Author: Dave Farquhar

Tube radio buzz: The non-obvious fix

Dave Farquhar Troubleshooting
Tube radio buzz: The non-obvious fix

I picked up a cool-looking old tube radio the other day. Unfortunately it doesn’t work. When you turn it on, instead of a signal, you hear loud buzzing. Here’s what causes tube radio buzz and how to get it fixed.

Of course we assume any problem with a tube radio is the vacuum tubes. But loud buzzing is usually caused by bad capacitors, not tubes.

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Is Yoast SEO good?

Dave Farquhar Writing
Is Yoast SEO good?

Let’s talk blogging. Specifically, let’s talk SEO. Is Yoast SEO good? You’ll hear mixed opinions of that. So I’ll share my personal experience, as someone who blogged without it for a decade.

My best blog posts didn’t need Yoast SEO. But there’s no question the majority of my blog posts do better with it, and I’ve never seen one do worse.

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Valid reasons for running unauthenticated vulnerability scans

Dave Farquhar security
Valid reasons for running unauthenticated vulnerability scans

Authenticated vulnerability scans are usually better than unauthenticated scans. But sometimes there are valid reasons for running unauthenticated vulnerability scans. Here are some reasons you might want to do that.

The main reason to run unauthenticated vulnerability scans is to limit the information you share with people outside your organization, such as auditors. But they are also helpful for preparing for penetration tests.

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5.25 floppy drive maintenance

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
5.25 floppy drive maintenance

It’s been a long time since 5.25-inch floppy drives were mainstream. But a lot of them can still work today with a little bit of cleaning and lubrication. Here’s a quick guide to 5.25 floppy drive maintenance.

Cleaning the heads, then cleaning and lubricating the rails is usually all it takes to get a 5.25-inch drive working well. Using the right cleaner and lubricating sparingly is the key to doing more good than harm.

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Converting Marx couplers to Lionel

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Converting Marx couplers to Lionel

Sometimes you’ll find Marx train cars with Lionel couplers on them. The first thought is someone changed the trucks, but closer inspection reveals those are Marx trucks under the car. How’d they do it? Here’s the secret of converting Marx couplers to Lionel.

Both Lionel and Marx made adapters for this purpose in the 1950s. Marx’s adapter was intentional; Lionel’s adapter just happened to fit both its cars and Marx.

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Building a computer in the 90s

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Building a computer in the 90s

Building a computer in the 90s was different than it is today. It wasn’t just harder or more expensive. It seemed like every new build was an adventure. I probably built a few hundred systems before the decade ended, but the first few were definitely the most memorable. One in particular stands out above the rest.

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Is Ridgid better than Ryobi?

Dave Farquhar DIY
Is Ridgid better than Ryobi?

Frequently you’ll find Ridgid tools sold in the same stores as Ryobi tools. They’re pricier than Ryobi, but cheaper than tools like DeWalt and Milwaukee. Is Ridgid better than Ryobi? Is Ridgid as good as DeWalt? Let’s dig in.

You won’t find it printed anywhere on the box, but Ryobi, Ridgid, and Milwaukee tools are all made by the same company. Ridgid tools are higher quality than Ryobi, with more power and durability, but a grade below brands like Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Makita.

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Advantages and disadvantages of floppy disks

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Advantages and disadvantages of floppy disks

You may think of floppy disks as an obsolete technology. But they were very important in the 1980s and 1990s, and they aren’t completely gone today. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of floppy disks, and why they just won’t quite go away.

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What does a TP-Link do?

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking
What does a TP-Link do?

What does a TP-Link do? It depends on which product you’re asking about. But all of TP-Link’s products allow computers, game systems, and mobile devices to network together, so they can share things like a printer and an Internet connection.

TP-Link makes a number of devices, including routers, access points, switches, network cards, and powerline adapters. What these have in common is they all create or extend computer networks, either wired or wireless.

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Plastimarx: Marx’s Mexican subsidiary

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Plastimarx: Marx’s Mexican subsidiary

Plastimarx is a frequently misunderstood 20th century toymaker. It was part of Louis Marx’s post-WWII expansion into foreign markets, specifically Mexico. But how and when it came about and ended are all a bit unclear. Let’s try to clear it up.

Plastimarx’s slogan translated to “They are beautiful, they are durable, they are Plastimarx toys.” It  was perhaps the last piece of Louis Marx’s toy empire to fall, surviving until 1991.

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