#hardwaremodding — Public Fediverse posts

Operation Slabtop: The second life of the workstation as a satellite in the Zero-Trust architecture

The life cycle of IT equipment can be ruthless. The machine that a few years ago compiled powerful monoliths and enabled the design of micro-service systems without a hitch, today, in the era of local LLMs and distributed artificial intelligence clusters, seems to be running out of breath. But in the world of DevOps and private labs, throwing away functional silicon isn't just wasteful - it's a sin against engineering optimization.

Today, a veteran hits the operating table: Dell Precision 5520. However, instead of condemning it to gathering dust in a closet or being disposed of, we will perform a drastic hardware modification and include it in the home, independent ecosystem as a critical satellite node. We break away from the digital feudalism of public clouds by building infrastructure on our own terms.

Silicon under the microscope: Why this model?

Before we get into the cutting, let's look at the specs. This is not an ordinary consumer laptop limited by the thermals of cheap plastic. The heart of this machine is Intel Xeon E3-1505M v6. This is a key detail.

The presence of Xeon architecture in a mobile workstation is a game changer in the server context. This gives us important advantages:

• Intel vPro / AMT (Active Management Technology): This is an absolute gamechanger for the home lab. It is hardware out-of-band management embedded in the motherboard. Thanks to AMT, we can manage the machine, reset it, diagnose it, and even enter the BIOS over the network (KVM over IP), even if the operating system (Ubuntu/Debian) completely crashes or the machine suffers a kernel panic. This is functionality known from powerful servers, enclosed in a laptop disc.
• Higher bionized silicon: Xeons are typically systems with higher thermal tolerance and better stability under 24/7 multi-threaded loads compared to standard Core series processors.

The Myth of ECC in Slim Workstations (Hardware Warning)
At this point, it is worth debunking a popular myth that many engineers worry about. Although the Xeon E3-1505M v6 processor itself natively supports error correction (ECC), Dell has not implemented this support on the 5520 motherboard. This is a twin case with the XPS 15, where ECC paths were abandoned in favor of miniaturization (unlike the thicker Precision 7520 series). We stay with the proven, maximum 32 GB of fast non-ECC RAM.

There is also an NVIDIA Quadro M1200 chip inside. And although its architecture (Maxwell) is too old (Compute Capability 5.0) to run modern agent or vLLM engines (we delegate these tasks to dedicated nodes of the Blackwell AI cluster), it is still a powerful coprocessor for hardware decoding of video streams (NVDEC) or running smaller, local computer vision models (Computer Vision).

Cyberpunk Surgery, or the construction of "Slabtop"

A laptop as a server has a phenomenal power to current ratio and a built-in "UPS" in the form of a battery. However, a lithium-ion battery locked in a rack cabinet and connected to the power supply 24/7 is a ticking firebomb (so-called spicy pillow).

So we create Slabtop (flat screenless server). The procedure is simple but brutal:

1. BIOS Config: Set AC Recovery to Power On, ignore keyboard and matrix missing errors during POST.
2. Power amputation: Open the bottom cover and absolutely remove the battery. From now on, the machine relies solely on the external power supply and the main UPS of our laboratory.
3. Decapitation: Unscrew the hinges and unfasten the eDP tape. The 4K screen, which was a power eater, goes to the drawer (or for parts).
4. Thermal optimization: Disassemble the keyboard. The exposed motherboard and processor repasting (e.g. PTM7950) will allow the cooling system to operate almost silently. The hob releases heat directly to the surroundings.

In this way, we get a perfectly flat, one-piece computing node in the fractional 1U format, which consumes only a few or a dozen or so watts at idle.

Architecture: Where to connect Xeon in a modern lab?

With the main orchestrator and firewall in the network (e.g. an R3930 class machine) and heavy nodes accelerated by modern GPUs, our Slabtop 5520 should not fight for the title of the main server. Its strength lies in its asymmetry and isolation. It becomes a satellite machine.

