I am a $#%@ GENIUS!

[Let'sgoflying!]

Well, I am going to let myself feel like one for a half hour anyway... I completed changing out the fan in my wife's Dell, cleaned it up, plugged it all back together and if the darned thing didn't start up right off.
I cannot believe how difficult they make changing that fan out. I never did find out how all the last circuit boards were attached to the case but with some teasing I was able to plug in the new fan and it is running quietly right now.

OK. Back to being mere mortal-man. Sorry for the outburst, but I was really sweating this one.
Thanks you guys for the help!

 

[Shipoke]

Dave You Da Man.....................Dave G

 

[fgcason]

Well, I am going to let myself feel like one for a half hour anyway... I completed changing out the fan in my wife's Dell, cleaned it up, plugged it all back together and if the darned thing didn't start up right off.
I cannot believe how difficult they make changing that fan out. I never did find out how all the last circuit boards were attached to the case but with some teasing I was able to plug in the new fan and it is running quietly right now.

OK. Back to being mere mortal-man. Sorry for the outburst, but I was really sweating this one.

There ya go! You did good. :yinyang:

You are now on the path to gaining new self confidence and saving great big piles of money all because you just taught yourself that "No user serviceable parts inside" is a crockup.

Now since that was the first one, figure out how much it would have cost to have it fixed, or more likely totally replaced, elsewhere then divide by two. Take the first 50% and go do something fun. Put the other 50% in the bank. At the end of the fun session, go look at the working computer to remind yourself that the fun you just had didn't cost you a single penny and your bank account got deeper too.

Now go fix something else that's broke around the house. B)

 

[jesse]

Well, I am going to let myself feel like one for a half hour anyway... I completed changing out the fan in my wife's Dell, cleaned it up, plugged it all back together and if the darned thing didn't start up right off.
I cannot believe how difficult they make changing that fan out. I never did find out how all the last circuit boards were attached to the case but with some teasing I was able to plug in the new fan and it is running quietly right now.

OK. Back to being mere mortal-man. Sorry for the outburst, but I was really sweating this one.
Thanks you guys for the help!

How much would you charge to do it?

I always wanted $89 to replace those. I thought it was a fair price but most customers didn't.

 

[SCCutler]

I always wanted $89 to replace those. I thought it was a fair price but most customers didn't.

"Most customers" were nuts. That's a deal.

+++

Wish I could find someone to fix the frickin DC power plug on my Winbook notebook. It's a boat-anchor now, b/c Winbook say they want $600 or something like that to look at it.

Maybe they thought it would motivate me to buy a new computer. It did.

I bought a Toshiba.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

There ya go! You did good. :yinyang:

You are now on the path to gaining new self confidence and saving great big piles of money all because you just taught yourself that "No user serviceable parts inside" is a crockup.

Now since that was the first one, figure out how much it would have cost to have it fixed, or more likely totally replaced, elsewhere then divide by two. Take the first 50% and go do something fun. Put the other 50% in the bank. At the end of the fun session, go look at the working computer to remind yourself that the fun you just had didn't cost you a single penny and your bank account got deeper too.

Now go fix something else that's broke around the house. B)

More accurate:
[That formula] minus ones own hourly salary per hours spent ?

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

As for doing it again, let me put it this way.... although I am feeling proud that I succeeded; I begged her not to tell anyone about it.
I don't want the word to get out because I really don't want to be asked to even attempt it again. I would gladly have paid 100$ to have it done.... but there is nobody around I would trust and it would have taken a month to ship out.

Also: I am left with bad feeling I get when working on an airplane.... the next time it breaks between now and 2010, will someone suspect I caused the new breakdown?


So, for this week, that takes care of
the computer
the home stereo
the ipod (sent out)
the nav head (still at the avionics shop)
the air box (I replaced the bottom panel)
the alternator mounting bracket (reamed and installed a bushing in it)
the microwave (dead out of the box in July, finally got a replacement)
the printer (well that was last month)

all I can think as remaining is the Check Engine light that just came on in the pickup, and one of the work computers is not starting up reliably.

 

[Greebo]

Congratulations Dave! I remember feeling the same way after the first time I assembled my own computer. Enjoy the feeling, you did good!

 

[EdFred]

How much would you charge to do it?

I always wanted $89 to replace those. I thought it was a fair price but most customers didn't.

For which fan?

I've got the CPU Fan, another fan, video card fan, 2 case fans. I would tell anyone who wanted $89 to replace any of those to F.O. and no, I don't mean first officer.

 

[Greebo]

For which fan?

I've got the CPU Fan, another fan, video card fan, 2 case fans. I would tell anyone who wanted $89 to replace any of those to F.O. and no, I don't mean first officer.

This was in a notebook computer, not a desktop.

 

[fgcason]

More accurate:
[That formula] minus ones own hourly salary per hours spent ?

No. You have to look at it from a sensible practical point of view, not a maximized profitability margins for the shareholder throw away society point of view.

