Personal computing discussed

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Darkmage
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Sun Mar 11, 2018 9:39 pm

Success! I finally replaced the power supply to the LEDs on the sundeck today. The old transformer wasn't waterproof and it's location under the deck wasn't enough to protect it from a real thunderstorm. So it shorted out.

I bought a 200W waterproof one from Amazon, but life interfered and it was six weeks before I could find the time to open the box and install it. It turns out it was just bare wires and I didn't have a waterproof terminal box. Once those arrived on a slow boat from China, the transformer was broken and out of warranty. The replacement transformer was the wrong model and wouldn't accept 120V AC input, being rated for 220V. (I double checked the order on Amazon, they definitely sent me the wrong unit). So I went with a different company and I finally have 12V going in to the LED controller... and no lights.

It turns out that the copper pads on the LED strip had corroded. So I snipped it and use the next set in line. And one of the joints between two strands had popped loose, so I reconnected those. As of now, I have LEDs working around the stairs and up under the awning... mostly. Only one strand under the awning is working. But the connectors are 8' above the deck and I didn't feel like pushing my luck.

The transformer has three outputs. I'm going to use one of them and run the awning on a different output. That should give me some redundancy at the expense of one control to light everything with the same pattern.
If there is one thing a remote-controlled, silent and unseeable surveillance/killing machine needs, it’s more whimsy. -- Marcus
 
SuperSpy
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Mar 12, 2018 8:11 am

The cheap plywood deck on my wood hauling trailer finally passed it's expiration date this winter. Plus, the last time I used it it blew a fuse in my truck, so I decided this weekend to strip it down and put an expanded metal sheet in place of the rotten floor, and since I'd have to strip it down to the frame and weld on it, I might as well pull the wiring off it and see where the short was hiding.

Boy did I find it. Turns out the wiring wasn't secured very well, and it slipped unto a spot between two frame rails where it promptly got about a 3 inch section completely destroyed. So instead of pulling the wiring with the hopes of taping a sketchy spot and putting it back, I tossed the whole pile in the bin as there were spots of not-shorted-but-worn insulation all over the place.

But first on to the primary job: getting it stripped down to the frame and getting the paint off the top so I can weld the new floor on. Turns out that China's best at Harbor Freight decided to paint directly over the mill scale on the steel, so instead of spending 30 minutes ripping (relatively) soft paint off with a flap disk on an angle grinder, I ended up going through two flap disks and finishing up some spots with a grinding wheel after about 2 hours of cursing. After finally getting (most of) the paint off, I finally started getting the plate mounted, and of course found that the trailer was no longer in square (being bolted together instead of welded). So I had to break out my simultaneously least and most favorite tool: the 40 lb convincer sledge. A dozen and a half well placed smacks, a few broken bits of scrap lumber, and a sizable bruise on my shin later (I lucked out on that one), and it was fairly square.

In order to make sure it didn't come out of square again, and since the top was already free of paint, I decided to weld all the seams together before starting work on the floor. As I made a pass around the trailer to check before I started welding, I noticed something a bit scary: one of the 4 bolts holding the tongue onto the frame was basically dangling free, having backed out almost to the point of the nut falling off. Sigh. Off to the hardware store to replace them all because F that. 4 larger bolts, some drilling, and about a gallon of lock-tite later and that issue was behind me.

All in all the welding went fine, apart from a few blown links on the expanded metal as I was dialing in the welder. Now I have to figure out if I'm going to try and paint over the slag as there's no way I'm going to be able to reach it with a grinder or sander, or if I just leave it and accept the inevitability of Michigan winters and steel.

Hopefully I can slip the sides back on it without any trouble, but that will probably have to wait because instead of sunny and 45 like the weekend, it's going to be snowy and 30 today. :roll:
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Usacomp2k3
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Mar 12, 2018 11:28 am

Do you have a needler? At least that’s what we call it at work. Great for slag removal. Good job on the repair though.
 
ludi
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Mar 12, 2018 11:47 am

SuperSpy wrote:
The cheap plywood deck on my wood hauling trailer....

Shorter: This weekend, I built a trailer from a parts kit :D
Abacus Model 2.5 | Quad-Row FX with 256 Cherry Red Slider Beads | Applewood Frame | Water Cooling by Brita Filtration
 
just brew it!
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Mar 12, 2018 12:05 pm

ludi wrote:
SuperSpy wrote:
The cheap plywood deck on my wood hauling trailer....

