without rooting

How to Fix Blur Printing in SamSung ML2160

29 June 2017

Introduction

The printer works fine except the letters are blurring and sometimes,  there are horizontal lines and vertical lines.  Replacing and cleaning up the printing cartridge will improve the printing in some areas but not the blurring lettering,  horizontal and/or vertical lines.   This article will try to solve this problem

What could be wrong?

If the printer is still new and there is nothing wrong with the Lasing Scanning Unit (LSU),  most likely the lens of the LSU is dirty and require cleaning.

What is LSU?

It is the “printer head” of the printer. Instead of emitting ink, the LSU emits a laser beam, directing it at the drum of the toner cartridge so that electrostatic charge can be transferred onto the paper to form a “temporary glue” to pick up the carbons as the paper passes through the drum.

 

Why need to clean the unit?

When we move our printer around with toner cartridge still inside or when we remove and install the cartridge without taking necessary precaution, some toner powder could have fallen on to the lens of the LSU. This will weaken the laser beam and prevent electrostatic charge being transferred onto the paper; as a result, the printing either got missing characters or blank horizontal or vertical lines.

Where is this LSU unit located?

For ML-2160,  the LSU unit is hidden from view and it is located just under the black plastic cover at the opening where we install or replace the toner cartridge as shown in attached.   The lens is a curvy clear plastic of about 100 mm x 6 mm.

Can Clean the Lens Without Dismantling the printer?

One may be lucky to use proper tool such as the dentist's mirror to check the lens and make attempts to clean the lens,  first using cotton stick to get rid of the dirt;  then using anti-static cloth to pick the lint left by the cotton wool.  There is never any harm done provided the cleaning is done carefully,  without using any chemical or solvent that will damage or scratch the surface of the lens.

What’s Required to Strip the Printer?

Should there be a need to dismantle the printer,  one would need the following tools

a)      A small watch screw driver to ply open the casing

b)      A Philip screw driver the unscrew some of the cross screws

How to Dismantle?

There are only 5 detachable panels on the printer and they are held to each other and to the printer frame by plastic clips and a few screws.   

1.  Start working from the side panel.   First unscrew the only screw that is securing the right panel to the printer frame.

2.  Place the printer upside down and unclip the bottom of the side panel  from the printer frame and work towards to top of printer to release other clips by plying open the panel edges carefully with the small screw driver.

3.  Unscrew the back and the front panel and remove them.   Noting that the front panel is clipped onto the top panel and will need to unclip using the small screw driver

4.  Once the front panel is removed,  one should see the LSU from the front and also the 2 screws holding the black plastic to the printer frame.  Remove them to free the black plastic so that one can unscrew the 3 screws,  securing the  LSU.

5.  At this point,  it is good to mark the exact position of the LSU so that one could fix the unit back into its exact position during assembling. 

 

6.   Clean the lens cotton wool and remove any lint left over using anti-static clothing.

7.   Test the printing before re-assemble back the panels etc.

How to Prevent Dirtying the Lens?

ML-2160 was designed having the LSU placed directly underneath the toner cartridge.  This  has the disadvantage for lose toner to drop or deposit on the lens easily.   It is therefore essential to always remember to put a clean paper to cover up the lens when removing the toner cartridge for inspection or replacement,  

 

Clearing Water Clogged in Unreachable Pipe

28 March 2017


We renovated our kitchen and found ourselves  in a difficult situation where we could not  reach the outflow pipe to clear the water clog caused by sludge.   Here is how we resolve it.

What happened?

Our old kitchen layout allowed us to remove the cupboard that is sitting ontop of the floor trap.  With the cupboard removed,  we could lower one of our hands to reach the outflow pipe where to could insert a hard spring rod or guide the pipe cleaner wire so that it could thread the pipe trap to reach the outflow pipe as shown

After renovating the kitchen,  we fixed the kitchen cabinet ontop of the floor trap.  We allowed an opening of about 13 inches wide,   just  enough to reach the top of the floor trap to insert something hard to clear the vertical pipe.

During one water clog,  we found the outflow pipe choked again.  We could not use the pipe cleaner nor any  hard spring rod as we no longer able to use our hand to reach the inlet of the outflow pipe.  The next available option opened was to reach the pipe trap from the lower floor which is about 12 feet below us.

The Solution

After going through our workshop to get some ideas,  we found a piece of 20 mm PVC pipe in which we managed to bend the end of the pipe to form a curve bend as shown.

With that piece of PVC pipe,  we could then guide the wire of our pipe cleaner from the top of the floor trap and threaded through the pipe trap to reach the choked outflow pipe.

