#electronicsrepair

TLDR: advice for cleaning stinky PC case and components? A couple of months ago, I trashpicked a gaming tower from a neighbor whose teenager had switched to a laptop, because the tower had some problem that kept it from booting up. It was stored in a (dry) basement for 4-5 years. I lugged it home with the vague intention of converting it to a home media server (since I don't want to add that duty to our mail server). On first testing, I found that its 8-yr-old Intel motherboard seemed to have failed -- I reckon due to inadequate cooling, since the "Deepcool" case had no fans (until I added some) or liquid cooling system, and the CPU fan wasn't properly installed. Other components seemed ok (including the room-decor LED light strips the prior owner had haphazardly duct-taped around the case interior). Anyway, I shoved it under a desk and didn't touch it again until the other day, when I disassembled it fully and installed a cheap Gigabyte board and AMD5 CPU. And it boots, NVIDEA GPU works, storage seems ok. BUT IT SMELLS. Like a singed basement troll, with hint of stink bug. Mildly toxic. Not quite like stale tobacco. My spouse immediately complained about it. I had already finished a can of compressed air dusting off various parts, wiped down exposed boards and fan blades, but it didn't help much. I'm going to open and clean out the PSU next. Any tips on cleaning techniques are appreciated! #fixit #DIY #Repair #PCmasterrace #PCgaming #ElectronicsRepair

I've never thought much about this before, but I'm surprised there aren't people who terminate cables as a service. Bring them your coax, pick it up later with proper connectors installed properly. I'd pay for that. #HAMRADIO #COAX #electronicsRepair

If you have any old electronics with gooey rubberized coatings, you can usually remove it with isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol). It’s not always a perfect solution, but at least it won’t stick to you anymore. If it saves something from becoming e-waste, that’s a huge win to me. Here’s my Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 2.0 that had gone all gross. In the last few months, I’ve also used it on a Nikon Coolpix camera, a PS Vita ergonomic grip, and an Anker Bluetooth speaker. #RetroComputing #RetroGaming #ElectronicsRepair

I was so excited today when I found a like-new, unused (or barely used) GAF 3100S Super 8mm projector at a thrift store for $12.99. I've had a bunch of home-recorded Super 8 reels lying around and haven't been able to watch or digitize them properly. Well, it went very well for about five seconds. It started taking in film... but there was suddenly the smell of burning, a small pop, followed by a bit of worse-smelling smoke. I've done minor electronics repair in the past... but I'm afraid something like this is likely beyond my current abilities/tools. Anyone know of someone who repairs 1970s Super 8 projectors? (Brief research seems to indicate that this is a nice projector to have, so maybe worth getting repaired?) #8mm #8mmfilm #vintageelectronics #electronics #electronicsrepair #repair #super8