Apparently I’m not the only one that have had problems with a Arduino (clone) nano’s USB connection. Usually it works ok but sometimes, particularly when an external power input is used, a FTDI chip inside the Arduino does not want to be detected by computer. This is bug made by the original Arduino developers to their schematics, and can be easily fixed afterwards if there is odd troubles with it. Read More …
Category: Repair
Sharp Elsimate EL-8118
As you might have noticed, I have a thing about VDF displays and old calculators. This time I found old Sharp EL-8118 which is pocket calculator with basic arithmetic operation with some nice additions. It includes features like settable floating/fixed decimal, sqrt’s and powers, percent and delta percent, constant pi, 1/x or x^(-1) and memory.
It had had battery leak in somewhere its lifetime, but nothing was damaged bad enough and cleaning switch & battery contacts fixed it. It has wear and scratches, but is still sturdy and beautiful calculator. Read More …
Unitrex 1200 and lesson
Yesterday I found an old calculator from e-waste center, which caught my attention. At first glance I knew that this was not ordinary VFD or LED display desktop calculator. So I stuffed it into my bag and scurried back to home with my precious find. At home I plugged the calculator into the wall socket, which I probably shouldn’t have done. Of course it did not work. But no worries, what could I could not fix? Read More …
SyncMaster 245b repair
A week ago I found Samsung SyncMaster 245b 24″ LCD monitor from trash. I tested it and it did barely power up. Blue led lighted in power button but nothing else. From the beginning I suspected powersupply, because its most common problem with LCD TVs and monitors. I opened display and started to examine the patient. Read More …