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.