  

4 Sept 2017 update

The head of the pipe cleaner is usually expanded from the spring wire.  Sometimes,  the head is too small to clear the sludge completely in large pipes.   Soon after cleaning,  the pipe will be clogged again.

The solution is to attach a cutter to the head as shown

The cutter was formed by cutting a length of 60 mm long 20mm PVC pipe with one end of it splitted and opened as shown.  The cutter must be attached to the  pipe cleaner with metal wires,  making sure it  will not be detached during the cleaning process.

How to Extract Water from Reef Tank without drillings of holes

29 March 2017


Reef tanks will  need fairly high water flow rate and an external pump sump is usually required so as to install a large water pump as well as other equipment such as chiller,  filter medias etc.  Large amount of water  will have to be extracted from the tanks.  The conventional way is to drill larger holes on either the top side of the back glass panel or the bottom of the tank.   This article will try to introduce another method.

What's Needed?

1.   1/2 piece of 4 feet x 2 feet perspex sheet available from any shop that sells lighting diffuser for the lighting fitting;

2.   2 numbers of 15" 20 mm diameter PVC tube

3.   2 numbers of straight joint for aquarium air distribution pipe

4.   Industrial Liquid Thinner

How to Construct?

 a.  Overflow box 

1.  Cut the perspex sheet to form a box of about 10" x 3"; make sure one of the back sheet of the box is long enough for a bend to be formed to hang over the edge of the water tank;

2.  Use heat gun or oven to soften the perspex of the longer back sheet with heat good enough to bend the perspex to form the hanger;

3.   Cut the front piece to form a row of grooves or small opening to allow overflow water to flow into the box;

4.   Assemble and join the 4 piece together using the industrial thinner.  Allow enough thinner to run to and fro at the joint so as to seal the joints properly;

b.  Over Flow Pipes

1.   Heat bend the 20 mm PVC pipe in the center enough to form a U-shape tube as shown in the picture;  The U tube should have a bend radius large enough for it to be placed over the hanger of the box;

2.   A flexible spring or PVC tube is necessary to ensure a smooth bend.  I used one piece of chest expander spring;

3.   Drill a hole large enough to insert the air tube straight joint at the top of PVC bend to form the air nipples

How It works?

When water is pumped into the tank,  the excess water will overflow into the overflow box.  It will be sucked up through the U-tube continuously.

But before any water can flow through the U tube,  the tube must be primed and fill the entire tube with water.

Water priming is make simple by plugging up the open end of the U tube and then suck the air out from the air nipple.  As soon as the water has filled up the U tube,  plug the air nipple and water will flow continuously and naturally.

 Other Relevant Sites
tinyurl  :https://tinyurl.com/ydfaloww

Lower Reef Tank Temperature Without Chiller

28 March 2017

One forumer in the Singapore Reef Forum asked how to lower the water temperature in a reef tank without using a chiller.   Another forumer asked for a picture of such construction.  The article will tell how.

What's Needed?

a)   To form a Cooling Tower

1.  2 pieces of 4 feet x 2 feet plastic sheets that are  available from the shop that sells office light fittings.  I got mine free when my office was under renovation.
2.  One pump sump of about 1.5 feet x 3 feet or other dimension to suit requirement
3.  Industrial liquid thinner

b)  To construct a dry filtration media within the tower

1.   About 3 rolls of twine string paper

2.   1/4" plastic tubing or plenty of plastic straws

3.    Few pieces of  10 mm diameter PVC pipe each cut to about 10" length

How to Construct?

a)   Description

As I have  retired the cooling tower a long time ago. The following sketch will give some idea on how to construct the cooling tower which was located at the back of the reef tank with a pump sump below the tank.

The tower was about 4 feet tall and filled with loose packed dry media made from flatten twine paper string that has gaps to allow air and water to pass through them.  


Water is fed into the top section using 2 Nos of 20 mm U shape plastic tube and overflow reservoirs without drilling any hole in the reef tank (link) The water is then allow to go through the rain shower plate, which is basically a plastic sheet full of small holes.

 b)  Constructing the Tower

1.  Cut plastic sheet into 10"x 4 feet strips and glue them up to shape using the industrial thinner.  As thinner will normally dissolve the surface of the plastic,  it will provide a good joint without using any other glue.  To form a good seal at the joint,  run a little amount thinner alongside the joint,  to and fro several times.  Allow  the plastic joints to dry over night.

2.  Cut a piece of plastic sheet and drill as many holes of about 1/8" to form the rain shower plate to be inserted on the top section to form the rain shower.  Allow at least 6" clearance between the fan and the rain shower plate.

