#diyrepair — Public Fediverse posts

I felt like digitising a record for later portable listening… and while I have the pots needed to fix the Rotel RP-1001 and intend to get to that… I figured I'd give a JVC JL-A1 a bit of TLC.

This is a turntable I acquired from someone downsizing, it came in good order aside from the lubricant in the main bearing gumming up the works. I cleaned it out then and replaced the lubricant with sewing machine oil, which seemed to do the job… but after sitting for a bit, the oil seems to have settled and the turntable runs slow again.

https://mr-ives.blogspot.com/2014/01/restoring-jvc-jl-a1-turntable.html

I must've had the right touch when I did it the first time, because right now I still think I'm maybe 4% off on the rotational speed. I'm getting good at getting that platter off and the bearing out though.

#Turntable #DIYRepair #JVC_JL_A1

RE: https://mastodon.longlandclan.id.au/@stuartl/109923393717597223

This turntable seems to be dead as a doornail, suggesting the fuse has popped as well.

I haven't gotten around to replacing the pot which I suspect is worn out, but a couple of years back, I *did* find the repair manual and a photo of the pot in question.

Today, I stumbled on what look to be, suitable replacement parts: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/166186482597

I'd prefer to buy a known-brand part from RS/Element14, but this at least fits electrically and form-factor wise.

#DIYRepair #RotelRP1001 #HiFi

i have never screamed a more satisfying fuck-youuuu to a computer than 5 minutes ago, when i finally fixed a dead OLPC XO-1 that i've been trying to fix, unsuccessfully, for FIVE YEARS

the XO-1's, especially the early models, all suffer from a showstopper firmware bug: if the internal clock battery dies, the laptop cannot boot. it won't even make it to POST. changing the battery makes no difference, because the PROM has the wrong clock date burned into it.

the workaround is reprogramming the internal clock with the correct date via an onboard serial port which *does* function when the laptop is powered on. unfortunately, it uses an incredibly frustratingly tiny 3mm blade-type socket that isn't easy to find.

my solution was to solder tiny wires directly to the board. take a look at the picture and decide for yourself if you ever want me near your electronics. (the plastic connector melted when i tried to desolder it using a hot air rework gun)

the worst part of the process, aside from soldering 0.2mm pins, was figuring out which-pins-did-what on the motherboard's J4 connector. experimentation taught me that:

Pin 1 (bottom): +3.3v. Do not connect this to the USB-TTL.
Pin 2: Transmit (TX). Connect to RX on the USB-TTL.
Pin 3: Receive (RX). Connect to TX on the USB-TTL.
Pin 4 (top): Ground. Connect to GND on the USB-TTL.

now let your terminal session capture output from the USB-TTL. on macOS, the terminal command for my particular usb-ttl stick is:
> screen /dev/tty.usbserial-1410 115200

once you've connected those wires to the USB-TTL, plug in the laptop and power it on. You'll immediately see text flow into the terminal session.

once you've got a prompt, type in:
> select /rtc decimal 57 34 21 21 08 2026 set-time
> bye

and you're done. the laptop will reboot, and suddenly it will POST with a chime and boot into the operating system.

sources:
https://web.archive.org/web/20191031213812/http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Fix_Clock#If_the_screen_does_not_turn_on

#olpc #diyRepair #permaComputing

In order to fix the annoying "Error 10: clean the filter" on my #Roborock S5, I had to completely disassemble it to get to the inner filter near the vacuum engine.

Upon reassembly, I was left with 3 "extra" screws, which I spent a lot of time looking for their holes, but could not find them.

The vacuum is working, doing its job and no longer complaining, so mission accomplished.

Repair score: annoying but doable

#diyrepair

i have a 2013 macbook air that i bought for my wife when we were first dating. it served her well over the past 13 years. when it got replaced by a 2014 MBP, i turned it into a little café coding machine.

two weeks ago the backlight flickered a few times, getting darker and darker until it completely went out. shining a flashlight on the lcd confirmed that the display was still fine, but the backlight was completely dead.

a super helpful yt repair video mentioned that dead backlights on MB Airs are often caused by corrosion of a tiny led driver chip on the backside of the board. it’s about the size of three rice grains.

it didn’t take long to locate it. look at that blue corrosion around it. telltale signs of a liquid spill that migrated from the nearby screwhole, and then spread to the nearest components.

i tried cleaning it with some IPA, but it didn’t help. this $2 chip (a Texas Instruments LP8550) is easily found on aliexpress.

i’ll provide an update in a couple of weeks when the chip arrives. i’ve never done microscopic pcb work before, and i’ve never handled a rework station before. it should be an interesting learning experience: those capacitors around it are 0.2mm wide and don’t like being nudged when hot.

anything to keep this perfectly good machine out of the ewaste pile.

