I might be able to fix this, too.

Working on my 2nd laptop so far. It's a Dell Inspiron 2200 found in the trash. With a replacement power supply and a DVD ROM drive put in that was found with it, it powers on and the screen is good.

Today the replacement hard drive arrived, and so I plunked it in and let Windows XP Home Edition do something with it. The BIOS saw it and knew the capacity (40GB). So I let the installer format the drive. It gets to 86% and then the power drops dead.

Problem: I knew the DC power jack was loose, so this was no surprise as it finally got warm enough with a hard drive in to affect the thermal expansion properties of loose power jacks. So I decided that I'll get the thermal grease later - I want at that damn power jack! So I get it apart and the last step - getting the motherboard out - was stumping me. The Internet Archive kept a copy of the Dell service manual for the 2200, and wouldn't you know it - one glance at it, then back to the motherboard and it lifted right out!

And the culprit - nearly no solder on any of the power jack bits on the circuit board! I also saw one other bit that broke off and will fix that, too. Now to remedy this and get it back together to the point just before putting all the heat sinks on it so I can get Arctic Silver on it.

I want to see this machine work.

Fixing it looks pretty good right now

I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT TURNED ON AGAIN!

And all I changed (so far) was a single capacitor.


I had done extensive reading to determine what was wrong, and many times a 100uf 200V capacitor next to a transformer would be a good place to start. I bought one off Mouser.com because Radio Shack didn't have the part in a local store (as usual) and the price on Mouser was excellent.

At least I managed to save Mom's TV, for now anyway.
 

Fix it or replace it?

So for the past so many months or so, I've left the Magnavox MX big screen on all the time due to the last time the electric went out and I had a hell of a time trying to get it to turn back on. And wouldn't you know it, the generally fucking unreliable Ohio Edison managed to drop power for about 4 minutes last night and the TV was off and unwilling to stay turned on this morning when I got up. It does its click, light up the green LED for half a second, click back off, and a "thub" sound from the speakers when I try to turn it on. The backup supply that listens to remote signals is working, it just isn't staying on.

I realize this thing is 18 years old, but it still works fine. Well, the picture was just fine. I still want a big screen tube-type TV. Extensive research online yielded info in that the TV has some stupid circuit protection feature. It's supposed to protect the unit in case of over voltage conditions, but in this case, it's an under-voltage condition. I've strongly suspected a capacitor (or 3) that have aged and are off their measured values as capacitance is concerned.

There's one by the high voltage transformer in the power section. Lots of notes that turn up specify this very capacitor's uf and voltage rating, and this is certainly in that spot. I wish I could find precise schematic and service manuals for free on the web.

"Why don't you replace it with a flat screen?" I really don't have the kind of money that a flat-screen TV requires and I'd like to avoid putting one on a credit card. I want something with composite video input and there's no guarantee the model I'd want for my price range would have that.

As it is, I could find suitably sized tube-type big screens on Craigslist or perhaps local pawnshops, having found a couple of candidate TVs online. One of them is 5 years newer than this one. The prices aren't so bad either. It just requires a fair bit of driving to get them and the needed muscle to get it inside and placed.

The parts I need, should I need more than one capacitor, run from $2 to about $20 or so. It seems televisions, even the newer flat screens, all get power supply problems and capacitors usually are the components that go bad because the manufacturers use cheap ass capacitors with shoddy formulations. And in some cases, they just dry out for some reason. I'm trying to avoid thinking about other components that I've seen replaced in some videos I watched online.

Fix it or replace it? Both options are available. I'm going to try fixing first, then when it's not so cold and static-electric prone, re-check my replacement possibilities if that's too tricky.

I just wish things would stop breaking or dying around here.

How to read Japanese 1.2mb formatted 3.5inch floppies

1. Get some Japanese 1.2mb formatted floppies (Wedding Peach Screensaver, for example)



2. Have a floppy drive that can read these floppies. For this purpose, I selected the TEAC FD-05PUB 3.5inch USB floppy drive since the Japanese company website explicitly says it can.



3. Have a computer with a BIOS that understands and mentions such formatted floppies in the CMOS setup screen. Make sure the Administrator password is cleared or you'll not be able to change the floppy reading setting or enable reading 1.2MB floppies.



