Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Most Watched Videos on FB in 2019

🎉 MANY THANKS TO ALL OUR FANS! You made this our #1 video from 2019! See you in 2020! 🍻


**WOW** I Used Simple Household Products to Refurbish Some Speakers!

JBL Control-1 Speakers



**WOW** I Used Simple Household Products to Refurbish Some Speakers!


A neighbor was kind enough to loan me a pair of JBL Control-1 speakers a little while ago, to help me troubleshoot a little audio quality problem I was having.  The speakers worked just fine, but they were a little dusty when I got them:



So when I was finished with them, and didn't need them any more, and I thought it would be a nice gesture if I gave them back to him in better condition than I received them in!

So, I pulled out my trusty cleaning trinity:

1) Rubbing Alcohol

2) Classic Armor All

3) Castor Oil

And got to work!  

I am very happy to say the results I got were fantastic, and I couldn't be happier:


To see how I got these results...

Watch the video to see how I did it!

Video Bill Of Materials

Armor All 10160 Protectant, Original 1 pt (16 fl oz) 473 ml
https://amzn.to/2RGtHsx

Heritage Products Castor Oil
https://amzn.to/2rEhgmj

MG Chemicals 99.9% Isopropyl Alcohol Electronics Cleaner, 475 mL Trigger Spray Bottle
https://amzn.to/2SEnQ7C


A Pull Apart Key Chain! The FIRST of many amazon.com purchases!

MAIL CALL!  I got a little package today from amazon.com, containing - a "Pull-Apart Key Chain", something I have wanted since I first saw that little silver HONDA key. 

I had this kind of key chain when I had my first motorcycle in 1986, and I found it super convenient to prevent my house keys from bouncing around (and potentially getting wet from being exposed to the elements). 

So I deliberately ordered a pair of Pull-Apart Key chains from Amazon,and once they arrived, I immediately loaded one of my HONDA keys onto the end of one of them, and my big mass of other keys (including the keyless entry dongle for my SUV) on the other end. 

The result is everything I wanted to achieve and I couldn't be happier!  Nostalgia and utility all in one gleaming silver package...and a package coming in the mail to boot!

Custom Accessories 44101 Pull-Apart Key Chain, (Pack of 2) $3.49
https://amzn.to/2rIrQIM






Before and After

Video Coming soon



Dell M4700 REBUILD #1 - My Laptop Is **DEAD** But Not For Long!

DELL PRECISION M4700



My **CRAZY** Dell Is DEAD - But Not For Long!





I bought CRAZY, a second-hand DELL PRECISION M4700, for CAD350 (USD267.51) in the early days of June 2018 out of the back of a car in the parking lot of an Ottawa Real Canadian Super Store...no kidding


I was responding to an ad with the following headline:


Dell Precision M4700 Mobile Workstation Laptop w/ Firepro m4000

I found it on Kijiji, Canada's version of Craigslist.  

Here's the general specifications of the machine:


  • Dell Precision M4700
  • CORE i7 CPU (i7-3520@2.9Ghz)
  • Firepro m4000
  • 8Mb RAM
  • 128Gb SSD

So, I got in touch with the seller and planned a buy:



The person selling the computer, "Bob Walter", was obviously using an assumed identity, because he looked about as much like a "Bob Walter" as I look like a "Xi Jin Ping".

Anyway, despite its somewhat turbid provenance, the DELL PRECISION M4700 seemed to work just fine when I checked it out.  The battery was OK.  It seemed to be in fine cosmetic shape.  It came with a 128Gb SSD.  At the time of the purchase, the machine booted correctly and brought up a Windows desktop quickly and smoothly.  There was no obvious damage.  So, I was pretty pleased with the buy.

But, very shortly thereafter, even before the summer was over, it started to develop a very strange video problem that looked like this:


Taking a look at the machine, I noticed that the machine appeared to have a heat problem, because the right side of the keyboard was becoming very hot to the touch.  Too hot.

