Adobe & Xerox blues..

I had to stick with Acrobat Reader 9 on a Win 7 64bit laptop as the printing of PDF’s to a Xerox Phaser 8400, was coming out as half pages or worse hanging with odd PS errors, after upgrading to Reader X then XI.
After some bother, I found that using the latest Xerox recommended driver package Xerox Mobile Express (X-MED_x64_5.303.16.0.exe) fixed the problem. YMMV.. Wasted a lot of paper on this one.

Arduino done just right = Goldilocks

I have pledged to the Pozible project for a new Arduino inspired product – Goldilocks Project  note: fixed bad link..

After reading about this idea on John Boxall’s blog, tronixstuff , I thought it was an interesting approach to a more powerful AVR solution while keeping the Arduino format and importantly, being able to use existing shields.. Recommended as it is being supported by Freetronics, who make great stuff.

Old Laptops; a tale of junk…

Have some more stories about lappies coming..

Repairing and restoring old electronic stuff – Pt 4

The faulty Fluke 1900A counter had a power supply fault, one diode in a bridge rectifier gone bad and the main filter cap. open circuit.  replacing the bridge with 1N4004 diodes (there were existing hole in the PCB for them) and a new capacitor and a quick cal. check:  we now have  another working unit.

Bought an OWON PDS6060 DSO on eBay with a faulty screen. Was able to source a replacement and once fitted the unit worked, and after a bit of PCB cleaning and joint rework, the traces were in spec and looking good..

Update: both these units sold on eBay quite quickly

NinjaBlocks

I backed this project on KickStarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ninja/ninja-blocks-connect-your-world-with-the-web/widget/video.html

With the web connection, you could drive them from anywhere in the world..and they look cute!

Repairing and restoring old electronic stuff – Pt 3

The Systron-Donner 100A Pulse Gen. has been fixed as suggested earlier, the output  transistors have been replaced with more modern, faster and higher power devices. It works very well now.

Was working on an old Fluke 8000 DMM – appears to have a damaged special IC, so probably not repairable unless another broken 8000 turns up!

I have a faulty Fluke 1900A counter on the bench now – having another working unit allows testing of socketed special IC’s and the front end ECL module – they all work so the problem is somewhere in the main board TTL/CMOS.

The Tek 2430 is gone (sold on eBay) had obscure problems that were going to take too long to fix – Uni Tri. 1 starts on Monday 20 Feb, and I didn’t have the time/space..

Useful power supply

The man (Geoff Graham) who designed the Maximite PIC based computer project featured recently in Silicon Chip has a web site where he describes some of his other projects. One is a very simple but useful Utility Power Supply.

My only concern is that there is no current limiting, which is vital to avoid damage due to shorts or wrong connections to your protoboard etc.  Implementing this may be worth looking at, without making a neat project too complex.  I have a couple of Arlec transformers that may be suitable if I can live with lower total current.

Repairing and restoring old electronic stuff – Pt 2

On further investigation, the main AC line wiring is not really safe enough for 230 Vac, so I will fit a 2pole switch (C & K 7201) which will fit the space and keep the same external look of the front panel. The Neon power indicator will need rewiring ro the rear of the unit. Maybe a red led in the neon bezel would be better.

Repairing and restoring old electronic stuff

Have recently acquired an elderly Systron-Donner 100A pilse generator. It appears to be in fair condition but needs setting up for 230 Vac and electrolytic cap. replacement. more soon..

Things to put stuff into…

I have been accumulating a lot of gear and bits since “retiring” and of course there is only a finite amount of space to put it all in.  So,  I have found that a good place to find transparent stackable containers is the Reject Shop . (no doubt other $2 shops will have this sort of thing)

You can get shoebox sized containers with lids for $4 ea and half that size for $2.50, also some nice small screwtop food containers (ideal for screws from disassembling stuff) for $1.25.  Bunnings also have a range of cheap clear plastic boxes with adjustable dividers.

For many years, I saved tofu containers and yoghurt tubs for parts etc, but they did not have lids and eventually cracked/broke. Containers with lids are the way for space-constrained workshops!