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Smart wiring for the gateman, from the January 2012 Classic Toy Trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 26, 2011November 22, 2011Classic Toy Trains, lionel, lionel gateman, Peter Riddle, radio shack

This week I received an advance copy of the January 2012 Classic Toy Trains. There, on page 42, is my first magazine article in more than a decade: Smart wiring for the gateman.

I’d like to make a couple of clarifications on the article, as space constraints kept me from elaborating quite as much as I did in the original manuscript–a problem I never have online, but almost always seem to have in print. The issue isn’t due on newsstands for another couple of weeks, but I’ll go ahead and post this now.
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The $119 tablet

Dave Farquhar Hardware November 25, 2011December 10, 2011android, cyanogenmod, kindle, Kindle Fire, Nook Color

I broke down today. I’m going to join the tablet game. Barnes & Noble was selling refurbished Nook Color e-readers for $119, so I bought one, intending to load Cyanogenmod on it and turn it into an Android 2.3 tablet.

The resulting tablet is no Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, but it’s $119.

Tip: Use a TV stand or cart to hold train transformers

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 25, 2011December 5, 2015cart, train layout

Once your train layout outgrows a single 80- or 90-watt transformer, finding room for a larger transformer (or bank of transformers) gets difficult.

A TV stand suitable for a CRT television (remember those?) provides a nice solution. I’ve been using my old TV stand for a good 7 years.
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Cyber Monday is a myth

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized November 24, 2011black friday

First things first. Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for those of you who’ve stuck with me all these years, and those of you who’ve come back in the past year.

And the times are changing. I think there used to be something to Cyber Monday. But we’re rapidly approaching Cyber Thursday, if we aren’t already there.

I’ve been reading up about tablets

Dave Farquhar Hardware November 24, 2011November 22, 2011apple, AT&T, ipad, kindle, Kindle Fire

I’ve been reading about the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet. And not surprisingly, the reviews are generally saying there’s not a lot of difference between the two.

Things to look for when buying a GPS

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized November 23, 2011November 22, 2011

I get a lot of questions from friends and acquaintances about GPS devices, I guess since they are just small handheld computers. I think I bought my first GPS in 2007 or so, and after using one for about four years, I can certainly relate to the things I like and dislike about particular models.

I will say that if the price is right, it’s nice to buy one. I’d rather have an imperfect GPS than none at all. I know my neighborhood better than my GPS does, and maybe better than any GPS does. But when I get into areas I don’t know, it’s nice to let the GPS navigate me around and keep me from getting lost. The GPS may not pick the very fastest route to get me there, but when I found myself landing in Washington D.C. at 4 AM back in July (I’d been scheduled to arrive at 3 PM), you’d better believe I was glad to be able to rely on the GPS to get me to the hotel.

And this just happens to be a good time of year to buy one.
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How I shop on Black Friday

Dave Farquhar Saving money November 22, 2011November 23, 2016black friday

Tonight I was getting my hair cut, and the stylist asked if I shop on Black Friday. I said I have in the past, but probably will sit this year out. She asked what it’s like, especially in light of the trampling incidents in recent years. I said it can get kind of crazy, but it’s bearable with a plan. Here’s how I shop on Black Friday.

How to make a DMZ with two routers

Dave Farquhar security November 21, 2011August 21, 2016d-link, firewall, linksys, lowercase letters, passwords, SSID, WAN, WEP, wrt54g

I’ve alluded in the past to why it’s a good idea to make a DMZ with two routers, but I’ve never gone into depth about how and necessarily why to do it.

If your ISP gave you a combination modem/switch/access point/router and it only supports 100 megabit wired and 54-megabit (802.11g) wireless and you want to upgrade to gigabit wired/150-meg (802.11n) wireless, here’s a great way to make the two devices work together and improve your security.

How to make a Lionel train whistle

Dave Farquhar Toy trains November 20, 2011April 18, 2017diodes, lionel, Lionel Fastrack, Lionel Postwar, lionel train, lockon, train show

How do you make a Lionel train whistle? Well, you need a whistling tender and a transformer with a whistle button or handle. If it’s all wired correctly, pushing the button or handle while the electric train is moving will make it whistle.

And if it doesn’t, let’s try to figure out why.

Free space in c:\windows\installer

Dave Farquhar Windows November 20, 2011December 5, 2015command prompt, windows 7

I found this trick yesterday for freeing up disk space on tight Windows 7 installs by using an automated tool to purge the C:\Windows\Installer directory. Windows 7 users with monster HDDs won’t have to worry about this, but if you’re running Windows 7 on a small SSD, you will.
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