The Sort Of Day Which Keeps You Fit!

I tipped 15mls out of the rain gauge this morning.  The weather is strange with gorgeous sunshine interspersed with fast moving heavy showers.  So if you are trying to get the washing dry you spend all day running in and out to the clothes line to put clothes on the line or to take them off to avoid a heavy shower!

This will keep you fit.

I returned the C73 printer cartridges yesterday and got a refund of $114.  That was for a total of 4 large size cartridges, 1 black and 1 each of cyan,yellow etc.  I then jumped on eBay and ordered 4 x large black and 2 large sets of the colored inks.  This is a total of 10 compatible cartridges.  The total cost for 10 compatible cartridges 'delivered' is $24.

To buy the same cartridges as 'genuine' items would cost me $308.

By using compatible cartridges, I may void my warranty!  However it seems the warranty costs money because you have to spend around $300 and buy genuine ink cartridges to protect an $88 investment.  Doesn't make sense to me.

A week or so ago I wrote about the swollen battery in my Harmony remote.  A replacement battery from Logitech arrived in the mail today.  Whilst fossicking through things I found another brand new Logitech battery still in its plastic wrapper.

Sorry For The Bad Language!

I reckon you could have heard me going off even down in Melbourne at our Canon printer on Monday morning.  There was ink almost everywhere, on the rollers, all over the paper, smudge marks and then the paper feed stopped working.  That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

That was it, despite having around $80 worth of Canon ink cartridges left the decision was made to get a replacement printer.  On Saturday I sent an email off to a shop which does my ink refills for me asking whether the Canon Printer I had been looking at could have its cartridges refilled OK.  He replied that yes they could but his recommendation was to consider Brother as their cartridges were larger and thus better value to refill.

The internet was my friend as I did a quick search and found either the Brother J515W or J525W would suit my purposes.  Our local "Good Guys" stocked the J525W so I dropped in and spent $88 and bought the printer.

The refill guy only refills 'genuine' cartridges so I bought a set of genuine replacement cartridges, Each set has 3 separate color tanks, Cyan, etc.  I nearly fell over when the cartridges (LC73's) totalled over $100. At least to have them refilled was going to cost around $50.

We now have a new Brother DCP-J525W.  The W indicates it is wireless. This means Trish can access the printer from her laptop directly and doesn't need to have my PC turned on so she can print.  It is reasonably compact and fits on a shelf in the office.  Previously the Canon was on top of the fridge which made getting to buttons etc a little difficult.

I spent some time Monday afternoon installing all the software on both computers and just getting to know the printer.

Earlier in the week I was discussing cheap refills with a mate via Skype and he said he bought his cartridges on eBay at a cheap price.  He gave me the link to the eBay website.  When I had a few moments later in the afternoon I decided to check out the price of replacement LC73 cartridges from his online store. I nearly fell over.     http://stores.ebay.com.au/cqi-tech/

The online eBay store will sell me 4 x large size black cartridges and 2 large size of each of the 3 color cartridges (compatible cartridges, not genuine) for a total of $24 delivered!  Later this morning I am returning the $100+ genuine cartridges to the store and getting my money back.

The prevailing wind here is again from the south east and blowing in from the sea.  Today the morning is a lot milder but we have showers sweeping in every couple of hours.  A steady shower an hour ago has left everything wet so any bike riding is delayed.  However there is blue sky right now and Trish is hoping to get some sheets dry.  She has one eye on her laptop and another on the weather outside.

Wind Chill Factor

The cold south westerly winds have arrived.  I delayed my bike ride until well after 9 am this morning but still I needed to put my 'spray' jacket on to keep the chill out as I rode around!

We finished with around 13 mls of rain from Friday overnight but it was enough to top up the pool again.  It must be almost 3 weeks since we last had any reasonable rain and the water level had dropped in the pool.  All is OK again now.

I spent some of Friday afternoon on a treadmill where I was doing a "Stress Test" for the cardiologist.  I think I did OK as they had to turn the machine off and not wait for me to say "Enough"!  I get my final results in a week or so.  My Hearing Aid guy wanted to see me again for a checkup also on Friday.  I reckon with my sniffly nose that my hearing would be worse but the test confirmed everything was still the same.  This surprised me as I had noticed I wasn't hearing as well.  It turned out to be the hearing aid wasn't operating properly and not that my hearing had deteriorated.  The hearing aid has gone off for repair.