There are two fans on the DELL Precision M4700.  Looking at the screen, the one on the left cools the CPU, the one on the right cools the GPU.  Servicing the fans is pretty easy, you just flip the machine over, release the battery, unscrew a couple of baseplate screws, remove the baseplate and there you are.  The fans are in plain view (but reversed, the GPU fan is now on the left instead of being on the right, because the machine is upside down).


In the end, it turned out that the machine had a serious GPU cooling issue.  The GPU airflow was being blocked by what looked like a large clump of fluff and cat hair caught in (and hidden by) the exit port heat dispersal fins.  So, I removed the blockage and blew out the machine with compressed air.   The machine booted smoothly as always, and there was no more flickering video.  I thought I had resolved the issue...but I was wrong.

As it turns out, the primary user of the machine was still experiencing flickering video issues, just much more rarely.  When interviewed about this after the system failure, they said "When the video turned off completely, I would just wait a little while and it would come back on - it happened so rarely, it just didn't bother me and I didn't think about it any more".  

Hmmmm - that's not really an acceptable MAN THE MAKER situation...

One day, the machine simply froze.  Not thinking much of the situation, the primary user performed a hard restart and....nothing.  The machine powered up and then then just sat there doing absolutely nothing.  No beeps!  No nothing!  Just a power indicator above the keyboard and nothing else.  

The other thing that happened when this machine crashed is it somehow managed to scramble the contents of its SSD to the point where the disk became unrecognizable by any other computer.  I had to buy an external USB enclosure to get it recognized and the data off the disk and onto a replacement computer.

So, with the machine much deeper in trouble, back into troubleshooting mode I went.

I did the following to try to isolate the source of the problem:

1) I removed all of the memory, to checlk if there was a memory error and to elicit some beeps from the computer.  No beeps.

2) I removed the CMOS battery, thinking that there might be some weird CMOS setting with respect to the HDD preventing the machine from booting, but got nothing.

Because I was a  bit short on time, I called a local laptop repair shop and asked them to take a look at the machine for me.  

I don't normally do this - but I was about to travel overseas and it was imperative to get this machine back online as soon as possible.  

I told the technician everything I could about the machine (including the story of the blocked GPU fan) and said that I suspected that it was the graphics card that was faulty.  The technician called me later on the same day and said that a replacement of the graphics card would cost about USD75.00, labor included.  I told him to go ahead and get one, put it in, and tell me whether or not that fixed the problem.

I returned from my travels about a week later, only to be told by the technician at the laptop repair shop that he had been unable to repair the machine.  Furthermore, he wasn't sure what was wrong with it.  He told me that after he had swapped in a new graphics card, the machine still refused to boot.  

At that point, I asked him to box the machine up so I could come and get it.  The technician was kind enough to box the machine up quite nicely, and I went and got it without any issues - only to realize that he had forgotten to give me the bottom plate of the laptop, which bears the DELL SERVICE CODE I needed to get the "as built" specifications of the machine.

Once again short on time, I put it away - but promised myself that I'd take another look at it when I had a little more free time.  
Well, that time is now!

When I got the machine back I noticed something about it right away.  The thermal compound that had been applied to help conduct heat from the GPU to its heat sink was now the consistency of hardened drywall plaster!




In fact, the area where the GPU came into direct contact with the heat sink had baked the interfacing thermal grease A DARK BROWN.




Clearly, no replacement card had ever been installed.

The technician had told me a fib.  Who knows why...

This left me in a bit of a pickle, because I didn't know where the fault truly lay:


Potential Fault Origins:


A)  Was it the GPU board? 

- Was it fried permanently from having not been cooled correctly for years?
- Was it just overheating the instant the  machine was powered up?


B)   Was it the CPU?

- If the GPU thermal paste was bad, surely the CPU paste was in the same state?
- Could the CPU be fried?

C)  Was it the motherboard?

- After all, the machine was 5 years old and suffering from thermal issues

Using Occam's Razor as my guide, I figured that the first component to mess with should be the GPU card, because the machine had a history of video problems, and those problems diminished (but did not disappear) when the cooling subsystem had been straightened out.