#vintageApple #diyrepair #permacomputing

sigh. til: DJI drone batteries infamously store poorly and discharge until it trips the internal chip circuit that prevents recharging. it can be reset via a "DJI Battery Killer" chip reset tool, and a CP2112 programmer. usually, once the chip has been reset, it will recharge the cells properly.

after a full reset, mine still aren't charging - hopefully i can figure out what the problem is

#drone #diyrepair

Freezer flooded? 😱 Don't panic! This video shows how a simple $30 fix can bring it back to life. Seriously, who knew appliance repair could be this easy? Check it out! 💻 #DIYRepair #ApplianceRepair #Shorts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07lB7z8ME0E

Freezer flooded? 😱 Don't panic! This video shows how a simple $30 fix can bring it back to life. Seriously, who knew appliance repair could be this easy? Check it out! 💻 #DIYRepair #ApplianceRepair #Shorts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07lB7z8ME0E

With 16 extended-reach 2” bits, Megalodon is here to fill in the gap between your precision fix kit and that old drill in the garage. Designed for appliances, furniture, game consoles, and all those other household projects you had to put on hold. Available now.

https://www.ifixit.com/products/megalodon-driver-kit
—
#iFixit #RightToRepair #Megalodon #FixItYourself #RepairDontReplace #DIYRepair

TIL A "Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition" opens differently to a "Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1". The later opens from the front unclipping the back to get to the battery.

The former unclips from the back. No need to pry out the LCD screen.

Oh well, the screen already was cracked and looks a bit worse for ware but if the 18€ replacement battery works, it can serve as MP3 player again XD

#DIYrepair #IFixIt

Man Installs New Doors For His Volkswagen Golf. Then He Realizes How Badly He Miscalculated: ‘This Is Why AutoZone Employees Ask’

Anyone who’s ever wanted to save a few bucks and tackled a DIY repair knows the sinking feeling.…
#Germany #DE #Europe #EU #Europa #Volkswagen #b2c #Budget #cupra #diyrepair #Explainer #hatchback #partsreplacement #petrol #seat #Skoda #smallcar #trending #urban #VolkswagenGolf #VolkswagenGroup #youngdrivers
https://www.europesays.com/germany/53201/

Man Installs New Doors For His Volkswagen Golf. Then He Realizes How Badly He Miscalculated: ‘This Is Why AutoZone Employees Ask’

Anyone who’s ever wanted to save a few bucks and tackled a DIY repair knows the sinking feeling.…
#Germany #DE #Europe #EU #Europa #Volkswagen #b2c #Budget #cupra #diyrepair #Explainer #hatchback #partsreplacement #petrol #seat #Skoda #smallcar #trending #urban #VolkswagenGolf #VolkswagenGroup #youngdrivers
https://www.europesays.com/germany/53179/

Man Installs New Doors For His Volkswagen Golf. Then He Realizes How Badly He Miscalculated: ‘This Is Why AutoZone Employees Ask’

Anyone who’s ever wanted to save a few bucks and tackled a DIY repair knows the sinking feeling.…
#NewsBeep #News #Golf #b2c #Budget #CA #Canada #cupra #diyrepair #Explainer #Hatchback #partsreplacement #petrol #seat #skoda #smallcar #Sports #Trending #Urban #volkswagen #VolkswagenGolf #VolkswagenGroup #youngdrivers
https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/797009/

A simple repair job at home should be easy and accessible. Whether you've got a new shelf to put together or an old dishwasher that needs some TLC, Megalodon is packed to the gills with practicality for all those everyday household projects.

https://www.ifixit.com/products/megalodon-driver-kit
—
#iFixit #RightToRepair #Megalodon #FixItYourself #RepairDontReplace #DIYRepair

Bought me another old Soviet radio [circa 1980ish] to repair.. shipped from the Ukraine.. a future weekend project I suspect .... It's working now but could use a new cap or two #oldradio #DIYRepair #radio #Soviet #ukraine

One of the things I did yesterday was mod my JLab Play Pro headset with a switched microphone socket. This lets me plug in an external microphone in place of the boom, allowing me to connect one that is in my mask instead.

Getting into these things is a pain, the Play Pro has an almost triangular earcup with no obvious entry points. The way in is to jam a flat-blade screwdriver around the edge and release 4 plastic clips that hold the earcup together.