Here are two ideal roles for this machine, managed entirely by code (Ansible + Docker Compose):

Role 1: SecOps and Observability Bastion (Out-of-band Monitoring)

The golden rule of infrastructure is: never keep monitoring systems on the same machine you are monitoring. When your main cluster fails under load or due to a network configuration error, you need to know why.

• Xeon E3-1505M will handle log aggregation perfectly.
• We implement the full observability stack on it: Prometheus, Grafana, Loki.
• The machine listens for events from the master orchestrator. If the temperatures on the AI ​​clusters increase, our 5520 sends an alert to the Home Assistant. If a critical agent fails, it sends an encrypted message to the Session messenger.

Role 2: "Knowledge OS" Engine

Instead of relying on external cloud services, Slabtop becomes the guardian of your private knowledge management system.

• This is the perfect place to host a local server with a non-linear note graph (Zettelkasten).
• We run automated CI/CD processes (e.g. lightweight runner) which, with each git push, compiles a static blog (Hugo) from the latest architectural notes and replicates it securely to an external proxy.

Summary: Code, Silicon and Control

This project is proof that in the world of "Infrastructure as Code" hardware never dies - it simply changes its role. The Dell Precision 5520 with a Xeon processor and built-in out-of-band management, reduced to raw silicon and aluminum, is the perfect, silent security node.

Instead of adding another point of failure in the cloud, we closed the circuit in our own lab. Pure pragmatism, full control over data and an infrastructure that works for us, not us for it. And all this without a subscription.

#homelab #slabtop #ITUpcycling #HardwareRecycling #HardwareModding

Operation Slabtop: The second life of the workstation as a satellite in the Zero-Trust architecture

The life cycle of IT equipment can be ruthless. The machine that a few years ago compiled powerful monoliths and enabled the design of micro-service systems without a hitch, today, in the era of local LLMs and distributed artificial intelligence clusters, seems to be running out of breath. But in the world of DevOps and private labs, throwing away functional silicon isn't just wasteful - it's a sin against engineering optimization.

Today, a veteran hits the operating table: Dell Precision 5520. However, instead of condemning it to gathering dust in a closet or being disposed of, we will perform a drastic hardware modification and include it in the home, independent ecosystem as a critical satellite node. We break away from the digital feudalism of public clouds by building infrastructure on our own terms.

Silicon under the microscope: Why this model?

Before we get into the cutting, let's look at the specs. This is not an ordinary consumer laptop limited by the thermals of cheap plastic. The heart of this machine is Intel Xeon E3-1505M v6. This is a key detail.

The presence of Xeon architecture in a mobile workstation is a game changer in the server context. This gives us important advantages:

• Intel vPro / AMT (Active Management Technology): This is an absolute gamechanger for the home lab. It is hardware out-of-band management embedded in the motherboard. Thanks to AMT, we can manage the machine, reset it, diagnose it, and even enter the BIOS over the network (KVM over IP), even if the operating system (Ubuntu/Debian) completely crashes or the machine suffers a kernel panic. This is functionality known from powerful servers, enclosed in a laptop disc.
• Higher bionized silicon: Xeons are typically systems with higher thermal tolerance and better stability under 24/7 multi-threaded loads compared to standard Core series processors.

The Myth of ECC in Slim Workstations (Hardware Warning)
At this point, it is worth debunking a popular myth that many engineers worry about. Although the Xeon E3-1505M v6 processor itself natively supports error correction (ECC), Dell has not implemented this support on the 5520 motherboard. This is a twin case with the XPS 15, where ECC paths were abandoned in favor of miniaturization (unlike the thicker Precision 7520 series). We stay with the proven, maximum 32 GB of fast non-ECC RAM.

There is also an NVIDIA Quadro M1200 chip inside. And although its architecture (Maxwell) is too old (Compute Capability 5.0) to run modern agent or vLLM engines (we delegate these tasks to dedicated nodes of the Blackwell AI cluster), it is still a powerful coprocessor for hardware decoding of video streams (NVDEC) or running smaller, local computer vision models (Computer Vision).

