- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
- Messages
- 19,854
so, some months ago, my phone's car charger started going ... wonky. wouldn't work sometimes, would sometimes, would spontaneouslly appear to flip state. weird. okay, it's JUST the car charger - it's convenient as all get out, especially as my phone battery is older, and when the phone seeks, it draws much power, not a good thing on trips. so. i kinda gave up on it when it stopped working - but my back brain didn't. i had checked the fuses, and everything else, but it never occurred to me that it was something ... else. finally figured out that a cold solder joint IN the connector fitzed. painful tiny wire connected to a painful little tab on a row of tabs... yay. so.
in the last couple weeks, my wall wart phone charger started acting up, but this time i knew the deal - it was the flimsy cord. apparently winding the cord up a lot and using it for travel every weekend or so, REALLY put a strain on it, and the wires failed at both ends, and in the middle as well - continuity checks were hilarious.
managed to find a wall wart trash picking also some weeks ago - had some thoughts of using it for ... something (magpie - craw craw). well, that something was using its cord
identical to my the wall wart charger's. yay.
the first thing of course, was figuring out HOW TO OPEN the damn wart up. it had a magic screw/thing with many indentations, inset into a tiny little well. NOTHING i had would grap it, or budge it. shit. ah hah. mr dremel tool. sliced in the well, carefully... guessing there's no parts down there managed to get to get to 1/2 of the magic screw and put a nice slot into it. a screwdriver gave me a half turn, and then more dremel, finished the slot, a real screw now... took it apart. yay. big beefy wires inside to attach new ones to. yar. took the plug end apart. argh. tiny faerie connections again but a much better situation than the car charger.
so, long story short, took the donor wire, tested it for continuity, good, reamed out the old strain reliefs with a hand drill, good. cut shrink tubings, good. twist connected everything, and tested for proper polarity, good good. soldering. oiy. i hates soldering tiny things. jigged up a temporary grab thang (third hand) to grab stuff what grabbing things do, and with 5 hands and two toes, got it all done without i think, the killings. testing, good, good. applied various tapes to protect and keep mr shorty mc short from visiting. test, good. assemble connector, test, good. shrink the shrinkable tubings, test, good. finish assembling the wart, test good, polarity esp good voltage good. yar. plug in phone. BOOM! just kidding. phone likes. good.
oh, why go through all this? my phohe is OLD. i think the last time i checked, i could have bought a NEW phone for the cost of just the wart charger. oiy. go antiques. these days, maybe ebay, for a used one or new old stock. bah.
time for a drink and thinking about a solder-station with temperature control, and many tips of varying sizes, and even a selection of solder with various temps too. tools good - beats having to buy a new wart. having the tools onhand (like the dremel, multimeter, and the bits and ends craw craw - good).
oof.
bladite
in the last couple weeks, my wall wart phone charger started acting up, but this time i knew the deal - it was the flimsy cord. apparently winding the cord up a lot and using it for travel every weekend or so, REALLY put a strain on it, and the wires failed at both ends, and in the middle as well - continuity checks were hilarious.
managed to find a wall wart trash picking also some weeks ago - had some thoughts of using it for ... something (magpie - craw craw). well, that something was using its cord
identical to my the wall wart charger's. yay.the first thing of course, was figuring out HOW TO OPEN the damn wart up. it had a magic screw/thing with many indentations, inset into a tiny little well. NOTHING i had would grap it, or budge it. shit. ah hah. mr dremel tool. sliced in the well, carefully... guessing there's no parts down there
managed to get to get to 1/2 of the magic screw and put a nice slot into it. a screwdriver gave me a half turn, and then more dremel, finished the slot, a real screw now... took it apart. yay. big beefy wires inside to attach new ones to. yar. took the plug end apart. argh. tiny faerie connections again but a much better situation than the car charger.so, long story short, took the donor wire, tested it for continuity, good, reamed out the old strain reliefs with a hand drill, good. cut shrink tubings, good. twist connected everything, and tested for proper polarity, good good. soldering. oiy. i hates soldering tiny things. jigged up a temporary grab thang (third hand) to grab stuff what grabbing things do, and with 5 hands and two toes, got it all done without i think, the killings. testing, good, good. applied various tapes to protect and keep mr shorty mc short from visiting. test, good. assemble connector, test, good. shrink the shrinkable tubings, test, good. finish assembling the wart, test good, polarity esp good
voltage good. yar. plug in phone. BOOM! just kidding. phone likes. good.oh, why go through all this? my phohe is OLD. i think the last time i checked, i could have bought a NEW phone for the cost of just the wart charger. oiy. go antiques. these days, maybe ebay, for a used one or new old stock. bah.
time for a drink and thinking about a solder-station with temperature control, and many tips of varying sizes, and even a selection of solder with various temps too. tools good - beats having to buy a new wart. having the tools onhand (like the dremel, multimeter, and the bits and ends craw craw - good).
oof.
bladite