If you need lots of fruit flies, just plant Starfruit trees and leave the fruit to rot. This plant grows almost anywhere and fruits in about a year and remains fruiting all year. They fruit profusely and the fruit flies love them. Much better than the wild figs.

If you got oil palm nearby, nothing you plant will be beat the fruiting/flowering oil palm.

If you find this information useful, please donate RM10 to any charity fund

make your own auto close RCD/ELCB - Note this is not a ' FUSE ' this unit detects residual or leaking current to earth so preventing accidental electrocution.

A small car wiper or power window motor is used to reset a normal RCD/ELCB. This is coupled with a timer so that the reset is done after a delay of 20 mins. or so to prevent immediate reset due to electrocution. I use a electronic counter to count the number of resets as high counts could mean that the electrical system is being tripped by something other than lightning.

A replaceable surge protector is available for direct placement into you standard fuse box, about RM70 or you can make your own using components that cost half as much. Note that any surge protector that does not burn or self destroy after a few surges is not necessarily doing it's job. A Varistor is the major component of a surge protector, these are the DISK like components found in the surge protectors, very cheap to replace or made into a DIY surge protector.

Have fun and learn a little about electronics and electrics, save yourself some money in the long run. Most of all, save yourself the trouble of trying to get someone to help you fix the problem.




Attached thumbnail(s)

I have 12v power all around. 12 UPS for CCTV, Alarm, etc. easy to rig up 12v from Battery in any UPS or use small DC power supply. Same power for digital counter and timers.

Wah so very observant. Normally the gr floor is the coolest but on that day it was fairly windy and the air from the outside migrated into the gr flr. when I opened up the control room. usually about 0.5 deg c difference between each floor except on extremely hot days where the top flr goes to 31 deg. but the lower flrs remain in the 28-29 range. All floors are on hygrostat priority so tempterature is not controlled.

Am in Hongkong now and retail prices are still the same as 3 years ago. Some but not much red nest on display.

Prices displayed, in HK and Macau
Red coloured nests average HKD9000 per tahil..
Golden about HKD 7000 to HKD 8500 per tahil.
White from HKD7000 to HKD 1500 per tahil.
Broken nests HKD 500+ per tahil.
Chalk white nests seem to sell for higher price than clean clear translucent nests.
Some shops are selling nests that have been partially cleaned, with some feathers.

Sorry, I don't read Chinese so I could be wrong with the weight defined but those were the prices as displayed. I could not take pictures at Mongkok, too crowded and the shop keepers were too vigilant. I assumed it was per tahil. I doubt it was per catty though.

1 catty = 12 tahils or 16 tahils? 1 catty = 600gms.

Displayed prices may differ very much from the actual selling price as ample discounts are often given.

I'll look again at other locations today.

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Added on December 21, 2011, 11:25 amhttp://www.onlineunitconversion.com/gram_to_tahil.China.html

http://www.convertunits.com/from/1+tahil+[China]/to/gram

http://www.sourcesingapore.com.sg/Conversi...ersion.htm#mass

so which is correct?


This post has been edited by tuckfook: Dec 21 2011, 11:25 AM

LEDs are certainly lights for the future. I use LED torch light for hunting and they are as bright but usually whiter than Halogen lights. LED runs much cooler. They are very energy efficient. Most of all, weigh much less.

LEDs operating from the rechargeable Lithium ion batteries batteries makes a very compact and powerful light.

There is a major problem with LEDs, they run on relatively low current, typically less than 1 (some up to 3)amps and do not tolerate being driven beyond their designed capabilities. Hence they require sophisticated circuitry to control the amount of current that goes into it. Their internal resistance is very low so the voltage supplied is again has to be very low, about 3 volts DC.

Running the LED lights from mains AC @ 230volts require special driver circuitry and it is these that fail quite often. When the drivers fail, it usually also blows the LED otherwise LEDs have a life of at least 50,000 hours. LEDs also require heat sinking(kept cool) otherwise they suffer thermal runaway and self destruct.

I have found that Made in China LED lights are good but they fail because of the drivers. Otherwise they will be very cost effective.

BTW most LED lights are made in China, even the famous brands, but to get famous brand reliability, you have to pay much much more.

The cheaper alternative nowadays will be the compact flourescent bulb. Use these until the LED lights become cheaper and more reliable. That may perhaps be very soon.