Cyberpunk Surgery, or the construction of "Slabtop"

A laptop as a server has a phenomenal power to current ratio and a built-in "UPS" in the form of a battery. However, a lithium-ion battery locked in a rack cabinet and connected to the power supply 24/7 is a ticking firebomb (so-called spicy pillow).

So we create Slabtop (flat screenless server). The procedure is simple but brutal:

1. BIOS Config: Set AC Recovery to Power On, ignore keyboard and matrix missing errors during POST.
2. Power amputation: Open the bottom cover and absolutely remove the battery. From now on, the machine relies solely on the external power supply and the main UPS of our laboratory.
3. Decapitation: Unscrew the hinges and unfasten the eDP tape. The 4K screen, which was a power eater, goes to the drawer (or for parts).
4. Thermal optimization: Disassemble the keyboard. The exposed motherboard and processor repasting (e.g. PTM7950) will allow the cooling system to operate almost silently. The hob releases heat directly to the surroundings.

In this way, we get a perfectly flat, one-piece computing node in the fractional 1U format, which consumes only a few or a dozen or so watts at idle.

Architecture: Where to connect Xeon in a modern lab?

With the main orchestrator and firewall in the network (e.g. an R3930 class machine) and heavy nodes accelerated by modern GPUs, our Slabtop 5520 should not fight for the title of the main server. Its strength lies in its asymmetry and isolation. It becomes a satellite machine.

Here are two ideal roles for this machine, managed entirely by code (Ansible + Docker Compose):

Role 1: SecOps and Observability Bastion (Out-of-band Monitoring)

The golden rule of infrastructure is: never keep monitoring systems on the same machine you are monitoring. When your main cluster fails under load or due to a network configuration error, you need to know why.

• Xeon E3-1505M will handle log aggregation perfectly.
• We implement the full observability stack on it: Prometheus, Grafana, Loki.
• The machine listens for events from the master orchestrator. If the temperatures on the AI ​​clusters increase, our 5520 sends an alert to the Home Assistant. If a critical agent fails, it sends an encrypted message to the Session messenger.

Role 2: "Knowledge OS" Engine

Instead of relying on external cloud services, Slabtop becomes the guardian of your private knowledge management system.

• This is the perfect place to host a local server with a non-linear note graph (Zettelkasten).
• We run automated CI/CD processes (e.g. lightweight runner) which, with each git push, compiles a static blog (Hugo) from the latest architectural notes and replicates it securely to an external proxy.

Summary: Code, Silicon and Control

This project is proof that in the world of "Infrastructure as Code" hardware never dies - it simply changes its role. The Dell Precision 5520 with a Xeon processor and built-in out-of-band management, reduced to raw silicon and aluminum, is the perfect, silent security node.

Instead of adding another point of failure in the cloud, we closed the circuit in our own lab. Pure pragmatism, full control over data and an infrastructure that works for us, not us for it. And all this without a subscription.

#homelab #slabtop #ITUpcycling #HardwareRecycling #HardwareModding

Operation Slabtop: The second life of the workstation as a satellite in the Zero-Trust architecture

The life cycle of IT equipment can be ruthless. The machine that a few years ago compiled powerful monoliths and enabled the design of micro-service systems without a hitch, today, in the era of local LLMs and distributed artificial intelligence clusters, seems to be running out of breath. But in the world of DevOps and private labs, throwing away functional silicon isn't just wasteful - it's a sin against engineering optimization.

Today, a veteran hits the operating table: Dell Precision 5520. However, instead of condemning it to gathering dust in a closet or being disposed of, we will perform a drastic hardware modification and include it in the home, independent ecosystem as a critical satellite node. We break away from the digital feudalism of public clouds by building infrastructure on our own terms.

Silicon under the microscope: Why this model?

Before we get into the cutting, let's look at the specs. This is not an ordinary consumer laptop limited by the thermals of cheap plastic. The heart of this machine is Intel Xeon E3-1505M v6. This is a key detail.

