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July 10, 2021September 24, 2024

Calc Rework

Let’s Get A Fix In Place For This Calculator

Calc Rework, Fix, Rework and Repair

Calculator Work, Fixing the old calculator

Lab Work – Fix the Calc, Calc Rework

Broken Calculator, Let’s fix it. Don’t want to keep this little piggy waiting!

Calc rework started a few months ago. We’ll keep this post short and brief… This calculator showed up on the work bench with minor issues. Connections all busted, it looks like an animal, a vacuum, nature or something was able to get to the calculator and internals.

Anyway, after fixing a few connections and installing a new CR battery, this little piggy is like new again! Easy work, no major issues with the main board, keys, case or display. Quick fix.

Calculator Fix

Resolder

Look Here

Lastly, I decided to keep little ‘piglet’ sticker on the old calculator because it gives it a new look. It’s a great office calculator with big keys and a large display, making it easier to use than those tiny digital smartphone keys. I reminds me of the old Printing Calculators, kind of like this Sharp Printing Calc. It brings back memories of my parents having used one around the house when I was a child. If you enjoy reading repair articles, consider learning more about robots, remotes, drones, and computers. Wiring guides like this ADT Touch Screen quick reference, keep this handy for future needs, power outages or battery replacement. Or, you might be interested in the Nano Whisk Fix, the M1 MBP Repair, or the latest Dolphin Pool Robot Fix. Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts!

January 30, 2021September 27, 2024

ReFit EMAX FC

Cut, Fit & Refit

EMAX THS & Flight Controller Board

Lab Work – EMAX Flight Controller

ReFit EMAX FC

I thought we could revisit the EMAX FC repair on the EMAX THS. I’ve want to follow up on the previous post, focusing more on the specific, showing the repair process and refitting the EMAX FC. Along the way, I’ll share additional photos of the process as well (in case you come across this article and are in a similar situation with a failing FC). Let’s cover the entire process from start to finish – disassembly process, cutting soldering, and test flight. Once again, soldering/replacing the EMAX AIO FC. Enjoy the photos.

Drone Repair Photos

New Parts

THs

EMAX FC

Drone Frame

Add Connections

Reattach Power

Once you have all the parts, fitted, soldered and ready for flight, we will need to configure the FC. Rest, bind, configure and fly, in that order. Check out the EMAX FC and BetaFlight post for more information. You can also learn more about the repair, configuration process and in-flight troubleshooting. If you are having troubles, log into the EMAX Support Portal for assistance with your EMAX products. Lastly, I want to reiterate the steps to fix the FC – Support EMAX THS, remove EMAX FC screws from the Drone PC frame, Cut/Add Connection to Board, Re-Attach New Power Connector with the Battery Carrier”. Time has moved on since the original post, I wanted to share other Emax content where applicable. If you’re looking for Emax content, give these a shot (in reverse order from this postings date) – Emax Fix Part 1 and Part 2, Quadcopter Rewire, and the TinyHawk 2.

As usual leave a comment below, let us know what you’re thinking?

August 31, 2020September 24, 2024

AF 312 Wiring Schema

AdNeSC AC Gilbert Model Trains – The American Flyer Series

American Flyer Wiring Schema

AF 312 Wiring Schema - Archived American Flyer Locomotive Wiring

Materials – AC Gilbert Wiring Schema

Rewire – AF 312, with the AF 312 Wiring Schema

I thought this might come in handy for those of you out there, tinkering and wrenching with old model trains, trying to keep our historic, scale models running smoothly. I recently, needed to rewire a 50’s AF 312 Locomotive and Tinder (using the AF 312 Wiring Schema). Also, for future reference, two other models are included the diagrammatic illustration.

Drone Accessories

Wheels

Re-solder Power

The teardown effort went smoothly, with only a little trouble encountered with the tinder card. Resoldering the burnt wires wasn’t a pleasant task. However after swapping in some new wires, fresh resin, and solder, we were back in business. We cleaned out the tinder cart, removing any debris, paint, and oil deposits. The same care was taken with the wheel set, ensuring the original parts ran as they should. This effort aims at restoring and bringing the model trains back to life.