So, I figured that the simplest thing to do was to:


Re-assemble the computer 

- With the  same Graphics Card
- With fresh thermal paste
- With clear airflow

How To Remove Thermal Paste (Use Rubbing Alcohol!)


Removing thermal paste is easy if you use rubbing alcohol and a bunch of Q-tips.  Simply apply the rubbing alcohol generously to the Q-Tip (I dip the Q-Tip directly into the bottle) and then rub the hardened thermal paste in a circular motion until it starts to dissolve.  

After a few minutes of this, an AMD chip face emerged:



Here's some specifications:

Part #:            216-0834044
Device Type:    Video Card
Manufacturer:    AMD
Product Line:    FirePro M Series
Model:             M4000
Description:    FirePro M4000 Chelsea XT GL 1GB Laptop DDR5 Graphics Card
API Supported:    DirectX 11, OpenCL 1.2
Enclosure Type:    Internal
Graphic Processor: AMD FirePro M 4000
Memory Size:       1 GB
Memory Technology: GDDR5 SDRAM
Memory Interface:  128-bit
Core Clock:        600 MHz
Memory Clock:      4500 MHz
Resolution:        2560 x 1600

Good to know.

After a few minutes of gentle rubbing (and about 10 Q-Tips), everything was clean again:



And then I cleaned the matching face on the Dell M4700 heat sink too:



This style of heatsink is called a Heat Pipe, because it is designed to use fancy physics to transfer heat being generated at Point A to a cooling strategy located at Point B.  

Heat Pipes are designed to conduct heat from one place to another using a highly heat-conductive material (in this case, copper) that transports the heat to another place where  it can be dispersed - in this case, via airflow located some some inches away, instead of focusing the airflow directly on the source of the heat itself.  Why?  Mostly because laptops need to be thin, and a vertical cooling strategy (like in a desktop computer) would be too thick.  Laptops need to cool horizontally, not vertically.  That's what a Heat Pipe makes possible.

Anyways, the sorry state of the thermal compound on the GPU make me suspect that the exact same thing had happened to the CPU, so a complete disassembly was probably in the cards once this machine had been brought back to life.


My first task was to get my hands on some fresh thermal compound!


I bought some thermal compound and re-applied, but that didn't work.

I bought a blowtorch and tried to reflow the BGA under the GPU, but that didn't work


So, I went ahead and bought another video card, because the one I found cost less than USD10.00:


Put in commentary about pressing "D" and the power switch to fire off the LCD test to prove that the backlight is working.

Put in commentary about pressing "<Fn>" and the power switch to fire off the DIAGNOSTICS test to  



Monday, December 30, 2019

CRAZY ... Coming December 31st

Introducing... CRAZY! Coming December 31st!


Wa-Wa-We-Wa!

Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, outdoor, possible text that says 'ORDERING STUFF ON AMAZON & TAOBAO GREAT SUCCESS memecrunch.com'


Wa-Wa-We-Wa!

I just ordered a whole bunch of repair and replacement parts for a TON of upcoming projects (KA-CHING! The sound of money leaving my wallet and entering the Amazon and Taobao bank accounts). When the parcels arrive, I will do a very nice unboxing of "Product Learnings of Amazon and Taobao for Make Benefit Glorious Projects of Man the Maker". Of course, there will be many videos! So Stay Tuned!

#MMTM #UnboxingChannel

My Wife **PIRATED** My Demo Battery!


My Wife **PIRATED** My Demo Battery!


I was so pleased with myself..little did I know what was going to happen! 

Having just completed the preliminaries for a battery demonstration, I was foolish enough to show my new toy to Mrs. Maker! The "toy" in question was a series of batteries taped to individual pieces of paper with both their model numbers and their voltages, or state of charge clearly noted.  My intention was to use them to show people how to measure battery voltages, and what the different voltages meant. But, like I said, silly me! Mr. Maker took one look at my teaching aid and said "My car door fob isn't working". 