Shorter: This weekend, I built a trailer from a parts kit :D

An incomplete parts kit!
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
SuperSpy
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Mar 12, 2018 3:48 pm

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
Do you have a needler? At least that’s what we call it at work. Great for slag removal. Good job on the repair though.

No, but that's probably overkill for my little flux core MIG welder. It produces just the finest layer of slag which is no where near as annoying as the giant layer a stick machine lays down.

Still just as annoying to try and paint over, however.

Yeah this trailer was a mega cheepo unit from HF that was basically $400 for a frame, axle and wheels (and importantly registration). I intended to just beat the crap out of it hauling firewood so I tried to go as cheap as I could so I didn't feel bad abusing it. If I get 3 years out of it and then mangle an axle overloading it, it will still be worth the time savings.
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ludi
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:50 am

Another year, another trip into the wife's surprisingly long-lived iPhone6. Partly, to apply the iFixit battery repair; but mostly, to perform a (second) repair of the WiFi/GPS antenna assembly. The design of the planar inverted-F assembly seems to be a particular weak point in the 6. Entertainingly, the iFixit battery kit includes this:

Image

Don't want to deal with the torx-drive screws at the Lightning Port? Replace them with these handy #0 Philips to simplify future repairs.

More than anything, this phone reminds me of a German car. Every subsystem is overengineered and the thing works beautifully when new, but clearly there was no design coordinator telling different subsystem groups things like "No, you can't all have 8 different types of screws in one phone chassis, here are three, make them work" and "Group A, go talk to Group B, I think both of you can tweak your designs slightly so we don't need five different custom connectors to enable your subsystems to interface." Hence, a ridiculously expensive and convoluted design that is a nightmare to repair.
Abacus Model 2.5 | Quad-Row FX with 256 Cherry Red Slider Beads | Applewood Frame | Water Cooling by Brita Filtration
 
Waco
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Wed Mar 14, 2018 7:18 am

As the new owner (slave) of the wife's new to us 2001 Audi TT...I finally understand what you mean. The thing is a nightmare to work on.
Victory requires no explanation. Defeat allows none.
 
Usacomp2k3
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Wed Mar 14, 2018 11:12 am

ludi wrote:
Partly, to apply the iFixit battery repair; but mostly, to perform a (second) repair of the WiFi/GPS antenna assembly.

My wife's 6 had that same issue. I ended up grabbing a reburb 7 when they started selling them first party a few weeks back. I might try this trick for a backup part. Can you send a link to the module you bought?
 
ludi
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Wed Mar 14, 2018 12:06 pm

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
ludi wrote:
Partly, to apply the iFixit battery repair; but mostly, to perform a (second) repair of the WiFi/GPS antenna assembly.

My wife's 6 had that same issue. I ended up grabbing a reburb 7 when they started selling them first party a few weeks back. I might try this trick for a backup part. Can you send a link to the module you bought?

For best quality I would first point you to the iFixit kit:

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/iPhone/iPh ... F268-013-3

You're going to need to order the tools if you don't already have a mobile device repair set.

Secondarily, any of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Signal-Antenna-N ... ps+antenna
https://www.amazon.com/repair-Signal-An ... ps+antenna
https://www.amazon.com/COHK-Antenna-Sig ... ps+antenna
https://www.amazon.com/Antenna-Signal-R ... ps+antenna

You probably only need one of the square module thing since it gets removed during disassembly and could get damaged but is low risk. I would suggest buying at least two of the ribbon antenna. It's pretty delicate and the first one could get damaged during reassembly.
Abacus Model 2.5 | Quad-Row FX with 256 Cherry Red Slider Beads | Applewood Frame | Water Cooling by Brita Filtration
 
ludi
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:35 am

Today's excitement: coilover strut replacements on a 2007 Corolla S, followed by replacing the factory front speaker assemblies with a new JBL setup.