The presence of Xeon architecture in a mobile workstation is a game changer in the server context. This gives us important advantages:

• Intel vPro / AMT (Active Management Technology): This is an absolute gamechanger for the home lab. It is hardware out-of-band management embedded in the motherboard. Thanks to AMT, we can manage the machine, reset it, diagnose it, and even enter the BIOS over the network (KVM over IP), even if the operating system (Ubuntu/Debian) completely crashes or the machine suffers a kernel panic. This is functionality known from powerful servers, enclosed in a laptop disc.
• Higher bionized silicon: Xeons are typically systems with higher thermal tolerance and better stability under 24/7 multi-threaded loads compared to standard Core series processors.

The Myth of ECC in Slim Workstations (Hardware Warning)
At this point, it is worth debunking a popular myth that many engineers worry about. Although the Xeon E3-1505M v6 processor itself natively supports error correction (ECC), Dell has not implemented this support on the 5520 motherboard. This is a twin case with the XPS 15, where ECC paths were abandoned in favor of miniaturization (unlike the thicker Precision 7520 series). We stay with the proven, maximum 32 GB of fast non-ECC RAM.

There is also an NVIDIA Quadro M1200 chip inside. And although its architecture (Maxwell) is too old (Compute Capability 5.0) to run modern agent or vLLM engines (we delegate these tasks to dedicated nodes of the Blackwell AI cluster), it is still a powerful coprocessor for hardware decoding of video streams (NVDEC) or running smaller, local computer vision models (Computer Vision).

Cyberpunk Surgery, or the construction of "Slabtop"

A laptop as a server has a phenomenal power to current ratio and a built-in "UPS" in the form of a battery. However, a lithium-ion battery locked in a rack cabinet and connected to the power supply 24/7 is a ticking firebomb (so-called spicy pillow).

So we create Slabtop (flat screenless server). The procedure is simple but brutal:

1. BIOS Config: Set AC Recovery to Power On, ignore keyboard and matrix missing errors during POST.
2. Power amputation: Open the bottom cover and absolutely remove the battery. From now on, the machine relies solely on the external power supply and the main UPS of our laboratory.
3. Decapitation: Unscrew the hinges and unfasten the eDP tape. The 4K screen, which was a power eater, goes to the drawer (or for parts).
4. Thermal optimization: Disassemble the keyboard. The exposed motherboard and processor repasting (e.g. PTM7950) will allow the cooling system to operate almost silently. The hob releases heat directly to the surroundings.

In this way, we get a perfectly flat, one-piece computing node in the fractional 1U format, which consumes only a few or a dozen or so watts at idle.

Architecture: Where to connect Xeon in a modern lab?

With the main orchestrator and firewall in the network (e.g. an R3930 class machine) and heavy nodes accelerated by modern GPUs, our Slabtop 5520 should not fight for the title of the main server. Its strength lies in its asymmetry and isolation. It becomes a satellite machine.

Here are two ideal roles for this machine, managed entirely by code (Ansible + Docker Compose):

Role 1: SecOps and Observability Bastion (Out-of-band Monitoring)

The golden rule of infrastructure is: never keep monitoring systems on the same machine you are monitoring. When your main cluster fails under load or due to a network configuration error, you need to know why.

• Xeon E3-1505M will handle log aggregation perfectly.
• We implement the full observability stack on it: Prometheus, Grafana, Loki.
• The machine listens for events from the master orchestrator. If the temperatures on the AI ​​clusters increase, our 5520 sends an alert to the Home Assistant. If a critical agent fails, it sends an encrypted message to the Session messenger.

Role 2: "Knowledge OS" Engine

Instead of relying on external cloud services, Slabtop becomes the guardian of your private knowledge management system.

• This is the perfect place to host a local server with a non-linear note graph (Zettelkasten).
• We run automated CI/CD processes (e.g. lightweight runner) which, with each git push, compiles a static blog (Hugo) from the latest architectural notes and replicates it securely to an external proxy.

