Author: Dave Farquhar

The secret history of the F-14’s flight computer

Dave Farquhar Hardware

If you’re Gen X, you know the F-14. You may have even known about it before the movie Top Gun. The story of its flight computer, and the man who designed the hardware, Ray Holt, is intense. I don’t share a ton of links, but this is one you’ve gotta read. It’s the best piece of tech journalism I’ve read in years. Every possible box they taught me to check in journalism school, this story checks. I’m trying to remember the last time I saw a technology piece do that.

I’ve heard of Ray Holt before. He’s almost the Gary Kildall of computer chips. This story tells the story of his triumph, tragedy, and how he carried on, reinvented himself, and is still helping people today. It makes him human.

How to connect a Lionel transformer to track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
How to connect a Lionel transformer to track

If you’ve lost the original instructions, it’s certainly not obvious how to connect a Lionel transformer to track. Especially if someone else always set it up. But don’t be intimidated. It’s low voltage wiring. And it’s usually only four connections. Here’s how.

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Questions landlords ask

Dave Farquhar Landlording
Questions landlords ask

Applying to rent can feel like a job interview sometimes. And like a job interview, it helps to prep for it, so you’re not caught off guard. And if you’re a landlord, it helps to ask certain questions so you know if you found the right candidate. Here are some common questions landlords ask, and why.

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HP Touchpad tablet

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
HP Touchpad tablet

The HP Touchpad tablet was, dare I say it, the biggest technological flop of the 2010s. It was HP’s attempt to compete head to head with Apple with a premium-priced tablet that didn’t run Android and, of course, didn’t run Apple’s iOS. Instead it ran WebOS, an operating system it acquired from Palm, Inc.

HP didn’t meet expectations with the Touchpad, and discontinued it after just 50 days on the market. But there are lessons to learn from HP’s experience with its tablet, even if it’s largely forgotten today. Read more

Who makes Kobalt hand tools for Lowe’s?

Dave Farquhar DIY
Who makes Kobalt hand tools for Lowe’s?

Kobalt is Lowe’s house brand for power tools and hand tools. As a house brand, they are less expensive than the big name brands. But are Kobalt hand tools good? And who makes Kobalt hand tools for Lowe’s? I did some digging to find out.

Kobalt hand tools are made by Apex Tool Group, a company owned by Bain Capital. Apex also makes several brands you may have heard of, including Wiss, Allen, Gearwrench, and Weller.

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Commodore SFD-1001

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Commodore SFD-1001

The Commodore SFD-1001 is a somewhat obscure Commodore disk drive that found itself in an odd spot. It was a nearly state of the art drive when Commodore released it circa 1983, but it worked with the PET, a computer line that Commodore was phasing out. It gained a cult following regardless, and retains a fair bit of mystique, and collector interest, to this day.

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Can you caulk over grout?

Dave Farquhar DIY
Can you caulk over grout?

It certainly is tempting. You have tile on the wall with broken grout and need to patch it up. Removing and replacing the grout will take all weekend. A tube of caulk costs $5, and you could probably cover those gaps in 15 minutes. So can you caulk over grout? It sure would be easier.

While caulking over grout is a fairly common quick fix, there are several reasons not to recommend it. It seems to work sometimes, but when it doesn’t work, you end up with two problems.

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Testors Dullcote alternative

Dave Farquhar Model Building, model railroading
Testors Dullcote alternative

Testors Dullcote is a very useful clearcoat for a variety of hobbies, including building plastic models and model railroading. However, Dullcote is in short supply in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic. So here’s my favorite Testors Dullcote alternative. It’s reasonably cost effective and DIY.

You can make a Testors Dullcote alternative from Pledge Floor Gloss and Tamiya Flat Base. Best of all, you can mix it to exactly the sheen you want.

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Electrical box screw size

Dave Farquhar DIY
Electrical box screw size

It’s a rule, right? No project is complete without three unplanned trips to the hardware store. Needing screws for an electrical box can absolutely chew up one of those trips. But I can at least make it easier. In this blog post, I’ll explain electrical box screw size, or sizes, because in the United States at least, it’s almost certainly one of three sizes. There’s no need to fumble or guess at what size screws to use in an electrical box.

The most common electrical box screw size is 6-32 machine screw. However, for many applications, 6-32 is too light duty, so we use an 8-32 or even a 10-32 instead. The thread pitch, however, is always 32.

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CRT burn in

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
CRT burn in

CRT burn in is a phenomenon where an image becomes permanently etched into a monitor’s phosphors. This causes the outline of the image to remain visible, even when the monitor is off. It’s a problem that we frequently find on vintage CRT monitors today.

Burn in is most frequently associated with CRTs, though it can happen with other display types. Modern technology usually mitigates burn in on newer displays, so burn in rarely happens with modern displays, such as LCD or LED displays.

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