How To Power a Car Subwoofer Without a External Amplifier

A car subwoofer need lots of rms power to produce hard hitting bass, if you dont have an amplifier or you dont want to buy it, then you can wire your car subwoofer to the head unit, but you will have to sacrifice a rear or front speaker in your car. Wiring a subwoofer to the head unit will power your car subwoofer without any problems, but your subwoofer will not play bass really loud because most aftermarket and stock head units produce like 25 watts rms on each channel. Hooking you sub to your deck will make the sub not play exact bass frequencies below 100Hz, as the head unit will send mids and highs frequencies to the subwoofer.

To wire your car subwoofer to your head unit, connect the speaker wire to the car subwoofer and remove a rear speaker connection thats connected with the speaker connections on the headunit plug. To get access to the headunit plug, you will need to remove the head unit from the cars dashboard using din tools. Once you have disconnected the connections that provide sound to a rear speaker in your car, run your subwoofer cable through your cars interior and connect the subwoofer cable to the rear speaker connection on the car head unit wiring plug. When you have made the connections to the subwoofer, use insulation tape to cover up any exposed braid of the speaker wires; this is to prevent crackling to occur.

Once you have done that your subwoofer will be powered with the built in amplifier inside the head unit. To optimize the bass response of the subwoofer, turn down the treble to the lowest level and turn up the bass to the maximum level. To cancel out the mids and high frequencies that are sent to the car subwoofer altogether, install a crossover over with a low pass filter in line with the subwoofer and head unit. 

To make you subwoofer play bass loud and hit harder, you can disconnect another rear or front speaker and bridge the channels on the head unit. This will allow your head unit to produce more power for you sub. Head unit bridging can actually damage the amplifier inside it because the internal amplifier inside it can overheat. So i suggest you place a cooling fan on the rear of the headunit to blow cool air inside it.

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What Causes a Car Exhaust To Backfire

A car exhaust that is backfiring is caused because of the engine is misfiring. If the exhaust on your car is backfiring, the cause why it is backfiring can be because of damaged spark plugs. Damaged spark plugs can cause poor timing to occur to your cars engine, which can be one cause why a car exhaust can backfire. So i suggest you examine all the spark plugs that are currently in your cars engine, if they look bad and then replace them.

The air filter inside your car engine can also be blocked, which can be the cause to your car to backfire. A blocked air filter can cause misfiring and poor fuel consumption. So locate were the air filter is in your cars engine, remove it and clean it if necessary. To give it a quick clean, rinse the air filter under warm water, which will get rid of all the grease.

If you have replaced the spark plugs and have also clean out the air filter and the car is still backfiring, then the timing belt or chain inside your cars engine needs replacing. If you have not changed it for a while, what can happen is the teeth on the belt can be worn out, which can cause the car exhaust and engine to backfire, due to poor timing. So head your local garage to get the timing belt or chain inspected.

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How To Fix PS2 That Doesnt Read Blue Game Discs Using Tape

So why wont my ps2 read blue discs?

Many owners of the PS2 console do experience that when using blue disc games, they get disc rear error message that appears on the browser screen. This also happens if you are trying to playing your old PS1 black disc games because they are also a Compact Disc. But it doesnt happen to silver game discs, since they are DVD type of discs. The reason why this problem occurs is because blue and black games discs tend to slip inside the disc tray, due to a design flaw on the PlayStation 2 fat console. As for fixing this problem, you can place tape onto the top surfaces of the disc and it will make the disc to the clamp inside the disc drive mechanism much more secured. For most people, this tape trick has worked, so why not give it a try?

Instructions:

1) Using a pair of scissors, cut 4 pieces of tape of the roll, masking tape, parcel tape or insulation tape would be ideal to use.

2) Get either a black or blue game disc that you want to fix and place the shiny surface down, onto a clean and soft surface. The printed graphics on the disc should be facing up.

3) Now individually stick each piece of tape around the discs center hole, like shown in the image below.

4) Go over the tape with your fingers because you want to ensure that the tape is firmly stuck onto the disc. You dont want any loose tape because when the disc is spinning inside the disc tray, the tape can come off and get trapped inside the disc mechanisms, causing more problems!

5) Once you have finished doing that, go ahead and reinsert the game disc you fixed into you PlayStation 2 console. Fingers-crossed it should work, if still doesnt read that game, then the laser is on its way out and needs replacing.

