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| Author |
Message |
scott
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What I did
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Feb 4 17:07 UTC 1998 |
What I fixed today (or yesterday).
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| 848 responses total. |
scott
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response 1 of 848:
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Feb 4 17:11 UTC 1998 |
My bicyle headlamp on-off switch broke. I also had a pin in the connector
for the battery pack wire break off during straigtening. This is a cheap
($30) unit with a separate battery pack and a 4 foot cable. I didn't want
to junk it because I had invested in 2 sets of NiCad 'C' batteries (4 per
set), and there was little else wrong.
Took out whatever I had to to make the unit permanently on, then used hot glue
to close the switch holes. I then removed the broken connector, and ran wire
out the same hole. I found a couple RCA type connectors in my parts box, and
made in inline connection about 4" from the lamp. On/off is by using the
connector.
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other
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response 2 of 848:
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Feb 4 23:47 UTC 1998 |
ooh! looking forward to contributing to this item!
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n8nxf
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response 3 of 848:
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Feb 5 13:50 UTC 1998 |
I fixed a car stereo that I pulled out of the trash a few weeks ago.
It looked like it had been dropped from about 20 ft. up. Case pretty
bent up, circuit boards inside with cracks in them and chunks missing.
front bezel cracked and shifted to one side, etc. A challenge!
I spliced the cracked traces on the PC board with solder and strands of
wire, straightened out the metal parts with a hammer and block of wood
after removing them, glued the plastic bezel where it needed it, figured
out where the power and 4 speakers connected (No small task!), etc. Yes,
it does work ;-)
Now I am working on an HP 540 Ink Jet printer I pulled out of the trash.
So far as I can tell, the main PC board as a problem with its processor.
Don't know if I can fix this one for next to nothing...
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davel
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response 4 of 848:
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Feb 5 23:10 UTC 1998 |
I attempted to fix a bulletin board that had come out of its (hardwood) frame.
I say "attempted" advisedly, as I fixed it before & the kids managed to make
it come apart again. Originally it was held together with staples through
the b.board into the wood. The previous time I added a few small nails. This
time I also (somewhat against my better judgment) used wood glue. After that
was done I suddenly had a thought, and located some glazier's points I'd
bought years ago, & added some of them, too. (I'm hoping that the fact that
the pressure on them will be at right angles to their entry into the wood will
help.)
We'll see if it stands up to the abuse it gets.
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arthurp
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response 5 of 848:
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Feb 6 05:58 UTC 1998 |
Today I straightened the pins on a spare CPU that I didn't bother to
store carefully. I also mounted a heatsink and fan on the system I'm
putting together.
I also started some of the finishing touches on the speaker stands.
Oh, and laundry, but that's a different conf.
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rcurl
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response 6 of 848:
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Feb 6 17:09 UTC 1998 |
A shelf in a kitchen cupboard that a previous owner of our house had made
1/2" short and 1-1/2" too narrow managed to hold our cups for 15 years, but
was finally pushed off its supports, creating a cascade of cups, half of
which broke. I made the shelf the right size by adding rails on the side
and end, and stanined and varnished it. Should have done this 15 years ago...
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keesan
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response 7 of 848:
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Feb 6 22:18 UTC 1998 |
I got 9 pairs of long underwear at Kiwanis. I know this is not very related,
but DIY'ers working outside might appreciate paying only $2/3. Sales goes
through Sat. 3 p.m.. Warm sweaters for $1, work shirts ditto, and their
hardware department is a blast.
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orinoco
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response 8 of 848:
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Feb 7 05:00 UTC 1998 |
I started working on this instrument thing I've been planning to build for
far too long. Cut the pieces of wood into shape, cut the soundholes in the
soundboard, and now I'm waiting until I'm more conscious to glue it togeter.
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rcurl
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response 9 of 848:
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Feb 7 07:08 UTC 1998 |
Finally assembled a computer desk that fits my needs and space. It is a
2x4" table with folding legs, and a 2 shelf rack above it made from metal
support rods bolted to the table and shelves from _InterMetro_ (sold by
Ace hdwr). I still intend to put a shelf under it across the legs frames.
Compact, adjustable shelves, open structure, cheaper than the junk desks
sold "for computers". Holds CPU, monitor, keyboard, two printers, scanner,
UPS, ZIP drive and modem...and all the manuals, disks, etc I expect to
have (before everything is totally obsolete and I have to start over....).
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scg
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response 10 of 848:
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Feb 7 22:57 UTC 1998 |
The computer I'm using as a router started making weird noises, and when I
opened it up I found that the power supply fan was turning a few revolutions
and then stopping, and then turning a few more revolutions and stopping. I
pulled a power supply out of a dead computer at work and used it to replace
the old power supply in my computer. If I'd been feeling really adventurous
I woudl have tried replacing just the fan, but since I had a whole power
supply, and power supplies have all sorts of scary warning labels on them,
it seemed easier to put the whole new power supply in.