Silly me!  How could I not have known?  After years of marriage, I have determined that a simple statement of fact on the part of my wife actually means she wants me to DO something, and usually that something runs along the lines of "Please stop futzing around with the [fun thing] you are playing with and go fix the [boring thing]." 
Luckily, in this case, I was able to integrate my original BATTERY DEMO presentation into a KEYLESS CAR DOOR FOB BATTERY CHANGE demonstration, and record the whole thing! 

This helped me to complete MY "more fun thing" while fixing the "less fun thing".  It was a win-win!
 



I can't thank this VLOGGING stuff enough!  It enables me to re-approach things that aren't that much fun - and make them a LOT more fun by turning them into a tutorial! 

It's helping me get much more done, because it's such a great motivator!


HELP THE MAKER OUT?


Did you see anything in this video that you want for yourself? If yes, please use one of the link(s) below to buy it directly from amazon.com, because if you do, I get a small (but very encouraging) commission!



VIDEO BILL OF MATERIALS


Duracell - 2032 3V Lithium Coin Battery - Long Lasting Battery - 2 Count (CR2032)
https://amzn.to/35VNCYN

4-Pack Energizer 3 Volt Lithium Button Battery for Directed Electronics 598t Remote Control Transmitters and Other Uses (CR2025)
https://amzn.to/399FPII

UNI-T UT33A+ UT33B+ UT33C+ UT33D+ Digital Multimeter AC DC Voltage Current Resistance +2mF Capacitance NCV Tester with LCD Backlight (UT33C+)
https://amzn.to/2MunVGO



YES! How To Use a MOBILE PHONE to Troubleshoot a Remote Control!

Electronics - 


YES! How To Use a MOBILE PHONE to Troubleshoot a Remote Control!


These days, I am having nothing but trouble with BATTERIES.  

First off, the battery in EZ-RIDER was totally dead, and I must have spent a week's worth of days fiddling with it before resigning myself to having to buy another one due to its being sulphated to the point where it was beyond saving.

Then, I bought a MOSTA cordless drill with a bad Lithium Ion battery, and had to order another one (along with an impact driver, yaay!) from China.  Of course, the upside of that is that I get to do an entire series on the 18650 battery family, which I am really looking forward to.

Then, the battery in my SPY HAT looked like it had gone flat (but it DIDN'T...look for a video on what really happened soon!).  

Finally, the battery in my keyless car entry system went flat.  

It was like everywhere I turned, batteries were going dead.  Even some of my watches have stopped running!  I know it sounds incredible, but it's true!

The latest battery to go dead is the one in my SANYO XACTI VPC-HD1010 camcorder remote control.  It uses a coin type cell, but not the classic coin battery that everyone knows (CR2032 - the SWATCH battery!).  Instead, the HD1010 uses a thinner CR2025 battery.  

Aside from being thinner, the CR2025 has the same form factor and voltage as the CR2032.

Now, I had a spare CR2032 in my pile of replacement batteries because I had already swapped the battery in my keyless car entry system out, and I had bought TWO replacement batteries.  So, I had the old CR2032 just in case I wanted to do something with it (like now), and a new one for whatever, whenever. 

So, considering I had so many dead batteries laying around, figured I'd put together a little tutorial on battery troubleshooting!  But - people don't troubleshoot batteries - they troubleshoot the things that batteries go into that aren't working right any more!

Now, when a watch battery runs out, it's pretty obvious to everyone what exactly has happened.  The hands stop moving.  The same goes for Cordless Drills and Keyless Car Entry systems.  They just stop working, no matter how much you push the button.  When it came to EZ-RIDER, it just wouldn't start.

But when it comes to remote controls - things are a bit more subtle.  Some have little red LED's on them that blink when you send a signal, but many do not.  

The one that controlled my camcorder didn't have any indication whether or not the battery was good.  So, you can be there, stupidly pushing a button a bunch of times with NO CLUE as to whether or not the batteries are working...that is, unless you have a MOBILE PHONE!  