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How To Tell If a BenQ or Lite On Drive Is Inside Your Xbox 360 console

If you are thinking about flashing the disc drive inside your Xbox 360 to play back up games, then you will need to make 100% sure which drive type is inside your console. This is so you buy the correct tools and equipment to flash the drive. There are different types of drives because some of them are more easier to flash Ixtreme firmware onto them. If you do have a lite on drive inside your Xbox 360 console, it is better than a BenQ drive because it is much more quite, when loading games.

To identify whether you have a lite on or BenQ drive you have inside your Xbox 360 console, without removing the top cover and not voiding your 1 year warranty, then all you have to do is remove the faceplate. This is easy all you have to do is get a good grip of it and pull it off, but carefully!

Once you have removed the faceplate, you will see a small hole with 2 small wires, below the disc tray bezel. If the two wires are colored white, then that means the drive is a Lite On type. If wires are white colored, you have the BenQ drive.

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How To Connect a Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard To PS3 Console

You can connect a wireless Bluetooth computer keyboard and use it to manage your PlayStation 3 console. Once connected, the keyboard allows you to enter text into the internet browser, without using the DualShock 3 controller. The Bluetooth technology allows the keyboard to register with the PS3, without using a USB port. This means there are no wires to make the connections between the two devices, therefore you have the flexibility to take the keyboard any where you like.

1) Ensure charged batteries are inserted into the wireless keyboard you want to use. Then press the Power button on the keyboard to switch it on.

2) Power on your PS3 console. From the XMB menu locate Settings, find the option called Register Bluetooth Device > Register Keyboard/Mouse. You can also connect a wireless Bluetooth mouse using the same instructions.

3) Select the Start Scanning option that appears on screen. This will then command the PS3 console to activate its Bluetooth technology and look for the wireless keyboard you want to connect to it.

4) You will see the name of your keyboard appear onscreen, so select it by pressing the X button on the controller. It will then ask you to enter a passcode into the system. This will be the same passcode the system automatically generates for you. This will then permanently register the keyboard with the PlayStation console.

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How To Make a TomTom Say The Street Names On Route

A TomTom is a excellent satellite navigation system that is known to be very reliable very it comes to the road, but for some reason most of them for sale will not say the street names. This can make it difficult for you to drive down streets, as you wont know the name of the next street, if you dont look at screen and look at the maps that are displayed on the screen. All TomToms from the factory come with a features that allows the TomTom to say street names out loud, through the loudspeaker, if you TomTom doesnt say street names, follow the instructions below to enable it.

Instructions:

1)Power on your TomTom sat nav, once it is powered on, let the maps load, then tap the middle of the screen.

2)Go to the setting option, know as preferences, this is by finding the setting icon and tap onto it. 

3)Then find the option that says "Voice Settings", tick the box that says read out street names.

4)Once you have made that change to the settings, your TomTom will read out street names out loud and will be spoken to the driver.

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How To Fix Broken Xbox 360 Controller Battery Holder Cover

The Xbox 360 wireless controller uses a battery holder to hold the AA batteries in place. The battery holder is then attached onto the back of the gamepad controller. This allows the batteries to make direct contact with the metal pins and provide power to it. If you have removed the battery holder incorrectly or have forced it out, the plastic clips will break off. If this happens, the battery cover will not hold onto the back of the controller and it will fall off. To fix this problem, you can use insulation tape to hold it down in place and prevent it falling out if its loose.

1) Ensure that the batteries are fully charged and are inserted the correct way around. As you dont want to be removing the batteries later on, when you have held it in place permanently with tape.

2) Obtain your Xbox 360 controller and turn it upside down. Then line up the battery cover with its battery bay compartment and push it in place. Keep holding it in that position and dont let go.

3) Next obtain a roll of insulation tape. This is the best type of tape to use because if you want to remove it later on, it wont leave strong glue residue on the plastic. So cut some tape off the roll and attach it onto the back of the battery holder. The tape will now hold the battery holder in place and prevent it falling off, when using the controller.

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How To Test a Smoke Alarm Battery To Find Out If It Needs Replacing

A smoke alarm is a excellent device that can detect if a fire is occurring and can alert you that there is a fire, by creating a loud "Alarm" beep sound, it is a device that can save your life. But if the battery in your smoke alarm is dead, flat or faulty, then the smoke alarm will not work and you will not know if there is a fire, this put your life at a high risk. So it is ideal to test the battery inside the smoke alarm, to ensure that it is getting enough power to work.

