Jake Posted March 6, 2012 Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) It seems like anything that has eletronic parts inside you need to unplug and wait a few minutes the plug it back in when you get weird symtoms. I am in the US and once in a while I have to do the same to my modem, computer, cable box, TV.........I can't explain it.I am Bob, Mike S, Flyaway and a few other hardware techs can say it's the gremlins. When something worksall of the sudden, it's called FM (xxxkin' magic)....he, he. No seriously, when electronics are subject to extremeenvironmental conditions like heat, dust, humidity, vibration or electronic interference -- intermittent problemsare signs that the circuits are being stressed out. If you have the basic hand tools, you can open and visuallyinspect the innards of your equipment. Visual inspection is the first and primary tool for troubleshooting.And then we have the ultimate tool -- yeah, you guessed it, a heavy duty hammer to put it out of its misery.Yes sometimes I feel like to take a hammer to it too...LOL...Yes electronic devices are growing more and more complex , a small chip can contain a million tiny transistors, switches, gates so they are called. At any given time, 1 of those tarnsistors can act funny......Oh yeah, I don't blame those pissed off electrons being stopped by one stinkin' transistor. Sometimes when a circuitboard is intermittent, I would break out the microscope and try to spot any ESD (electrostatic discharge) damage. Ifthe board was mishandled during manufacturing, you could see microscopic craters on top of an IC chip. Actually itlooks like an erupted Mt Pinatubo when viewed through the scope.And then I get out the hammer if I do a butcher job replacing the chip.....he, he. Edited March 7, 2012 by Jake spill chek 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i am bob Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 Gawd but I miss my spray can of freon! Intermittent snag with a chip-loaded card? Give it a squirt and you'll know in seconds or less! Did you know that a rubber mallet is considered an electronics calibration tool? True! Try and get hold of the original books for the A+ course - it's listed!And the best one I ever heard was when we pulled a SeaKing off the bottom after a couple months underwater... The Base Air Maintenance Officer (BAMEO) wanted to know if we could get the electronics package into the lab to be checked out for spare parts... I almost died laughing as the sonar display imploded immediately after he asked this!Best way to find an broken wire in an aircraft? Put your hands on the wire bundles and walk from one end to the other.... You'll know when you find it! Done that too many times UNINTENTIONALLY!!!Can't think of anything else you really need to know to fix anything electronic... Just "Whap, Snap, Bap, Whoa... That's Cold!" Works for beer too! Don't mind me... Just rambling off topic again...! :mocking: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike S Posted March 7, 2012 Author Posted March 7, 2012 Gotta make this brief working on something ....... went to the mall to look for another router and we came home with a new netbook for my asawa ..... BIGGGGGG price difference ..... :mocking: ..... now I got to set it up for her and damn glad it has Win7 Home Premium ..... now all three units are running the same OS ..... the first time sense I've been using computers from 1980 something that that has happened ..... my first unit was a Tandy 1000EX ..... anyway got to get back to my rat killing ...... I know you guys will miss me ..... play nice now ... ya hear ............ :tiphat: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve & Myrlita Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 My 1st comp was a Tandy TRS-80 Model 1 4K Level 1. My local Radio Shack just got their 1st shipment of 10 that month in 1980 and I bought #6. A B&W monitor & cassette rec for saving data for $600.00!!! Unbelieveable. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 My 1st comp was a Tandy TRS-80 Model 1 4K Level 1. My local Radio Shack just got their 1st shipment of 10 that month in 1980 and I bought #6. A B&W monitor & cassette rec for saving data for $600.00!!! Unbelieveable.That's right Steve, I forgot about the cassette recorder for saving data and trying to remember DOS and BASICcommand instructions. Back in the early 70's my first exposure to computers were the big mainframes unit, about the size of a broomcloset. We had banks of those on board ships that controlled all sensor and weapons systems. They wereUNIVAC 7, or UYK 7 and were fairly stable and fun to work on. My interface with them was usually a weaponsor radar console. When I retired, I was introduced to Windows 95 and quickly developed serious brain farts on how to navigateusing a keyboard and mouse. My first question to my wife was: what and where is right click?These days it's no longer serious brain farts but now senior brain farts..... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve & Myrlita Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 My 1st comp was a Tandy TRS-80 Model 1 4K Level 1. My local Radio Shack just got their 1st shipment of 10 that month in 1980 and I bought #6. A B&W monitor & cassette rec for saving data for $600.00!!! Unbelieveable.That's right Steve, I forgot about the cassette recorder for saving data and trying to remember DOS and BASICcommand instructions. Back in the early 70's my first exposure to computers were the big mainframes unit, about the size of a broomcloset. We had banks of those on board ships that controlled all sensor and weapons systems. They wereUNIVAC 7, or UYK 7 and were fairly stable and fun to work on. My interface with them was usually a weaponsor radar console. When I retired, I was introduced to Windows 95 and quickly developed serious brain farts on how to navigateusing a keyboard and mouse. My first question to my wife was: what and where is right click?These days it's no longer serious brain farts but now senior brain farts.....Ah yes, I remember Univacs and IBM Sys 400. Be careful my friend. Our ages are showing. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimellie Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 It seems like anything that has eletronic parts inside you need to unplug and wait a few minutes the plug it back in when you get weird symtoms. I am in the US and once in a while I have to do the same to my modem, computer, cable box, TV.........I can't explain it.I am Bob, Mike S, Flyaway and a few other hardware techs can say it's the gremlins. When something worksall of the sudden, it's called FM (xxxkin' magic)....he, he. No seriously, when electronics are subject to extremeenvironmental conditions like heat, dust, humidity, vibration or electronic interference -- intermittent problemsare signs that the circuits are being stressed out. If you have the basic hand tools, you can open and visuallyinspect the innards of your equipment. Visual inspection is the first and primary tool for troubleshooting.And then we have the ultimate tool -- yeah, you guessed it, a heavy duty hammer to put it out of its misery.Yes sometimes I feel like to take a hammer to it too...LOL...Yes electronic devices are growing more and more complex , a small chip can contain a million tiny transistors, switches, gates so they are called. At any given time, 1 of those tarnsistors can act funny......Oh yeah, I don't blame those pissed off electrons being stopped by one stinkin' transistor. Sometimes when a circuitboard is intermittent, I would break out the microscope and try to spot any ESD (electrostatic discharge) damage. Ifthe board was mishandled during manufacturing, you could see microscopic craters on top of an IC chip. Actually itlooks like an erupted Mt Pinatubo when viewed through the scope.And then I get out the hammer if I do a butcher job replacing the chip.....he, he.Yes now that you mentioned about ESD devices, before you start playing with the boards in your computer you should ground yourself first to discharge static to ground so you don't zap them innocent chips. To ground yourself, you have to find an electrial ground from the outlet, in the the US it would be the third prong on your plug, run a wire from that ground and somehow attach ( wrap the bare wire around your wrist) it to your bare skin on your wrist, to be safe install a 10k ohm resistor in series with the wire. Sorry if I am off topic here....... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i am bob Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 It seems like anything that has eletronic parts inside you need to unplug and wait a few minutes the plug it back in when you get weird symtoms. I am in the US and once in a while I have to do the same to my modem, computer, cable box, TV.........I can't explain it.I am Bob, Mike S, Flyaway and a few other hardware techs can say it's the gremlins. When something worksall of the sudden, it's called FM (xxxkin' magic)....he, he. No seriously, when electronics are subject to extremeenvironmental conditions like heat, dust, humidity, vibration or electronic interference -- intermittent problemsare signs that the circuits are being stressed out. If you have the basic hand tools, you can open and visuallyinspect the innards of your equipment. Visual inspection is the first and primary tool for troubleshooting.And then we have the ultimate tool -- yeah, you guessed it, a heavy duty hammer to put it out of its misery.Yes sometimes I feel like to take a hammer to it too...LOL...Yes electronic devices are growing more and more complex , a small chip can contain a million tiny transistors, switches, gates so they are called. At any given time, 1 of those tarnsistors can act funny......Oh yeah, I don't blame those pissed off electrons being stopped by one stinkin' transistor. Sometimes when a circuitboard is intermittent, I would break out the microscope and try to spot any ESD (electrostatic discharge) damage. Ifthe board was mishandled during manufacturing, you could see microscopic craters on top of an IC chip. Actually itlooks like an erupted Mt Pinatubo when viewed through the scope.And then I get out the hammer if I do a butcher job replacing the chip.....he, he.Yes now that you mentioned about ESD devices, before you start playing with the boards in your computer you should ground yourself first to discharge static to ground so you don't zap them innocent chips. To ground yourself, you have to find an electrial ground from the outlet, in the the US it would be the third prong on your plug, run a wire from that ground and somehow attach ( wrap the bare wire around your wrist) it to your bare skin on your wrist, to be safe install a 10k ohm resistor in series with the wire. Sorry if I am off topic here.......Great Idea! I did stop telling people about using the ground on their plugs though.... Either they weren't plugging them back into the outlet (oh I could tell stories....!) or they would use multi-strand wire for their ground... Amazing what they would do when the strands weren't all tight and one would slip into a live socket on the outlet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i am bob Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 Gee... Hearing Jake talking about his military-use electronics reminds me of one of my first computers in the military.... A navigational computer on a helicopter that used synchros and gears to figure out where things were and the display was in color - 2 stobe markers in red and green that worked with mirrors, a bright light bulb and very often a lot of smoke... Hey, Jake, aren't you older than me? Please? Steve? Anybody? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve & Myrlita Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 Gee... Hearing Jake talking about his military-use electronics reminds me of one of my first computers in the military.... A navigational computer on a helicopter that used synchros and gears to figure out where things were and the display was in color - 2 stobe markers in red and green that worked with mirrors, a bright light bulb and very often a lot of smoke... Hey, Jake, aren't you older than me? Please? Steve? Anybody?I'll be 54 in May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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