Summary: Code, Silicon and Control

This project is proof that in the world of "Infrastructure as Code" hardware never dies - it simply changes its role. The Dell Precision 5520 with a Xeon processor and built-in out-of-band management, reduced to raw silicon and aluminum, is the perfect, silent security node.

Instead of adding another point of failure in the cloud, we closed the circuit in our own lab. Pure pragmatism, full control over data and an infrastructure that works for us, not us for it. And all this without a subscription.

#homelab #slabtop #ITUpcycling #HardwareRecycling #HardwareModding

Operation Slabtop: The second life of the workstation as a satellite in the Zero-Trust architecture

The life cycle of IT equipment can be ruthless. The machine that a few years ago compiled powerful monoliths and enabled the design of micro-service systems without a hitch, today, in the era of local LLMs and distributed artificial intelligence clusters, seems to be running out of breath. But in the world of DevOps and private labs, throwing away functional silicon isn't just wasteful - it's a sin against engineering optimization.

Today, a veteran hits the operating table: Dell Precision 5520. However, instead of condemning it to gathering dust in a closet or being disposed of, we will perform a drastic hardware modification and include it in the home, independent ecosystem as a critical satellite node. We break away from the digital feudalism of public clouds by building infrastructure on our own terms.

Silicon under the microscope: Why this model?

Before we get into the cutting, let's look at the specs. This is not an ordinary consumer laptop limited by the thermals of cheap plastic. The heart of this machine is Intel Xeon E3-1505M v6. This is a key detail.

The presence of Xeon architecture in a mobile workstation is a game changer in the server context. This gives us important advantages:

• Intel vPro / AMT (Active Management Technology): This is an absolute gamechanger for the home lab. It is hardware out-of-band management embedded in the motherboard. Thanks to AMT, we can manage the machine, reset it, diagnose it, and even enter the BIOS over the network (KVM over IP), even if the operating system (Ubuntu/Debian) completely crashes or the machine suffers a kernel panic. This is functionality known from powerful servers, enclosed in a laptop disc.
• Higher bionized silicon: Xeons are typically systems with higher thermal tolerance and better stability under 24/7 multi-threaded loads compared to standard Core series processors.

The Myth of ECC in Slim Workstations (Hardware Warning)
At this point, it is worth debunking a popular myth that many engineers worry about. Although the Xeon E3-1505M v6 processor itself natively supports error correction (ECC), Dell has not implemented this support on the 5520 motherboard. This is a twin case with the XPS 15, where ECC paths were abandoned in favor of miniaturization (unlike the thicker Precision 7520 series). We stay with the proven, maximum 32 GB of fast non-ECC RAM.

There is also an NVIDIA Quadro M1200 chip inside. And although its architecture (Maxwell) is too old (Compute Capability 5.0) to run modern agent or vLLM engines (we delegate these tasks to dedicated nodes of the Blackwell AI cluster), it is still a powerful coprocessor for hardware decoding of video streams (NVDEC) or running smaller, local computer vision models (Computer Vision).

Cyberpunk Surgery, or the construction of "Slabtop"

A laptop as a server has a phenomenal power to current ratio and a built-in "UPS" in the form of a battery. However, a lithium-ion battery locked in a rack cabinet and connected to the power supply 24/7 is a ticking firebomb (so-called spicy pillow).

So we create Slabtop (flat screenless server). The procedure is simple but brutal:

1. BIOS Config: Set AC Recovery to Power On, ignore keyboard and matrix missing errors during POST.
2. Power amputation: Open the bottom cover and absolutely remove the battery. From now on, the machine relies solely on the external power supply and the main UPS of our laboratory.
3. Decapitation: Unscrew the hinges and unfasten the eDP tape. The 4K screen, which was a power eater, goes to the drawer (or for parts).
4. Thermal optimization: Disassemble the keyboard. The exposed motherboard and processor repasting (e.g. PTM7950) will allow the cooling system to operate almost silently. The hob releases heat directly to the surroundings.

In this way, we get a perfectly flat, one-piece computing node in the fractional 1U format, which consumes only a few or a dozen or so watts at idle.