1)Get access to your smoke alarm, there should be a large button on the plastic casing that says "Test". Press the button down, if the smoke detector beeps, then the battery is fine and will not need replacing. If it doesnt beep then the battery is dead, or the unit doesnt have a battery attached to it.

2)There are some cheap fire alarms that dont have a "Test" button for you to press down and to check if the battery is dead. If you fire alarm doesnt have the test button, then remove the battery from the smoke alarm. It should be inside the smoke alarm and a 9 volt battery attached to a small battery snap should be connected to it. Once you have removed it, get a battery tester and insert the 9 volt battery onto it. If the needle on the battery tester swings to the area that says "Charged" then the battery is fine. If the needle on the battery tester doesnt swing at all, then the battery has no power and will need replacing.

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How To Check Your Credit Balance On Orange Pay As You Go

If you want to find out and check how much credit is remaining on your Orange sim card, you can find out by ringing the number 453. Ringing 453 is free and will not deduct any money from your credit balance on your Orange sim card. The other way to find out the credit balance on your Orange pay as you go sim card is to dial *141*# and it will display the remaining credit balance on screen, which is also free. Both of these methods are great if you want to find out the remaining balance on your Orange pay as you go sim card instantly, without having to wait for a reply text.

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How To Fix a Xbox 360 Console That Cant Update

Microsoft release a new firmware update regularly, that can include many new features, a new looking dashboard and fixes, but in order for your Xbox 360 to benefit from the firmware release, you will need to update the firmware through a Xbox live connection. As soon as your connect your Xbox 360 console to the internet, it will automatically search for any updates and if a update is found, it will automatically update itself. However, if the update fails and wont confirm or complete, then below are some ideal solutions you can apply to resolve this kind of problem:

One thing to make clear is, in order to update the firmware on the console using the internet, you require a gamertag profile. If you dont have it, then unfortunately you can perform the update to your console.

1)Turn off your Xbox 360 console and unplug your router for 30 seconds. Then replug the router and power on your Xbox 360 console. This will reconfigure your Xbox 360 to the internet provider. This will allow your Xbox 360 console to update via internet, without having any problems in between.

3)If you are using a usb modem dongle and a computer or laptop to connect you console to Xbox live, make sure the firewall is turned off. Once it is turned off, restart the console and try to update it again via internet.

2)If you still cant update it using the internet, head over to the Xbox 360 official website and download the update onto a usb or burn it to a CD. Then turn off the console, insert the usb or  the disc into your console and it will automatically apply the update. If the Xbox 360 cant find the update disc you created, then update files can be corrupted. So download the update again and make a fresh copy of the update disc.

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How To Fix PS2 Slimline Loud Noisy Cooling Fan Make it Super Quiet!

So why does my PS2 slimline have a noisy fan?

The reason why you hear the cooling fan inside your PS2 slimline spinning like crazy is because the internal hardware inside it is suffering from overheating. Overheating can occur if your console is not getting proper air ventilation around it, since it blocks that airflow. Overheating overtime can cause the graphics and processor chips to get damaged. So the best thing to do right now is to start making some changes before its too late.

Instructions:

1) Examine your ps2 slim console, locate the rear and front air ventilation vents and look carefully into them. If you see that they are really dusty, this results in the hot air inside the case to become trapped. This is not good, so you will need to give them a clean. Dont blow the dust out with your mouth, because you might be thinking that the dust is gone, but really you are blowing the dust back into the insides of the console. So I would suggest using a household vacuum cleaner to perform the cleaning, since it will be sucking the dust out and not forcing it back in.

2) Ensure that your PS2 slimline is getting proper air ventilation around the positioning of the console. The air ventilation vent, found at the back of the console is used for the cooling fan to extract the hot air out of the case. So make sure your console is not pushed right against a wall, shelf or cabinet because it will allow air to escape more freely out of the console.

3) If you find that the cooling fan becomes loud and noisy after long periods of continuous use of the PlayStation 2 slim console, then switch if off and dont use it for about 10 minutes. This will allow the internal hardware to cool its self back down to a cool operating temperature. The slim model is more prone to suffer from overheating because of its small internal design and small sized cooling fan, in comparison with the older fat style model.

