The Lionel 675 and its brothers, the Lionel 2025 and Lionel 2035, are among the best locomotives Lionel ever made. That said, they still need maintenance from time to time. That usually requires you to disassemble them. Here’s a guide to Lionel 675 disassembly that also applies to the 2025 and 2035.
The HP Elitebook 8440p and Windows 10
I got an HP Elitebook 8440p because I wanted something a little newer and faster than my old Dell E1505. It was certainly newer and faster, but it had a problem. Every morning it greeted me with a BSOD. That E1505 was getting older and it had its own quirks, but I don’t remember it ever bluescreening on me. Here’s how I fixed the bluescreens I got with the HP Elitebook 8440p and Windows 10.
Not only did it bluescreen, but the behavior seemed pretty consistent. Two days in a row, I woke the laptop up from hibernation, and about nine minutes later, it bluescreened.
Vinyl tile expansion gap — do you need one?
When you install laminate and other types of snap-together floating floors, you need to leave an expansion gap between the floor and the wall. Most people know this. So it stands to reason that you need a vinyl tile expansion gap too. But do you?
It depends on the type of vinyl floor.
Wash an electric toothbrush in a dishwasher
We bought our kids electric toothbrushes. They aren’t expensive and they seem to help our kids get fewer cavities. But how do you clean them after they’ve been sick, or one of them uses the wrong one? You put a regular toothbrush in the dishwasher. But what about an electric? Here’s how to wash an electric toothbrush in a dishwasher.
Remove paint from plastic
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cleaning the Windows registry – and optimizing
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.