Our printer hasn't been working well lately with the paper not going straight and marks all over the it.  I only ever buy cheap printers so that when they play up I can just go out and buy another one.  A large local electrical store was advertising 30% off all computer wares so between appointments on Friday I popped in to check out printers.  They had a Canon there, bottom of the range model but 'wireless'.  It didn't need to be connected to a PC by cable.  30% off dropped the price back to around $70 which I thought sounded a good deal.  I resisted the urge to purchase.

I did a little online research when I got home and found the 'going' price from JB HiFi and Good Guys was $69!  So much for 30% off sales!

My brother has bought himself a caravan and 4 wheel drive.  He takes delivery in a couple of months.  He and Jeanette are looking forward to weekends away. Jeanette is undergoing chemo at the moment.  Depending on how that all goes, they will decide on what trips they will do in the future.

Cold But Sunny Weekend On The Way

It continues to be quiet around the Thomas household with nothing out of the ordinary happening.  Trish gets to meetings on Mondays, Stitchers (where she is President) on Wednesdays, an afternoon out with the girls, volunteer work at the Tourist Info Centre on Thursdays and last but not least Quilters on Fridays.

Meanwhile I ride my bike most days weather permitting, do stuff for the Community Association, update a couple of websites I look after and keep a continuous lookout for new TV Shows or Movies online.  I continue to learn to master a program or two on the way through. Usually they are programs which help with our TV Movie watching.

Currently I am mastering a program called ThumbGen.

Not much more news really.  Today like much of the east coast of Australia is windy and wet.  Though by the time the real rain gets to the coast it will have petered out.  They reckon we will only get around 10mls where earlier in the week they were predicting more like 100mls.

Once the rain passes through we expect a cold icy westerly wind.  This means cold nights but bright sunny crisp days.

Weekend coming up so lots of footy on the TV.

8 Hours Sleep Later!

After a great visit from friends Janet and Michael it was time for us oldies up here to grab some R/R. I slept for around 8 hours last night.

I have always been a great fan of my Logitech Harmony Remote Control.  Over the years I have owned several models, usually getting one at a discount price and usually on eBay.  Sometime late last year I bought a Harmony One remote from a Computer Club friend.  His wife didn't like it so it just stayed in the drawer.  He had paid almost $200 for it but sold it to me for $50.  You can now buy them online at the "Logitech Shop" for around $110.

The older Harmony remotes I have had have had a key not work properly so it was then time to update it.  I once bought a Harmony 880 for almost $300 back in the old days when we were better off than now.  I managed to replace it with a new 880 several years later for $80 via eBay

I have my list of websites I like to visit and one of those is a web discussion forum at Whirlpool.bc.  As I was glancing through the topics I saw some people were having a problem with swollen batteries in their Harmony One's.  I opened the battery compartment in mine to check the battery.  It too was swollen and wouldn't come out.  It was still a little loose but you couldn't grip it to pull it out with any force.  It didn't seem to matter what I tried.

I listed my problems on the Whirlpool forum.

After an hour or two of different tactics we eventually managed to extricate it.  It took a kitchen knife underneath it to lift it, then using the sharp points on two steak knives I managed to lever it out a fraction to give me some grip on it. With a little more care and attention we managed to get the swollen battery out.

The photo here shows the battery after it had been removed and you can clearly see how it is beginning to swell.

The Harmony One has the same battery as the 880 so I slipped a battery from my older model into the Harmony One and everything is fine again. I added another post to the Whirlpool Forum saying I had got it out.

This morning someone from Logitech was online suggesting I contact the company and there was a good chance I could get a new battery sent out to me. I did that and it seems a new replacement battery will be sent to me.

Overcast today and a morning shower of rain stopped me from having my bike ride.  I washed home brew beer bottles instead and now have the slow task of trying to get them dry.  I reckon I will bottle them on Wednesday.

Now To "Dry Out"

We have just farewelled friends Janet and Michael as they head down to the Gold Coast to complete their holiday trip.  They will return to their home at Newcastle later in the week.  As usual it was great having them for a visit.  Everyone has over eaten and had too much to drink.  It was all great fun!

On Friday Michael and I joined forces to put a brew on and it is bubbling away in the garage as I type.  We ate at home for two evening meals and then last night ventured to the Caloundra Surf Club at King's Beach for a couple of pre-dinner drinks and then our little Chinese for our meal.

