WD Archives - The Silicon Underground

Lawn mower wheel height adjuster stuck? Free it!

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 11:00:20 +0000

I had a lawn mower wheel height adjuster stuck hard a week or two ago. I bought it off a neighbor for $20, so I expected a few problems. I fixed it with a screwdriver and a hammer. A couple of

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What to do when a Lionel train suddenly can’t pull as many cars as it could before

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:18:14 +0000

Last night, the Lionel train under our Christmas tree–a low-budget special, of course–started struggling. It had been able to pull five cars before, but suddenly could only pull four. Here’s how I fixed it. The first thing that came to mind

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More on the new Intel 320 SSD

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 11 May 2011 02:03:21 +0000

A few weeks ago, my security go-to guy, Rich P., bought a new Intel 320 SSD for his netbook. With my encouragement, of course. It finally arrived this weekend, and he installed it. Rich reports not only faster speed, but

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Cleaning and storing Lionel track

Dave Farquhar — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 15:34:01 +0000

Cleaning and storing Lionel track is another common question when the subject of trains comes up. Now that you’re getting the electric train track out for Christmas duty, there are some things you need to do to get it ready. And

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How to fix old Marx locomotives

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 03:11:06 +0000

I’ve been noticing that a post I made several years ago about my experiments fixing a Marx 490 train locomotive has been getting a disconcerting number of hits. Disconcerting, because I repeated some advice on how to fix old Marx

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I rebuilt a Dell Dimension 4100 last night

Dave Farquhar — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 13:54:05 +0000

So, I rebuilt a Dell Dimension 4100 last night. I didn't make any hardware changes other than replacing the Western Digital hard drive inside, which was on its last legs.

Along the way, I learned a few things.

The post I rebuilt a Dell Dimension 4100 last night appeared first on The Silicon Underground.

Quieting and lengthening the life of a case fan

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 02:09:28 +0000

I serviced a PC last week while my Internet connection was up and down like George Bush's approval rating. It was making a lot of loud noises and at first the owner thought his hard drive was crashing. But when he described the sound to me, it sounded like a fan.

He sounded relieved and said he'd ignore it, but I told him I should take a look at it.

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How to get that dusty old train running again

Dave Farquhar — Sat, 27 Nov 2004 21:46:05 +0000

It's the weekend after Thanksgiving. The time of year when nostalgia runs high and ancient toy trains come out of the basement or the attic and get set up again until sometime after the new year.

Well, hopefully they make it that long. Here are some tips for getting old Lionel, American Flyer, Marx, and similar trains running again.

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Fixing a Marx 490 O27 toy locomotive

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 10 Feb 2004 02:05:00 +0000

I fixed my Marx 490 locomotive this weekend. I used the tips in The All Gauge Model Railroading Marx Trains guide. Scroll down to the heading titled, "The Marx motor."

I was skeptical because these instructions call for WD-40, and it seems I've read a hundred other places never to use WD-40 on any model train. But my Marx 490 wasn't running well, and it would cost more to have it professionally repaired than it's worth.

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More tips for playing with toy trains

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 12 Dec 2003 05:00:18 +0000

As you can probably guess from the length of time between postings, the Lionel has proven to be quite the distraction. A welcome one, but definitely a distraction.

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