Author: Dave Farquhar

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 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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How much weight can a 2×4 hold?

Dave Farquhar DIY
How much weight can a 2×4 hold?

How much weight can a 2×4 hold? There’s a meme going around social media showing the differences in 2x4s over the years, decrying how old houses were stronger. But appearances can be deceiving. Modern 2x4s are probably stronger than you think.

Under optimal conditions, a single 2×4 can support about 1,000 pounds, or half a ton vertically. And when we build a house, we don’t ask it to support much more than that horizontally.

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Brushless drill vs brushed: Which is better?

Dave Farquhar DIY
Brushless drill vs brushed: Which is better?

Brushless drills are more expensive than brushed drills. But old-fashioned brushed drills are getting hard to find. What’s the big deal about a brushless drill vs brushed? Which is better?

Brushed tools are cheaper, often by $20, when you can find them. Brushless tools offer longer battery life and better reliability and lower maintenance in the long run, in addition to being smaller, lighter, and having more power.

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View headers in Gmail to see if that mail is real

Dave Farquhar security
View headers in Gmail to see if that mail is real

For nearly 20 years, I was the guy people asked if an e-mail message they got was real. And if they were interested, I’d show them how I figured out if it was real. To do that, you have to look at the headers. Here’s how to view headers in Gmail.

Gmail doesn’t have an option called view headers–it’s called Show Original. Choosing this obscure option lets you view the headers and investigate a message.

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How many Atari 2600 games are there?

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming
How many Atari 2600 games are there?

The Atari 2600 had the largest game library of its generation, and it wasn’t close. Other systems surpassed it, but in its time, the 2600 was king. But how many Atari 2600 games are there? Like many questions, it depends.

It’s really two questions, since some titles were released under multiple names, even though they were the same title. There were about 450 unique Atari 2600 games, but the number of variations of those games pushes the total number of cartridges much higher, around 900 by some counts.

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Lionel Scout train sets: Entry level Lionel

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Lionel Scout train sets: Entry level Lionel

“It’s a Lionel Scout,” the auctioneer said breathlessly. I walked out the door without placing a bid. If you found a Lionel Scout train set and you think you found something valuable, I’m about to dash your hopes and dreams. That’s not to say Lionel Scouts aren’t interesting. But they were Lionel’s economy sets of the postwar era.

The Lionel Scout was a low-end train set Lionel introduced starting in 1948 to compete with Marx trains. When new, a Scout set sold for around $19, or a little over $200 in today’s dollars.

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