Fixit Clinic CCVII (207) MIT

Our fourth Fixit Clinic at MIT was yet another rousing success: among the many highlights:

A classic radio fixed:

He learned how to solder and fixed his LED light:

Another toaster repaired:

See more photos from Fixit Clinic CCVII (207) MIT in Google Photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/eZgeMPmnqReacfih9

Fixit Clinic CCIV (204) Vista CA

The inaugural Fixit Clinic at the Vista Branch, San Diego County Library http://www.sdcl.org/locations_VS.html was held Saturday April 8.

Among the highlights: Vacuum cleaner fixing:

Sewing machine fixing:

The great Fixit Coach crew:

Librarian Kris Jorgensen shared these and other photos viewable on Google Photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/2jKArUFnyAgMnckW8

Wish we could attend all of the Fixit Clinics around the US in person, this looks like it was a great one!

Fixit Clinic CCII (202) Fremont Library

This well-promoted Fixit Clinic lived up to its hype: according to Fremont Environmental Specialist Lori Marra 91 people signed in -- that's a lot!

And we're always thrilled to see stuff like this going on:

Our sewing machine coach extraordinare CC says she repaired "10-and-a half" sewing machines during the course of the day:

See all the photos from Fixit Clinic CCII (202) here: https://goo.gl/photos/VkLQ4tvm22pQmqdB6

Wow, that was a hectic but satisfying day! Heartfelt thanks to www.StopWaste.Org​ for their support of these events.

Fixit Clinic CXCVIII (198) Newark Library

Another great day of fixing in Newark with a wonderful group of Fixit Coaches and participants. Among the highlights:

The Fixit Clinic "Brain Trust" works collectively on this Kitchenaid Mixer. These are normally one of our favorite items to see because 1) it's typically an easy fix and 2) repair parts are readily available.

This person had valuable data on this USB thumb drive and we resoldered it so that she could retrieve the data.

This Samsung tablet was wedged in a weird boot loop but Fixit Coach Lovejit Kharod reformatted the data partition and got it working again.

See more photos from Fixit Clinic CXCVIII (198) Newark Library on Google Photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/nVTaYkJGgiWyHH5g7

San Diego Fixit Clinics in the News

Our April 8 Fixit Clinic in San Diego made the local paper: thanks to librarians Kris Jorgensen and JP Baker for their efforts! http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/sd-no-fixit-clinic-20170219-story.html

Fixit in Fremont: April 1

We held Fixit Clinic CXXV (125) at the frightful Fremont Library on Halloween, 2015 and saw some scary appliances...

Including this terminator-like skeletal sewing machine (pretty scary looking, but we fixed it.)

We're happy to report that we're returning for an encore Fixit Clinic CCII (202) on April 1, where we hope to see many other things "spring" back to life in the spirit of the season.

(See photos of Fixit Clinic CXXV (125) at the Fremont Library here: https://goo.gl/photos/Sp7q1RZmKbWP2DXU6)

Hope to see you there; costume optional. But do follow the instructions below and register so we know you're coming.

Fixit Clinic CCII (202) Fremont Library

Returning to the Fremont Library: we look forward to seeing you at this Fixit Clinic!

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Celebrating repair through do-it-together hands-on STEM-oriented fix-n-learn community-based discovery and disassembly: you actively participate in the disassembly, troubleshooting, and repair of your item so that you leave fully empowered to share your new-found confidence and insight with your friends, neighbors, and the community at large.

So bring your broken, non-functioning things -- electronics, appliances, computers, toys, sewing machines, bicycles, fabric items, etc.-- for assessment, disassembly, and possible repair. We'll provide workspace, specialty tools, and guidance to help you disassemble and troubleshoot your item. Whether we fix it or not, you'll learn more about how it was manufactured and how it worked.

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WHAT: Fixit Clinic CCII (202) Fremont Main Library

WHEN: Saturday, Apr 01 1PM-4PM

WHERE: Fremont Main Library, 2400 Stevenson Blvd, Fremont, CA 94538

HOW: Register at http://goo.gl/qTzh9J then

- Bring your broken item with all parts necessary to recreate the symptoms (carry-in only: no oversize items)

- Bring any parts and tools you already own that might be helpful (e.g. hand tools, sewing supplies)

- Come ready to describe what’s wrong and what you’ve tried

- Come ready to learn and to share your knowledge with others

WHO: All ages welcome: a family-friendly event: accompanied children are heartily invited! 

