Craig's List

eBay is nice because it has a huge audience. But eBay costs the seller for the posting, commission, and the credit card (PayPal) fees. Craig's List has a much smaller audience, but it is totally free to both the poster and the buyer.

I listed my CD Changer (thank's iPod!) and some old cell phones on Craig's this weekend. And then I waited for replies. And do you know what? I got a LOT of replies - about 10 in one day.

To further ease the burden and cost, Craig's List is a "local thing" - no shipping required. The only trouble is connecting and exchanging the goods. And in the best case, the transactions are in cash.

The CD Player sold (yay!), and my cell phones grab tons of interest. [Note that all of my net reciepts from eBay and Craig's are slated to go to charity.]

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair. Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator. Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way. Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver. I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...

Old Apple gear that keeps on ticking

I've been dealing with Apple computer gear for a long time, as have my friends and family. Here is a list of the old gear that me and/or my friends have in active service. Note that this gear is in real service, and isn't treated as museum pieces or as part of a retro-computing hobby. 2008: Apple Airport Express, draft-N, first generation 2009: Apple MacBook, late 2009 (utility use only) 2010: Apple iPod nano, 6th generation 2013: Apple Airport Extreme AC 2015: Apple TV HD (4th generation) The big winner here is the Airport Express, which is modern enough to do its job, and it just keeps on going. The device that my friend runs has been in operation for more than 125000 hours. It received its most recent firmware update on 28 August 2018, 10+ years after its initial release. In terms of security: it has no open, unpatched CVE vulnerability reports. Many generations of other routers have come and go while this one keeps going.

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, Repair #2 - Broken Fill Button

My Soda Stream Jet's fill button broke, which means I can not longer carbonate water by pressing the pushbutton. This caused all sorts of grief in my household. Here is how I managed to repair my Jet to give it another 10 years of life (hopefully). First, a look at the button The fill button on the top of the SodaStream is actually a simple lever. Pressing down on the button moves a pin that does the actual work of pressing open the Carbonator's valve. Unfortunately, the axis point is fairly thin and can see a lot of stress. That's where my Soda Stream button cracked. [ I think the usage tip here is "don't over-press the button like a gorilla, it doesn't do anything but put high stress on the button."] Cracked levering point of the button The Pesky Lever Retaining Pin The Fix It was pretty easy for me to replace the button: Take off the back of the Soda Stream and remove the carbonator. Push out the the button lever's steel retaining pin. This takes qu...

Repairing the Roland HD-1 V-Drums pedals

I have a Roland HD-1 V-drum kit that is about 15 years old. It was sitting for years when I got it, and when I put it all together it was clear that the pedals were not working. Boo! Time for a repair. Roland HD-1 Pedal Hammer under a Heat Gun. How the HD-1 pedals work With the Roland, a pedal actuates a variable resistor. When you step on a pedal, it presses on the variable resistor. Putting force on the pedal reduces the resistance of the resistor. A little force results in a small decrease in resistance. A high amount of force greatly lowers the resistance. The HD-1's computer detects this and makes the appropriate sound. There are two important parts to this mechanism: the electronic resistive strip, and a rubber hammer which presses on the strip in a variable way. There is no internal difference between the left and right pedal. The guts of each pedal is identical. Where it goes wrong with age Looking at mine, the problem was wi...

Keep That Old Printer, or, New Printers Stink

Old laser printers have some notable advantages over many newer printers. An old laser can be found for little money. You can easily find great working printers on Craig's List for under $40. My old-school HP LaserJet 5L - still works like a champ! The inexpensive toner cartridges for these printers can often be found on Amazon for under $20 each. And each cartridge, typically rated for several thousand pages, can last five times longer than many more expensive inkjet cartridges. And these old printers are solid. Many were designed last for years in high volume situations. And they were designed to be maintained, instead of thrown away. My laser is nearly 15 years old and it keeps on ticking. Keeping it Modern Buying a good old fashion laser jet for under $40 is easy. But it likely has an old-fashion Parallel interface on it - meaning that your computer can't even use it. What to do? My answer was to buy an Epson Net C823781 Print Server . It isn't the latest device...

Installing a CarPlay radio in a Honda CRV

I ended up buying a 2013 Honda CRV and decided to replace the stock radio/CD player with an upgraded unit. This was far easier and cheaper than I imagined, but the hardest part was selecting a unit to buy This article covers how I made my choice. The basic form factor for my CRV head unit Selecting a Unit The Car I have a 2013 CR/V, which is the same series of all of the CR/Vs from model year 2012 through 2016. Therefore it was important to find a radio unit that fits this model. The CRV has steering wheel radio controls, and I wanted to use them. This uses a technology called CAN-Bus, which is kind of like USB for cars. Therefore, a CAN-Bus capability would be able to leverage all these steering wheel features. In addition, the CRV has a backup camera that would be nice to tie into. And of course I wanted to leverage the existing speakers and USB port. Form Factor I wanted a unit that had a big display, and I wanted a unit that was easy to purchas...

The Lance J. Technoweb

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