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How To Reset a ECU Unit Works On all Cars Including Subaru WRX Honda Civic and Prelude

From time to time, resetting your cars ecu unit is ideal because it allows the ecu to recalibrate all of its settings; this is so it runs at its maximum efficiency. It also helps the ecu unit get rid of  unwanted "Engine Check Lights" to appear inside the dashboard cluster, which can put people buying your car, if you have put it for sale. Resetting a car ecu is not hard, you dont need to be a advanced mechanic, follow the instructions provided below, they will guide you step by step on what needs to be done to reset the ecu unit.

Instructions on how to clear the ECU units memory:

1)Open the hood of the car and then locate the location of the car battery. When you have found the car battery, using a spanner, remove the negative terminal from the battery post. Once it has been disconnected, leave it for 20 minutes and then connect it back onto the battery post and tighten it up with a spanner.

2)Insert the key into the ignition in the first position and leave it in that position for 6 minutes.

3)Start up the vehicle and let the engine idle for 8 minutes.

4)Turn off the engine and turn it back on and go for a quick spin around your block.

5)At this stage, the ecu unit will be reset.

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How To Make Your Own Car Sat Nav Have More Reliability

Does your car sat nav always let you down when you need it? Well I have some top tips that will increase the reliability of your sat nav when you hit the road, tips which I use for my own car sat nav that I want to share.

1)Always check if there is any software updates available for you sat nav, as you might have a really out of date software version running on your sat nav. Older software versions have older maps, which can reflect on the reliability of your sat nav guiding you to the correct way. For example: if a new road was created in 2011 and the maps for the sat nav are created in 2009, the you sat nav will not guide you on that road, leaving you puzzled. To update the software on most sat navs, all you need is a computer with a internet connection, a disc that is supplied and a usb cable, to connect your sat nav to your computer via usb port.  If you own a TomTom, I have a brilliant blog post explaining instructions on how to update the software on it, which is below:

2)Make sure you don’t leave the sat nav charger behind when taking it on long motorway journeys because the battery life will die on you, making it unreliable. Using a fully charged sat nav without plugging it into a car charger, is ideal for local journeys, but for long distances.

3)Double check the address of the detestation your are wanting to go to, a wrong address can make you annoyed and blame the sat nav and saying it is not reliable for you.

4)Make sure the sat nav is placed near the front car window because it can find more gps satellites. Placing the sat nav on your car seat or in your hand will block incoming gps signal from the satellites, therefore you sat nav could lose route calculation.

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How To Fix Alarm Clock Bug On a iphone 3gs 4 0 2 4 01 4 2 1 Firmwares

The iphone can be used as a alarm clock, just like any other mobile phone created today, however the reliability of using the alarm clock feature on it sucks because it suffers a major bug that causes that alarm to set off too late, not the time you set the alarm for, or the alarm clock altogether doesnt work at all. If you expereince either of them two problems on your iphone or ipod touch, then below is the solution to solve this problem:

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How To Make a Xbox Play DVDs Movies

To make your Xbox console play DVD movies, you will need to buy a Xbox remote control. When Microsoft created the Xbox console, they thought that they can make more money out of people who want to play DVDs on their Xbox because they will have no choice but to purchase the Xbox remote control. The ps2 can play DVDs movies without buying any external accessories, just open the disc tray and pop in the DVD, unlike the Xbox.

Instructions on how to play DVDs on a Xbox console:

1)Purchase a Xbox remote control, if it doesnt come with 2 AAA batteries you will also need to buy them separate.

2)Remove the battery cover, insert 2 AA batteries and replace the battery cover.

3Power off the Xbox console and insert the infrared receiver into a spare controller port on the console.
4)Power on the Xbox console, eject the disc tray and insert a original DVD movie into it and close the disc tray.

5)Your Xbox will now play the DVD movie.

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How To Connect MP3 Player To PC Computer Speakers For Sound

PC Stereo speakers are connected into the green color jack found on the back of the computer to create sound produced from the sound card. It works by the sound card sending an input signal into the computer speakers. Then the amplifier inside the computer speakers will process the input signal sent from the sound card and will amplify it and will make it more powerful. Finally, the signal will then be sent to the computer speaker drivers, so they can play sound out loud. Computer speakers have a integrated amplifier powering the speakers, this is what makes them sound loud and powerful, which is why you have to plug them into a wall socket to obtain power. Not only can you use your computer speakers for use with your PC, you can also use them with any device that has a 3.5mm socket. This means you can hook up your computer speakers to your mobile phone, portable mp3 player, PSP Vita console or portable DVD player.

