After having the same website design for almost ten years we have decided to refresh its appearance. It still uses the excellent WordPress CMS and still has a number of plugins making a wide range of functions available to visitors.
We have checked the site for any potential bugs but if you find any or have any suggestions on improving it please let us know.
The upgrade was carried out by a small team of talented in-house staff members.
Ecotech Services now pays for all of the public transport fares for staff members. This means that they get free transport for both commuting to work and for any other activity.
This is a small measure to help with climate change mitigation by encouraging staff to use public transport.
It’s not often that I’m blown away by outstanding customer service but today I was.
While browsing the aisles at Ecotech Services (as you do….) I spotted a Pixel TC-252 Timer Remote Control camera remote shutter complete with its manual sitting on the shelf with the rest of the camera accessories (chargers, filters, and other bits and pieces). This device has a small LCD screen and quite a few buttons. It appeared at a quick glance to have quite a few features.
As I’m getting into photography and getting interested in chasing auroras and shooting the Milky Way, and maybe doing time lapses, my interest was instantly aroused, so I told my partner Alan Liefting that I was going to take it home to check it out. “Where did you find that?” he asked me. (Ha I spotted it first!! but I might let him borrow it….) The device is made by a Hong Kong based company called Pixel. After a quick Google search I found their website and had a read of the info. The remote has a lot of great features. It can do a single shot, multi shot, bulb, delayed and even a timer that can do multiple time delay shots – an intervalometer – so it can do time lapse. Perfect for astrophotography! (now I just have to wait for a star tracker to turn up at Ecotech Services – dreams are free!!) It turns out that the cable is connected to the remote via a 2.5mm plug and a range of different cables for different cameras are available. I tried pressing the biggest button which turned it on, and it fired up with a logo, then appeared to shut down after a short period. I wasn’t sure if this was normal behaviour or if it had a fault.
The manual didn’t really shed any light and a quick Google search found the Pixel website which had a chat feature so I thought I’d give it a go. The person on the other end was more than helpful. After I described the situation, they got me to send them a video of what the remote was doing, checked it against the behaviour of one they had at their end and got me to do some testing (see what happened when the batteries were replaced – it fired up). It turned out that what was happening was normal in single shot mode. I then tried clicking into the other features of the device and the appropriate displays came up on the screen, so it appears to work. The Pixel rep then gave me the specs of what cable I would need to find. They gave me their model number, which I expected, but also the specs of a generic cable that will do the job and make this remote work with both of our cameras. I was extremely impressed with the level of help given to a random customer who had not purchased their product, nor was likely to purchase a cable from them (they even said to me that the freight to buy from them directly would kill it). If you are into photography and are looking for a good quality remote timer/intervalometer, look into the Pixel.
Here is a review (should have watched that first!):
Pixel TC-252 – BEST VALUE INTERVAL TIMER for any camera! – REMOTE FOR TIME LAPSE
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EDITED
As of the 1st of April 2023 some of our prices will increase due to increased costs.
| Item code | Description | Old price | New price |
| 00100 | Admin – per 10 min | $10.00 | $12.00 |
| 30100 | Recycling labour – per 10 min | $11.00 | $12.50 |
| 34234 | LCD television recycling | $20.00 | $25.00 |
| 34160 | UPS recycling | $0.00 | $10.00 |
| 32112 | Alkaline battery recycling | $3.50 | $4.50 |
| 32190 | Battery recycling – unsorted | $4.50 | $5.00 |
We attempt to keep our prices as low as possible so any increasing costs must be passed on since they cannot be absorbed by us.
In order to promote minor electronic and electrical repairs we now have a minimum fee of $15 instead of $45. We have always charged a low price for minor repairs. This announcement is to formalise it.
If we have a technician available we are able to do some repairs immediately.
There will still be a $45 inspection/assessment fee for large items that require time to diagnose the fault and to supply a quote.
The $15 fee does not generally apply to computers, laptops, and tablets. These items have a $54 inspection/assessment fee.
See our price list for more information.
When we receive our patients they all go through a thorough and careful process, and we are usually able to give them a longer, healthier life.
Sometimes the sheer numbers overload our facilities and so we firstly carry out a quick triage of all the incoming patients. Some of the better Windows 7 and 8 machines go straight to the operating theatre for a Windows 10 upgrade to give them a new lease of life. Core 2 Duo patients are deemed to need palliative care but we euthanise them with the dismantling process. There is rarely a need to keep doner parts from them for other sick PCs. Some of the Windows XP patients are still quite healthy after quite a long life and a few humans like and need their company. We give them a new lease of life with a wipe, an operating system reload, and sometimes a little cosmetic surgery.
During the triage we find that some patients are DOA, in some cases it is because they have been butchered for parts.
It is disappointing that we get some patients who have led an unhealthy life. They quite obviously have been cooped up in a dusty environment and kept working all day and all night. This leads to overheating and possibly to a premature death.
