Repairs

This page describes our various repair projects. Hopefully the details here will help others repair their stuff.

Intro

We normally ask for people to fix their own stuff, but sometime members get excited and fix them for others!

Table or Repairs

Name	Repaired by	WEE waste avoided (kg)	GHG CO2 displaced (kg)	Saved (£)	Repair Cost (£)
Desktop computer repair for Ham Neighbour	Carl	11.5	310	400	20
Laptops Donated to RML/Coder Dojo	Andres	2 * 2	54 * 2	n/a	0
Mobile phone repair Ham neighbour	Andres & client	~ 0.2	~ 5	~ 50	~ 40
Vaccuum Cleaner found in Flytipping (Dyson)	Ryan	~ 5	~ 125	n/a	~ 15
Laptop Donation	Ryan	~ 2	~ 50	400	0
Sewing machine	Andres	2.6	~	~	~
Martin A. Dell inspiron	Andres	~ 2	~ 50	400	0
4 * Desktop computer repaired and donated	Ryan	11.5 * 4	310 * 4	400 * 4	20 * 4
Tablet keyboard repaired	Andres	0.2	-	-	-

NOTE: these calculations are using Dell and Apple's estimates of carbon footprint. A more accurate estimate calculation can be found in the Restart Project and should be used.

2016-12-13 Dell Inspiron Repurposed

Dell inspiron that had already been resurrected once with Ubuntu for a Daughter that needed a laptop and was short on cash is now cleared of data by encryption (scrambling the data) and is ready to donate to a brother that simply needs a web browser and something to read and send emails.

2016-11-29 Busch and Muller Toplight read bike light standlight repair

An excellent, quick and obvious repair to a Busch and Muller Toplight Line Brake Plus with standlight problem which involved re-soldering the capacitor back onto the circuit board it had lifted away from.

2016-11-28 Successfully repaired: dented tablet keyboard

Tablet keyboard for Ipad air. The back plate was metal and was dented. With a fine nose pliers the plate was set in place again. After that a key that was continuously falling off was able to be replaced. The tabled had a hinged magnetic strip that lost a metal piece. After rummaging through discarded equipment a small nail was found that could be cut to fit inside.

2016-08-21 Successfully Repaired - Dell Dimension 3100 3.0Ghz 512mb RAM 80gb disk Running XP with "Blue Screen of Death"

[WEEE waste avoided: 11.5 kg; GHG CO2 displaced: 310kg; 'Customer' Saved: £400; Repair Cost: £20]

A local person who describes himself as not much of a computer whiz, was unable to start their computer so asked for help. Initial inspection showed a classic windows 'Blue Screen' or "Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)".

We diagnosed the problem (the hard disk) and unable to fix it, we replaced it with one donated by a local company. We purchased a Windows 7 licence, upgraded it to Windows 10, added new RAM to take it to 2Gb and then re-configured the system to appear more like his familiar XP set up.

See Dell Dimension 3100 BSOD - XP upgrade to Windows 10 with an XP look

2016-12-16 Sewing magine gear jump

Repair of a sewing machine was not timing correctly the needle was not timed correctly with the canister? what ever it is called.

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We looked up web videos as to how sewing machines worked. and found that the gear inside had jumped a bit. So the gear needed to be looseed up and let the shaft move a bit and then tighten up. it happened because I tried to sew something too thick. Gears are all made of plastic so it looked "cheap" but seemed to hold fine.

2013-06-00 Recovered a Laptop that was no longer being used

Computer repair notes when Computer & DIY Done twice laptops where upgraded with Trisquel OS (a gnu/linux distribution)

2013-08-00 Replaced Mobile phone screen

Cost ~£25 Repair in shop £40-£50 weight ~0.2 kg

mobile home repair when Computer & DIY

2016-08-00 Vaccuum Cleaner found in Flytipping (Dyson)

We found a Dyson cleaner near the recycling bins. Fly-tipping is very illegal! Costs the council and RHP lots of money. Ryan found some parts on-line (the motor) and replaced it. Works fine and we now have a better quality vacuum that the one we had.

2016-00-00 Streetlife laptop donation

We had a laptop that had been donated to us. We offered it on street life under the you fix it you keep it. Someone picked up the challenge but found that the DVD drive and BIOS USB booting was not working. Ryan picked up the challenged and handed over a new laptop within 12 hrs. A new laptop could cost a fair amount.

The windows computer was upgraded to UBUNTU OS an gnu/linux distribution.

2016-00-00 Four Desktop computers

Several companies donated their "old" computers. Ryan serviced them, upgraded them with UBUNTU OS and found two local children that where willing to take them and the other two went to London Hackerspace.