Author: Dave Farquhar

Remove paint from plastic

Dave Farquhar DIY ,

It’s easier to remove paint from plastic than it may seem. The trick is knowing the right chemical to use. The method to apply it will vary, depending on whether the item is too big to soak.

This method works for toys and virtually anything else made of plastic. I learned the trick from a hobbyist who restores vintage plastic models. It works on every type of paint I’ve tried: oil and water-based? Check. Enamel, acrylic, and latex? Check. Both brush-on and spray paint? Check.

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Xxcopy vs Robocopy

Dave Farquhar Windows , ,
Xxcopy vs Robocopy

Part of being a system administrator is copying large quantities of files around, for any number of reasons. The traditional command line tools for this, Copy and Xcopy, have some limitations. For this reason, two companies extended Xcopy: Microsoft, with Robocopy, and Pixelab, with Xxcopy. Let’s compare Xxcopy vs Robocopy.

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Linksys vs TP-Link

Dave Farquhar Servers and Networking , , , , , ,
Linksys vs TP-Link

If you’re looking for the pros and cons of Linksys vs TP-Link, I have experience with both and I’m glad to share it.

Linksys is a well established brand. From 2003 to 2013, they were Cisco’s consumer products division. Since 2013, they’ve been part of Belkin. Prior to Cisco buying them, they were an independent company, founded in 1988. Linksys was the first company to sell 100 million routers.

I don’t blame you if you’ve never heard of TP-Link. They were founded in 1996 but if you were buying their stuff before 2005, you’re well ahead of me.

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Lionel transformers guide

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Lionel transformers guide

“Which Lionel transformer do I need?” you ask? Obviously, for a lot of people, the $700 Lionel ZW-L transformer is overkill. If you have to ask, your needs are a lot more modest than that. The good news is, Lionel made a lot of good transformers over the years. That means there are lots of them. And that means they’re affordable. If you’re looking for a Lionel transformers guide, you’ve come to the right place.

All Lionel transformer comparisons or guides should include the common 1033, RW, LW, KW and ZW transformers. These are all good, dependable transformers from the postwar era that are easy to find today, have adequate wattages ranging from 90-270 watts, have a circuit breaker for safety and have a whistle controller. They have everything you need for a basic setup, and the larger ones are capable of running the smaller layouts you see in the train magazines, so they have some room for growth.

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Wire a Marx motor without a reverse unit

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , ,
Wire a Marx motor without a reverse unit

At the last train show I attended, I bought a Marx locomotive that lacked a reverse unit. I found a mess of wires in its place, and of course it didn’t run. So I had to figure out how to wire a Marx motor without a reverse unit. When I wired it up to run correctly, it surprised me. It ran really nicely.

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Cleaning the Windows registry – and optimizing

Dave Farquhar Windows , , , , ,

Cleaning the Windows registry is a popular and controversial topic. Many pundits tell you never to do it. When I wrote a book about Windows back in 1999, I dedicated most of one chapter to the topic. But today the pundits have a point. Most registry cleaning utilities do much more harm than good. I don’t recommend you clean your registry, per se, but I do recommend you maintain it.

I don’t want to dismiss the concept completely out of hand. There’s a difference between a bad idea and a bad implementation. Registry cleaning and maintenance is a victim of bad implementation. But that doesn’t mean it was a bad idea. So let’s talk about how to get the benefit while minimizing the drawbacks.

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Boot a Lenovo Thinkcentre off USB

Dave Farquhar Hardware
Boot a Lenovo Thinkcentre off USB

It’s easier to boot a Lenovo Thinkcentre off USB than some other types of computers. But if you’ve never had to, it might be hard to figure out. Here’s how.

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How to disassemble a Linksys EA6200 router

Dave Farquhar Hardware ,

The Linksys EA6200 is hard to open or disassemble. But there’s a trick. This trick looks like it will work with other 6000-series routers as well, such as the EA6300, EA6350, and EA6400. Here’s how to disassemble a Linksys EA6200 router.

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Repair a Lionel train motor

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , , , , ,
Repair a Lionel train motor

If you want to fix a Lionel train, what you probably really need to do is repair a Lionel train motor. There isn’t much to the rest of the train.

The motors tend to be pretty rugged and they’ve held up over the years. Most “repairs” are really more of a clean and service job, not unlike taking your car in for an oil change. Here are some general principles to follow when you clean and service a Lionel motor.

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All about the Lionel RW transformer

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , , , , ,
All about the Lionel RW transformer

The Lionel Multi-control Trainmaster RW is a sturdy tin box of a transformer from early in the postwar era. The presence of a whistle controller is the only thing that really distinguishes it from a prewar transformer. Lionel made it from 1948 to 1954. If you want to know all about the Lionel RW transformer, you’ve come to the right place. You probably won’t find a copy of the original instruction manual online but this will tell you all you need to know.

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