That's good research.

LEDs will always need a heatsink as they suffer from Thermal runaway, ie as it gets hot, it takes more current and as it takes more current, it'll get hotter. Basically, the LED is such a tiny point producing heat that if the heat is not taken away quickly, that point on the surface of the LED will get hotter and hotter until it blows up. Just as a 1watt laser will pop a balloon but a 1watt light will never do the same. All the energy focused on a tiny point.

Good heat sinking will prolong the life of the LED.

Be careful, even 12v car batteries can kill when in a flooded area.

Flood water will cause the batt to discharge after a short while but if there is still charge and you touch one terminal with your body whilst the other is flooded you can get a high current discharge through your body. If you happen to touch both terminals, good luck. Dry human skin is a fair insulator but wet skin not so.

Where is Asajaya?

Is it true that for the past few years that:

Indonesian and Thai nest were not allowed into China without hefty tax whereas Malaysian nest were imported into China with much lower taxation ?

Most exported "Malaysian" EBN were actually from Indonesia?

Most Malaysian EBN were sent to Indonesia for cleaning and a much larger amount returned to Malaysia as Malaysian nests?

TV 3/4 what's your jungle like?

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Added on January 13, 2012, 7:17 pmSorry "Jingle"

This post has been edited by tuckfook: Jan 13 2012, 07:17 PM

The problem with BHs having to move out of town was caused by the BH owners themselves. Not all BH owners but MOST.

2005 BH owners were requested to solve the problems associated with BHs. Loud irritating noises as complained by neighbours. Submitting renovation plans...etc...we have heard it all right? Call for Moratorium on BHs in urban areas. Moratorium in Heritage zones of Malacca and Georgetown.

2008 Moratorium on BHs in town by most Town Councils and yet more BHs continued to be built. Moratorium on BHs in Heritage zones were ignored and the number of BHs in these areas increased.

2010 BHs owners in Georgetown voluntarily decided to cut all sound in urban areas. Unwritten understanding that if there were no complaints then no action would be taken for the time being.

Today, in some town areas, swiftlet sounds are still being blasted like the neighbours were happy with the noise. BHs were still being converted from empty shoplots without plans or permission from local council, ignoring local bye laws.

Everyone in this business had ample warning that they could soon be evicted from their BHs in urban areas so the risk taken to build and continue in such areas should be fully understood.

Sad but true, this situation was brought upon by BH owners in general and some good people will suffer collateral damage.

The local authorities have been advised by VET and Perhilitan that to avoid killing birds as much as possible, the birds will be stopped from breeding and returning to roost gradually in phases.

This is to be done when there are no more nestlings around(as when harvest time) and as soon as any nest is built it is to be scrapped off as soon as they build. Lights will be left on at night and the in/out hole gradually closed off with white planking.

The birds will eventually find a new home.

It is so very sad that when all BH owners were asked to support their local Associations to be able to represent a united voice, the response was dismal, to say the least. It is the loudest voice, the majority, that is heard.

Where was the support when needed?

As many of the old timers have predicted, they only come when they are under threat.

In any case NOT ALL of the BH owners are affected as they have chosen to continue in non urban areas.

As with any investment, there is nobody to blame for ones loss but oneself. Nobody else will compensate for our loss as they will not ask for a share of the profits either.

Research is all important as with no birds this industry will die off.

We must all come together to make ourselves heard. Support your local Association, voice out your opinion with them so that they can in return voice it out to the National bodies and Government.

WW, who is the lady ? I thought Dato Beh went to China then.

Yes, as in Penang, NGO are very powerful and has been seen that the PHT (Penang Heritage Trust) held the Govt. by the balls. Again a lady made the most noise.

As expected, China has put a ban on all forms of raw EBN.

China has not banned EBN in the processed( canned or bottled) form, which is probably good for the industry worldwide.

This opens the way for ISO certified EBN processing factories in this region to produce a variety of ready to consume EBN concoctions for the world's market.

Now is the time for Malaysia to be No.1 ?

So, forget about graded EBN and vastly different prices, forget about colour, forget about sizes, it's all the same EBN, as once prepared, you cannot tell the difference.

WW, of course there are still tons of unprocessed EBN in China.

