Author: Dave Farquhar

Restoring lithographed train cars

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , , , ,

If you have vintage tin lithographed train cars made by American Flyer, Bing, Dorfan, Ives, Lionel, Marx, or another make I’m forgetting and some of them are worse for wear, there are a few things you can do to improve their appearance.

Keep in mind these won’t make them new, and they won’t fool anyone. One reason collectors like lithography is because they can easily recognize a touchup. But you can make beat-up cars look better, and that’s what I’m going to talk about today.

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Cleaning electrical contacts with Everclear

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Toy trains , , , ,
Cleaning electrical contacts with Everclear

When I was 19 or 20, I paid a visit to my old grade school to do some computer repair. My fifth-grade teacher dropped in, saw me cleaning up the contacts on a circuit board, and asked why I wasn’t using Everclear. Cleaning electrical contacts with Everclear is, at least, a practice people talk about a lot.

Well, I couldn’t legally buy Everclear yet, for one thing. But let’s talk about why Everclear is good for cleaning electrical contacts but there are other things that can be better.

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Why I bought a hybrid

Dave Farquhar Saving money ,

Gas is around $2 a gallon, and I just bought a hybrid. Why?

It makes sense and it doesn’t make sense. So let’s talk this through. I bought one, and if you’re thinking about getting one, I think it can be a very good idea.

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Find PHP malware in Linux

Dave Farquhar security , , ,
Find PHP malware in Linux

A lot of people seem to be looking for help cleaning up hacked or infected web sites lately, so here’s a trick I used in the past to find PHP malware in Linux and clean up the infected files.

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The common post on the Lionel 1025 transformer

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , ,
The common post on the Lionel 1025 transformer

Lionel produced several 35- and 45-watt transformers through the years, including the 1010, 1025, 1015, and 1016. Lionel MPC produced a similar 4045 transformer in the 1970s. They’re small, but they only cost around $10 when you can find them, and can be useful when you string them together with other transformers. The problem is the markings don’t tell you what you need to know in order to do that. But I’ll tell you.

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Double-check your security with Qualys Browser Check

Dave Farquhar security , ,
Double-check your security with Qualys Browser Check

In the past, I’ve recommended Secunia PSI as a way to keep your systems up to date. I know from my own experience that it helps, but I also know it doesn’t work 100 percent of the time.

When it comes to security, nothing is more critical than making sure your updates are applying correctly. That’s where my employer comes in, with Qualys Browser Check.

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Train transformer starting voltage

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , ,

Train transformer starting voltage is a harder question than it necessarily needs to be–because it’s varied over the years. Part of that is because intent has changed over the years.

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How to lubricate a Marx motor

Dave Farquhar Toy trains , , , , ,
How to lubricate a Marx motor

I found a video titled How to Lubricate with Labelle, and I thought I would elaborate on how to adapt Labelle’s advice to Marx trains. You don’t have to use Labelle oil and grease necessarily, though I do like their products. Here’s how to lubricate a Marx motor, specifically with Labelle lubricants.

Lubrication is a more controversial topic than it needs to be, but what I find is that when I follow the advice I’m about to present, the train runs cooler, more quietly, with more pulling power, and starts at a lower voltage. All of those are good things. With a single reduction motor, I can pull six of the metal 3/16 scale cars at 7-8 volts. An unlubricated motor might not even start at 7 volts.

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Spray painting tips to paint like a pro

Dave Farquhar Landlording, Model Building, Toy trains , ,

I’ve gathered a lot of spray painting tips over the years but I’ve never seen more than 10 collected in one place. Spray paint is a tool, and using it is a skill you can learn. With a bit of practice, you can get enviable results and make the object you’re painting look better than new.

Whether you’re painting something for your house or for your hobby, here are more than 20 spray painting tips to help you paint with the best of them–in the order you’re likely to need to use them in your projects.

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Fixing an Asus Memopad that will turn on but the battery won’t charge

Dave Farquhar Android , , ,

My son told me one morning that he’d let his tablet charge overnight, but the battery level was at 60%.  I messed around with it, and indeed, it seemed that the battery had lost its ability to charge with the wall charger. Here’s how I fixed it.

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