We do the best we can with all our patients by reviving them and ensuring that they can be a healthy part of the home and the workplace. However, it is quite depressing to see that some of them will never again be gainfully employed. A very satisfying part of our job, on the other hand, is to take some of the geriatric computers into our care. We know full well that they will never be employed again but being so interesting we keep them ourselves for the good company they provide, or we pass them on to those who will lavish them with love and care and attention.
Saturday the 15th of October is the 2022 International Repair Day.
Staff from Ecotech Services will once again be helping out at Repair Day events.
A Visione VISDVD5820 DVD player came in for recycling and since it has a HDMI output I thought I may as well have a go at refurbishing it. They are budget brand and as we will see you really get what you pay for. It seems to be a brand name used by Harvey Norman.
The batteries in the remote had leaked and caused really bad corrosion on one of the battery terminals to the point of almost completely rusting the retaining spring! Also, there were splatters of solder left on the circuit board from when the battery terminals were manually soldered in place in the factory.
A quick internet search showed that this fault has has happened to others. They sold for $29 and $18 and as low as $9! There is no point doing any repairs on it so off it goes to be dismantled.
It is a shame that this sort of poor quality equipment with poor quality batteries is being sold. This sort of stuff is short lived enough as it is because of the rapid change in technology.
After a decade of slow demand the market for second hand paint pails has strengthened. Market analysts working in the second hand paint pail market have seen a supply side issue. This appears to be largely due to a shortage of plasterboard in the construction sector leading to a lower demand for paint. It was announced that there could be 100 shipping containers of plasterboard arriving to cover the shortfall in local production.
The supply of the pails is now sporadic. Creative Junk are experiencing high demand with them “flying out the door”. Retail prices are either $2 or $4 on Facebook and are not readily available on the Trade Me auction site.
Alan Liefting the Paint Pail Purchasing Manager at Ecotech Services, has been watching the paint pail market for some time. “We have been using the pails for storing all manner of itmes from our recycling operation for a long time,” said Mr Liefting. “They were easy to get. People were glad to get rid of them. Now we have to pay for them!”
The reputable paint supply merchants rarely have empty paint pails and the ones withat have paint residue are sent away for recycling. There is speculation that there is stockpiling of paint pails to reduce the supply and attempt to manipulate the market but wthere is no concrete proof of this.
(Whilst this is my attempt at humour it is largely based on facts – except my company role!)
Most of our prices have remained the same for a long while but a wide number of factors means we have to raise some of them. The changes are effective immediately.
These are the updated prices and our full price list can be found on our prices page.
| Item code | Description | Old price | New price |
| 00810 | Late payment fee | $10.00 | $12.00 |
| 08001 | Waste disposal – per kilo | $0.21 | $0.90 |
| 10100 | Labour – repair – per 10 min | $13.00 | $15.00 |
| 10101 | Inspection/assessment/minimum fee – electrical and electronics | $39.00 | $45.00 |
| 10150 | Call out fee – misc | $35.00 | $60.00 |
| 10200 | Labour – repair – computer – per 10 min | $15.00 | $18.00 |
| 10201 | Inspection/assessment/minimum fee – computers | $45.00 | $54.00 |
| 30002 | Recycling service – misc – per kg | $0.20 | $0.40 |
| 30100 | Labour – recycling – per 10 min | $9.00 | $11.00 |
| 32110 | Alkaline battery recycling (per kg) | $3.00 | $3.50 |
| 32120 | NiCd/NiMh battery recycling | $3.50 | $4.50 |
| 32122 | NiCd battery recycling – per kg | $3.50 | $4.50 |
| 32132 | Lithium battery recycling (kg) | $0.00 | $5.00 |
| 32133 | Laptop battery recycling | $0.00 | $2.00 |
| 32134 | Li-ion (lithium) battery recycling | $0.00 | $5.00 |
| 32136 | Li-MnO2 battery recycling | $0.00 | $5.00 |
| 32172 | NiMH battery recycling – per kg | $3.50 | $4.50 |
| 32190 | Battery recycling – unsorted | $3.50 | $4.50 |
| 34114 | All in one computer recycling | $8.00 | $10.00 |
| 34122 | Monitor recycling | $8.00 | $10.00 |
| 34150 | E-book reader recycling | $0.00 | $2.00 |
| 34210 | Small appliance recycling | $0.00 | $2.00 |
| 34211 | Microwave oven recycling | $0.00 | $4.00 |
| 34231 | CRT TV recycling | $30.00 | $35.00 |
| 34233 | Plasma TV recycling | $25.00 | $30.00 |
| 34234 | Fluorescent-backlit LCD TV recycling | $18.00 | $20.00 |
| 34235 | LED-backlit LCD TV recycling | $12.00 | $20.00 |
| 34530 | Recycling – unit – telecom – cord | $1.15 | $3.00 |
| 34540 | Recycling – unit – telecom – IP | $1.15 | $3.00 |
| 35133 | Compact cassette recycling | $4.50 | $1.00 |
| 39201 | Collection fee – Christchurch | $22.50 | $27.50 |
There are numerous reasons for raising our prices including higher fuel prices, export freight price increases, higher downstream recycling fees, inflation, an uncertain economic environment due to COVID-19, and an increase in the minimum wage.