Author: Dave Farquhar

Tablet battery replacement

Dave Farquhar Android , , , , ,
Tablet battery replacement

Can you replace a battery in a tablet? That’s a good question. It’s almost always possible. The question is whether tablet battery replacement is practical. Some companies make it really easy to replace a battery, and some make it really hard.

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Replace a Lionel RW rectifier disc with a diode

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , ,
Replace a Lionel RW rectifier disc with a diode

Vintage Lionel transformers activated the whistle using a rectifier disc. These discs tend to degrade over time. You can expect to pay about $5 for a replacement disc. But a modern diode is much cheaper, works better, and is more reliable. Here’s how to replace a Lionel RW rectifier disc with a diode.

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Meaning of the word commodore

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing , , ,

Commodore was a high-flying 1980s computer company that imploded in the early 1990s. But the name is a bit curious. What is the meaning of the word commodore?

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Lionel KW diode installation

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , ,
Lionel KW diode installation

Lionel transformers use a selenium rectifier disc to produce a jolt of DC voltage to activate their train whistle. These discs degrade over time, so a decades-old transformer often produces a pretty anemic whistle–even one of the bigger transformers like the 190-watt Lionel KW. Replace the disc with a diode for a cost effective and reliable fix for that wimpy whistle. Here’s a step by step guide to a Lionel KW diode upgrade.

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Fix a screw hole that is too big

Dave Farquhar DIY
Fix a screw hole that is too big

If you need to fix a screw hole that is too big, I have good news for you. Depending on the material you’re using, it’s usually pretty easy.

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Scale of Tootsietoy cars

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , ,

After talking about scale, Andy Tolch, owner of the excellent Andy’s Toys, asked me about the scale of Tootsietoy cars. I don’t have a ton of Tootsietoy cars but was able to identify and measure five of them. The results surprised me.

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What to do between jobs, or in between jobs

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized

It’s a good idea to ask what to do between jobs, or in between jobs. What you do in between jobs can help your career, or it can hurt you. So it’s important to take it seriously.

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Wire a bathroom fan and light on one switch

Dave Farquhar DIY, Landlording
Wire a bathroom fan and light on one switch

Sometimes you need to wire a bathroom fan and light on one switch. Code often requires a fan in bathrooms these days, but you may only have one switch. Or maybe you have two switches but just want one switch to run both. Fortunately it’s easy to do. Here’s how.

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Whatever happened to Dr. Thomas Pabst?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing
Whatever happened to Dr. Thomas Pabst?

In 1996, Dr. Thomas Pabst, a German MD then living in England, created a web page where he talked about motherboards, video cards, and a then little-known phenomenon called overclocking. Dubbed Tom’s Hardware Guide, Dr. Pabst’s hobby site spawned a long list of imitators, creating a new industry: PC hardware enthusiast sites.

In 2006 he sold the site and walked away.

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How to avoid cleaning Lionel track

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , ,
How to avoid cleaning Lionel track

For some people, the only enjoyable part of cleaning Lionel track is arguing about how to do it. The rest of us don’t even enjoy that part. Recently I unearthed a decades-old secret that mostly eliminates the need to clean track. Sound too good to be true?

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