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scott
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response 11 of 848:
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Feb 8 00:21 UTC 1998 |
Noticed that the wire from my UHF antenna to the main antenna combining box
was down. Aha, that is why UHF reception has been bad lately. Got the
ladder, went up to the roof and reconnectd the wire.
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keesan
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response 12 of 848:
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Feb 8 03:52 UTC 1998 |
My roomate just rewired the three extension phones so that they would all act
like the main phone, and I could answer an extension phone and then pick up
and talk on the desk phone, which I could not do since the fax/phone switch
went in. Two of them are now not working, what is the convention for red and
green wires? (There is still also some confusion as to which phone gets
plugged into the fax machine and which into the switch - I am hoping that the
phone to which modethe modem is plugged is going to stay operable. (If you
see any strange characters it is because this operation is going on as I type.
I was instructed to write for help with the red and green wires.)
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orinoco
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response 13 of 848:
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Feb 8 04:10 UTC 1998 |
Managed to thoroughly botch and then partially un-botch the gluing on this
instrument I'm making. See item:9 for the gory details :)
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rcurl
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response 14 of 848:
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Feb 8 04:50 UTC 1998 |
The *convention* is that Tip = + = a wire = Green, and Ring = - = b wire =
Red, but I don't think it matters anymore with modern phone circuits.
When a polarized voltage is tapped from the phone line, a full-wave rectifier
is used.
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gibson
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response 15 of 848:
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Feb 8 06:42 UTC 1998 |
I've got a dual digital alarm that at about 1 year started breaking
switches. with 2 alarms to set and date and 2 on/off it has a few. i liked
the clock and couldn't find another so a trip to radio shack got some mini
switches and i settled in for the duration. figuring out the circuits took
a few hours. turned out you turn on the alarms by turning off the power to
them, snooze and turning off the alarms is by applying power. i wired it up,
used the sides of a drill bit as a router to make slots for the mini slide
switches, put it all together and am still using it 10 years later.
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keesan
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response 16 of 848:
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Feb 8 16:16 UTC 1998 |
Figured out the phone late last night. We are using a collection of
non-modern phones, where it mattered. Is L1 + common to ground used by the
phone company? The phones now all ring once only for a fax.
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scott
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response 17 of 848:
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Feb 8 17:54 UTC 1998 |
Cut pieces for kitchen curtains. I hope I do the sewing before too long,
these are the last curtains needed.
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rcurl
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response 18 of 848:
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Feb 8 19:29 UTC 1998 |
Ring is at (near) ground when the phone is on hook, and Tip is then at ca.
-50 v w.r.t. ground. However off-hook, both lines are below ground (I just
checked that for this line, and *black* was at -30 v, and *yellow* was at
-37 volts. I don't immediately know which of yellow or black is Tip or
Ring. I would guess that black is Ring.
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keesan
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response 19 of 848:
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Feb 8 19:46 UTC 1998 |
Did you know that the phone company is required to offer a certain number of
party lines in each neighborhood? We got one for about $8.50/month, limited
service, dial only, with no other party on the line. They did not want to
tell us anything at all about how to wire the phone as tip or ring.
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scott
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response 20 of 848:
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Feb 9 00:37 UTC 1998 |
Phone voltages work negative, yeah. Normal on-hook voltage is 48vDC,
ring signal is about 180 VAC peak-to-peak (!), and off-hook is a low
voltage DC with the AC voice signal riding on it. You can actually take
2 of the older (non-electronic) telephones and wire them up in series
with a 6VDC or greater power supply to make an intercom. Sounds normal,
but you can't get the bells to do anything.
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n8nxf
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response 21 of 848:
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Feb 9 12:35 UTC 1998 |
r.e. #10 It is very common for the cheap fans in computer power supplies
to go. I have replace lots of them! It's no big deal. All the warning
labels apply only if you have t he power supply plugged into teh wall while
you open it up. The fans are 12 volt DC units.
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other
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response 22 of 848:
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Feb 9 19:38 UTC 1998 |
what is a party line? what is the difference between a party line and a
regular phone line? is this some outmoded regulation that just hasn't been
made to conform with the current nature of the marketplace?
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keesan
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response 23 of 848:
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Feb 11 05:12 UTC 1998 |
You can't use the party line when the other party is using it. They used to
be quite common back in the fifties. But we have no other party. I am
thiking of requesting a second party line for my apartment, a block from my
first party line, since I would not be using both at once. Either tip or ring
does not need the phone rewired, I forget which.
If you pick up the phone and hear the other party talking, you apologize and
hang up and wait. But there is an allotted number perneighborhood and in Ann
Arbor there will probably be nobody on your party line. In the boonies there
are fewer wires and more shared lines.
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scg
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response 24 of 848:
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Feb 11 06:23 UTC 1998 |
How does that work for long distance billing?
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