Architecture: Where to connect Xeon in a modern lab?

With the main orchestrator and firewall in the network (e.g. an R3930 class machine) and heavy nodes accelerated by modern GPUs, our Slabtop 5520 should not fight for the title of the main server. Its strength lies in its asymmetry and isolation. It becomes a satellite machine.

Here are two ideal roles for this machine, managed entirely by code (Ansible + Docker Compose):

Role 1: SecOps and Observability Bastion (Out-of-band Monitoring)

The golden rule of infrastructure is: never keep monitoring systems on the same machine you are monitoring. When your main cluster fails under load or due to a network configuration error, you need to know why.

• Xeon E3-1505M will handle log aggregation perfectly.
• We implement the full observability stack on it: Prometheus, Grafana, Loki.
• The machine listens for events from the master orchestrator. If the temperatures on the AI ​​clusters increase, our 5520 sends an alert to the Home Assistant. If a critical agent fails, it sends an encrypted message to the Session messenger.

Role 2: "Knowledge OS" Engine

Instead of relying on external cloud services, Slabtop becomes the guardian of your private knowledge management system.

• This is the perfect place to host a local server with a non-linear note graph (Zettelkasten).
• We run automated CI/CD processes (e.g. lightweight runner) which, with each git push, compiles a static blog (Hugo) from the latest architectural notes and replicates it securely to an external proxy.

Summary: Code, Silicon and Control

This project is proof that in the world of "Infrastructure as Code" hardware never dies - it simply changes its role. The Dell Precision 5520 with a Xeon processor and built-in out-of-band management, reduced to raw silicon and aluminum, is the perfect, silent security node.

Instead of adding another point of failure in the cloud, we closed the circuit in our own lab. Pure pragmatism, full control over data and an infrastructure that works for us, not us for it. And all this without a subscription.

#homelab #slabtop #ITUpcycling #HardwareRecycling #HardwareModding

Since the #powersupply for my #IBM #ThinkPad 755C doesn't work reliably and uses a very strange connector, I unsoldered the socket from the internal board. It came on a handy mini #PCB, which I reengineered in @kicad for a barrel jack. It also has connections for a 20V USB-C PD trigger board that I had lying around.
The boards were manufactured by @aislerhq and fit perfectly. Only the barrel jack was a bit tight since I had to smallen the holes a bit to place it on the board.
Now I just have to decide which to solder back into the #laptop. Will have to try which fits better inside the hole.
#KiCad #Aisler #diyelectronics #hardwaremodding #hardwarehacking #ThinkPad755C #retrocomputing #usbcpd #righttorepair

Since the #powersupply for my #IBM #ThinkPad 755C doesn't work reliably and uses a very strange connector, I unsoldered the socket from the internal board. It came on a handy mini #PCB, which I reengineered in @kicad for a barrel jack. It also has connections for a 20V USB-C PD trigger board that I had lying around.
The boards were manufactured by @aislerhq and fit perfectly. Only the barrel jack was a bit tight since I had to smallen the holes a bit to place it on the board.
Now I just have to decide which to solder back into the #laptop. Will have to try which fits better inside the hole.
#KiCad #Aisler #diyelectronics #hardwaremodding #hardwarehacking #ThinkPad755C #retrocomputing #usbcpd #righttorepair

Since the #powersupply for my #IBM #ThinkPad 755C doesn't work reliably and uses a very strange connector, I unsoldered the socket from the internal board. It came on a handy mini #PCB, which I reengineered in @kicad for a barrel jack. It also has connections for a 20V USB-C PD trigger board that I had lying around.
The boards were manufactured by @aislerhq and fit perfectly. Only the barrel jack was a bit tight since I had to smallen the holes a bit to place it on the board.
Now I just have to decide which to solder back into the #laptop. Will have to try which fits better inside the hole.
#KiCad #Aisler #diyelectronics #hardwaremodding #hardwarehacking #ThinkPad755C #retrocomputing #usbcpd #righttorepair

