I also found me another #calculator project.
A shiny TI-81 with moderate damage battery corosion. Actually, it just lost a battery contact. I don't know why but I already had a matching battery spring in the dish with the calculator.
Let's see how long it takes me to solder it in.

('Found' as in acquired, forgotten about, lost in a pile of stuff, and rediscovered while trying to manage all the piles of stuff on my desk.)

A word on quality and nostalgia.

Recently, I decided to try and acquire a couple of good old AEG SB2E drills. My dad had two of them and they started my DIY journey back in the 1980s.
Today, they are cheerfully cheap at around 20 EUR per piece, in working condition, and can be repaired quite easily if you have the parts.

Oh, and they are from a time when "Electronic" meant that there actually was a useful improvement, not a whole mess of software, bugs, and hassle. And they'll happily chooch along at full speed if you just jumper the electronics bits.
Just saying.

Having already found two of them, I went for a third for spares. It arrived today, again, in working condition.
Nobody placed a bid so I got it for 20 EUR plus shipping.

Nothing special so far, except for the quality of AEG from back in the day and, of course, warm fuzzy feelings about a childhood core memory.
3 kg of cast aluminium, reinforced plastic case, and steel gears.
I love it!

Now, the seller added a couple of lines of text that I missed the first time. He says, this machine was bought by his father-in-law in 1975, in the GDR of all places. (It must have been a big deal to get this one over from West Germany)
His FIL took good care of the machine (for obvious reasons), and now it needs a new home.

Not only has this machine been running for 50 years now; it also bridges both German republics.
Kind of neat.

I sent a message to tell him that this machine will not be parted out but instead become one of the stationary drills in my workshop once it received a good service. And that I intend on keeping it going for quite a while.

His answer was just: "THANK YOU! 🙏 🍀👍"

Yeah, this stuff may bring a tear to my eyes and I'm happy I took a minute to send a short message about something that seems irrelevant to most other people.
At least two people have been smiling today. 😊

Anyway, keep 'em running, folks!
And keep sharing those stories.

#Quality #RightToRepair #GoodToolsForGoodWork #BeNice

Reached a new maker's milestone: the step from skill and know-how to raw yet well-dosed force.

For cleaning, I disassembled this Stihl 020T, including the pull-start assembly. According to Stihl, you're not supposed to remove the clock spring, and I found out why.
It's a beast of a spring, luring you into false comfort with an easy wind for most of the way. Then, on the last few centimetres, it starts to fight back. Stiffening up, trying to unwind from your iron grip. Trying to lash out at you with sharp edges whenever your attention lapses for even the slightest bit.
With a lot of determination, a lot of select four-letter words, and all of my physical dexterity, I subdued it back into its place where it now resides.
Yes, it works again.
And yes, the pain in my right hand is already receding.
Will I learn from this? Probably not.

This is going to be a lengthy one. :)

During our September vacation at my MIL's house, I found a bunch of wood that needed to be sawed and either thrown out or prepared for the oven. Winter is coming, you know? ;)

Having thought about getting a proper chain saw for years, I finally bought one. A Stihl MS162.
Working with and taking care of it turned out to be really comfy and kind of fulfilling. I'm an engineer after all.

I also wanted to prepare for further woodworking adventures (my MIL does have a few spots of forest) and get something a tad bigger.

So I turned to the corresponding Reddit subs and classified ads, looking for something serious, but not totally overkill.
Over a couple of weeks I managed to get two Stihl 028 (AV and AV Super) plus a couple of interesting stories from their former owners.
Getting used saws is an adventure on its own and my next task was to learn a lot about two-stroke engines and chain saws, source spare parts, disassemble the saws, check and clean parts and so on.
During the vacation and also the past two weeks, where I was supposed to oversee a construction project on my MIL's behalf, I spent a lot of time in my basement workshop tinkering with chain saws and a trimmer (that I snagged in the process).
Not only did I manage to get both saws properly working, I also found that sitting in a workshop and doing something useful while being pretty much offline really did me good.
No e-mails, no calls, no texts, no doomscrolling.
Only tinkering, reading manuals, occasional searches on Stihl web page, Reddit topic subs, and a couple of trips to the local tools dealership. (Awesome people!). Plus being outside working and testing and adjusting chain saws.

I think that's what digi-social detox is actually about for me. Replacing busyness for actual goals, achievements, and cheering in the garden. :D
I think I need and want to do that more frequently. There is enough work to do and I really enjoy it despite the workshop still missing a wood stove.

Don't worry: Electronics will come back. I'm just not set up for that at my MIL's, and at home it somehow competes for brain capacity with my day job. The mechanical stuff was a welcome detour that might become a parallel way to switch to. Also, I'm looking into a few safety trainings to attend. I'm also an OHS guy, too.

I eventually started poking at the Dataman S4 Programmer.
Main issues are:
I don't have a power supply. 12 VAC supply is on its way to me.

NiCd battery pack is dubious. It seems to have a little bit of charge left, but I'd prefer to replace it with NiMH or something else. Information on the difference in working with NiCd vs. NiMH seems a bit scarce.

And the backup battery is bad, too. It's labelled as CR2430, although I have seen remarks that it's supposed to be rechargeable. I doubt that.

Oh, and I'm also missing the thumb wheel for LCD contrast adjustment.
#Electronics