COST: Free!

WHY: To make friends, learn and teach how to fix things, and have fun!

More into on Fixit Clinic at www.fixitclinic.org

New Fixit Coaches always welcome: are you a handywoman or handyman and handy kid, or wannabe or junior handyperson, tinkerer or sewer? Sign up here: http://goo.gl/xS1MRK

Fixit Clinic at a Brewery?

The San Diego Fixit Clinic will be hosting a series of
Fixit Clinics at the Second Change Beer Company.

Are We Going Down The (TV) Tubes?

Here's an excellent exposé on the CRT demanufacturing crisis. Among the many quotes of note: "The CRT mess, the industry says, has been caused by a fundamental refusal by society to acknowledge that recycling is an expensive proposition." and "...newer electronics are more difficult to recycle than CRTs, not easier."

More evidence that repair, coupled with thoughtful manufacturing and consumption, is the most sustainable approach. As consumers: we need to take into consideration that if things we bring into our lives are not designed to be demanufactured there's a long-lasting cost to the environment. To paraphrase Patagonia's Director of Sustainability: "There are very few things that we consume [that is, that manufacturers make for us to consume] that don’t cost the environment more than what we can pay back. Making something last for a long time to reduce the need for replacement is an core environmental value."

I wonder how Europe is handling the recycling of their CRTs?

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/z4gv73/americas-television-graveyards

Fixit Clinic CXCIV (194) Castro Valley Library

Wow, we had a hectic but satisfying day at the Castro Valley Library, our fourth event there. Among the highlights:

In solidarity with the womens' marches today we repaired this side view mirror with appropriately-themed duct tape (we and the owner understand this isn't a permanent fix, just enough to get her to the repair shop.)

This lamp socket has a built in dimmer that went bad (see metal shard at bottom), we sent the owner to the hardware store for a replacement.

The 3.5mm jack into these headphones had de-soldered from the circuit board inside the earpiece, we were able to re-solder it.

See more photos from Fixit Clinic CXCIV (194) at the Castro Valley Library here: https://goo.gl/photos/1WMnwA3nc5ckqMyj9

Another great event at a great library: always glad to be there!

A Switch, a Switch, my Kingdom for a Switch

High-end Panasonic NB-G110P Quartz Element Toaster Oven: it is well designed for a toaster oven in that the pushbutton power switch is low voltage, indirectly activating a solid state relay that energizes the heating elements. But it occasionally wouldn't energize the heating elements unless you tapped the power switch lightly.

2020-07 Update: The second switch I installed was starting to exhibit the same symptom as the factory SW15 switch, so the first thing I recommend now is: unplug the toaster oven, pry off the grey plastic on-off button to expose the head of SW15 and apply some electrical contact cleaner (CorrosionX or MG Chemicals Super Contact Cleaner or something similar) or, less ideally, 91% or better isopropyl alcohol to SW15, work the switch a bit by turning it on and off a lot (still unplugged) and see if that doesn't fix the problem.
(If contact cleaner on SW15 doesn't work go to the steps below.)

It was an easy disassembly, the circuit board is cleanly laid out, and Panasonic makes parts available (hurray for them). The low quality electro-mechanical pushbutton power switch (SW15) is the one thing wrong, yet is only available by ordering an entire circuit board for about the price of a whole new toaster oven. (I think the part no. for the whole board is Panasonic ABR10A175 "Panasonic Pc Board".)

In this instance the switch was disassembled, cleaned and adjusted and reassembled, but not without tiny springs and other internal switch parts flying around and several hours of fussing and cussing with surgical tweezers: not for the faint of heart; soldering in a new switch would've taken a fraction of the time. It's working again, but it feels like a Pyrrhic victory. Despite being well designed this toaster oven (like many other things) turned out to be only as good as its weakest link, which in this case turned out to be its low quality pushbutton power switch.