Since the #powersupply for my #IBM #ThinkPad 755C doesn't work reliably and uses a very strange connector, I unsoldered the socket from the internal board. It came on a handy mini #PCB, which I reengineered in @kicad for a barrel jack. It also has connections for a 20V USB-C PD trigger board that I had lying around.
The boards were manufactured by @aislerhq and fit perfectly. Only the barrel jack was a bit tight since I had to smallen the holes a bit to place it on the board.
Now I just have to decide which to solder back into the #laptop. Will have to try which fits better inside the hole.
#KiCad #Aisler #diyelectronics #hardwaremodding #hardwarehacking #ThinkPad755C #retrocomputing #usbcpd #righttorepair

Since the #powersupply for my #IBM #ThinkPad 755C doesn't work reliably and uses a very strange connector, I unsoldered the socket from the internal board. It came on a handy mini #PCB, which I reengineered in @kicad for a barrel jack. It also has connections for a 20V USB-C PD trigger board that I had lying around.
The boards were manufactured by @aislerhq and fit perfectly. Only the barrel jack was a bit tight since I had to smallen the holes a bit to place it on the board.
Now I just have to decide which to solder back into the #laptop. Will have to try which fits better inside the hole.
#KiCad #Aisler #diyelectronics #hardwaremodding #hardwarehacking #ThinkPad755C #retrocomputing #usbcpd #righttorepair

Using DuPont connectors in the ZIF socket made it wear out a bit. The first three positions don't grip as tightly as they should. So I modified my component tester. Now it has a three pin DuPont socket at the top. I like how it looks.
I should've done it from the beginning.
#soldering #hardwaremodding #electronics #componenttester #testequipment #hardwarehacking

Using DuPont connectors in the ZIF socket made it wear out a bit. The first three positions don't grip as tightly as they should. So I modified my component tester. Now it has a three pin DuPont socket at the top. I like how it looks.
I should've done it from the beginning.
#soldering #hardwaremodding #electronics #componenttester #testequipment #hardwarehacking

Using DuPont connectors in the ZIF socket made it wear out a bit. The first three positions don't grip as tightly as they should. So I modified my component tester. Now it has a three pin DuPont socket at the top. I like how it looks.
I should've done it from the beginning.
#soldering #hardwaremodding #electronics #componenttester #testequipment #hardwarehacking

Using DuPont connectors in the ZIF socket made it wear out a bit. The first three positions don't grip as tightly as they should. So I modified my component tester. Now it has a three pin DuPont socket at the top. I like how it looks.
I should've done it from the beginning.
#soldering #hardwaremodding #electronics #componenttester #testequipment #hardwarehacking

Using DuPont connectors in the ZIF socket made it wear out a bit. The first three positions don't grip as tightly as they should. So I modified my component tester. Now it has a three pin DuPont socket at the top. I like how it looks.
I should've done it from the beginning.
#soldering #hardwaremodding #electronics #componenttester #testequipment #hardwarehacking

Detailverliebte Restauration eines Bildschirms aus den Achtzigern, inklusive einer Modernisierung des ursprünglichen Lautsprecher-Mods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xYQU5SldcA (39 min)

(via https://chaos.social/@layered/114574483270587664)

#80s #CRT #monitor #restoration #polymatt #modding #hardwareModding #vintage

I managed, to only burn my fingers, ONCE!

But I did it. I HF-modded a UV-K5. Furthermore, I did it without magnificaion, and without the correct sized soldering iron tip. Who wants to bet how long before it detonates?

I am 90% certain that the capacitor you have to replace is 0201 footprint.

#AmateurRadio #HamRadio #Soldering #Electronics #HardwareModding #QuanshengUVK5

Since the #Commodore #monitor already had solder points for a #RGB #SCART connector, I decided to make use of this and enable it to be used with my #Amiga 500. It was relatively easy and I didn't even have to pull the board out of the case.
Now I can use the monitor for all my Commodore computers.
#retrocomputer #A500 #Amiga500 #hardwaremodding