Quoll Posted September 19, 2023 Share Posted September 19, 2023 10 hours ago, InnerVoice said: I've lived in Queensland for over 20 years so I'm au fait with the law on this matter - and yes, it is draconian. If the job involves repairs to the electrical infrastructure in my house then I always use a qualified electrician even though I'm quite capable of doing it myself. I'll admit that I still do a few small jobs, like changing a plug on the particle accelerator in the shed - the one that powers the DeLorean - and I've not ended up black, crinkly, and dangling from the ceiling like a Tasmanian electrician would do. What's life without a few risks?? Hey, I'm with you - I just asked my husband to put a plug on a kettle - it's certainly a risk that one takes and hopefully the insurance won't catch up with you should the worst happen - I'm just pointing out that the powers that be, once they take it into their noggins, dont care if you learned how to put on a plug in the scouts or you lecture in electrical engineering - if you ain't a registered electrician you shouldn't be doing it. Just one of those weird Australian things that newbies need to be wary of - like not using.UK wireless handphone sets, not using UK child seats and not parking on the wrong side of the road. It's a land of peculiar regulations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted September 19, 2023 Share Posted September 19, 2023 The reality is hardly anyone ever needs to change a plug. I haven't in nearly 40 years in Australia. Only recent migrants who brought some electrical appliance from overseas would need to. But it is better to get a professional to do it when it comes to electricity. Many people have been killed thinking they would save a few dollars by doing it themselves. Just buy a new kettle for goodness sake. They are cheap as chips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 22 hours ago, InnerVoice said: I've a degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering so I can probably manage a plug. University courses are notoriously bad about teaching anything practical. I wouldn't be surprised if you could finish your course knowing all the theory and history of electrical & electronic engineering without a clue as to how to wire anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 9 hours ago, Parley said: The reality is hardly anyone ever needs to change a plug. I haven't in nearly 40 years in Australia. Only recent migrants who brought some electrical appliance from overseas would need to. But it is better to get a professional to do it when it comes to electricity. Many people have been killed thinking they would save a few dollars by doing it themselves. Just buy a new kettle for goodness sake. They are cheap as chips. No need to replace the whole kettle. Most kettles use an IEC plug. You can buy leads with an IEC plug at one end and an AU 3 pin plug at the other almost anywhere. A quick google tells me they're $5.92 in Bunnings. Jackson 1.2m Replacement IEC Lead - Bunnings Australia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 45 minutes ago, Ken said: No need to replace the whole kettle. Most kettles use an IEC plug. You can buy leads with an IEC plug at one end and an AU 3 pin plug at the other almost anywhere. A quick google tells me they're $5.92 in Bunnings. Jackson 1.2m Replacement IEC Lead - Bunnings Australia Not your modern cordless kettle! As you note though, a lot of things you can and should buy replacements for, but there are one or two annoying things like Amazon echo devised which you cannot buy the power cable for. Various TVs, hifi's sonos etc we chucked some dollars at new Au cables for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 1 hour ago, Ken said: University courses are notoriously bad about teaching anything practical. I wouldn't be surprised if you could finish your course knowing all the theory and history of electrical & electronic engineering without a clue as to how to wire anything. That might be the case nowadays but I completed my degree 30 years ago, before the nanny state kicked and stopped students doing anything remotely risky/interesting/fun without someone signing off on a risk assessment. We did tonnes of practical work including wiring a ring circuit from scratch, making PCBs, programming PLCs, soldering etc, not to mention we all did an industrial placement. It was really enjoyable - wish I'd stuck with rather than going into teaching! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unzippy Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 On 12/09/2023 at 17:39, AngelaC said: Has anyone had success in converting regions on a smart to from UK to Australia? Our smart LG telly went dumb when it realised it was no longer in the UK. iPlayer, ITV etc stopped working. YouTube was ok but that's about it. There are ways around by setting up a vpn specifically for the telly, to trick it that it's back in the UK (https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/set-up-vpn-smart-tv/) The easiest fix that doesn't involve buying a new one is using a Chromecast or apple tv to get your content on to the TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 57 minutes ago, unzippy said: Our smart LG telly went dumb when it realised it was no longer in the UK. iPlayer, ITV etc