This video shows how to troubleshoot remote controls using a cell phone....and watch out for surprise ending!


HELP A MAKER OUT?


Did you see anything in this video you wanted for yourself?  If yes, please use one of the the amazon links listed below to buy it directly from amazon.com.  

If you buy, I get an encouraging note and a small commission!  Thanks!



VIDEO BILL OF MATERIALS


Duracell - 2032 3V Lithium Coin Battery - Long Lasting Battery - 2 Count (CR2032)
https://amzn.to/35VNCYN

4-Pack Energizer 3 Volt Lithium Button Battery for Directed Electronics 598t Remote Control Transmitters and Other Uses (CR2025)
https://amzn.to/399FPII

UNI-T UT33A+ UT33B+ UT33C+ UT33D+ Digital Multimeter AC DC Voltage Current Resistance +2mF Capacitance NCV Tester with LCD Backlight (UT33C+)
https://amzn.to/2MunVGO







Sunday, December 29, 2019

BONDHUS Hex Keys **WOW**

Tools




BONDHUS Hex Keys **WOW**

After completely destroying TWO no-name hex keys that I purchased on Ap Liu Street, I decided to treat myself to a set of high-quality, name brand hex keys.

If you look closely at the long, silver-colored hex key in the video, you can see that I twisted it along its long axis before I ended up rounding the head.  At a standstill and in total frustration, I cranked up google and looked for a 2019 hex key review:



After exploring the different optionsm I elected to go for the BONDHUS Hex Keys #22199, because it looked affordable and offered both Imperial and Metric keys in one low-cost purchase.  I think each key ended up costing around a half dollar or so, which seemed good to me.

Approaching the motorcycle with some trepidation (after all, if the Bondhus failed - what then would I do?) I was able to remove the remaining bolts in the handlebar risers and get the handlebars off!  Fantastic!

So I have to say that I am very pleased with the BONDHUS Hex Keys.  They proved up to the task when TWO other sets failed miserably.


Highly recommended!
Here's a video of the BONDHUS Hex Keys in action....


Video



HELP A MAKER OUT?

Did you see anything in this video you want?  

If yes, use one of the the link(s) below to buy it directly from amazon.com.  

If you do, I get a small, but very encouraging commission!


VIDEO BILL OF MATERIALS

Bondhus 22199 Hex L-wrench Double PK,Long Length,12137 .050-3/8" & 12199 1.5-10mm
https://amzn.to/2OV4Ei8



Motorcycle Chain Guard 100% REFURBISHED in Flat Black!

EZ-RIDER, a 1997 Honda Magna VT250CR (Japanese Edition)

EZ-RIDER Chain Guard 100% Refurbished in Flat Black!


The 1st *COMPLETED* EZ-RIDER Mini-Project!  At long last, I have finally completed *SOMETHING* on EZ-RIDER!  Wow! 

Yes, I know that re-painting a formerly black plastic chain guard in flat black is a trivial thing.  Especially in the final analysis, when it comes to the Art of Motorcycle Repair, which will incorporate thousands and thousands of little fixes - But as they say here in China:  "千里之行,始於足下" ("A journey of a thousand miles begins with but one step" -- Laozi), and this one was mine! 

What a totally grotty chain guard.  When I took it off, I immediately noticed that it was in horrible, terrible shape.  Not only was it damaged, it was also caked with years of old, hard grease, road grit, little stones and all manner of other assorted nasties.  It was faded and chalky looking.  All of the fittings were (of course) rusty.  

So I figured that this was as good a place as any to get STARTED with something I could FINISH.  No waiting for parts or tools - just get it done!  And, after this simple and easy beginnning...I could start to work my way out!  

First, I power washed the chain guard as best I could.

Next, I went after what even the power washer couldn't dislodge, with a combination of elbow grease, turpentine, and disposable chopsticks!  I ended up using two disposable chopsticks to scrape the inside of the chain guard and loosen the toughest, most anchored grit.  

