David L. Farquhar

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When Lionel bulbs burn out too fast

Dave Farquhar Toy trains June 10, 2016June 4, 2016american flyer, ba9s, hardware store, KW, lionel, marx

A frequent question I see is why the Lionel bulbs in any given accessory burn out quickly. I can sum up both the problem and the solution in a single word: voltage.

When you have too much voltage, bulbs burn out quickly–sometimes in minutes. When you have too little voltage, the bulbs will last decades.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Cleaning Lionel wheels quickly and easily

Dave Farquhar Toy trains June 9, 2016April 7, 2022Cleaning Lionel, HO, ho scale, lionel

If you have a Lionel locomotive with dirty wheels, cleaning them can be a challenge. Here are some tips for making the job of cleaning Lionel wheels easier.

Dave Farquhar

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Origin of CP/M’s PIP command

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing June 8, 2016November 26, 2018command prompt, commodore, commodore 128, DEC, Digital Equipment Corporation, Gary Kildall, PIP, syntax, unix

CP/M was, as you probably know, the first popular microcomputer operating system. It was good but imperfect, and its cryptic command for copying files, PIP, is often cited as an example. Copy makes sense. Even the Unix equivalent, cp, makes sense–it’s copy without the vowels. But what does PIP mean? What’s the origin of CP/M’s PIP command?

Dave Farquhar

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Digiland tablet review

Dave Farquhar Android June 7, 2016October 11, 2019acer, android, Angry Birds, best buy, black friday, chrome, ips, mediatek, nexus, power button, usb port

The Digiland DL718M tablet is an inexpensive (sub-$40) tablet sold at consumer electronics stores like Best Buy. Make no mistake, a Digiland tablet is a basic tablet for basic needs. But given reasonable expectations you can buy one of these and be happy with it.

This isn’t a new market by any stretch. But it seems like tablets in this price range are usually Black Friday specials, or only available on online marketplaces far abroad. The Digiland DL718M, or today’s equivalent, is one you can get today if you want.

Dave Farquhar

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A scammer called me a fraud

Dave Farquhar scams June 6, 2016June 4, 2016chrome, firefox, Fraud

Someone I know got a tech support scam popup that said their computer was being hacked. I said to bring the computer over. I wanted to see it.

I found the malicious site in the browser history–I’ll tell you how to do that after I finish my story–and pulled the page back up. The computer played an MP3 file with a scary-sounding message and urged me to call an 888 number. So I called. I got voicemail. I left a message.

Dave Farquhar

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How I find a writing topic

Dave Farquhar Writing June 3, 2016May 21, 2016

A friend shared something about toxic blogs last week, which got me thinking to a change I made to how I find a writing topic last fall, when I set out to make my own blog less toxic.

When I write, I keep one question in mind: Is this going to help one person a week for the next several years, if not decades?

Dave Farquhar

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Department 56 vs Liberty Falls

Dave Farquhar Toy trains June 2, 2016May 21, 20161:64 scale, 1990s, HO, ho scale, Liberty Falls

I had an interesting question come in the other day: What are the differences between Department 56 and Liberty Falls?

There are some significant differences between them but it turns out it’s entirely possible to use them together. Here’s how.

Dave Farquhar

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What to look for in a monitor

Dave Farquhar Hardware June 1, 2016August 3, 2017dell, DisplayPort, power brick, power cord, sony, VGA

Most buying guides for monitors assume you’re buying a really expensive monitor for gaming. But there’s a lot more to look for than refresh rate and response time.

A good monitor can last 10 years and multiple computers, so it pays to make a good decision when buying one, even when you’re not spending $500. There can be a significant difference even between two $100 models, or between a $60 model and a $70 model, that will save you money in the long run.

Dave Farquhar

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Repair crumbling insulation with Plasti-Dip

Dave Farquhar Toy trains May 30, 2016September 10, 2017super glue

If you’re fixing an old train or some other electrical device, some of the wires have crumbling insulation, and disassembly isn’t an option for whatever reason, then you can repair crumbling insulation with a $6 product called Plasti-Dip.

Dave Farquhar

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Cost comparison of Realtrax vs Fastrack

Dave Farquhar Toy trains May 27, 2016November 25, 2018lionel, Lionel Fastrack, MTH, o gauge

Someone asked me recently for a cost comparison of MTH Realtrax vs. Lionel Fastrack. Both are similar O gauge track systems with plastic roadbed. MTH’s system has been on the market a few years longer, but Lionel’s is more popular, in spite of being more expensive.

Let’s figure out just how much more expensive it is.

Dave Farquhar

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The Silicon Underground

Author: Dave Farquhar

When Lionel bulbs burn out too fast

Cleaning Lionel wheels quickly and easily

Origin of CP/M’s PIP command

Digiland tablet review

A scammer called me a fraud

How I find a writing topic

Department 56 vs Liberty Falls

What to look for in a monitor

Repair crumbling insulation with Plasti-Dip

Cost comparison of Realtrax vs Fastrack