Saturday morning they headed to the Eumundi Market while I went to Computer Club and Trish caught her breath and rested up at home.

Michael now knows a lot more about AFL footy but I guess if you visit our home during the footy season everyone will catch a match or two on TV here.

Today will be an AFD (Alcohol Free Day).

Michael and I enjoyed lots of chats about Technology, the media player, our phones and computers.

The old computer continues to cause problems but they now may well be solved.  Sometimes it would take a while to start up, other times it wouldn't start at all but the most common fault was the PC would start but there wouldn't be any signal going to the monitor.  It would be blank.  Then the next time you start it up the whole computer would start perfectly.

I would pull out and clean up the RAM or I would jiggle the video card (see photo left).  Then after a restart it could work fine again.  Yesterday I became more adventurous and actually removed the video card, cleaned the connectors up and re installed it.  Still the PC would start up but there was nothing on the monitor.

I tried another monitor and it still wouldn't go.  The video card has its own connectors for the monitor.  There is another monitor connection on the PC's mother board.  When I connected the monitor to the mother board VGA connector at least I got a picture but the color was all wrong.

A computer will work OK without a video card, it then uses the less powerful motherboard monitor connection.  I removed the video card, connected the monitor via the motherboard connection and Bingo, everything works perfectly!  It appears there may be something wrong with the video card or its drivers.  There was a conflict somewhere and by removing the video card I have removed the conflict.

It now starts quickly and perfectly and everything works fine.

Guests Arrive Tomorrow

We first met Janet and Mick from Newcastle around 10 years ago.  It was when we doing our first 8 month caravan trip and we had stopped for a few days at a park in Mudgee.  Janet and Mick were still working and were just putting their toe in the water to try out caravanning.  They had several kids with them and had hired a campervan for a week or two and headed off to Mudgee.

As happens in many caravan parks, the tradition at 4pm is drinks and nibblies.  Janet and Mick had setup across from us and Mick seemed keen to follow in the regular 4pm drinks and nibblies tradition.  And we have remained in contact and friends ever since.

When my aunt and uncle were still alive and living in Canberra, our regular Christmas trip was to drive from here down to Melbourne and then drive home again via Canberra and Newcastle. We would catch up with everybody and great times were enjoyed by all.

Now Janet and Mick enjoy a regular annual week on the Gold Coast where they rent a unit and attend the annual Blues Festival there.  Being only a couple of hours from here on the Sunshine Coast we usually have them stay with us for a few nights.  Janet and Mick are expected to arrive tomorrow afternoon!

The photo was taken one trip when we decided to join them on the Gold Coast one time.

One of Mick's bosses from some time back lives at Pelican Waters on one of the canals there and they want to catch up for a meal one evening.  I have recommended that Friday night would be the best as we have Geelong Vs Collingwood on TV.

Weather is best described as sensational.  It says 23 outside right now but in our sheltered back corner it is around 26 degrees.  This followed on yesterday from a brisk 10 degrees first thing.  This morning was around 12 degrees.  It is great weather for bike riding.

Tuesday was the end of my Internet Month so much of the day was taken with last minute downloading!  All I need now is time to watch it all.

Right now we are working our way through the TV Series "The Borgias", based on the true story of a 1490's Pope and all the skulduggery he got up to.  Despite being Pope he had two children and a couple of mistresses.  He then appointed his 17 year old son as a Cardinal.

This appears to be true according to what I have checked on the web.  The TV Series stars Jeremy Irons.  It was an HBO TV Series and many HBO Series don't make it to regular TV.

Blue Screen Of Death

One of the most dreaded things to find on your computer is commonly known as the "Blue Screen Of Death".  To get it once isn't a problem.  Push the power button, turn your PC off (hold the power button), restart it is and usually everything is fine.

But when it happens two startups in a row it means you have a problem!  And that is what happened to me last night, two startups and two Blue Screens Of Death!  But it was quickly and easily rectified.

One of the causes of a "Blue Screens" is a major fault with hardware.  I was busily recharging my cordless mouse up via a powered USB Hub I have attached to the PC.  If my router has three lights on the left hand side it means the PC is on and connected to the internet.  Yesterday I had three lights on but the PC was turned off.  This was because I had the powered USB turned on, and power was going back along the USB lead into the PC making the router think the PC was 'on'.

