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-1
votes
2answers
48 views

Testing a USB cable

So bare with me, as I have a very limited knowledge of electronics. I cut an old USB cable and tinned the wires so I can test them. I know on a USB cable the red and black wires are 5V and ground. ...
19
votes
2answers
549 views

What is the tolerable magnetic field (in Tesla) for a hard disk?

I was wondering what would be the safest magnetic field for a hard drive so that the data inside it is safe and not wiped off? For example I have a 2.1 home theatre system and when I take my android ...
0
votes
1answer
66 views

Looking for manufacturer name of USB devices [closed]

I am confronted with USB memory keys and Android tablets which are labelled "eyeboom". Does anybody know the manufacturer's name of these devices? I have searched everywhere but "eyeboom" as a ...
0
votes
1answer
25 views

How to output HD Video for a photo slideshow to a TV for purposes of a giant photo frame

Hi guys I am thinking about getting a 32 LED HD TV to serve as a big photo frame on the wall. But I need a small/discrete or wireless? way to output video to it, does anyone have ideas on how I can ...
1
vote
1answer
33 views

TEC LCS Module for Cooler Temps

I have a new LCS system on the way (XSPC RS360 + Raystorm Kit) and it seems like a shame letting my good nick CM V8 cooler go to waste. So in pulling a few new and old pieces together I am considering ...
0
votes
1answer
164 views

Electric shock when touching my networked installation (behind UPS)

Every time I touch my computer, the TV stand, the switch or when manipulating the shielded network cables if I touch my central heating (just next to the installation) I get an electric shock. If I ...
0
votes
2answers
118 views

Is it possible to replace the thermal sensor of my case?

During the update of my computer hardware, I managed to damage one of the thermal sensors which my case has, making the display LCD show a "Er" (Error) on the LCD screen which monitor the temperatures ...
0
votes
1answer
69 views

Ups Unknown Back-Up Issues

I have a Powercom UPS IND606A. I am staying in india having voltage range of 230. The detail explanation of problem :* When there is a powercut UPS gives back-up but it restarts the computer. ...
2
votes
1answer
78 views

Check whether a network point is live

I would like a way of testing whether a network is live (connected to a switch) or dead (physical copper leading to nothing but an empty socket at the other end. I often have to work out which ...
0
votes
1answer
34 views

Do electronic items age and do they get inefficient as a result? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Is the performance of a CPU affected as it ages? Is there a thing called 'aging' for electronic items? I mean for example, can my processor (CPU) gets inefficient with ...
3
votes
1answer
878 views

Melting plastic around DC-in jack in laptop

I recently noticed that the plastic around the DC-in jack of my laptop was warped (melted) a little bit. Since I noticed, I have done some experiments, and saw that the metal tip of the charger heats ...
16
votes
2answers
508 views

Can computer components go bad when not in use?

I have a few cabinets that I keep old computer harware (monitors, power supplies, etc). I checked one of the cabinets and smelled strongly of electrical components. Sure enough, one of the power ...
2
votes
1answer
154 views

How to control 2 similar monitors from Samsung with Logitech Harmony?

My Problem Yesterday I set up a new Samsung T24A350 for my PC. The monitor has a build-in TV receiver and a remote control. Unfortunately I also have a Samsung TV and whenever I use the monitors ...
6
votes
2answers
606 views

Washing electronics

I've read a related post, "Can you actually Wash a laptop?", but a more straightforward answer would be preferred (or if someone has actually done it). Consider a water contact with the motherboard ...
2
votes
1answer
434 views

When a non-vectored interrupt occurs,does the processor ever look up the vector table?

When a non-vectored interrupt occurs,does the processor ever look up the vector table ? Talking of 8085 , is it different ?
4
votes
1answer
447 views

How to make a VGA monitor display a white screen at all time?

I am hacking around with an old (CRT) VGA monitor. What I want is to make the monitor display a blank white screen at all time, when the power is connected of course. I do not care if I cannot use my ...
0
votes
1answer
120 views

What is this chip? [closed]

I found this chip in a computer that I was disassembling today. (From around 2000) It was in a peculiar slot near the CPU, definitely not CPI or AGP. Any idea what it is? This one is made by some ...
28
votes
6answers
3k views

Can touching any hardware inside a running PC be dangerous for you?

I'm curious, if all the hardware gets power from the PSU's DC power lines, which provide a max. voltage of 12V, can you get electrocuted by touching some of the hardware?
4
votes
1answer
198 views

Replace laptop cable with NiMH batteries

I wanted to use my laptop for way longer than the time I could do with the internal battery alone, so I went ahead and bought 16 batteries (NiMH 2600mAh), connected them in a series to reach the 19V ...
1
vote
3answers
399 views

Could a faulty USB keyboard damage my motherboard?

I have an LED-backlit USB keyboard. I recently took it apart to clean it, and after doing so, the LED backlight has started flickering. I assume that this means that I damaged some part of the ...
2
votes
2answers
818 views

Software to easily design electrics / electronics circuits

Does anyone know a software to easily design electronic / electrics circuits (for resistors, capacitors, inductors, sources, transistors, ...) which already has a large and easy-to-use "library" of ...
56
votes
10answers
6k views

Can Screwdrivers With Magnetic Tips Cause Damage To Electronics?

While it is convenient to pick screws with magnetized tips i wonder if the magnetism can cause any damage to electronics?
0
votes
2answers
211 views

Does a Coaxial Lightning Surge Protector protect against Power Surges?

Does a coaxial lightning surge protector also protect against power surges? I don't know if there is a difference between lightning surges and power surges, thus I ask this question. I have a ...
4
votes
2answers
3k views

Using Anti-Static Wrist Strap - How To Ground With Laptop?