2020-01 UPDATE: After a while, the switch failed again and I decided to replace it.

The SW15 switch on the Panasonic NB-G110P toaster oven circuit board measures about 6.13mm square at the base (suspiciously close to 1/4” square.) It isn't a perfect fit, but a fairly common 7x7mm 6-pin DPDT (dual-pole-dual-throw) switch will work as an acceptable substitute.

Search on Amazon, eBay, or AliExpress for something like:
"7x7mm DPDT 6 Pin switch"
and you'll see switches that look like the one above pop up. (Typically with a blue switch head instead of a white head.)
(Many low-cost low-quantity sellers on AliExpress if you're willing to wait for shipping from China.)
IMPORTANT: Make sure you purchase an on/off or "locking" version, NOT a momentary version.

NOTE TO Panasonic (and other manufacturers):
1) have component-level parts available (or provide information on and access to component providers)
2) Use a durable, high quality power switch (after all, that's the switch that's going to be used the most) OR design future devices so the switch is easily serviceable (or even unnecessary.)

Fixit Clinic CLXXXVI (186) Dublin Public Library

We had four Fixit Clinics in California yesterday: Salinas, Huntington Beach, Newark, and Dublin. Our Dublin Fixit Clinic was held at the Dublin Public Library, graciously hosted by Branch Manager Lee Jouthas. Among the highlights:

This Oster blender needed a $3 part that we ordered from eBay:

We had the outdoor space to work on this almost new lawnmower, we checked fuel and spark but couldn't get it to start.

This vaporizer's motor was corroded and shot.

More photos from Fixit Clinic can be found on Google Photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/zYgvMfGehVsYU2GX6

Fixit Clinic Salinas Saturday!

We're having our inaugural Salinas Fixit Clinic this Saturday Nov 5: please tell your friends in the area! It's one of four California Fixit Clinics we're holding that day: the other locations are: Huntington Beach, Newark, and Dublin.

Fixit Clinic CLXXXII (182) Newark Library

In the second of three monthly Fixit Clinics at the Newark Library we had a full complement of sewers and fixers. The Newark Library already has a sewing program and invited the sewers to participate in the Fixit Clinic. We got a bunch of things repaired:

Getting things ship-shape for the upcoming holiday season:

Everyone's fascinated by this Singer Featherweight sewing machine, it's a classic:

And we accomplished this epic Samsung Galaxy S5 repair!

More photos from Fixit Clinic CLXXXII (182) at the Newark Library can be found here: https://goo.gl/photos/QvaW2FnBC9a9zYjp7

All in all, another great day at the Newark Library!

Four California Fixit Clinics November 5th!

It's not uncommon for us to have two Fixit Clinics scheduled for the same day, usually in different states, but to our knowledge this is the first time we've had not two or three but FOUR Fixit Clinics scheduled for the same day, all in California. and nicely distributed throughout the state: Dublin and Newark in Northern California, Salinas in Central California, and Huntington Beach in Southern California:

Dublin: Our inaugural Fixit Clinic in Dublin, hosted by Branch Manager Lee Jouthas at the Dublin Library: http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=ACL&curHelp=&curMonth=11&curYear=2016&SelectedDate=11/5/2016#11/5/2016
(The event's on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/155439678241653/ and on Google+ here: https://plus.google.com/events/c18bhbqhh5rjvtc2knf6q1dcpm4 )

Newark: Librarian Barbara Telford-Ishida and her crew will be holding yet another monthly event as follow ons to her September and October events; http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=ACL&curKey1=Newark%20Branch&curMonth=10&curYear=2016&curHelp=&curMonth=11&curYear=2016&SelectedDate=11/5/2016#11/5/2016
(The event's on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/630019443842516/ and on Google+ here: https://plus.google.com/events/ck4ia5h43cj8rc3hojah3f5fvek)

Salinas: Mandy Brooks and Guillermina Gutierrez at Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority are holding their inaugural Fixit Clinic at the Salinas Recreation Center:
(The event's on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1068995269815656/ and on Google+ here: https://plus.google.com/events/c4cmi5gleja2vifmdfnsectem3c)

Huntington Beach: Debbie Killey and her Fixit Coach crew are back again at the Huntington Beach Library.
(The event's on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1699076833746002/ and on Google+ here: https://plus.google.com/events/ctaro831h4hfsc2l0rhvue43ul0 )

So Nov 5th is going to be one busy Saturday for Fixit Clinics! Hope you can make it to one of these grand events.

