On Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:13:18 +0000 (UTC), Cydrome Leader
wrote:

Leon Fisk wrote:
On Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:21:40 +0000 (UTC), Cydrome Leader
wrote:

snip
Things still worth repairing or that have parts available can still be
fixed on carpet.

Pretty much most stuff is throw away though.

Where would you even order parts for a $30 DVD player?

Static has always been a problem for solid state devices.
One of the training videos I was required to view had a
major resistor distributor highlighted in it. Just inserting
their resistors into a clear plastic bag applied enough
static voltage to them to change their values out of
tolerance. Nearly drove them batty trying figure out what
was going amuck. Hence why you see the pink bags nowadays or
at least that was how they used to come. I've been out of
circulation for ~8 years now.

If it was my DVD player I would carefully open and look for
anything suspicious. Years of fixing similar stuff helps in
figuring out what looks suspicious, but I've quit holding my
breath lately If I couldn't easily spot/find anything I
would end up replacing it. If we actually had to pay the
true price of these things (USA labor rates) they would be

standard steps doesn't apply to throw away electronics. You can't order
the unmarked IC, and there's no service guide. This doesn't even count
that the board would probaly fall apart if any SM parts were removed.
Maybe some parts in the power supply burned up, but again, good luck
finding out what they were. Trying to read the 1 to 3 digits on SM parts
and figuring out what they really are is almost pointless.

It's too bad too. I prefer to fix vs. throw away when possible. Luckily,
my 1998 dvd player still works fine.

Carpet makes a nice surface for fixing all sorts of
mechanical items, but not for anything with a semiconductor
in it.

Not everything is 0.000004 micron process and will be destroyed by +4
volts of static.

I'd not take a computer apart on carpet, other things are fine.

I was surprised to discover that static could also mess with the
accuracy of a powder balance. Not an electronic scale, a balance made
by OHaus for Dillon. Setting the balance on a grounded sheet of
aluminum steadied it out nicely. This was midwinter, very dry air.

Your Dillon 650 dispenses powder volumetrically but the initial
setting and adjustments when changing calibers still need to be done
with a balance or scale.

Poke a "drain hole" somewhere in the circumscribed gutter. That's
where you can shove spilled powder rather than suck it into old
sparky the vacuum. Spilled powder can be spread on the lawn or
garden, it's good nitrate fertilizer.