Your formula modification is the #1 reason that so many perfectly good computers, cars, lamps, flashlights, bicycles, stereo's, tv's, bookshelves and just about everything else ends up in the dumpster. A lot of that stuff is often repairable just like Dave's laptop with a tiny bit of effort. You would fall over if you knew how many computers destined to the dumpster had little more than a 5 cent blown fuse, a bad boot sector format on a HD or in too many cases, a loose connector inside that I rescued and gave away to someone that didn't have a computer..and that's just computers.

Look at it this way: If one is sitting at home, one's own hourly salary = $0.00 per hour. In Dave's case, most people would have thrown the computer away and bought a new one. How much are those? I'm not sure. $600? $1000? $1200? Essentially he would have bought one computer for the price of two computers using that method. That's a $9-20 fan we're talking about, do the math. By todays standard behavior patterns he was already out the money. So any money he saved by doing a simple fix himself is essentially free cash in his pocket when he wasn't getting paid anyway.

Besides the infinitely all important MONEY thing that everyone in this society is so wrapped up in, Dave managed to make himself feel like a $#%@ GENIUS and you sure can't find that feeling in a cold computer printed number stamped on a piece of meaningless paper.

Dave did good. I'm proud of him for digging into the unknown with nothing more than a screwdriver and a properly twisted tongue while tilting his head the correct direction.

 

[gkainz]

Dave did good. I'm proud of him for digging into the unknown with nothing more than a screwdriver and a properly twisted tongue while tilting his head the correct direction.

Attaboy, Frank - any you, too, Dave!!! I'm with ya' 100%. My grandpa always said "you just have to hold your face right" when working on difficult things, so your statement made me smile! I sure do miss that gruff old man!

Let's see here...in the recent past I have:

replaced a bearing in a Dodge 4x4 front hub that they say is not replaceable. cost ~ $25, savings ~ $120 (not including labor)

resealed the cummins/dodge vacuum/power steering pump assembly that they say is not repairable. cost ~ $40, savings ~ $1200 (not including labor)

rebuilt a class C motorhome cabover. cost ~ $200, savings ~$4,000

misc brake jobs, oil changes, etc that seem to me to be way overpriced for what one gets

 

[jesse]

For which fan?

I've got the CPU Fan, another fan, video card fan, 2 case fans. I would tell anyone who wanted $89 to replace any of those to F.O. and no, I don't mean first officer.

This was in a notebook. It is quite a bit of work sometimes.

For me I didn't get any of that $89 that I charged. I'd make the same if I worked on anything or not. It was more of a matter of risk management.

The Best Buy Corp. policy is pretty strict, hardware repairs are very limited as to what we were allowed to do. This of course was FAR from what we were allowed to do. This is for good reason most of the people were in no way qualified to start taking apart laptops until there are no pieces left to take apart.. Or disassembling car audio decks. They would break quite a few more then they fixed.

But I knew I could do it, and did it too many times to even count throughout the years. There is that chance that the customer will say three months later when there is a problem that it was caused by me. Depending on who they talked to I could be in quite a bit of trouble for doing it in the first place. Therefore for me to take that risk I wanted enough of a benefit for our department that it was worth it. Anything I could do to help us hit our jacked up budgets that they dreamed up I'd do.

Anything that had to do with repairing connectors on electronics..laptops, soldering, major disassembling the other "technicians" would check in and I would do it and accept the risk when I came in. We needed the money in order to keep our jobs. Quite frankly it was nice to repair a customers DC connector for them as if we sent it to a 'service center' they would charge over $800 to do this (replace motherboard)

Towards the end of my time there when I just was sick of it and didn't care anymore. As long as you didn't swear at me when you walked up (a good 70% of the people do) I wouldn't charge.

 

[fgcason]

Attaboy, Frank - any you, too, Dave!!! I'm with ya' 100%. My grandpa always said "you just have to hold your face right" when working on difficult things, so your statement made me smile! I sure do miss that gruff old man!

To this day my dad says "Look at it this way, it's already busted so you're already out the money for the replacement or repair. It won't cost you a penny more to dig in yourself and learn something. If it's truly not fixable, you're not out anything more than before you took a screwdriver to it. If you do fix it, it's free money in your pocket and lot of self satisfaction plus you know you can fix it the next time."

Let's see here...in the recent past I have:

B) :yinyang:

You forgot the most important thing of all beyond the money and self satisfaction of fixing something: When you did it yourself, it was done CORRECTLY and you know it was done correctly because you care about the outcome even if it takes weeks to get it finished. No uninterested hired hands watching the clock on the wall that say "if it leaks, just bring it back and we'll fix it again."

I'd guess just the bankroll side alone for all the repairs I've done myself is probably several years of income before taxes and before shop labor costs. That's free money in my pocket that I wouldn't have otherwise.
And it feels sooooo good to turn that last screw then push the starter and have the failed engine fire up like it's brand new right out of the crate.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

No. You have to look at it from a sensible practical point of view, not a maximized profitability margins for the shareholder throw away society point of view.

