The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

Tag: Repairs

If it used to work, it can work again

  • Another Power Outage

    Another Power Outage

    We woke just after midnight to a completely dark and silent house, I padded around shutting of half a dozen UPS units under various desks and benches, and we eventually got back to sleep:

    Rt 376 midnight crash - 2021-07-20 - status
    Rt 376 midnight crash – 2021-07-20 – status

    According to our clocks, power actually returned about four hours later.

    Our grocery ride the next morning went past the crash site:

    Rt 376 midnight crash - 2021-07-20 - A
    Rt 376 midnight crash – 2021-07-20 – A

    Tracks in the grass leading up to the smashed mailbox on our right suggest the driver didn’t quite make the very slight curve leading to the straight section.

    It was garbage collection day and the debris field covered the entire front lawn:

    Rt 376 midnight crash - 2021-07-20 - B
    Rt 376 midnight crash – 2021-07-20 – B

    Both poles have rectangular reflectors, but the one on the smashed pole (on the left) shows the pole is maybe four feet shorter than it used to be.

    We have no idea how a can of white paint got involved in the proceedings:

    Rt 376 midnight crash - 2021-07-20 - C
    Rt 376 midnight crash – 2021-07-20 – C

    [Update: Now we know where the paint came from.]

    Quite some years ago, an errant driver demolished the front corner of that house and, more recently, the whole building burned out, so there may be a jinx on the site.

    Other than that, we had an uneventful ride …

  • Just One More …

    Just One More …

    Spotted behind a mall undergoing renovation:

    Overloaded dumpster
    Overloaded dumpster

    Perhaps they were loading it from the end and didn’t notice the instructions:

    Overloaded dumpster - detail
    Overloaded dumpster – detail

    Protip: Always get the biggest dumpster available!

  • The Value of Closeout Pictures

    The Value of Closeout Pictures

    With the Bafang BBS02 and all its gimcrackery on the Terry Symmetry buttoned up and ready to go, I took a few closeout pictures for future reference.

    The motor has a sheaf of wires sticking out of the bottom crying out for a protective covering:

    Bafang BBS02 - wire bundle cover
    Bafang BBS02 – wire bundle cover

    Although cameras tell only the truth they’re allowed to see and can be made to lie by omission, sometimes their latent truth was completely invisible to eyewitnesses in real time.

    I only noticed the mis-routed shift cable when I looked through the last set of pictures.

    It should pass through the plastic channel under the metal tab holding the cable guide to the bottom bracket shell:

    Bafang BBS02 - wire bundle vs shift cable
    Bafang BBS02 – wire bundle vs shift cable

    Normally, aiming the cable into the channel is no big deal. In this case, I had to undo the shift cable, remove the left crank, loosen the motor and rotate it out of the way, nudge the cable with a small screwdriver, then reinstall in reverse order.

    Dang, that was close …

  • Power Outage

    Power Outage

    A gusty thunderstorm knocked out power across Dutchess County, including half the service to our house. Being glad the refrigerator and freezer were on the live phase, I shut off the affected breakers on the dead phase, as well as all the 240 V breakers, and, with the living room darkened, we skipped our evening storytime.

    By the next morning, a quick lamp test showed the recloser out on the pole had worked its magic, so I flipped all the breakers back on. The living room remained dark, prompting an investigation of the fuse box feeding the original house wiring:

    Blown 20 A glass fuse
    Blown 20 A glass fuse

    Yup, another blown fuse.

    Given what happens while wind and falling branches knock power lines askew, anything is possible. I have no idea where the fault current went, but replacing the fuse brought the living room back to normal.

    None of the various UPS / lamps / phones seem damaged; I admit not peering inside the outlets to check for arc damage.

  • Tour Easy: Amber DRL Internal Resistor

    Tour Easy: Amber DRL Internal Resistor

    Plotting current against voltage for the amber truck side marker lights produces the expected straight-ish line:

    Side Marker I vs V plot - with fuse
    Side Marker I vs V plot – with fuse

    The slope suggests a 330 Ω resistor, but the internal PCB sports a pair of 150 Ω SMD resistors.

    I don’t believe the X-axis intercept for a moment, but 1.5 V seems about right for an amber LED.

    Oh, and the DMM fuse doesn’t have a ceramic body. You’re seeing the vaporized remains of a 315 mA fuse neatly deposited over the inside of the glass tube after being shorted across a 3 A bench supply.

    I hate it when that happens. Replacing it emptied the little bag of those meter fuses; next time it’ll get a half amp fuse.

  • Stylus Tip Restaking

    Stylus Tip Restaking

    The tip of the much-battered stylus useful for websites presenting tiny phone-hostile buttons appeared in the laundry basket, narrowly avoiding a trip through the washer. The shell’s original all-around swaging had evidently loosened enough to release the tip, so I applied a hammer and punch:

    Screen stylus tip restaking
    Screen stylus tip restaking

    The punch mark (with another on the opposite side) is barely visible, but holds the tip securely in place. Next time I may need more hammer.

  • Garden Sprayer Pivot Repair

    Garden Sprayer Pivot Repair

    A winning entry in the “The Bigger the Blob, the Better the Job” category:

    Garden Sprayer - pivot repair
    Garden Sprayer – pivot repair

    Buried under the epoxy is the flimsy tab with the pivot around which the handle moves. Any sideways force will did snap the tab off flush with the body. I had previously repaired it with solvent adhesive, so something more substantial seemed appropriate.

    A closer look shows the edges of the brass flange I formed around the tab to absorb the stress:

    Garden Sprayer - pivot repair - detail
    Garden Sprayer – pivot repair – detail

    It’s pretty much fully depreciated, but if I don’t use the epoxy it will go bad on the shelf, so …