4. If using Windows 98SE, find the drivers for the FD-05PUB. This drive exists in other designs, so my drivers came from an Imation website page.



5. Copy driver files onto Win98SE hard drive, plug in USB floppy and have Win98SE find and install the driver.



6. ?????



7. Profit.

Thank you, Melody.

I guess I'm lucky she lasted as long as she did after getting sick suddenly at the end of July. Throwing up stomach-fulls of food for 3 days in a row, followed by a sharp drop in appetite. At first I struggled to figure out what was wrong and just did everything I could to find something Melody would eat consistently. Some things were on and off, most things were one taste and she walked away like she was afraid of it. August was like that while I didn't want to think the worst. She went from a decent weight to some loss, but after September there was still some loss of weight but it wasn't very fast. October was when I worked hard to give her the food she needed and medications required. I often stayed up late, sometimes 3 or 4 in the morning just so I could give her the 1/2 tablet that helped her stop throwing up. I thought things were going in the right direction the first day I watched Melody have a bowel movement outside - at least it wasn't coming back up. Quite unlike the peas I gave her over 3 days in September when I was trying anything to get her to eat - they came back up in 2 puke piles, one large and one small.

The last time I had to deal with a vomiting episode I gave her some rice with chicken broth - Melody didn't exactly care for rice by itself, having eaten it once to calm her stomach. That passed quickly and she was back to eating normally for her eating habits.


November was when she started turning down her favorite crunchy dog bone treat after coming in from being outside to do her business. Much of the time I had to make sure she had something of food in her since she refused to eat willingly - the things she did eat on her own were foods that weren't exactly good for her - potato chips, for example. She'd wait for a pizza crust and I'd offer it. Usually she'd accept it - it was her favorite thing on pizza nights.

December was when there was a dramatic loss of weight, and the past 2 weeks she was unable to keep anything except water down. I even tried giving her some gelatin dessert. It seemed to stay down, but nothing else would. It ended up with her still eating the mint-flavored dog dental bones but throwing them up less than an hour later. There were a few days she figured out how to get outside of the fence and enjoyed some extra activities but came home when I finally yelled for her and she heard me.

I took some photos and you can see the yellow jaundice in the whites of her eyes - it faded at one point but there would always be some amount of yellow there.

Considering the dog Melody was before she suddenly started throwing up, I would not put it past her to have eaten some pieces of death cap or other similarly poisonous mushrooms that I had seen growing in the yard. I should have gone out there with gloves on and removed them but they got mowed down before I could remember to do it. Melody has been known to just eat little bits of whatever that she smells and finds, but her habit of just eating anything remotely edible probably was her downfall. There was no way she'd get anything bad for her in the house. I refuse to believe that some dogs are just genetically prone to just getting suddenly sick like that. Just flip a switch and presto, the liver shuts down? Bullshit.

At least this time there's some explanation to why, so I'm more able to accept Melody's passing. It never gets easier, and there's pain. An emptiness in my heart that I hope doesn't stay that way for long. Marmalade will miss his friend - he liked to lick her ears clean, and he did that up until last year or so when Melody suddenly snapped at him in a way she never had before. Oh well.

Nearly Year end Rememberies

I finally did end up with my complete set of Sugar Sugar Rune manga, after locating 1-5 from an eBay seller in Alaska. After 4 attempts at locating Vol.8, I finally got one off Amazon, though it was a beaten-up copy from a library and over-priced for its condition. At least this one did not get lost in the mail.

My Fred Exploder had rusted out transmission fluid lines so that got worked on. The mechanic recommended getting the brake lines worked on pretty soon. I see they also looked over the rest of the vehicle with some recommendation on the front pinion gasket or seal thing. I hope that can wait.

A VHS to DVD project over the summer yielded a surprise gift certificate that I did not expect at all, as well as one other DVD project that a friend thanked me with a Pre-order Figuarts Sailor Moon poseable figure.

Snagged the MizuIro Jidai CDroms I'd been after for the past couple of years, along with a Wedding Peach Win95 screensaver package (hopefully soon) and a book I didn't have but getting it the way I did, I was able to save over 50% eBay list prices on it. I still need Shin MizuIro Jidai 1-3 manga, and now people on that one site are listing 10 book sets of it after I've already gotten the regular series' 7 books.