AC Gilbert Schema Diagram

Next, a similar rewire requiring coils is needed for this locomotive, but it does not have those parts. Those items seem to be missing at this point, causing a wiring and parts issue. They appear to be charging coils and connections on the circuitboard, solidifying the connection underneath the locomotive’s body. Unfortunately, this train seems to be missing parts, possibly due to age, wear or simply being lost. Unfortunately, these models need replacement parts for an aging model locomotive set so that this train can ride the rails consistently.

The rewire challenge is straight-forward, but be prepared to face challenges. Preparation is essential! Check back soon, to see if we can locate the required pieces. In the meantime, visit an AC Gilbert American Flyer train website – www.thegilbertgallery.org that cover s-scale trains, including the #336 Union Pacific Northern and the #293 New Haven Pacific locomotives which are similar to the train we are refurbishing (AF 312 Wiring Schema). Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts!

August 19, 2020September 26, 2024

On The Bench: Tech Tools

Hemostats, Rosic Core Solder, Weller, Harris, Jakemy

Soldering Kit, Tech Tools, And More

Tech Tools On The Bench - Soldering Kits, Tech Tools and More

Lab Work – What’s On The Bench

On The Bench – Soldering Kits, Tech Tools, Open Source OS and More

At first glance, our pro-setup, includes a solder kit and all necessary tools. It does the job well – I fixed the TinyHawk2 drone the other day. The nano was experiencing power issues with itsLEDs Having a soldering tool on hand is very useful. We use a Weller (soldering) tool for the job. Similarly, we have a Jakemy device care kit – which includes a tech screwdriver set, a essential for tech repair. I have used this set for repair. I have used this set for repairs, on Apple products, EMAX drones, tablets, and more. Eventually, we may upgrade the set but for now, Jakemy is the way to go based cost-effective choice.

RHEL/IBM

Secondly, the RedHat sticker is a memory I found, brought a found memory, brought to you by RedHat/IBM/RHEL (once an IBMer, always I guess). I have RHEL running in parallel with MACOS as I transition back into development and design. I am now working full-time on my own, thanks to those at IBM, ((a special shout out)) to Jim Whitehurst and the RedHat Cloud team working with them was a joy, open source Tech Titans.

I also have a few spools of Harris (solder) – Rosin Core .062″ made in the US. Harris solder is unbeatable. Next, I have a couple pairs of #Curved Hemostats, for repairs, which help keep pieces and parts in place.

The same goes for the coffee mug I’m using, filled with coffee from Heart Roasters. I also have a few other repair tools, including tweezers and a tool kit.

Oracle VBOX

Lastly, I have RHEL running on VBOX. The cropped image does not show the development setup, only the repair tools. I have my MacBook Pro running VBOX with RHEL (Red Hat) personal flavor and Ubuntu. I am relearning Linux Ubuntu, similar, but different from RHEL. As a dev type, I used a Lenovo Dev laptop running RHEL at work. Now, I am just running the operating system with the emulator as I switch it up and start building my own environment form home. Today, just running OS (version) with the emulator as I switch it up and start building my own environment for home.

As usual leave a comment below, let us know what you’re thinking?

August 17, 2020September 27, 2024

EMAX Fix – Part 1

EMAX Repair Start

Hack-A-Thon Part 1

Lab Work – EMAX Fix – Part 1

On The Bench – TH2

Assess The Damage, Teardown

Back from the airfield, EMAX Fix – part 1. Be sure to check out the rebuild of in this series in the EMAX Quad Motor Rewire Video posted just before.

The airfield was clear, with no traffic, especially over in the helicopter and quadcopter area, so we were good to go. I unpacked the TH2 from its flight bag, got it out and up in the air with no problems. After a final check of the batteries and controller, we were ready to go. The weather was clear, and according to the flight radar, it was a clear day with mild temperatures and wind gusts of around 2-5mph. So, up we go!

Teardown

Reattach Antennae

Solder Antennae

Antennae Position

Lift is good, strong, and perhaps the easiest part of controlling the drone in flight. These drones when properly tuned , offer a smooth and vanilla flight experience. Be sure to check out the binding process using BetaFlight to bind/connect the flight controller to the remote.