In yesterday's surgery, I managed to damage the power/multi-function button, it works outside the housing, but inside the button no longer engages with the keycap properly, it appears my pressing it whilst outside the housing managed to damage the pads around the SMD button, and so it flexes instead of presses.

Aside from that the surgery was a success, I was able to use either the built-in microphone (retractable boom) or an external one (Sundstrom ST-2 in-mask microphone). I used a switched socket to allow seamless switching. Of course there are no line-mounted switched sockets, this is a PCB-mount socket. I had intended to drill a hole and mount it inside, but the design of the earcup makes this impossible, so I just wrapped it in heat-shrink and tacked it to the outside with double-sided tape.

But I still need to fix the MFB, because this headset turns itself off when you charge it (annoying), and I need to be able to turn it back on.

So my hack-job fix is to take a regular through-hole tactile button, wire some flying leads to it, remove the old keycap, jam the new (square) button through the (round) hole, and solder the wires onto the pads where the old button connected.

Ugly as sin, but whatever, it works! #DIYRepair #VisibleMending

denouement to the tiguan sunroof drain line leak

the cause of the leak was that the rubber lines had shrunken longitudinally over time (I estimate losing about 5-10cm of their length), which pulled them out of the exterior drain outlets.

replacing these lines is a ton of work, because it involves removing the entire front interior panels of the car to get access to the moonroof. i absolutely hate removing interior panels. this is about $500-$1000 worth of work, and absolutely not worth it on a 15 year old car

instead, i chose to extend the drain lines by a few inches. even if the tubes shrink more, they'll still have enough length to stay inside of the outlets. it took a few different tries to find the exact size, but i eventually found it: a 3/8" inner diameter to 1/4" MIP brass fitting. (a plastic or nylon fitting would work perfectly well).

the fluted end of the fitting goes into the hose. the 3/4" threaded end of the fitting slides into the exterior drain outlet. the nice thing is that since it is a few inches long, you can adjust slide the tube up/down to suit the amount of extra length you need to bridge the gap

a $3 part instead of a $1000 mechanic bill.

#carRepair #volkswagen #diyRepair #repair

this is for any VW Tiguan owner that has the sunroof drain line problem (e.g. leaking onto the floorpan, soaking wet carpet after rainshowers)

the rear passenger drain hose is extremely easy to get to. it's the front passenger side that's a pain in the ass. just a one minute demo of where to access the drain hose, which is half the battle.

#volkswagen #diyRepair #selfRepair #cars #carRepair

holllee frack.

tldr: if you have a sunroof on your car and the floor is wet, check your sunroof drain lines.

for the past year my wife and i have noticed a damp, musty smell in our vehicle that happens randomly. sometimes there was condensation on the windows, so we chalked it up to the humidity. i've noticed dampness under the floor mats, so i assumed it was people's wet shoes soaking through.

this morning i woke up to an AIRBAG ERROR warning on my instrument cluster. this means that the airbag(s) has been disabled due to some electrical problem or sensor malfunction. (after my near-miss strawberry jam incident on my bicycle yesterday, i'm not taking any chances driving around with disabled airbags)

the usual advice is to check all of the electrical connections between the airbag and its associated systems (e.g. the door, the seatbelt, and the chair). they all looked fine at initial inspection

i went to the passenger side, and dug under the chair to find the electrical connections, and the floor mat was wet. VERY wet. i lifted up the floor upholstery, and between it and the floorpan was half an inch of water sloshing around. it was so deep that it soaked all of the electrical connections between the seat and the passenger airbag.

i vacuumed it out. two gallons of filthy, stinky water. how the flying fuck did i get that much water in our tiguan?

one vw forum search later i found the probable culprit: the sunroof drain lines, which are notorious for getting clogged with dirt.

it took some digging around, but i found the rear drain line at the rear, where the turn signal is. it was not clogged. it was completely disconnected from the exterior drain, and was funnelling every drop of water from the moonroof onto the floor. this has been happening for a *year*.

#carRepair #diyRepair #volkswagen

Identified Component Unclear in Motherboard Repair Query

An iFixit user cannot identify an unmarked chip near the GPU on a motherboard, making replacement difficult. This affects DIY repair.

#MotherboardRepair, #iFixit, #TechHelp, #DIYRepair, #ElectronicComponents

https://newsletter.tf/unmarked-chip-on-motherboard-halts-repair/

A user on iFixit is stuck on a motherboard repair because a key chip has no markings. This makes finding a replacement part impossible.