3.  Allow one empty section for air inlet as shown in the sketch 

c)  Constructing the filter media

1.  Unroll the twine paper string and flatten the string out so that it can be rolled loosely together again with plenty of  1/4" tube or the plastic straws inserted in between to form another roll of filter media that can be filled the inside of the entire cooling tower.   The tube or plastic straws should be as many as possible to ensure the papers will be  loosely packed and that air and water will be allowed to flow freely through the filter media.

2.  Place twine paper rolls inside tower horizontally with each roll separated by the 10 mm PVC pipe for proper air circulation in between the rolls.

Conclusion

This set up can cool the water  to about 27 C which is the average wet bulb temperature of our ambient air. Constant feed of light Limewater and kalkwasser is all that is necessary to replenish lost water.  I used the setup for about 2 years without any other filters although I stored some dead corals inside the pump sump.

Other Relevant Sites
tinyurl :  https://tinyurl.com/y994fau6

Aquarium Chiller Resun CL650- Erratic Temperature Readings

27 March 2017

The chiller  controller has erratic temperature readings.  It fluctuated between 3 to 4 degrees C erratically.  As a result,  the chiller did not start and stop properly.  Otherwise,  the Chiller worked normally.

What Could Go Wrong?

 1.  Dry Joints -  They are often responsible for erratic performance and often give erroneous readings;

 2.  Faulty Capacitors - They will lost the filtering and cause voltages to fluctuate;  thereby,  giving erroneous temperature readings.

How to Dismantle and Remove the Controller?

The controller is flushed mounted with a dust protective plastic cover in the inside of the chiller casing.  The cover is secured to the chiller casing by four clips evenly distributed around the peripheral of the plastic cover.

To remove the cover,  one will need to push the clip inwards using one finger and pull the cover down at the same time using another hand.  Releasing the clips will need some care and patients,  releasing the clips one at a time.  Some reported that there might be four screws securing the plastic cover and they must be removed first.

Once the plastic cover is removed,  one can pull up the controller from the top of the chiller casing.  Observe and make notes on how the wirings are connected.

What Went Wrong?

Bench inspection suspected that there are a few dry joints.  However,  resoldered those joints did stabliise the readings and prevent much voltage fluctuations in the supply line but the controller continued to give erratic readings.

Finally,  bench testing proved that one of the two capacitors shown below had a deteriorated capacitance giving only 15 uf instead of the 400 uf.  Replacing the 400 uf capacitor fixed the erratic reading.

Degree of Difficulty

It was  not difficult to replace the capacitors but the 2 tier circuit board arrangement made de-soldering and soldering pretty difficult to carry out to test and replace those capacitors.

What to get a Replacement?

For those who need a replacement for the controller,  they should be able to find it on TaoBao (link) for about RMB200.  Write to them make an enquiry at this website.  Alternatively,  one could replace the controller.  

 Other Relevant Sites
tinyurl : https://tinyurl.com/yae4zudq

WuKong Air Conditioner Smart Controller

7 January 2016

tinyurl:  https://tinyurl.com/y836bbko

Introduction

Air conditioner is no longer a luxury but a household item in Today’s Singapore.  Most air conditioners nowadays have a simple controller with limited functions;  also,  these controllers are of a manual type and not intelligent.   The intelligent ones,  called smart controllers, will learn the control codes of existing air conditioners and allow users to control the air conditioner either through a set of pre-defined or customized programs or control strategies for comfort cooling as well as for energy conservation.

Types and Brands

There are several types of smart controllers available in today’s market.  The common ones are WukongI8 made in China,  Tado made in Germany and Ambi Climate made in Japan.   This article will examine only WukongI8.  

What is WukongI8?

WukongI8 is a smart air conditioning remote control that is designed and manufactured by a Chinese Company called “Gallaxy Wind”.  It is retailed at around RMB129/= for a standard model that controls only air conditioners and RMB190 for a model that will also control TVs and other devices such as lighting.  One can buy WukongI8 from TaoBao.

How WukongI8 Can Make  Air Conditioner Smarter?

WukongI8 is a smart controller.  It has a  set of independent built-in temperature and lighting sensors,  a microphone, and standard programs that can automatically turn on the air conditioner at 9:00 pm, for example,   lower the fan speed at 10:00 pm;  thereafter,  increase the room temperature by 2 degrees C in order to save energy.      

WukongI8 can also be programmed to run at other combinations with a different control strategy.  It has also a built-in energy monitoring recording device where users can use to monitor the energy usage of each control strategy and pick the right strategy.     

As WukongI8 is linked to the handphones through an internet connection,  the user can therefore program and control the air conditioner from anywhere around the Globe provided there is an internet connection.  There is no hard wiring connection between the air conditioner and WukongI8.  Connection to Router/Internet is through WiFi links.    

