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What electronics have YOU fixed lately?

Thanks Ralph ! I almost forgot I put the Laser sight and battery in wife's new P238 Sig also . Phew ! I have to slow down all this electronic work is killing me !:LOL: I just Wish I was as talented as some on here .
 
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I guess I was expecting that some had to fix something electronic device that they wouldn't otherwise work on, and what they found and learned about it.

For example: I also am working on restoring an old 1950-60's era battery charger. Case is otherwise OK with a little rust on it. But those very old technology selenium rectifier diode 'plates' mounted to the outer frame have a lot of surface corrosion. Output current has dropped to almost nothing. So I just ordered some 10A diodes for it and am going to put them in when they get here to replace those old selenium gizmos.

It is a ruggedly built unit with a cool meter in front and switchable current and voltage settings utilizing a huuuge transformer. Good for around 6A. It is worth fixing. Also replaced the old power cable AND the battery leads and used the old power clamps (after I thoroughly cleaned them up)

This is what I'm talking about: old/not old, worth fixing, problems found, and solutions and the remedies. . .

But anything is OK.
Have at it.

EDIT:
sp5it: the Chinese have already produced a BT stimulator after the stole the patent design from the US. You are too late!
 
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No disrespect Robb , In all honesty that's all have done . I respect your input on everything and wasn't trying to make jest of your post .Glad you fix things like a battery charger as environmental as I try to be it would be trash can for me . But love the looks of Old school .jmo
 
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Due to planed obsolesce many flat screen TV's have become easy to fix. Most have carefully selected capacitors that are run close enough to their limits that they fail like clockwork between 7 and 10 years. The more expensive TV's last 10 years and the cheap ones ruin the caps in 7 years. In many cases you don't even have to know much about electronic troubleshooting since Youtube has tons of videos related to specific models to show you what caps go bad first and how to take the TV apart.

Another common problem with LED TV's is one or more of the LED's will open so the backlight fails. Manufacturers planed this too and is why they won't sell the LED light strips to customers. Only offered on sets covered under warranty. Just cut the plastic top off an ordinary LED house light bulb to remove the needed surface mount LED and install that. Measure the voltage drop across the lit LED first because some drop over 6 volts. You'll need the more common type that drop 3 volts and observe polarity.
 
Due to planed obsolesce many flat screen TV's have become easy to fix. Most have carefully selected capacitors that are run close enough to their limits that they fail like clockwork between 7 and 10 years. The more expensive TV's last 10 years and the cheap ones ruin the caps in 7 years. In many cases you don't even have to know much about electronic troubleshooting since Youtube has tons of videos related to specific models to show you what caps go bad first and how to take the TV apart.

Another common problem with LED TV's is one or more of the LED's will open so the backlight fails. Manufacturers planed this too and is why they won't sell the LED light strips to customers. Only offered on sets covered under warranty. Just cut the plastic top off an ordinary LED house light bulb to remove the needed surface mount LED and install that. Measure the voltage drop across the lit LED first because some drop over 6 volts. You'll need the more common type that drop 3 volts and observe polarity.
I've had three different monitors that I had to fix due to bad PS caps going south. One of them broke after only two years. Just two years! Can you imagine? Man, was I ticked off about that. It is a Viewsonic too; considered to be one of the better builds as well. Still works today, as well as the other two monitors that had the same problem with bad caps in the PS.

That is a very cool tip about fixing the backlight with parts from a led bulb.
Good stuff right there!
 
That is a very cool tip about fixing the backlight with parts from a led bulb.
Good stuff right there!

The only thing you have to watch out for here is that more of the 120 volt LED light bulbs are using LED chips that have two elements in series on the same chip and drop over 6 volts. The constant current power supply that drives them in the TV is smart and will detect the change, going into fault mode. To avoid the possibility of taking apart the wrong light bulb, you could buy a 12 volt LED light bulb with an Edison base sold in marine electronics stores or on eBay. The reason to look for one with an Edison base is they are larger than most of the automotive 12 volt bulbs and are likely to have the right size chip inside.

They are surface soldered to an aluminum backing plate for heat transfer. Removing and installing chips should be done with a heat gun but a small torch can be used to heat the underside if you're careful to not overheat it. Clean and re-tin the solder pads on the top of the metal strip or plate. Carefully position the replacement LED over the solder pads in the right polarity and heat the underside until the tinned solder under it melts and the chip drops flat on the metal strip. Some TV's like Sharp are smart enough to remember the fault after the repair and will not start until you force them into service mode and clear the fault. Google that procedure for your model.
 
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