#MotherboardRepair, #iFixit, #TechHelp, #DIYRepair, #ElectronicComponents
https://newsletter.tf/unmarked-chip-on-motherboard-halts-repair/

First, the sd card on my pihole failed (luckily I had a spare), so I had to fix that to fix my internet, but then I dropped the new sd card when I was trying replace it and it just disappeared, so I had to scavenge another. Fortunately I found one that wasn’t in use, so I got that fixed. Then the part for my dishwasher (that spontaneously broke over the weekend) was delivered, so had to install that “real quick”.. Sometimes you just have a day like Hal…

https://youtu.be/5W4NFcamRhM

#HomeImprovement #DIYrepair

The Right-to-Repair Movement Is Here: How Keeping Your Stuff Longer Cuts Waste (and Saves Money)

Right-to-repair 2026: Fix gear, cut waste, save cash. Practical urban tips + US/EU policy updates for eco-shoppers.

https://sayecosm.com/right-to-repair/

#sustainability #greenliving #zerowaste #diyrepair #lifestyle #sustainableliving #righttorepair

1/2
Vores vaskemaskine har larmet et stykke tid. Sådan virkelig larmet. Det er efter al sandsynlighed, og i øvrigt lyden af dømme, lejet der er gået. Nu har jeg altså skilt den en lille smule ad og min værste fordom er blevet bekræftet. Karret består, som på alle andre vaskemaskiner, af to dele men de er her plastiksvejset sammen hvilket betyder at lejet ikke kan udskiftes. Jeg tilgiver ikke Bosch.

#RepairabilityScore 0
#DIYrepair
#righttorepair

🚜💸 Oh, John Deere, finally coughing up $99M for the "right-to-repair" settlement. Who knew that letting people fix their own tractors was such a revolutionary idea? Next thing you know, they'll be inventing the wheel again! 🙄🔧
https://www.thedrive.com/news/john-deere-to-pay-99-million-in-monumental-right-to-repair-settlement #JohnDeere #RightToRepair #TractorSettlement #DIYRepair #FarmingInnovation #HackerNews #ngated

Two cracked panes in the greenhouse roof just repaired with Loctite Superglue Glass left over from another project. Will they hold? Watch this space.

I love the repairability of these old greenhouses (this one's a Halls Europa, circa 1970). The perishable parts are replaceable and still available. It'll be the rubber gaskets next.

#diyrepair #greenhouse #glazing #repairability

keeping your electronics happy doesn't have to involve phone calls for warranty service. many are straightforward jobs that require a sink, a screwdriver, and an episode of DS9 playing in the background.

today's fun bit of elective surgery and preventative maintenance: taking apart and cleaning the brew unit on my GE Profile automatic espresso machine

(if you recognize the shape of this machine, that's probably because SMEG re-shelled the machine and uses identical parts internally. so anything i've done here equally applies to its cousin.)

the manual assures you that there are no user serviceable parts inside, and that only GE's warranty service can do it. it doesn't say that GE stopped offering any kind of service or parts for these machines two years ago.

espresso machine elitists are of zero help as well, toeing the usual line "just go buy a REAL machine like a $2k Lelit that uses standard parts" blah blah.

understandably, everyday people give up and toss these machines in the landfill.

i've owned a half dozen machines and grinders in my life - some in the $3k range, and none of them make an *excellent* espresso for the $200 this machine can.

in the interests of extending its life for as long as possible, some preventative maintenance is super easy to do:

the brew unit detaches from the side of the machine with two squeeze-clips. it has six beefy phillips #2 screws to remove. once those are off, you'll see the guts of the brew unit. it's just a few plastic gears. look how vile they've become after 2 years of daily use 😬 (pic 1)

as soon as i started cleaning it, my fingers got gunky - sticky! all of the parts were gooped in white lithium grease, which had mixed with old coffee and produced quite a mess. i took out all of the gears, and scrubbed them all in the sink with hot water and lots of dish soap. an old toothbrush worked great.

pic 2: the cleaned up parts. cleaning off all the gunk also removed all of the grease, so i re-greased each gear using an old tube of food-grade silicone grease i had laying around from years ago.

pic 3: the brew unit back inside of the machine. you can see the orange plastic squeeze-clips that let you easily remove the brew unit for cleaning.

pic 4: the re-assembled machine, working happily.

#selfrepair #diyrepair #mottai #coffee #permaculture

A satisfying fix!

Fixed our automatic bin lid, again... I have fixed it before, a long time ago, but a different issue.

The reported "fault" was , "this thing is clearly broken, even new batteries haven't sorted it".