Powered USB Hubs are notorious for causing glitches with PC's.  And this one is no different.  I had left it powered on to recharge the mouse.  When I turned the PC on, it started to load Windows and when it came to the powered USB Hub it felt it was a major hardware problem so immediately decided to put up the "Blue Screen Of Death".

I pushed and held the power button and the PC powered off.  I switched the USB Hub power off, restarted the PC and all went smoothly, no problems everything was OK.

Problem solved.

Two posts in the one day.  For more of today's news read the post below.

Glorious Sunday

The sun is shining and we expect a top temp around 26 degrees today.  And most days have been like this for the last week or so, just wonderful weather.

And as the couple of photos in this post will show, the scenery around the estate where I ride my bike is spectacular right now.

If you have read the two posts below you will see I did a 'presentation' at the computer club yesterday.  Read through it and you will get an idea of the sort of things we do at the club.  I had a bee in my bonnet regarding the way some people connect to the internet at the club so this was my way of telling them to think before they buy.  So many of them get onto wireless internet (via the mobile phone network) and then get disappointed.

Click on the photos for a larger view.

Things are back to normal.  I visited the cardiologist on Tuesday for an Echo cardiogram which went very well and indicated everything is fine.

Trish has been on a picnic as well as her two Arts Centre Days, Stitchers and Quilters.  On Thursday she worked the morning at the Tourist Information Centre.  I have been 'obtaining' a couple of TV Series and keeping the Community Association's website up to date.

I had an on site meeting with someone from Council to discuss the main road in and out of the estate and several other issues on our agenda.  That seemed to go well.

There weren't any 'drinks' on Friday, one couple is overseas while one of the other couple had a day's work to do.  He was employed for the day.

I had a couple of friends come around on Wednesday to check out movies at my place and other associated computer software stuff.  On another day I bottled my latest brew.

So it is back to normal.

This upcoming week we have friends from Newcastle stopping with us for several nights.  Better buy some red wine quickly!

While recently in Melbourne, Trish passed on some movie and TV Show files to friends down there.  My mate starting watching the TV Series "Rome" and rang me to tell me how much he was enjoying it.  I suggested he also have a look at a series called "Mrs Brown's Boys".  He was going to be busy but couldn't promise me he would check the series out.

At 10:30 the next morning the phone at home rang.  I thought to myself, "I bet that is Russ and I reckon he has watched a little bit of Mrs Brown's Boys".  I was correct on both grounds.  He couldn't remember his wife Irene laughing so much.  Needless to say he really enjoyed Mrs Brown's Boys.  I saw somewhere where it is to be shown on Channel 7 some time this year.  I would say for sure it will be on late night TV! 

Telling The Sex Of Flies ....

A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter

'What are you doing?' she asked.

'Hunting Flies", he responded.

'Oh! Killing any?' she asked.

'Yep, 3 males, 2 Females,' he replied.

Intrigued, she asked, 'How can you tell them apart?'

He responded, '3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone.'

Connecting To The Internet

(Presentation to Sunshine Coast Computer Club, Sat May 12th)

Download pdf of this presentation HERE.

"Types Of Connections"
1. Wireless WAN  (through the mobile phone network).  These are available from most of the larger phone companies, Telstra, Optus, etc.  Typical plan would be 6GB for $40.

- easy to connect
- convenient
- portability

..... easily the most expensive per GB!

2. ADSL (connection through your existing phone line)

- great value, cheaper per GB.
- often can be "Bundled" as a plan which includes your phone line rental as well as local and national calls to landlines.
- easily create a 'local wireless network'  (LAN) so you can connect other devices, TV, Smartphone, media player and allow internet access to each of them.
- may require a 24 month commitment.

Hardware and other Costs to Setup ADSL:

- a router/modem ($80 - $200), If you select a wireless modem/router you will have the ability to connect devices to the internet wirelessly through your adsl connection.
- "Setup" (to have your line converted to have both phone and internet on the one line)  ($100)
- filters ($15 each), 1 for each landline connected phone in your home)
- a contract with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) which may have a term commitment attached.

The ISP you choose may be able to provide you with the equipment you need setup and ready to go (pre-configured).  All these details are available from the ISP.  The ISP you select will arrange to have your phone line converted to enable both phone and adsl.

The rear of the modem router above has 4 ports allowing the wired connection of 4 computers, it has wireless and also has Voip telephone connections.  A voip modem router can cost from $140 to $300 depending on the quality you want.  The one in the photo cost around $150.