What are the Specifications?

Power Supply Input：85~240V AC

Power Supply Output：85~240V AC

Frequency：50/60Hz

WiFi:  WiFi2.4GHz b/g/n

Standby Power: ＜2W

Maximum Load：3500W

Maximum Current：16A –Australia/China grounded  AS3112

Andriod & iPhone software:  Andriod  2.3.7 or  iOS 7.0 and above

Official Warranty:  1 year

Firmware update:  free

What are the Basic Control Capabilities?

Besides the basic function of performing as a standard remote control,  WukongI8 can also perform the following additional functions

1. Has presets to turn on and off at air conditioner in 20-time segments
2. Automatically turns on the Air conditioner to cool room temperature to 24C when room temperature exceeded 30C.  It has also control strategies for heating functions;
3. Measures and logs the energy consumption of the air conditioner  giving aggregated yearly,  monthly, and daily energy usage
 

It has various pre-designed control strategies,  such as auto-cooling,  profile cooling,  auto sleep cooling etc;

Using the phone’s GPS system,  WukongI8 is able to tell if the user is carrying out the control at home or outstations and choose the desired control program.

What is the type of air conditioners that can use WukongI8?

 

WukongI8 can only work with air conditioners that have an infra-red remote controller having an LCD screen.  WukongI8 cannot work with radio frequency, remote controllers.  

How to Install? 

 

Installation is simple and straightforward.  Just plug in WukongI8 in series with air conditioner if one's air conditioner is connected to a  powerpoint nearby.   

However,  most split air conditioners in Singapore are remotely connected to a 15A socket outlet and therefore,  one would have the following two options:

1.    Extend the power to connect WukongI8 and locate WukongI8 within 5 meters from the fan coil unit;

2.    Rewire the power to the air conditioner so that the power to the air conditioner can be drawn from WukongI8’s 16A power socket. 

Note: As Wukong uses Chinese 16A power socket format,  one would have to use proper 16A socket outlets which can be ordered from Taobao 

As infra-red communication will need the transmitters and receivers to be able to “see” each other,  it is, therefore, a requirement for WukongI8 to be installed directly opposite the air conditioner.  However,  WukongI8 could also work to a distance of 6 meters at an acute angle of not more than 50 degrees.  

Can I install Wukong Separately?

 

Wukong can work separately without the air conditioner’s power  drawing from Wukong’s 16 A power socket but it will not be able to record and monitor the power usage

What will happen on the Connection of Wukong?

Once WukongI8 is physically connected up to a power supply,  it will scan the room for an air conditioner to learn the control codes and connect WukongI8 automatically to the air conditioner through the infra-red transmitter/receiver.  Upon successful connection,  the blue light of WukongI8 will turn on;  otherwise,  the lights will turn red,  indicating the loss of signal connection. 

The original remote controller of the air conditioner will still work and will override and bypass the controls of Wukong. 

How Do I Control Wukong?  

To control Wukong,  the user must 

1.    Download the handphone Apps,  called Wukong Home from Google Playstore.  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gwcd.airplugor download and register Weixin first as a user and then  use its QR code reader to scan the code on WukongI8

2.    On the first successful download,  the handphone will search for the presence of WukongI8 and retrieve its Ids for a user to set up the Apps  with a password; after that

3.    WukongI8 will scan the room for a compatible device,  learn the infra-red control code, and connect to the air conditioner'scontrol

4.      Once the connection is successful,  a familiar screen will appear and one can use the handphone to control the various basic functions of the air conditioner

From this page,  one can navigate to set the basics parameters such as languages,  Centigrade/Fahrenheit, and other parameters

  

On other pages,  one could manually check and control the various functions of the air conditioner such as temperature,  fan speeds & swings,  timer etc

On selection of the Smart Mode,  one would be presented with various control strategies to control the workings of the air conditioner as shown,  from constant cooling to temperature profile cooling,  night cooling,  auto cooling, etc.  By selecting the "details",   Wukong will give a description of the strategy.   

Wukong also provides a graphical plot for temperatures of the room for the last 24 hours

The Useful Functions

1.  Temperature Curve

This will allow users to set the hourly temperatures with a preset range so that one could have a lower temperature before sleep for example and then turn up the temperature in the middle of the night etc.  This temperature curve setting will be over-ride when the original air conditioner's controller is used.

 2.  Auto-Sleep Function

This function will lower the fan speed and also lower the set temperature by 2 C if the room temperature is above 28 C. 

What is  Inside WukongI8?