Toyota front suspensions typically tie the control arm end-links to the strut body, so I always replace those as well, since half the time I end up having to grind off the bolt just to get the thing loose. Once more I wish a thousand fiery plagues on the automotive engineers who think a hex key insert is a viable holding point for making or breaking torque on the end link bolts. And in this case, a second thousand fiery plagues on the Toyota engineer who decided the lower of those bolts should be inaccessible to an impact wrench.
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just brew it!
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:54 am

I seem to be well on my way to repairing my foot after a recent gout attack.

For the past week I've been making sure to drink plenty of water, taking lots of ibuprofen (helps control inflammation), eating a near-vegetarian diet (meat is bad news if you're prone to gout), and wearing loose-fitting sandals to keep pressure off the affected joint (yeah, even to go to work). The pain is mostly gone (I can walk down a flight of stairs without wincing, yay!), but it's still pretty swollen; shoes are a no-go until further notice.

Getting old sucks.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
Usacomp2k3
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Sun Mar 18, 2018 3:50 pm

How do the speakers sound. We have a 2006 Corolla that I’m looking to replace the receiver and maybe speakers in.
 
ludi
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Sun Mar 18, 2018 5:04 pm

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
How do the speakers sound. We have a 2006 Corolla that I’m looking to replace the receiver and maybe speakers in.

I did the JBL GTO509c, which includes a necessary pile of adapter plates, and also bought a set of factory wiring clips. Bass is improved, treble improvement is very slight since factory radio had component tweeters.

You have to drill out three factory rivets on each door speaker so there's no going back once you start. Check YouTube before starting as the door panel has a couple hidden screws under the armrest.

The bigger improvement will come when I swap the rear 6x9s. For now I'm keeping the factory radio, it has an add-on line out/USB adapter in the glovebox tied into a Bluetooth adapter.
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mikewinddale
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:46 pm

I just managed to remove some stubborn screws that were holding a laptop caddy to a hard drive. Nothing I did could get those screws off.

So I took it up to Home Depot, and everyone there said they had never dealt with stripped or stuck screws that small. Their smallest screw extractor was bigger than this screw.

One of them suggested I just take their smallest drill bit and try drilling into the screw to make the well deeper. Maybe a screwdriver could grip better. They let me use one of their rental drills for free.

So I tried that, but it only made it worse. The smallest drill bit they sold was only slightly smaller than the screw, so it completely stripped the screw, making it even harder to grip with a screwdriver.

I showed it to the Home Depot guy, and he said, "Hey, if you keep drilling, that screw is going to be so weak that it will just give way."

So I screwed all the way through the entire screw with their smallest drill bit, till the bit came out the other end of the screw. But the screw still held the caddy fast.

Then I got an idea. I moved up to the next biggest drill bit and I just drilled till the entire screw was simply gone. Turned to metal dust. When I was done, all 4 screws had simply vanished, and the caddy finally came loose from the hard drive.

For reference, I used a Milwaukee 3/32" (2.4 mm) titanium drill bit to make the hard drive screw disappear.

When I was done, I asked them about their cheapest drill, and whether it would be good enough if I had this problem again. They referred me to a $30 Ryobi corded drill. I bought a few sets of the titanium bit for about $3 apiece.

(I'm a college student on a $20,000 salary, so I'm not quite ready to have a toolkit that's any more expensive than I need it to be.)
 
Waco
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Sun Mar 18, 2018 9:35 pm

Some reverse drill bits might be worth investing in. Generally they'll catch a stuck screw and pull it out if you run them at screw speed (versus drill speed) with decent pressure.
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Usacomp2k3
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Sun Mar 18, 2018 9:41 pm

mikewinddale wrote:
When I was done, I asked them about their cheapest drill, and whether it would be good enough if I had this problem again. They referred me to a $30 Ryobi corded drill. I bought a few sets of the titanium bit for about $3 apiece.

I’m a huge fan of Ryobi drills and drivers. Good job on getting it out.
 
SuperSpy
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:02 am

I've been a big fan of Ryobi as well.

The only real problem I've had with them on their higher power 18v units is sometimes the chuck screw comes undone, which is easily fixed with a dab of Loctite and a Philips screwdriver. Otherwise very nice tools, and the big brushless 18v drill is a mean SOB.
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Jigar
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Apr 09, 2018 12:27 am

Not repair but finally gave up on my old air conditioner today. Its compressor head (in outdoor unit) just blew up. How are inverter AC ? I hear they are better at efficiency but what about maintenance ?
Image
 
Usacomp2k3
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Apr 09, 2018 6:39 am

The technology I really like recently are the one's that have multiple fan speeds or variable. "Multi-stage" I think it might be called. That lets you run the fan at more than just full-speed.
 
