Smells Like Burnt Circuitry

[billroper]

The DSL filter on the line that our portable phone is attached to has gone bad. This was fairly easily confirmed by plugging it into a good DSL filter. Unfortunately, the phone and answering machine are attached through the wall jack in the kitchen, so I wanted to get another DSL filter in the same format. This made a good excuse to go to Fry's.

Well, it turns out that every wall jack filter they had was open box. Ok, fine. I took the sealed package home and opened it up tonight. The first thing I notice is the distinctive smell of burnt circuits. The second thing I notice is that it doesn't work.

So it is going back to Fry's tomorrow and I will get a DSL filter somewhere else.

But I am really annoyed that they put this piece of crap back on their shelves.

Comments

[whl.livejournal.com]

Recently, trying to work around a dead ethernet jack on someone's machine, I got them to order a wireless router from Amazon.

It arrived with the card to record configuration partially filled out in pen, with non-factory settings in the router, and not functional as a wireless access point.

You can't trust any store these days.

Oo-oo that smell... Can't you smell that smell?

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

Not everyone can detect that electrical-insulation- / rubber-burning smell. (I suspect it's genetic.)

Back when I worked on the 3rd floor (of 4) in the OSU College of Dentistry, I would smell that smell with increasing frequency in the hallway. When I would call it in, the person in charge of the building, and checking out such reports would come up to my hallway. Unfortunately, he was unable to smell what I could, and thought that there was nothing there.

This went on until one day, the fourth floor down to the second filled with smoke. One of the huge rooftop fans that drew airflow out of the system of lab fumehoods in the building had been grinding itself up and finally caught fire. It forced the evacuation of around half a dozen dental clinics throughout the college.

After that, when I called in one of those smells, they took me seriously.