1.  Opening up WukongI8

1. Remove the front panel which is held onto the casing by glue
2. One will expose the components such as infra-red receiver,  temperature and lighting sensors and also the microphone

3. The controlling  unit can then be removed as shown

4. The controlling unit consists of the following components attached in the back of the unit

a)      The power supply unit

b)      The WiFi Board  and the EEPROM

c)      The Main Control Board

d)     The Power Output connection

Performance and Energy Savings

It is hard to compare the performance with and without Wukong operating as we have also bed cooler in operation at the same time.  

An energy data acquisition instrument was used to measure the consumption of the air conditioner together with the bed cooler over a period of 1 month for various combinations.  They drew about 2.5 KW  to about 5 KW depending on the setting of the Wukong.  Generally,  the various measurements can be divided into 5 categories

1. Power cooling for 3 hrs @ 26C without Bed Cooler and Wukong
2. Wukong Auto Sleep Mode without Bed Cooler
3. Wukong Auto Sleep Mode with Bed Cooler
4. Power Cooling for 3 hours @ 27C with Bed cooler but without Wukong
5. Wukong Temperature Curve with temperature setting between 26 to 28C with bed cooler

Note:  Power Cooling is a feature of Panasonic air conditioner which lowers the room temperature setting by 2C with higher fan speed

It has been found that Wukong has helped to save about 26% of the energy consumption.   With bed cooler and Wukong working in combination,  a further 13% energy could be saved with comfort cooling for a good night's sleep.

Note: The bed cooler was set to 29C which required the air conditioner to operate at lower than normal temperature and therefore,  consumes more energy.  More energy could be saved by setting bed cooler at temperatures lower than 29C.

 Conclusion

It is expected that more such devices will flood the market in the future as more people learned how to use the smart controller.  It is also expected that pretty soon,  the smart controlling device will become a standard item in the new air conditioners. 

Appendix I:  Suggestions to Improve Wukong

1. Temperature Curve to be set according to startup hours instead of the hourly clock

Presently,  the curve is set to the hourly clock.  The air conditioner will start at preset hour irrespective if one needs the air conditioning.  This leads to unnecessary wastage of energy.  For example,  if one were to preset 28C at 11:00 pm,  one would have to re-adjust the setting to the desired temperature when one starts the air conditioner at 11:00 pm.  A refinement would be to allow the temperature curve to be set according to when the air conditioner is turned on.  

2.  To prevent the Temperature Curve to be turned on automatically,  one would have to turn off the temperature curve setting every day and then turn the air conditioner from there;  otherwise, Wukong will not work properly.

  

Appendix II :  FAQ

1.  Can we use WukongI8 in an old air conditioner?

So long as the remote control is of the infra-red type that has temperature,  fans and other controls.  If the air conditioner can use universal remote control,  most likely there will be no problem.

2、Can I use it for Package unit air conditioner?

            Not supported

3、Can WukongI8 control other appliances?

Not supported

4、Can the APPs be shared among family members?

Yes

5、We don’t have WiFi at home

WukongI8 must work with WIFI router

6、What’s the  Wifi Speed?

2.4Ghz。

7、Any distance limitations?

Not for the handphone’s WIFI control as it uses the internet which can even control from overseas;  however,  WukongI8 must be installed as close as possible to the air conditioner.  Rightly speaking,  the infrared sensors of the air conditioner and WukongI8 should  "see" one another;  however,  depending on the color of the walls and ceiling,  the author has tried that one can still have adequate control receptions up to 6 meters at an acute angle of not more than 50 degree.

8、What is different between Weixin and the standard model?

The standard model does not have the Weixin function but the WukongI8  home App is useable for both models。

9、What is the handphone requirements?

Andriod 2.3.7or iOS 7.0 and above

10、Where can I download the WukongI8 Apps？

Use Weixin to scan the QR code on the box or unit or download directly from Google playstore. 

11、Why socket-outlet is 16A？

That is the standard outlet rating for air conditioners in China. Singapore uses 15A.

12、Ease to install？

As described in the blog。

13     We use a Universal remote controller？

Should be compatible with WukongI8. 

14、Can we still use the normal remote control?

Yes.

15、If I lost the password for WukongI8 home？

Reinstall WukongI8 with a new password。

16、What capacity air conditioner？

3 horsepower (HP) or less or not drawing more than 3500W.

17、What if our remote control is not working?

Try Universal remote control.  If it is still not working,  most likely the air conditioner remote control is faulty

180、Does WukongI8 works with other remote controllers?

It will not work with radio remote controllers.  Most likely, this controller will have no LCD screen. 

tinyrul :  https://tinyurl.com/y836bbko