Repairing my Samsung Galaxy S3 Front Glass Screen

Videos:

• Full Repair: step-by-step
• How the phone was doing 2 months later
• How the phone was doing 1 year later

Project details:

My phone's screen was very shattered, full of cracks and had no protective film. I replaced just the front glass with a new one, keeping the original digitizer and AMOLED screen. It was a long (2 to 3 hours) and tricky process but totally worth it. Samsung quoted the repair at $180. For less than $30 my phone is reborn and in perfect shape. 

Since then, I've learned some tips from other folks. For example, you can use a special adhesive tape to help holding the glass in place. I also have been using the OtterBox Case as I don't want to have a broken screen again (it actually already saved me a few times).

I have to thank my wife for providing me with this unique opportunity  (she was the one who actually dropped the phone) and helping me repair it -- and the folks from Xda-Developers for sharing the details and giving confidence to try it out.

DISCLAIMER: The videos shows my own experience. If anyone tries to do the same, it'll be at their own risk and responsibility. Besides, this may void your warranty and render your phone unusable.

References:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZuiCsAtThw
• http://alturl.com/x7945
• http://alturl.com/jvanq

Tools & Materials:

Easy steps to build a DIY Home Theater Projector Screen

Materials:

• Blackout cloth 66x110 in
• 3 pine boards 1 x 3 x 6 (vertical)
• 2 pine boards 1 x 4 x 12 (horizontal) 
• 3 picture hangers
• 12 flat corner braces (connectors) 
• Staples
• Black felt tape

Tools:

• Staple gun 
• Stud finder
• Angle square 
• Saw
• Hammer
• Screw Driver

Project details:

The video shows how I made my 132” (114x66)  projector screen for less than $80 (assuming you have all the tools) in just a few hours. Once you have all the materials, it’s quite simple and easy to get it done.

I have an Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3010 projector which is set up on a 21’ x 13’ basement. The wall used to be our screen but I decided to get a real one. As I wanted something cheaper and fun to do, I chose to build it on my own. As the video shows, the results couldn't be more amazing!

The main piece is the cloth which is of excellent quality. One concern I hear very often is about the wrinkles. I got it folded (you have the choice to have it rolled for a few extra bucks) which causes a lot of wrinkles. That's not a problem though as by just stretching and stapling it on the frame -- without really doing anything special -- all wrinkles disappear.

One difference from most other examples I've seen is the fact that I utilized the entire cloth as-is to make my screen without leaving a buffer, cutting pieces or wrapping around the frame. I put staples in the very edge of the cloth to maximize the viewable area and it worked perfectly. I then covered the staples and surrounded the edges with black artist tape. I know Carl's Place recommends felt tape but I had a really hard time finding that locally and decided to go with the artist tape.

It turned out that the artist tape was not a good choice. It started falling after a year or so and I had to replace it with the black felt tape. In this video I demonstrate how easy it was to remove the old tape and put the new one -- which BTW looks much more polished and professional.

I'm very happy with the result. Not only the images are eye-popping -- so much better than projecting on the wall -- but also my home theater room looks so much nicer and elegant (my wife loved it).

References:

• Figure out your screen size, projection range, dimensions, lighting conditions on Projector Central 
• Other screen options and instructions from Carl’s place

Reviewing High Definition Projector Optoma HD23 - movie, sports and games in a 170" screen

 


I installed the Optoma HD23 in my basement and after a few days trying it out I decided to return it. It's not because the projector is bad -- overall it's quite good. However there were a couple of issues which made it the wrong choice for me. 


My main observations:
1. Excellent image definition, vivid colors
2. Very bright -- sometimes too much (see movie and clip)
3. Blurry on fast game actions
4. Not very flexible for placement (limited zoom range)
5. Quite disturbing rainbow effect

In brief, the image is amazingly bright and vivid. Colors are beautiful. But the blurriness on fast moving frames and the rainbow effect were killer issues for me. Since then I got a LCD projector (Epson PowerListe Home Cinema 3010) whose image is not as colorful but does not have the latter problems. I'm very happy with the Epson 3010 now :)

Applying K9 Advantix II for dogs - Tick & flea prevention and control

If you're interested in buying Bayer's K9 Advantix II just click the link which will take you to Amazon. Every 6 month I order it from there and so far haven't found a better deal. By the way, if you set up recurrent orders, you can even get some discount.

In this video we show step-by-step how we apply Bayer's K9 Advantix II to our Lhasa Apso dog (23 lbs). We had been using Pfizer's Revolution before but after outdoor walks our dog would eventually come back with ticks which could take 2-3 days to die off. We switched to K9 Advantix II because not only it kills but more importantly repels ticks and fleas. The two products have many differences and a veterinarian should be the best person to help choosing. 

Disclaimer: Always follow the instructions that come with the product there different versions, dog weights, etc. And remember, NEVER use K9 Advantix II in cats.

Lips Protection: ORTHOSIL Brace Wax - tips and how to use it

 You can find Orthosil in Amazon:

 

Lips Protection: ORTHOSIL Brace Wax and Comfort Cover for playing sports

 How to protect your lips, avoiding irritation due to braces. 
• Playing sports with braces 
• Discomfort with Braces 
• Painful rubbing on your cheeks 
• Braces irritation 
• Braces irritating lips 
• Dental Orthodontic Lip Guard Covers 
• Lip protector 

Orthodontic Braces Lip Guard Protector Shield Braces may hurt your lips, mainly when you have elastic hooks attached to them. This video shows 2 great options to protect your lips: 
    1 - Comfort Cover for braces: protect your lips during sports activities or during the night; 
    2 - Orthosil: a silicone dental "wax", better than regular wax. OrthoSil dental silicone protects your lips and gums from orthodontic braces to prevent mouth pain.