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Michael A. Terrell Michael A. Terrell is offline
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Default Weird stuff -- update -- (was Electronic Kenmore refrigeratornotworking, what does this sign mean)


DerbyDad03 wrote:

"when something stops working when you put the lid on, that tells
me the lid is somehow binding something up or shorting something out."

In a much earlier life, I used to install and repair Radio Shack
TRS-80 workstations. My company also used the Storage Expansion Unit
which could house up to three additional 8€³ drives as shown he

http://www.trs-80.com/wordpress/trs-...line/model-ii/

These expansion bays were notorious for not working once you put the
cover back on. You'd repair the unit or add a drive, test all three
drives with the cover off and then install the cover and the 84,000
screws that kept it on. Invariably, one of the drives (it would be
random as to which one) would no longer be accessible.

You had to loosen screws, tweak the cover, slap the box, whatever, to
get it working.

With hundreds of these workstations installed in everything from
offices to chemical processing areas, you can be sure that we did a
lot of bench work trying to determine what the problem was in an
effort to make our on-site work easier. We never figured it out and
were thrilled when they started replacing them with the original IBM
PC.




They cut one corner too many by tin plating the edge connectors, then
plugging them into connectors with gold plated contacts. At one time
there was a special connector sold that you soldered to the tin plate,
and had gold plated contacts to mate with the ribbon cables.

--
Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is
enough left over to pay them.