"Connecting"

Internet connection comes in various 'speeds', 256, 512, 1500, 8000 and 20,000.  Nowadays a preferred speed would be at least 8000.  For general internet use, emails etc 1500 would be ample.

'RIMS'

A RIM is a Telstra owned 'box' on many newer estates which allow for easier phone connections.  If your phone service is via a RIM your phone connection is 'owned' by Telstra.  Telstra is 'required' to supply ADSL to every home.  ADSL is up to 8000.  Therefore if you are behind a RIM, they are set to supply internet at 8000.

Telephone exchanges house nearly all the telephony equipment.  In some cases Optus, iiNet and other ISP's may install their own equipment in telephone exchanges.  At Caloundra we have Telstra, Powertel and Agile equipment installed.  If your ISP uses Powertel or Agile equipment you will enjoy more download, faster speeds and cheaper prices.

If you are behind a RIM your ISP has to 'rent' the phone line from Telstra (at a higher cost) before it can connect you to their services.  Usually this means higher prices and less download per month compared to the services they can supply using their 'own' equipment.  Plans are referred to as On-Net (through their own equipment) and Off-Net (via Telstra owned equipment).

All plans available to people behind a RIM (except Bigpond) are Off-Net plans.  Currently there is a discussion via the ACCC in an endeavour to lower Telstra's charges to ISP's.  The decision may be a month or two away and will lead to lower prices and better deals.

What will rescue those stuck behind Telstra RIMs and paying extra for internet connections, .... NBN!

How To Find Plan That Suits You?

Try to "Future Protect" yourself.

Broadband Choice:   http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/

Bigpond:  http://go.bigpond.com/broadband/ 

Or Bigpond Bundles:  http://www.telstra.com.au/bundle-save/index.cfm

Optus:  https://www.optus.com.au/shop/broadband/bundles/homeadvantage

 iPrimus    http://www.iprimus.com.au/PrimusWeb/HomeSolutions/BundleDeals/

The difference between On-Net and Off-Net

http://www.internode.on.net/residential/adsl_broadband/all_plans/


Let us run through Find A Plan at Broadband Choice (Whirlpool)!

Broadband Choice:   http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/

If you are not sure, then ASK SOMEONE here at Computer Club!

Glorious Autumn Day

The sun is out, the sky is blue and we expect a top around 24 degrees.  After a brisk 10 degree start, the day will pan out to be just perfect.

As with many others we received new "Fly Buys" cards recently in a massive shopping push by Coles.  In the correspondence which arrived was a special deal for an inexpensive and not overly sophisticated smart phone.  It was going at 'half price', around $50.

The internet was my friend with phone reviews and recommended retail prices on this model.  As a pre-paid cheapie it received pretty good reviews and came 'locked' to Telstra.  However if you search eBay you can get an guaranteed to work unlock code for around $2.  A recent RRP I found online was over $120.

Some of the forums I visit indicated this special was selling like hot cakes with several stores 'sold out'.  Trish thought she would enjoy one and visited our local Coles buy it.  Caloundra Coles had sold 35 of them over the last few days so it is a popular buy.  Trish already has a cheap $20 per month Telstra phone deal so we slipped the sim card into the new phone and "Hey Presto" she is now connected with her inexpensive smart phone.

The black ale I brewed the other day is bubbling quietly in the garage but it isn't enjoying the cooler mornings.It should be ready to bottle around Wednesday.

Computer Club on Saturday was especially successful with several members taking my advice and being delighted with their new devices or services.  Aldi had a recent special on a wireless 4 port modem router for under $50.  I am heading around tomorrow to set one up for an older club member.  Another chap is giving away his "wireless dongle broadband connection" and having his service converted to landline ADSL with Optus.  He says he is getting 50GB broadband as well as all his local and national calls (with a few exceptions 1900 nos etc) for $60 per month.  Where he lives he is able to connect directly into the Optus equipment at the Caloundra Telephone Exchange which gives him this great deal.

We are unable to have a direct connection to Optus where we live so would be ineligible for the deal.  Over the next month or so many Internet Service Providers will have some better deals going when Telstra slowly loses its grip on the copper network and the NBN Co. begins to take over.

Because of the way the telephone connection to new estates is nowadays many of us only have access to Telstra telephone exchange equipment.  Therefore ANY company we use to connect to the internet has to 'lease' the Telstra connection already there.  Telstra charges a lot for this lease, so we are stuck with expensive internet costs compared to many others.