Aranarth
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Apr 09, 2018 6:48 am

Update in the incubator:
We hatched 18 out of 20 eggs.
Running another batch of eggs through right now.

We should have lots of cochin bantams, a couple sebrights, maybe an easter egger, and one or two blue laced red wyandottes.

cute little fuzzballs running around right now, feathering out nicely.
Main machine: Core I7 -2600K @ 4.0Ghz / 16 gig ram / Radeon RX 580 8gb / 500gb toshiba ssd / 5tb hd
Old machine: Core 2 quad Q6600 @ 3ghz / 8 gig ram / Radeon 7870 / 240 gb PNY ssd / 1tb HD
 
Jigar
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Wed Apr 11, 2018 1:36 am

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
The technology I really like recently are the one's that have multiple fan speeds or variable. "Multi-stage" I think it might be called. That lets you run the fan at more than just full-speed.


I did some research and found that invertor AC have variable compressor speed, so when they are cooling a hot room they run at full speed just like conventional AC but when the desired temperature is reached rather cutting off invertor AC lowers its compressor speed and maintains the temp. I have order one today, lets see how it affects my electricity bill.
Image
 
MileageMayVary
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Fri Apr 13, 2018 10:24 am

Just finished helping the wife repaint the foyer and upstairs hallway. I did all the second story ladder work taping and edging, she did the rest since it was her project (existing color was fine by me).

This weekend will be borrowing the parents' pickup to get some straw and throw down some grass seed on the parts of the yard the dogs are destroying.
Main rig: Ryzen 3600X, R9 290@1100MHz, 16GB@2933MHz, 1080-1440-1080 Ultrasharps.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Apr 23, 2018 5:09 pm

Easy things for most of you was a big step for me, because I'm not at all handy. I replaced the faucet spout and shower head in my tub. The old spout's diverter mechanism was really leaky. The head kept drooping. $40 let me replace both. Also snaked the drain while I was in there since it was starting to drain slowly. Showering is much more pleasant now. :lol:
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Captain Ned
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Apr 23, 2018 5:39 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
The head kept drooping.

Well, all you needed to do to fix that was tighten the nut that holds the head on the pipe. Five seconds with a pair of channel-locks if you don't care what the nut looks like when you're done (I don't).
What we have today is way too much pluribus and not enough unum.
 
Mr Bill
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Apr 23, 2018 6:28 pm

Got the irrigation pump installed and primed; which confirmed two breaks in the main line once I had pressure. Time to break out the shovels!

De-winterized the swamp cooler and fired it up last night. Ah lovely fresh cool air. Note to self turn hold temp on furnance down to 50F so they don't fight.
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FireGryphon
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Apr 23, 2018 7:27 pm

I fixed the lock mechanism on one of our doors. It somehow got moved so the latch didn't catch. A simple adjustment fixed it.
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derFunkenstein
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Apr 23, 2018 7:59 pm

Captain Ned wrote:
derFunkenstein wrote:
The head kept drooping.

Well, all you needed to do to fix that was tighten the nut that holds the head on the pipe. Five seconds with a pair of channel-locks if you don't care what the nut looks like when you're done (I don't).

At that point you give up all freedom, though. There are three people taking showers, and one of them is a foot shorter than the others. I could only imagine the complaining. :lol:
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
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LoneWolf15
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:24 pm

I attempted to repair a Dell UltraSharp P2314H monitor today.

Sadly, the issue must not have been the power supply or controller board. The backlight lights, but I get no OSD or picture. I'm afraid I'm just going to have to write this one off. Too bad, I was hoping $30 and some elbow grease would get me a nice 23" 1080p IPS screen for the spouse.
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ludi
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Re: Anyone repair anything today?

Mon Apr 23, 2018 10:33 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
At that point you give up all freedom, though. There are three people taking showers, and one of them is a foot shorter than the others. I could only imagine the complaining. :lol:

If there are three people in the shower, can't the short one just request that one of the others adjust the showerhead?
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