stopped working. YouTube was ok but that's about it. There are ways around by setting up a vpn specifically for the telly, to trick it that it's back in the UK (https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/set-up-vpn-smart-tv/) The easiest fix that doesn't involve buying a new one is using a Chromecast or apple tv to get your content on to the TV. I must be missing something. When using Chromecast, both the Chromecast device and the casting device have to be using the same data source (in my case, the wifi on my phone). If I use a VPN on my phone, the Chromecast can't find the wifi so it won't work. I can't see how to set up a VPN on Chromecast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unzippy Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 1 minute ago, Marisawright said: I must be missing something. When using Chromecast, both the Chromecast device and the casting device have to be using the same data source (in my case, the wifi on my phone). If I use a VPN on my phone, the Chromecast can't find the wifi so it won't work. I can't see how to set up a VPN on Chromecast Sorry, I meant using the Chromecast to replace the smart functions that the telly lost. If I want to watch UK stuff on the big screen via vpn, I have a PC connected to the telly via HDMI, run the VPN on the PC then fire up iPlayer etc on the PC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 (edited) 21 minutes ago, unzippy said: Sorry, I meant using the Chromecast to replace the smart functions that the telly lost. If I want to watch UK stuff on the big screen via vpn, I have a PC connected to the telly via HDMI, run the VPN on the PC then fire up iPlayer etc on the PC. Can't you download an app on your Smart TV for the VPN you use, then connect to a UK IP address using that so you wouldn't need to connect your PC? I appreciate that some older Smart TVs don't support certain apps, but then a easy fix is to buy an Amazon Firestick for $50 because they have all the apps (including the VPN ones) preloaded, and then just run everything off the Firestick. Edited November 2, 2023 by InnerVoice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unzippy Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 36 minutes ago, InnerVoice said: Can't you download an app on your Smart TV for the VPN you use, then connect to a UK IP address using that so you wouldn't need to connect your PC? I appreciate that some older Smart TVs don't support certain apps, but then a easy fix is to buy an Amazon Firestick for $50 because they have all the apps (including the VPN ones) preloaded, and then just run everything off the Firestick. I suppose so, I've never looked into it. I've always had a little media PC plugged into the telly, useful for torrents, WFH etc. Just what I'm used to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 https://www.streamlocator.com Is also a good solution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 1 hour ago, InnerVoice said: Can't you download an app on your Smart TV for the VPN you use, then connect to a UK IP address using that so you wouldn't need to connect your PC? I appreciate that some older Smart TVs don't support certain apps, but then a easy fix is to buy an Amazon Firestick for $50 because they have all the apps (including the VPN ones) preloaded, and then just run everything off the Firestick. Is that just an ordinary Firestick set to Australia, or do you need to get one from the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BendigoBoy Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 7 minutes ago, Marisawright said: Is that just an ordinary Firestick set to Australia, or do you need to get one from the UK? Any stick should work as long as you've got (a) software for the VPN, and (b) an account for the VPN itself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 1 hour ago, Marisawright said: Is that just an ordinary Firestick set to Australia, or do you need to get one from the UK? What @BendigoBoy has stated below is correct. I'd buy a new one as they are only $59 (not $50 as I said before) and will have the latest version on the software already installed. 1 hour ago, BendigoBoy said: Any stick should work as long as you've got (a) software for the VPN, and (b) an account for the VPN itself. True, although it's also worth noting that not all VPNs have an app that you can download to your firestick (or directly to your smart TV), so ensure you subscribe to a reputable VPN. I use NordVPN because it always works (sometimes a little slowly) and their interface is seamless, but I'm sure there are plenty of other good ones out there too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 1 hour ago, paulhand said: https://www.streamlocator.com Is also a good solution. That looks pretty good, and a better option than using a VPN if the only thing you want to do is stream media from various locations - thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 47 minutes ago, InnerVoice said: I use NordVPN because it always works (sometimes a little slowly) and their interface is seamless, but I'm sure there are plenty of other good ones out there too. Witopia are good and have specific US streaming VPN connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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