I'm still trying to start my business, but with my vehicle needing expensive work and Melody throwing up and getting a liver problem, it's just complete distraction as I try to deal with getting her well.

I still have 4 figure kits awaiting my attention. There's something I want to do with them before I make any progress.

And so far, other people keep winning my money in the lotteries.

Well, it's probably what I think it is - hopefully

Well, my Fix Or Repair Daily is turning into a Fix Or Repair Monthly. Went out to start the Exploder to take it to get an oil change - first attempt to start didn't do anything, 2nd try got it started, but when I went to put it in Reverse, nothing happened (or moved).
Best Worst Case Scenario - it just has a transmission fluid leak and will need work. That means maybe pulling off the transmission and finding all the seals that need replaced.

Worst Worst Case Scenario - the transmission is toast - which is unlikely, since it did have some transmission fluid in it after I parked the Exploder. I didn't try driving it since I parked it on Thursday, so that's all in my favor. Unlike with the Kia when it died on my way to parking it.

It'll get picked up and hauled by the dealership and maybe I can get them to waive some amount since they should have caught this during the service for the power steering when they caught the belt tensioner.

It's always something

I REALLY hope the latest anomaly with the Fred Exploder isn't expensive to remedy. I know it needs to go in for an oil change - that's a given. What I hope the thing this time isn't expensive. A couple of times on my way home from doing things in Alliance as I got closer to home I noticed my speed dropped and the RPMs spiked near and above 3000. Under all other normal use, it never gets above 2500. Now, I know I was not paying attention to my driving (thinking about random things) and didn't keep my speed up, but having the RPMs spike like that is unusual. None of my other gauges were off - they were all in the proper ranges, and no lights came on. I then made sure to get my speed back up to the posted limit and things were fine until I had to slow down to around 40 mph, and the Exploder would be shifting down (it's automatic) and once again I saw that spike. As I turned off onto a side road to get home, it did not happen again all the way to parking and shutting it off.

Any time anything is odd with the operation of the vehicle I'm driving, I don't like it. My anxiety goes up because it means paying someone to do something about it. After getting the power steering, belt tensioner, and exhaust worked on, I do not want another expensive repair bill. A minor bonus is the oil change at the dealer is $5 less than the place I had been going to.

Now, seeing as it's the RPMs and that usually means transmission stuff, I did check the fluid level. Or at least try to. It seems to still have the right amount, but I'll see if they include general fluids check when doing an oil change. They'll know how to read it properly and how to add fluids properly.

It's all a matter of perspective

Had to "Fix" the KLH Subwoofer... again

Last night for about 2 hours, the subwoofer started making odd noises like it was receiving some odd RF interference. It's done it before. I remember pointing a cordless phone at it once, pressing a button on it, and it went off. It was annoying and even when I shut off the subwoofer, the sounds would persist. It was just as oddly coincidental that it would stop making noises when Bones finished airing.

This morning when I fired it up to check how it was doing now (and no longer making spurious noises) it had a decidedly less than desirable response. Choppy. Gritty. It wasn't a warm bass response. Great.

So I decided to open it up like last time and see if I spot those slightly out of spec solder points again. And I do, as well as testing with the chopstick to see how it responded. And it was the same kind of thing. So I fired up a soldering iron and touched the one spot I found and sure enough, the solder disappeared. So I find my solder and re-do that spot and check a couple of others. Plug it in and fire it up, tap the circuit board - no more of that sign of a component not connecting to the circuit. Nothing loose!

As a result of all that, I had to figure out how to re-calibrate the settings on the back of the subwoofer so that it was at an optimal level for crossover and volume. The technique I discovered was to set the Dolby receiver at a common volume level (50) and then play something with the DVD player to make sure the bass response is warm, clearly heard, and resonates in the room without sounding localized, something I remember reading in the instruction booklet.

I wonder if these KLH subwoofer circuits run hot because of seeing this one actually melting the solder in the smallest of margins to make it go out of spec. Either that or the solder melts too easily, or the components weren't soldered in that great to begin with. As I seem to recall, this subwoofer did this same thing years ago. It worked well, then went sputtering for bass response, before just not working at all.