1) You will need to the find the 3.5mm socket on your mp3 player. It is the same socket that is used to connect headphones to your mp3 player. This socket will be used so the PC speakers can obtain an input signal from the mp3 player.

2) Once you have found the 3.5mm socket, get the 3.5mm green color jack/plug from the speakers and insert it into the 3.5mm socket found on your mp3 player.

3) Plug in your computer speakers into a wall socket and switch them on. Ensure that the volume level is set to the maximum level on the mp3 player and then adjust the volume level control on your computer speakers to your liking. If your mp3 player has an equalizer, adjust the different frequency sliders to increase or decrease bass and treble to slightly increase sound quality.

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How To Fix a PSP Console That Will Not Play MP4 Movie Videos

A psp has a large screen, with a decent pixel resolution, to watch movies and have a great watching experience. A psp also has compatibility with large capacity memory sticks, so you can store high quality mp4 movie files onto it and watch then on your psp console. Overall a psp console is great for mp4 videos, however, some users experience that there psp console will not play mp4 videos, if that is the case, the solutions to help you find a fix to the problem are below:

1)Make sure the mp4 video file is placed in the correct folder and location. If you have placed the mp4 video file on the root of the memory card, the psp will not find the mp4 file. So make sure the mp4 file is placed in the folder called "VIDEO". If there is no folder called "VIDEO" on the memory stick, create and make sure you spell the word video in capitals.

2)Make sure that the mp4 file you want to play on your psp console is named .mp4. If the file has a name, but doesnt have the .mp4 at the end of it, that can be a reason why the psp will not play the mp4 movie. This is because the psp cant recognize that it is a mp4 file.

3)If you have used a special program to convert the video to mp4 video format and transfer it automatically to your psp memory stick, some programs dont work as well as others and you are probably using a program that is buggy. The program that i use is called "Psp video 9", its a free psp video converter that works, without any bugs. So give it a try.

4)Make sure the mp4 video file is not corrupted. Corrupted means that some of the data in the file is either damaged or lost, this can happen when you unplug your psp console from the computer, when the psp video converter software is copying the mp4 file onto the memory stick. So create a fresh mp4 file, from the original source, if that doesnt work, the original source is corrupt.

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How To Fix a Portable Tv That Has No Signal

If you are getting no coverage reception on your portable TV in the UK, the area were you are trying to watch TV in may have switched over to digital Freeview. When the switch over occurs, they shut down the old channels transmitters, so your portable television cant receive a normal television signal. Head over to the digitalUK website to find out if the digital switch over has occurred in the area you are operating your portable TV in.

If the digital switch over is still not happened, if you have a portable TV and you dont you cant watch any channels because it has no signal, then you can buy a signal booster. A signal booster amplifies the income signal from the television transmitter tower and brings a more powerful signal into the RF input in your portable telly. Using a signal booster can improve the reception in your area and help your TV gain signal to watch TV channels. They make special signal boosters specifically for portable type TVs, so dont buy a signal booster that is for a home TV setup because it will have different connectors.  

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How To Connect a Normal PC Keyboard To a PS3 Console

The great thing with Sony is when they designed the ps3, they allowed compatibility with normal computer keyboards to work on a PlayStation 3 console, given the user flexibility to surf the internet with ease. Hackers that have enabled Linux to run on the fat style PlayStation 3 console can connect a computer keyboard to the console and turn it a functional computer. If you have a spare usb computer keyboard, you can connect it to your ps3 console and use it to type text, as it is frustrating typing text using a sixaxis controller. To connect a normal PC keyboard to your ps3 console, simply connect the keyboards usb plug into a spare usb port and it will work instantly.

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How To Fix a PSP Thats Stuck On The Please Wait Screen

If your psp is stuck on the please wait screen, the reason why it is because the psp is overheating and the CPU freezes up and locks up. To fix this, simply remove the battery cover, then remove the battery pack, this will allow the psp CPU to cool down. Reinsert the battery pack after 5 minutes and replace the battery cover and power on your psp console.

If your psp console persists on getting stuck on the please wait screen, the firmware that your psp is running can have a bug, so i suggest you update the firmware if there is a latest available version released for your psp.

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