Found 3 issues:

1. One of the 4 D cell batteries was in the wrong way around. Easy fix!
2. The On/Off switch was iffy. Contact cleaner fixed that.
3. There was debris in the lid gears jamming it. Another easy fix.

All issues fixed, and the bin is back in business!

#DIYrepair

The new keyboard turned up. It spent a holiday at Kenmore, then Australia Post tried to deliver it on the very day that neither of us is home… so my father picked it up from the post office this morning.

It took a bit of coaxing to get that top cover up and to get the adhesive to let go, but once I did that, it was plain sailing. This keyboard has a different feel to the old one, but I'm getting used to it already.

The old keyboard had keycaps that were popping up intermittently, especially right-shift and Enter. Very annoying. The left-hand keys are also well and truly polished after over a decade of regular use.

There was a tonne of crud in there too… including some grey fur… I wonder where that came from?

Anyway, below are the before and after photos. Well worth doing… and yes, a laptop that had a non-backlit keyboard can take a backlit one just fine … there's three sockets for the keyboard. When you plug the new one in: do the socket closest to the touch pad first, then connect the backlight socket (right-hand side), then the final socket.

#Keyboard #Toughbook #DIYRepair

Seems like I might have to replace the micro mouse switch on my Kensington Orbit K75327 trackball... The left click is registering double clicks. Hope I still remember my soldering skills! Will try to get some replacement 7.3mm silent Kailh switches.

https://kailhswitch.net/products/kailh-mute-button-6-6-7-3mm-square-silent-wireless-wired-mouse-micro-switch-mouse-button-tact-switch

Quick disassembly guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Trackballs/comments/o8ai5q/microswitch_replacement_in_kensington_orbit_scroll/

#diyrepair #mouse #trackball #trackballmouse #mouserepair #kailh

one of the little skills i've begun to learn over the past few years is how to repair books. i don't mean the kind of heavyduty book restoration you see done by professionals. i mean fixing your beloved thrashed paperback that you just can't bear to toss out, because who even does that

today i wanted to (finally) read Myst: The Book of Atrus, and when i opened it up a hunk of chapters completely separated from the adjoining pages. this is probably why i got it for $2 at a thrift store years ago.

book restoration is an art, and i'm a programmer. so this is how i do it.

pic 1: the damaged section. you can see where a hunk of pages has separated from the neighbouring section. there are even little wisps of paper left.

pic 2: i glue down the little torn wisps of paper using my trusty swiss army knife of tools: a dental flosser. it has the most useful tip for almost any job. i'm using it as a poker and paintbrush today. i've put a tiny dab of PVA glue on the tip, and i've glued the tiny wisps of paper to the page

pic 3: i've applied a conservative amount of PVA glue to the broken section. it's going to bond against the spine, and when smushed, will also bond against the adjoining pages.

pic 4: resting the book on the spine for an hour or two to ensure a good bond, and let the glue dry a bit. that's the ph-neutral Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) glue i use. it is the most useful glue in my house.

if this will be your first time fixing a page that has fallen out of a book, or fixing a spine like this one: a tiny amount of PVA goes a LONG way. it tends to get runny, so give the bottle a good shake before you start. it also dries a lot faster than the usual white schoolroom glue.

#mottai #diyrepair #books #bookstodon #myst #permaculture #solarpunk #repair

Half the #DIYrepair effort is knowing the name of the replacement part you're searching for.

After that, it's 1/3 waiting on shipping & the remainder complaining about skinned knuckles or dropped nuts & bolts.

Back in November 2013, I bought myself a new laptop to celebrate that I was in full-time employment for the first time in my life.

The laptop was a Panasonic Toughbook CF-53 Mk2. I still have it, typing on it now in fact. Its had a few upgrades, but the keyboard is still the original.

A couple of the scissor switch mechanisms are starting to fail now, with a few keys becoming unresponsive or the key caps popping up. Most annoyingly, right-shift and enter. So it's new keyboard time.

I've ordered one of these, it's a backlit chiclet keyboard. Mine's not backlit, and not a chiclet, but it says its for CF-53 so hopefully will fit. $50 isn't a lot to spend anyway, so worth a gamble.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/276625672231

Replacement doesn't look hard from the iFixit article I found, so we'll see.

#CF53 #Toughbook #Keyboard #DIYRepair

Denis bringt einen 40 Jahre alten Commodore PET 2001 wieder zum Laufen. Eine dreiteilige Story zu den Erfolgen und Rückschlägen bei der Restaurierung.
#RetroComputing #Dresden #Commodore #DIYRepair #PET2001 #8Bit

https://www.retrocomputer-dresden.de/PET-Restaurierung/?ref=mastodon