Tag Archives: Repair

The Guts Of Switched Mode Power Supplies, Brought To You By Oscilloscope Repair

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The Tektronix 2000 series of oscilloscopes are a mainstay for any electronics lab. They work, they’re relatively cheap, they’re good, and they’re available in just about any surplus electronics store. [Mr.RC-Cam] has been hoarding one of these for twenty years, and like any classic piece of equipment, it needs a little refurbishment every now and again. Now, it’s time. Here’s how you repair one of the best values in analog oscilloscopes.

This repair adventure began when the scope died. There were no lights, no screen trace, and a brief hiss sound when it was powered on. (Ten points if you …read more

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‘I’m Possibly Alive Because It Exists:’ Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker

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An Australian hacker has spent thousands of hours hacking the DRM that medical device manufacturers put on CPAP machines to create a free tool that lets patients modify their treatment. Continue reading ‘I’m Possibly Alive Because It Exists:’ Why Sleep Apnea Patients Rely on a CPAP Machine Hacker→

Become a Budget Hero, Use Third Party Maintenance for IT Assets

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The first question you may be asking is, “Why should I be considering third party maintenance over OEM maintenance contracts?” The short answer: MONEY Most buyers who utilize third party maintenance services save up to 50 percent or more ov… Continue reading Become a Budget Hero, Use Third Party Maintenance for IT Assets→

Teardown and Repair of a Police Recorder

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You should probably hope you haven’t seen [Techmoan’s] cassette recorder before. That’s because it is a Neal interview recorder that was mainly used by police to tape interrogations. This one was apparently used by the Royal Navy and was sold for parts. Turns out, the repair was simple, but the teardown and the analysis of the machine — you can see it in the video below — is pretty interesting if you’ve never seen one of these before.

The unit looks like a heavy-duty piece of industrial electronics from the 1980s. Unlike a commercial tape deck, this one is made …read more

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You’ll Flip for This 7404 IC Motherboard Fix

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We often lament that the days of repairable electronics are long gone. It used to be you’d get schematics for a piece of gear, and you could just as easily crack it open and fix something as the local repairman — assuming you had the knowledge and tools. But today, everything is built to be thrown away when something goes wrong, and you might as well check at the end of a rainbow if you’re searching for a circuit diagram for a new piece of consumer electronics.

But [Robson] writes in with an interesting story that gives us hope that …read more

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45 Out of 50 Electronics Companies Illegally Void Warranties After Independent Repair, Sting Operation Finds

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New research showed that 90 percent of contacted companies told customers that repairing their own device would void the warranty; that’s illegal under federal law. Continue reading 45 Out of 50 Electronics Companies Illegally Void Warranties After Independent Repair, Sting Operation Finds→