Your formula modification is the #1 reason that so many perfectly good computers, cars, lamps, flashlights, bicycles, stereo's, tv's, bookshelves and just about everything else ends up in the dumpster. A lot of that stuff is often repairable just like Dave's laptop with a tiny bit of effort. You would fall over if you knew how many computers destined to the dumpster had little more than a 5 cent blown fuse, a bad boot sector format on a HD or in too many cases, a loose connector inside that I rescued and gave away to someone that didn't have a computer..and that's just computers.

Look at it this way: If one is sitting at home, one's own hourly salary = $0.00 per hour. In Dave's case, most people would have thrown the computer away and bought a new one. How much are those? I'm not sure. $600? $1000? $1200? Essentially he would have bought one computer for the price of two computers using that method. That's a $9-20 fan we're talking about, do the math. By todays standard behavior patterns he was already out the money. So any money he saved by doing a simple fix himself is essentially free cash in his pocket when he wasn't getting paid anyway.

Besides the infinitely all important MONEY thing that everyone in this society is so wrapped up in, Dave managed to make himself feel like a $#%@ GENIUS and you sure can't find that feeling in a cold computer printed number stamped on a piece of meaningless paper.

Dave did good. I'm proud of him for digging into the unknown with nothing more than a screwdriver and a properly twisted tongue while tilting his head the correct direction.

Yeah, I hear ya.
If it's something I think might benefit my knowledge base in the future I've always delved into more or less unknown stuff like that, 'throw away society' or not. But I know it's probably gonna cost me to aquire the knowledge. The multiple costs for me being tabulated against either working for pay, which I can almost always do, and/or against the even more highly valued commodity of sitting around the house doing either whatever I want or the theoretical and elusive, nothing.

If our society gets to save some resources, no matter which philosophical trail is chosen, so much the better.

Perhaps the best reason of all to do projects like Dave's successful one above is simply because one wants to, regardless of cost and effort expended. In his case and by his comments, it sounds like all benefits gained, both monetary and otherwise to himself and society would have been gladly traded for $100 cash.

 

[Len Lanetti]

you just taught yourself that "No user serviceable parts inside" is a crockup.

Please make sure the next lesson doesn't include a trip to Sears with a slightly odd looking Craftsman screwdriver where the fellow behind the counter says "No we don't honor the lifetime warrenty after you've touched a hot 220 line."

"Wow I can see stars and its only noon." was, I think, the exact words of my friend right after he made the screwdriver slightly odd looking.

Len

 

[fgcason]

Please make sure the next lesson doesn't include a trip to Sears with a slightly odd looking Craftsman screwdriver where the fellow behind the counter says "No we don't honor the lifetime warrenty after you've touched a hot 220 line."

That would fall under electrical maintenance lesson #1: Do not under any circumstances touch anything that buzzes, hums or makes light bulbs light up on their own with your body parts and/or inappropriate tools.

BTW: They make plugs, light switches, circuit breakers, line contacts, service disconnects and other such devices for those type things. Rumor has it they also make some contraption called a volt meter which makes detecting live wires a bit less exciting than a screwdriver.



P.S. If you want REAL excitement, try drilling a 3/4" hole through a 40lb 8" long lead brick with a drill press sometime. (Hint: Do not go there. It's bad. And that's before the bit breaks off)

 

[jesse]

BTW: They make plugs, light switches, circuit breakers, line contacts, service disconnects and other such devices for those type things. Rumor has it they also make some contraption called a volt meter which makes detecting live wires a bit less exciting than a screwdriver.

Can't think of what it's called I'm sure osmeone knows here.

But basically it's a little gismo that if you even get it near something that's hot it will start to buzz/beep like hell. Basically you just wave it over the panel or whatever you are working on.

Best idea? Assume everything is hot

 

[fgcason]

But basically it's a little gismo that if you even get it near something that's hot it will start to buzz/beep like hell. Basically you just wave it over the panel or whatever you are working on.

AC voltage detector. Doesn't work on DC. I have one in a box somewhere that is not reliable in undervoltage situations around 60ish VAC. Battery powered versions do not indicate if the battery in the dectector is good or dead. No light/buzz = ok to touch. No battery or failed detector = no light/buzz. It's an idiot light in a potentially lethal environment.
Voltmeters indicate actual voltage present and if the battery is dead, there's no display which is a warning sign in itself.

Best idea? Assume everything is hot

Absolutely. Once verified zero volts with a voltmeter, I ground all wires anyway just as a last safety check before grabbing anything. On something like house wiring, I'm not beyond leaving the wires grounded to deliberately pop the breaker if someone tries to reset it.

This stuff is like a propeller or any power tool. It's perfectly safe as long as you behave properly and know what you're doing around it.