Fixit Clinic CLXXX (180) Albany Community Center

Wow, we've reached 180 Fixit Clinics! Saturday's event was held at one of our favorite locations, the City of Albany, California's Library and Community Center. There was a clothing swap going on in conjunction with the Fixit Clinic so a lot of clothes found new life through both repair and new owners.

Among the highlights:

They brought the same scale in different colors, both were fixed.

Tess was determined to get her iron working again, and she did!

Holly pulls out all the stops to repair this sewing machine:

More photos from Fixit Clinic CLXXX (180) at the Albany Community Center can be found on Google photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/CwbcFaeb3WiUWwJ1A

Many thanks to Pam for organizing the clothing swap, to Ryann, Sarah, CC, and the others from Swap-O-Rama-Rama for providing their sewing acumen, to the City of Albany for hosting us, and to www.stopwaste.org for sponsoring us.

Fixit Clinic CLXXVIII (178) Newark Library

Just down Interstate I-880 on the east shore of San Francisco Bay is the community of Newark, California and their gem of a library. Yesterday's Fixit Clinic there was also a gem: it was held in the main atrium of the library and staffed by an enthusiastic and talented ensemble cast assembled by Librarian Barbara Telford-Ishida. The Newark Library already has an active sewing program so adding a large fabric and textile component to the Fixit Clinic was seamless.

Among the highlights:

Lots of people repairing fabric items:

Their tablet was not working, we determined it was a charging issue and gave them some tips for addressing it:

And, of course, the always not-so-usual parade of common household items. This lamp had a very clever touch switch that stopped working: the owner replaced it with a conventional switch.

More photos from Fixit Clinic CLXXVIII (178) at the Newark Library can be found here: https://goo.gl/photos/B8NX5G7UZcJJj16HA

Another great Saturday, another great Fixit Clinic! Many thanks to Barbara at the Newark Library for organizing it, and to StopWaste.org for sponsoring our participation.

Fixit Clinic CLXXI (171) Albany Community Center

A mid-summer Tuesday evening takes a turn towards repair as Fixit Clinic takes up residence at the quarterly Albany Clothing Swap and adds a repair component. Among the highlights:

This kid's really getting into fixing this typewriter.

Fixit Coach extraordinaire CC gets lots of illumination help with her lubrication of this frozen serger.

Power to the people for this successful sewing machine repair!

See more photos from Fixit Clinic CLXXI (171) here: https://goo.gl/photos/Az9W87JdkMDSwg4s9

Fixit Clinic CLXVI (166) Castro Valley Library

We've always wanted to be able to repair anything at Fixit Clinic, and now we're well on our way to fully incorporating fabric and textile repair into every event. Yesterday's Fixit Clinic at the Castro Valley Library was a big step in that direction as we had a full complement of sewers and sewing machines on hand, including a bunch of new coaches who are local to Castro Valley AND guest Fixit Coach Christopher Fernandez from iFixit!

Christopher helped to replace the screen of this Google / Asus Nexus 7: he even brought the part from iFixit:

CC and the sewers were in full swing:

More photos from Fixit Clinic are on Google Photos: https://goo.gl/photos/mYDsBE1hGzHgx5oz5

We've got another Fixit Clinic scheduled at the Castro Valley Library on August 6: see you there!

Fixit Clinic CLVI (156) Gilroy Library

A beautiful Saturday morning drive down US 101 south of San Jose leads to the majestic Gilroy Library and our latest Fixit Clinic triumph. We're quickly adding a fabric and textile repair to our repertoire, we had an even complement of both electronics coaches and fabric coaches today.

This girl sewed her own skirt:

In addition to the full complement of electronics repairs there were lots of other fabric repairs such as this:

And this:

See all the photos from Fixit Clinic CLVI (156) at Gilroy Library on Google+ here: https://goo.gl/photos/2Pd776mnbV7YiFdb6