h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: How To Fix Electronic Things - A872732
Author: Jeff Tranter - U208298

Save money, risk electrocution. All in a days work for a researcher.

By the way, A165629 is electrocution

Brilliant entry!

You could mention that fixing mechanical problems with washing machines etc. is possible to do yourself, but belong in a different entry. Toss it in as a footnote, or don't.

And you need to change the personal reference at the bottom, in third person it could be something like this:

'Even though your microwave oven is still working perfectly after 20 years and set you back $1000 when new, you may be getting a little tired of the simulated wood grain finish, and it is acceptable to be eagerly awaiting its day of failure and the prospect of buying a new one. But don't hold your breath, old appliances tend to be built to last.'

I second that
Great stuff- very useful

In the section dealing with audio equipment you may or may not want to mention that loud speakers often fail because of the wires coming loose from the contacts inside. This can happen when speakers are moved around a lot.

Good to see you mentioned the cpu fan thing - more people deserve to know about that one.

My computer started giving me the BSOD after 30 min of use after I had moved it. I was going nuts until I discovered that a loop of the cable spaghetti in the cabinet was hanging into the CPU-fan, preventing it from spinning.
Phew, great relief.

Good one!

One small quibble - at the end of 'A Word About Safety', you say "unless you know the item will be thrown apart anyway and you have nothing to lose." - you don't by any chance mean 'thrown away'?

Cheers,
Number Six

Yes Jeff, I agree with the previous comments. Excellent article. All I can say is Been there, Done that, Got the T-shirt.!

How about a follow up on computer repair. There is a lot the average home user can do to get a computer up and running again, even it is only replacing a dodgy video card or memory module.

Sadly, I am one of those who cannot resist taking things apart to see what makes them tick. After 30 years I am getting pretty good at it. Most things still work when I put them back together again but I still occasionally end up with a few screws left over.

I to have a microwave like yours. Bought it fifteen years ago. Only cost £150 and it is still going strong. Perhaps that fact that I never took it apart has something to do with it.

Stuart

Good Entry!

A few things to note:

You're not supposed to mention yourself in the entry. There are a few places where you do. Most of these can be rewritten easily. Instead of saying "I'll show in this entry", say "This entry will show".

Keyboards - you shouldn't prise off the bigger keys such as the space bar and the Enter key. These often have additional bits which make them very difficult to put back in place.

Telephones - the higher alternating voltage used for ringing is potentially fatal. This should be mentioned, rather than just describing it as giving you a nasty shock.

I LIKE IT !

An excellent article (I wish I'd written it).

A few minor points
I think microwaves are in a simlar (or lower) risk category to CRT monitors. There isn't anything nasty inside that I'm aware of beyond the High Voltage supply for the magnetron. Some have specific discharge resistors fitted to make things safe in a few minutes, some seem to rely on natural leakage, (and some ovens even have a nice label inside saying something like "Unplug and leave to discharge for X minutes before coming near this area").

On computer dust, I've found that being dry and usually not strongly adhering, a little bit of directed exhalation often removes most dust clogging up CPU fans, etc (though breathing in again before getting your face out of the dust cloud can be unpleasant). A shot of spray lubricant can also do wonders for ageing fans.

Regarding audio equipment, when volume controls and similar are getting crackly from dust or oxidation, simply running them quickly from one end to the other a few times can clean the track and/or wiper, and remove most or all of the crackle.
One fixable problem I've found to be quite common across a range of manufacturers and models is headphone sokets on Walkmans (Walkmen?) becoming unreliable due to failing connections between the circuit board and PCB-mounted socket. Just sweating the solder with an iron often fixes things, and a little more solder almost always does.
(For Walkman repair, a set of jeweller's screwdrivers is invaluable)

For cassette players in general, drive belts being displaced or breaking are common faults, (you can often hear the motor turning but nothing moves). Replacements can be very cheap, though getting them into place can be extraordinarily fiddly and frustrating.

Hi Jeff,

A Scout has recommended this, but you don't seem to have come back to any of the comments here.

- There are still a few 1st-person references in there, for example: 'In this article I'll cover...' should be 'This entry covers...' 'I'm talking here mainly about...' should be 'This mainly refers to...'

- We tend to shy away from the use of the pronoun 'one'. 'You' is a bit friendlier and easy to connect with.

- With the final paragraph, if you wish to discuss your own microwave you could pop this between ... tags and make this a quoted paragraph.

Cheers,

Jimster

Jimster - Jeff hasn't been active on h2g2 since November 7th 2002... the trouble arises because he didn't submit it to Peer Review himself, and therefore isn't around to do any updates.

This is why I wasn't sure about recommending it...

Many apologies, I'm afraid I got the wrong end of the stick with this one as, having advised Number Six to recommend this again, I have to admit I hadn't realised that *Bob McBob* had submitted Jeff's entry and then not come back to it. The thing is, just like when submitting your own work, if you submit someone else's entry to Peer Review that then requires changes, you need to take ownership of them, otherwise it will fall to a Sub and in this instance there's way too much work needed to expect a Sub to take it on. Although you can submit any unedited entry for review, it rather requires the entry to be 'almost there'. Unless Bob or Jeff come back to this and amend the entry as recommended, though, it will just stall here and remain unaccepted.

Sorry again for messing Number Six about, but unless someone else can adopt this entry, them's the breaks I'm afraid.

Jimster

I understand *exactly* what you mean, Jimster. There's much more than a Sub would normally do that needs doing to this one.

But it would be great if Bob, or one of the contributors to this thread (or indeed a Sub-ed) were to volunteer to take this article on and make the changes...

Cheers,
Number Six

I'm on a break from subbing things, but I love this entry and I'd be happy to sub edit it, (though I don't have time for a batch of four I could manage this).

Would you like me to take the stuff as if it was the flea market, or could you reccomend it and assign it to me as a sub?

If you like I could reccomend, it! but I'm on a non scouting break aswell!

Sounds like a great idea to me Z, but I've made a replacement pick now - so I'll leave you in the capable hands of Jimster and Ashley for further guidance...

Cheers,
Number Six

I'll wait for a response...

Get this in the EG I like it.

Z (or whoever gets this to edit)
Couple of other minor points to change
*There may be one power switch on the front but there is likely at least one more on the back that may be turned off. ->
There may be one power switch on the front but there is likely at to be least one more on the back that may be turned off.

*Small Appliances such as blow driers, etc. have little electronics and simple broken wires or faulty switches are often the cause ->
Small Appliances such as blow driers, etc. have few electronic components, so simple broken wires or faulty switches are often the cause.

Pimms

Definitely belongs in the Guide!

Only one (minor) point, where it recommends bending the battery clips to help make contact you could add that cleaning the contacts might also make the difference (especially in older equipment). I've been caught that way several times.

Will do, need to chase Jimster via e mail methinks...

This entry is indeed excellent. One small problem: in the 'Checking for the obvious', I don't think it gives enough emphasis to the electronic repairman's mantra 'check for loose connections, turn it off and on again...'

PS Hiya Z