Author: Dave Farquhar

Over the range microwave stuck? This may help.

Dave Farquhar DIY
Over the range microwave stuck? This may help.

I had a 13-year-old microwave quit in a rental unit the other week, so I had to replace it. No problem, I figured. When I changed the one in my house it took less than an hour. But this one didn’t go as easy. If your over the range microwave is stuck, like mine, here’s what to try next.

Over the range microwaves typically hook onto a bracket attached to the wall, then hang from the cabinets on 2-3 large bolts. But some have extra hooks higher up on the brackets, and if yours is stuck, that’s probably why.

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Connect an Apple II to a TV

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Connect an Apple II to a TV

Connecting an Apple II to a modern or modern-ish television is easier than getting a good picture from it. Connecting an Apple II to a 1980s TV is trickier. Here’s how to connect an Apple II to a TV, and some tips for improving the picture.

Apple II computers, from the original 1977 model all the way up to the 16-bit Apple IIgs have an RCA jack supplying standard composite output. This plugs into the composite video jack on a relatively modern TV just like a game console–just ignore the sound inputs, and be prepared to have to adjust the picture for the best quality.

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Are all Lionel prewar couplers compatible?

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Are all Lionel prewar couplers compatible?

Lionel changed its coupler designs several times in the prewar era. That leads to a fair question. Are all Lionel prewar coupler types compatible? Can you use the different types together? As always, the answer is, it depends.

The two most common types of Lionel prewar couplers are compatible with each other. But the two later types are not directly compatible with the tab-in-slot coupler, though there are a couple of tricks that can help you.

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What happened to 2.88 MB floppies?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
What happened to 2.88 MB floppies?

For a while in the 80s, floppy disks reliably doubled in capacity every 2-3 years. But floppy disks stopped increasing in capacity at 2.88 megabytes, and some people are surprised that 2.88 megabyte floppies even existed. What happened to 2.88 MB floppies? And why did the industry stop at such a relatively low capacity?

2.88 megabyte floppies never gained adoption outside of very high-end systems, partly due to their high cost. When more cost-effective options became available, 2.88 megabyte floppies and drives faded away.

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How long does a laptop AC adapter last?

Dave Farquhar Hardware
How long does a laptop AC adapter last?

How long does a laptop AC adapter last? In my experience it usually outlives the computer. But not always. Edge cases are certainly possible.

If your laptop AC adapter doesn’t last longer than the computer, the remedy is probably to buy a higher-wattage unit.

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Pi1541 vs SD2IEC

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Pi1541 vs SD2IEC

Retro computing is much easier when you don’t have to deal with actual physical disks. Commodore retro computing is that much more so, because you can’t write a 1541 disk image with a standard PC. There are three major ways to use flash-based media on Commodore computers today. People most frequently ask about the two cheapest methods, Pi1541 and SD2IEC. So let’s compare and contrast the Pi1541 vs SD2IEC.

Both the Pi1541 and SD2IEC allow a Commodore computer to use SD cards instead of disks. The major difference is the Pi1541 closely emulates the real 1541 drive, so it works with a larger number of titles than an SD2IEC does.

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How big is a train engine?

Dave Farquhar model railroading
How big is a train engine?

Train engines are much bigger than your car, and their huge size and weight means they aren’t nimble at all. That’s why you should always stop for an oncoming train. But how big is a train engine?

Sizes vary depending on the purpose of the locomotive, but generally speaking, you can stack up about 30 Toyota Camry passenger cars in the space of a typical train engine.

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Why buy a workstation computer?

Dave Farquhar Hardware
Why buy a workstation computer?

I saw a blog post the other day suggesting you should buy a workstation computer for home use. But I didn’t think it made a very convincing argument beyond saying it was a way to save money. So why buy a workstation computer, then? In a word, quality.

True workstation-grade computers, like an HP Z, Lenovo Thinkcentre or Dell Precision, are expensive computers built with best-of-breed components for reliability, not just performance. As such, once they hit retirement age, they still have years of useful life left in them, so they represent an incredible value.

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Atari 2600 won’t turn on? Try this.

Dave Farquhar Retro Gaming
Atari 2600 won’t turn on? Try this.

I was going through my spare parts bins when I found a couple of Atari 2600 consoles I’d forgotten about. It turned out they didn’t work, which is probably why they ended up in those bins. But if your Atari 2600 won’t turn on like mine, you can fix it.

Usually when an Atari 2600 won’t power on, it’s one of four things: a bad AC adapter, a dirty power switch, a loose power jack, or a bad voltage regulator. Two of those problems are super easy to fix, while the other two may require soldering. If you can’t solder, or don’t have the equipment, I still have a suggestion for those fixes too.

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Advantages and disadvantages of CLI

Dave Farquhar Software
Advantages and disadvantages of CLI

Many people regard command line interfaces as old-fashioned. They’re certainly less friendly and much less intuitive than icons and a mouse. Nevertheless, command line interfaces still exist, and even the Macintosh, the computer that introduced the masses to icons and mice, has one. So what are the advantages and disadvantages of CLI?

Command lines can be cryptic but they can be a whole lot faster, and they make automation and dealing with huge data sets possible. Network administrators, system administrators, security professionals, and data scientists may all spend significant time using a CLI for this reason.

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