When i want to do laptop maintenance i want to ground myself with anti-static wrist strap. But how do i ground myself to laptop? Where can i find grounding point in order to not make mistake and spoil ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views

Which static electricity prevention tools do actually work? [closed]

I need a device that would discharge static electricity from my body in order to safely work with electronics. I have looked and found some that interested me, but I don't know whether they work: ...
0
votes
1answer
292 views

Easy way to trigger a switch via USB? [closed]

I'm not really into electronics but for some projects I would like to be able to control some real hardware with a computer. So I'm looking for a solution that I can simply plug into my USB port and ...
7
votes
2answers
518 views

Did my apartment's electronic key fob fry my flash drive?

I had a great thumb drive on my keychain (a LaCie iAmAKey), right next to the electronic key fob I use to beep myself into my apartment. Recently it's given up the ghost, refusing to be recognized on ...
7
votes
2answers
311 views

Storing hard drive near electric wire

Can storing a hard drive near an electric wire (220V) damage the hard drive? I have no clue about such things so I thought I'd ask here. It's just that I found a suitable storage place for one of my ...
0
votes
2answers
349 views

Best way to find a driver for an onboard (NIC) card

I've just recently installed Windows XP Service Pack 2 onto a second partition on my hard drive. The primary Operating System (partition 1) is Windows 7. Realizing that I could probably boot up into ...
2
votes
1answer
639 views

Adding a new USB port inside a Macbook Pro

I have a USB Dongle that I'd like to put inside my Macbook Pro. I have already found a spot that will fit the dongle. The next question is splicing one of the USB ports and connecting it to the ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views

What should I do about a 110v adapter that I plugged into a 220v socket?

I plugged a new 110v Belkin router into a 220v socket. It had an adapter so I'm assuming the router is fine and the adapter just blew its fuse. I live in the Philippines, where there isn't any service ...
1
vote
3answers
392 views

If Voltage is Correct, but Current wrong, what's the expected behavior of a laptop receiving its adapter input?

I'm currently investigating the livelihood of a laptop adapter (as seen in an other question). It's possible that it is faulty in that there are measurements of correct voltage but with wrong ...
2
votes
3answers
121 views

Tired of AC power adapters [closed]

I have about 20 to 30 peripherals on my computers. Each one with its own &%$/&#$% AC power adapter. I really hate these power adapters. I am thinking of there's some kind of power supply I ...
1
vote
1answer
575 views

Electrical layout drawing application for Mac

Do you know the free application, that lets me to quickly draw the layout of electrical network ?
5
votes
4answers
772 views

How does increasing the number of transistors in a chip increase its speed

Is the only purpose of transistors in a cpu to act as the switches that define its instruction set? And if so then why does increasing the number of transistors increase its speed?
2
votes
2answers
1k views

Proper multimeter specs for fixing capacitors on your motherboard?

When our motherboards or LCD's go out it is possible that the capacitors are at fault and can be easily replaced by removing and replacing the bad caps rather than buying new screens or computers. ...
5
votes
1answer
269 views

I want to plot ocean current with a GPS in a bottle [closed]

Thinking of using a wine bottle with a cork that barely sticks out. Anyhow, I want to put in a GPS, a battery (that can last 1 month hopefully) and a transmitter and to be able to collect position ...
8
votes
3answers
11k views

How can I get data off of a damaged thumb drive?

A guy I work with just came by to ask me about a damaged thumb drive/USB flash drive. Apparently his son dropped it on a hard surface and it won't power up anymore. They've tried plugging it into ...
1
vote
2answers
86 views

Is there a peripheral that lets my computer monitor the connectivity of pairs of wires?

I've got a bunch of physical switches and circuits that act like switches (they're either connected to ground or they're just an open wire). Is there some sort of thing I can plug into my computer ...
23
votes
11answers
7k views

What computer components are currently vulnerable to magnets?

When I first started using computers, law of the land in computer class was never bring magnets near anything computer related, lest you lose all your data or screw up your monitor. Now I am pretty ...
8
votes
6answers
2k views

What type of Multimeter is safe to use on computers?

In "Upgrading and Repairing PC's - 18th edition" by Scott Mueller on pg. 1278 he discusses multimeters. "You should only use a DMM (digital multimeter) instead of the older needle-type multimeters ...
5
votes
6answers
483 views

What is a good program for mixed mode circuit simulation?

I'm looking for a program that will perform schematic capture and mixed-mode (analog and digital) circuit simulation. If it also did PCB layout and routing, that would be a bonus, but not necessary. ...
2
votes
1answer
4k views

Repair snapped USB flash drive

I have a USB Flash Drive that has had the USB connector snapped away from the circuit board. In the past I have had great sucess with soldering the connector back to the circuit board with 4 solid ...
1
vote
2answers
327 views

What is a good program, with PostScript output (for LaTeX), to make circuit diagrams?

I just found out to my dismay that Visio 2007 does not include the ability to output drawings in EPS/PS formats, which makes it unsuitable for my uses. I wish to create various circuit digrams ...
2
votes
2answers
615 views

Modifying my nicad battery pack charger to charge nimh batts [closed]

I've got a battery pack for one of my peripherals that recently died, so i took it apart to find half the (nicad) cells were dead (I tested each cell's voltage both with and without a load - the dead ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views

Controlling an amplifier power supply from Squeezebox/SqueezeCenter

I have a Squeezebox that is connected to an amplifier. I'd like the amplifier to switch on/off whenever the Squeezebox is powered on/off. I don't mind writing some plugin code to SqueezeCenter to do ...
15
votes
7answers
2k views

Electronics Starter Kit

I am currently getting interested in starting experimenting with Electronics, and am searching for some sort of electronics starter kit to get me started. I have look at Arduino's Starter Kit and ...