For us and many like us we can't wait for the NBN to be come to our area.

Back To Normal

It is Friday morning, Trish is at Quilters and I am doing stuff on my PC.  Things are back to normal!

Before picking Trish up from Brisbane Airport around 3 pm yesterday afternoon, I spent a little time getting the lawn mower out and cutting the front lawn.  The forecast was for a showery Friday clearing up to glorious sunny long weekend here (Labor Day holiday here on Monday).  Getting the lawn cut would get one of those jobs which need to be done out of the way.  It came up OK.

The forecast showers was more like rain after 7 am this morning.  There is another 15 mls in the rain gauge and the skies remain overcast.  After an unsettled afternoon the weather is expected to 'clear' the coast and leave us with mid 20 degree days and cooler mornings.

Trish was home here, unpacked and catching up with things by 5pm.  Friends Ian and Kerrie were heading overseas to the U.S. for 5 weeks early Friday and wanted to catch us for drinks if possible.  As usual it was pleasant with a few drinks, some nibblies and a good chat.  Trish and I finished up at the local Tavern to share a $10 pizza for tea which was all we needed.

With a wet Friday I decided today would be a home brew making day.  I am making a Black Ale and the mix in the photo is around 280gms of "mix", (dried corn syrup, dextrose and malt) along with 130gms of lumpy 'dark brown sugar'.  The mix gives the Black Ale a rich malty taste.  I expect to bottle-wash Monday and bottle either Wednesday or Thursday.  This amount of mixture should create an alcohol content of around 3.5% at the most.

Click on either photo for a larger view.

No 'Friday Drinks' today as Ian and Kerrie are away and John and Margaret are off in their motor home for a "Music Festival".

We have new home owners on our right as you face the house and renters on the other side.  A "For Sale" sign went up on the rental property yesterday.  They have $396,000 on it.  I would be rapt if the got that as it would make our little place $400,000+.  At $396,000 I believe it is way overpriced by around $30,000+.

One of the TV Series both Trish and I enjoy is a UK Crime Series called "Scott and Bailey" which has just finished its second season of 8 shows in the UK.  I don't think it has come to Australian TV screens just yet.  We watched an episode last night.  Anything we had to watch previously was usually in a .avi format and a one hour show would be around 450mb download.  Many of the new shows are now in .mp4 format and an hour show is around 260mb with no noticeable drop in movie quality.  However a few of the newer mp4 files may have the audio out of sync with lip movement and Scott and Bailey is one such series.

The latest model WDTV Live SMP media player has a function whereby you can adjust the lip sync.  This is an extremely handy function to have and made what would have been an insufferable watching of TV last night into one which was perfect.  I had to set the audio delay to -400ms and it was then perfect to watch and enjoy.  Audio out of sync is a common problem with files obtained from the internet.

Tidy Up Time

Trish returns home from Melbourne tomorrow Thursday around 2:30 pm.  This means I have to get the washing all done, get the place vacuumed and any outside jobs completed.  Extensive showers were forecast for today and this has turned out to be the case.  Despite a couple of light showers yesterday I managed to get the washing done and to get it all dry.

Today's wet weather means I missed on my morning bike ride.

I will vacuum the floors later today and that should be it as far as floor cleaning is concerned.

One of the hassles with living in this part of the world is that of mildew.  Areas which don't totally dry out require a good clean at least once a year to get rid of any mildew buildup.  The area known as "The Beer Garden" at our home is one such area.  The new pressure cleaner was put to work yesterday and the area was given a good clean.  It looks heaps better.

Trish tells me the car door problems on our Melbourne car have not been totally overcome.  We use the remote controls all the time to lock the car.  The car's door keys are hardly ever used.  Now with the electronic alarm and door openers not working 100%, we have gone back to needing to use the keys to get into the car.  However the keys do not turn the door lock!

It looked like around $500 worth of new door lock barrels were required.  Trish dropped the car off yesterday to have the work done today.  The guy there tried a magic spray as a last resort as the locks may have seized owing to lack of use.  The locks were left to soak in the spray overnight.

Though a little stiff, the locks now work again so we have saved ourselves quite some money.  The car will have a basic service and we will throw the remote controls away meaning the car will now only lock using the keys. 

The thought of replacing the car did cross our minds.  We may be in the market for a cheap reliable car to use as our second vehicle when in Melbourne.  Any good deal would be considered!