Hi have you checked the usual suspects first
plug fuse loose connections
if you have wound the power lead tight to pack away you could have snapped the cable inside some where
so firstly check all you can on the power lead using a house hold screw driver
then if all seems well oh if you can try replacing the fuse in the mains plug make sure you dont put a 13 amp if it only contains a 5 amp or what ever
lets say still no joy
pop along to local hardware shop buy a elictical tester that is simmilar to a screw driver
when testing for current flow
DO NOT PLUG THE LEAD INTO THE MAINS
all you do is touch one end of the lead to be tested and as you know the mains one has three so holding say the top male pin on the plug between finger and thumb of one hand and then touch the female end of the lead with the scvrewdriver test tool checking first the instructions on how to hold the tool
your body will produce enough static elec to light the little bulb in the test tool
if it lights it is fine so move on to next one
PS(split the lead into its two parts and test each part seperately)
if you find that the live one wont light up test the fuse with same method
as it saves you taking apart a lamp and popping fuse in to see if the lamp lights up
sounds complex but once you do this a coulpe of times its real easy and that little tool will come in handy for a mulitude of other testings too
if fuse lights the tool that means there is abreak in the lead
pop on to ebay or freecycle.org to replace the whole lead
you can get whole new leads on ebay for about £6 plus postage
use the lowest price and postage selection tab found in the
little box that says Best match hover and select the lowest etc click on this and it will bring your goods up in that order
if you are bidding and want to get the item at lowest bid this never fails
find your item and add it to watched list
log into ebay 30 mins before the auction ends
ok lets say the item has a start bid of 99p and is worth plenty more than that
think ok along with the postage what would I give for this item
lets say its a flat screen monitor
not new but second generation and has start bid of 99p and postage set at £9
well that monitor has to be worth £10 all day long
so the total you will spend will be yep £19
you are logged on to ebay and have clicked to look at the monitor DONT BID YET
wait untill 15 seconds before the auction ends this can be assertained using the refresh button in the listing screen NOT the one on your browser
ok as 20 secs comes along type 10.00 in place bid now
as 15 secs comes along confirm your bid
and by the time your £10 is registered and comes back to you no one else will have a chance to bid and if the item is still on zero bidders and start bid of 99p
you got your self a monitor for 99p plus £9 postage
just pop to your paypal account and pay for the item and the seller will send it to you so the second little tip is choose to watch only the ones with no bidders
and if you do as I have done broke the rule and bidded before the crucial 15 secs you will end up paying more as it brings the item to the attention of others looking for the same item!!
I hope this all works out for you
drew, September 2008
