Author: Dave Farquhar

How to find the IP address for Roku

Dave Farquhar Hardware
How to find the IP address for Roku

Sometimes you need to know the IP address of your Roku, especially if you have a complex network at home. It’s buried a bit in the user interface, but you can find it. Here’s how to find the Roku IP address.

There are several reasons to want to find the IP address. Maybe there’s a strange device on your network and you want to know if it’s your Roku. Maybe you want to set up QoS for some reason.

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How to hook up a Nintendo 64 to newer TVs

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming
How to hook up a Nintendo 64 to newer TVs

Setting up a Nintendo 64 wasn’t supposed to be hard, but it can get tricky if you can’t find all of the cables. Cables from some other Nintendo consoles will work, but not always. Plus, TV sets have changed a lot since the 1990s, so an HDTV won’t have all the same options as an older TV, which makes it much more difficult. So here’s how to hook up a Nintendo 64 to a modern TV, even a smart TV, and how to troubleshoot the No Signal indicator if you get one.

Cables exist to hook up your Nintendo 64 over composite video or S-Video like a VCR, or over HDMI for TVs that lack those options. If you hooked yours up and are getting a No Signal indicator on your TV, there are three possible fixes.

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Lionel tubular track vs Fastrack

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Lionel tubular track vs Fastrack

Lionel Fastrack is certainly popular, but tubular track retains a cult following even as others love to hate it. Let’s take a look at Lionel tubular track vs Fastrack.

Lionel tubular track was the standard on Lionel layouts for nearly a century until Lionel introduced Fastrack, a track system with integrated plastic roadbed and a wider radius. Both track systems have their uses, though Fastrack has proven immensely popular.

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What are keyboard o rings?

Dave Farquhar Hardware
What are keyboard o rings?

What are keyboard o rings? Do keyboard o rings work? I’ve installed them on my mechanical keyboards and I’m happy with them. Here’s why.

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Removing black marks from linoleum floors

Dave Farquhar DIY
Removing black marks from linoleum floors

I like linoleum floors because they’re pretty resilient and easy to take care of. But they can get a bit marked up in some cases. Here’s how to remove black marks from linoleum floors and, more importantly, how to keep them from coming back.

Black marks on linoleum floors are usually a result of the feet on tables or chairs rubbing against the floor while you scoot it. They’ll come off with a mild abrasive and moderate scrubbing.

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Windows 10 mouse cursor disappears? Try this.

Dave Farquhar Windows
Windows 10 mouse cursor disappears? Try this.

If your Windows 10 mouse cursor disappears, you’re not alone. It happens to me too. It’s a bit maddening but not super hard to fix.

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Lionel HO scale

Dave Farquhar model railroading
Lionel HO scale

Every 15-20 years or so, Lionel ventures into HO scale again. Lionel is generally associated with bigger trains. But the HO scale market is so large, Lionel wants part of it. HO scale trains are, in terms of both scale and gauge, the smallest trains Lionel makes.

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ESS Audiodrive: An underrated retro sound card

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
ESS Audiodrive: An underrated retro sound card

Recently I’ve heard a few people singing the virtues of the ESS Audiodrive, a budget sound card from the 1990s. It turns out that in several regards, especially if you want to run older software, the ESS Audiodrive is a better Sound Blaster than the Sound Blaster 16.

The ESS Audiodrive is a 16-bit ISA sound card that can emulate older Sound Blasters. Some late 90s software supports it natively, but older DOS games use it as a Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, or Ad Lib.

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Inspector fails outlets not wrapped in tape

Dave Farquhar DIY
Inspector fails outlets not wrapped in tape

Why would an inspector fail an outlet not wrapped in tape? It sounds overly picky, but there are some reasons why taping your outlets is a good idea, at least. And I can think of one case where it’s required.

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My rebuilt IBM 5170 PC/AT

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
My rebuilt IBM 5170 PC/AT

I have what appears to be an IBM 5170 in my collection. I’ve owned it since the mid 1990s. There’s not much original about it. Part of that is due to the ravages of time. But it’s mine. And since I did some fairly major repairs to it myself, I’m pretty attached to my Frankenstein PC/AT.

It’s a Frankenstein because it has parts from at least six different computers in it.

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