It is just that the Chinese Government has put a blanket ban on all raw EBN, even the returning tourist are not allowed to bring any in, whether from Malaysia, HK or anywhere else.

On the other hand, China will allow the importation of processed, ready to consume EBN products. Companies like Eu Yan Sang will benefit.
These products have to be certified by the exporting countries, which is standard practise for food items.

What I'm saying is that this will allow all certified manufacturers of foodstuffs in Malaysia to export ready prepared, ready to eat, EBN products. There are very many such companies in Malaysia with the proper certification.

With this in mind, it makes no difference whether the raw EBN is in whatever shape or size. There are machines capable of cleaning very dirty nests, though with greater loss, but in the finished product, ie the EBN concoction, the cleanliness, size or colour of the raw nest will be indistinguishable. So, all nests will be useable.

You may note that there are buyers for dirty nests at about $500/kg. with about 50% loss or sometimes more after cleaning, that will translate to about $1k + per kg of equivalent cleaner nests. There are already several manufacturers already making EBN concoction from these cheaper nests. Of course the cleaner the nest the less the loss in cleaning.

..........................

I would love to invest in Thailand, pretty ladies and lovely food but foreigners are not allowed to own land.

As for Cambodia, the risks are too high. I would have to join the local Mafia for protection and dodge the occasional bullet and landmine ; )

WW don't tell everyone the secrets ! I only eat the old nests as well. Like you said, taste better, does not melt and has texture. This is also why it is sought after in the processed EBN cubilose concoctions. If they use the white 'first time ' nests, the product will not have any texture nor taste as concentrated.

Soon the old nests will be much sought after and fetch a better price but right now the supply far outstrips the demand.

Recent rumors are

Export of EBN to China will resume soon, within April to June.

Neighboring countries are planning to boycott Chinese preserved fruits, vegetables and other condiments.

Several parties hoping to monopolize importation of EBN into China by setting standards that initially few others will be able to attain.

Vast stocks of EBN will ensure the price rebound will be modest until such stocks are depleted. Controlled release will ensure great profits for these people with the stocks.

Would be nice if anyone can confirm the above.

The problem with many EBN processors is that they want their processed nests to have the EBN smell.

The achieve this, the water that the EBN is being processed is not changed very often.

The change of ammonia to nitrites and nitrates is by the action of bacteria with the oxygen and water.

We simply get rid of the bacteria by using boiling water to rinse the nest out, several times before picking out the shit and feathers. After this the water used to soak the nests in whilst cleaning has to be chlorinate tap water not filtered water as filtering water (with commercial water filters) usually gets rid of the chlorine. Chlorine will kill any bacteria still present. Chlorine will disappear after drying, besides, they do not test for chlorine and it's compounds. I have also increased chlorine by using sterilizing tablets as used for baby milk bottles.

Everyone please try the above and see if your processed nest will become strong smelling after leaving out for a day or so as compared to one processed without sterilizing.

I have not tried other methods of sterilizing the nests, other than the above, but there are many other methods to stop the action of bacteria. No bacteria no conversion to nitrates and nitrites. Existing nitrates and nitrites will dissolve with water and rinsed away. Low ppm is therefore achievable consistently.

BTW I believe the respective governments are talking of "No Added nitrites" in natural EBN.

Our politicians are too busy worrying about their personal political future to worry about us.

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Added on March 26, 2012, 12:47 pmBe careful, for at any other than that temperature you may be encouraging the production of nitrates and nitrites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_cycle

http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html

<Temperature

<The temperature for optimum growth of nitrifying bacteria is between 77-86° F (25-30° C).

<Growth rate is decreased by 50% at 64° F (18° C).

<Growth rate is decreased by 75% at 46-50° F.

<No activity will occur at 39° F (4° C)

<Nitrifying bacteria will die at 32° F (0° C).

<Nitrifying bacteria will die at 120° F (49° C)

<Nitrobacter is less tolerant of low temperatures than Nitrosomonas. In cold water systems, care must be taken to monitor the accumulation <of nitrites.

Most processing plants will operate at temperatures that encourage the growth of this bacteria. The bacteria must first be killed then the nitrates and nitrites be flushed away and then re sterilised after handling, before storage.

This post has been edited by tuckfook: Mar 26 2012, 11:05 PM