There are a lot of things happening at once when flying the EMAX drones. You have to be mindful of your location, both as you ascend and descend. The flight went well, as planned/expected. I did a few loops, full power, turns, and hard bankings just to set the pace. Don’t forget to check the battery warning before your flight.

Power Leads, LED’s

Clip Leads

Resolder Leads

Clean Power Leads

Set Leads Properly

LED Seated

Now, at this point it was time to bring the TH2 home safely. As you can imagine, trouble came knocking. Damage report, minor issues included 2 LED strips out, severed antenna, severed power leads loose (+positive lead), and burned or malformed poly-frame. We fixed the issues by clipping and prepping for new wires, ordering new LED strips and poly frame, replacing the antenna, re-soldering leads, and shrink-wrapping wires where applicable.

Similar Emax status update, time has moved on since the original article and I wanted to share additional Emax content where applicable. If you’re looking for Emax content, give these a shot (in reverse order from this postings date) – ReFit Emax Flight Controller, Emax Fix Part 1 (this article) and Part 2, Quadcopter Rewire, and the TinyHawk 2.

Wrap Up Part 1

Find EMAX parts, and more, through our Amazon Affiliate links, or visit the EMAX – US Store. For additional reference, check out the UAV Performance software used to update and run the EMAX TH and FRSky Taranis QX7s controller or more from the devs of Betaflight. Own it and have fun!

August 16, 2020September 27, 2024

EMAX Fix – Part 2

TH2 Repair In Progress

eMax Fix – Hack-A-Thon Part 2

Lab Work – eMax Fix – Part 2

On The Bench – EMAX Tiny Hawk 2

In this case, we are addressing the second half of the build. Just to clarify or set the stage we have returned from the airfield with the eMax TinyHawk 2 in disparate need of repair. this is eMax Fix – Part 2. This is not the first time, nor the last time we will have this drone on the bench for repair. If you are interested in getting into drone flying, check out more EMAX Drone Kits, Drones and more here.

Total Damage, Repair

While difficult, soldering in new, nano-sized parts on these micro drones requires serious patience. Looking back, the drone may have encountered a gust of wind or air under the drone motor poly-frame; it’s hard to say. The crash wasn’t as severe as others, but the drone ended up sustaining more damage than usual. We’ve had to replace a fan blade, FC, or motor from time-to-time, but nothing like this.

Power On, Visual and Manual Checks, Power Down

LED’s Confirmed

Power On Chimes

Remove Battery

Read eMax Part 1 if you would like. Also, be sure to watch the successful rebuild video for this series EMAX Quad Motor Rewire Video which was posted just before the wrap-up article.

Additionally, similar Emax status update, time has moved on since the original article and I wanted to share additional Emax content where applicable. If you’re looking for Emax content, give these a shot (in reverse order from this postings date) – Drone Accessories, ReFit Emax Flight Controller, and TinyHawk 2.

Wrapping up the final steps, we encountered a few minor issues: 2 LED strips out, the antenna, replace positive and negative power leads, same for two of the motor wires, and a burnt out/malformed poly-frame. To fix these issues, we clipped and prepped for new wires, ordered new LED strips and a new poly frame, replace the antenna, re-soldered leads, and shrink-wrapped wires where applicable.

August 16, 2020September 27, 2024

eMax Quad Motor Rewire Video

Drone Rewire, Resolder Power On

Hack-a-thon, Patching eMax TH2

Lab Work – eMax Quad Motor Rewire Video

After the crash, the eMax TH2 needed a new Flight Controller (FC) or FC Board, motors and fan blades. A quick peek underneath, revealed that everything was good as new with the new FC, motors, copper leads, LED’s, and alarms all working as expected.

Time has moved on since this original video post, I wanted to share other Emax content where applicable. If you’re looking for Emax content, give these a shot (in reverse order from this postings date) – Emax FC, Emax Fix Part 1 and Part 2, Quadcopter Rewire video (this post), and the TinyHawk 2 mini project. More to come, stay tuned.