All the while, I used PLENTY of rags to soak up the resulting mess, because the resulting concoction was 100% BLACK, disgusting and and obscuring everything.

After I had cleared away the mess and completely wiped the chain guard down, I let the turpentine evaporate

After that, I sanded the chain guard with 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper.  I did this so the flat black spray paint could have something to anchor onto, because plastic has no pores.  Unlike wood, smooth surfaces like metal and plastic need to be roughened, or paint won't stick to them.

Once I had finished sanding the chain guard, I wiped it down with acetone.

(the next time I do something like this I will use alcohol instead, because I think the acetone was likely too harsh, and alcohol would have done an equally good job for cleaning away any remaining residue from the sanding)

Next, I put down an initial coat of flat black paint on the side of the chain guard that faces the public.  After a 15 minute wait, I put down a second coat on the entire outside surface of the chain guard, front and back, and then left it to dry overnight. 

Here's the result of my labor:



Hey, even though it was a very small job in the grand scheme of things, I felt super good about getting something on this motorcycle FINISHED. No waiting for tools, no waiting for parts, no waiting on consumables, no need to do further research. It just got DONE. 

So, 1/1000 of the bike is now FINISHED...and that feels GREAT!


BILL OF MATERIALS:

GLOVEWORKS HD Industrial Black Nitrile Gloves - 6 mil, Latex Free, Powder Free, Diamond Texture, Disposable, Large, Box of 100
https://amzn.to/35fifrv

Klean-Strip Green QKGT75004 Turpentine, 1-Quart
https://amzn.to/2ERhQ3e

Rust-Oleum 248903 Automotive 12-Ounce High Heat 2000 Degree Spray Paint, Flat Black
https://amzn.to/3996MfO

Disposable Chopsticks, pack of 40 pair
https://amzn.to/3979cLK

Scott Shop Towels Original Blue, 55 Sheets/Standard Roll, Pack of 2
https://amzn.to/2PSs89l

3M 220 Grit Imperial Wet/Dry Sandpaper Sheet, 9in x 11 in, Pack of 5
https://amzn.to/34OnuNT




Saturday, December 28, 2019

SILVER MINE Hardware Store Tool Run! COOL!

In this video, I discuss the tools that I bought at the Hardware Store with the coolest name on Lantau Island.  It's located in a town called SILVERMINE, and it stocks everything any home renovator would possibly need - and many of the goods are brought in by boat!

Lantau is the largest Island that composes the territory of Hong Kong.  It's mostly undeveloped and wild and FULL OF SNAKES and other critters including the CHINESE COBRA and BURMESE PYTHONS, not to mention BARKING DEER, FERAL COWS and WATER BUFFALO.

Anyways, the tool run was a lot of fun and I go over the items I purchased there in this video.  Enjoy!

HELP A MAKER OUT
================
Do you see anything in this video you want for yourself?  If you do, please use the link listed below to buy it directly from amazon.com.  When you buy this way, I get a small commission from amazon that encourages me to continue as a YouTube creator.

BILL OF MATERIALS:
=================
3M Virtua Safety Glasses with Clear Frame and Clear Polycarbonate Anti-Scratch Hard Coat Lens
https://amzn.to/2MpAZNG

G & F 5015L-5 Regular Cowhide Leather Palm Work Gloves for driving and construction with rubberized safety cuff, Large, 5-Pair pack
https://amzn.to/35OwX9k

Forney 72748 Wire Wheel Brush, Fine Crimped with 1/2-Inch Arbor, 3-Inch-by-.008-Inch
https://amzn.to/36xvbJR

GP12626 Hook and Loop Rotary Backing Pad with 5/8''-11 Thread, Sanding, Polishing Backer/Diameter 5 inch
https://amzn.to/2LLx6CE

CSLU 100pcs 4 Inch Sanding Discs Pad for Drill Grinder Rotary Tools 80-3000 Grit Sandpapers
https://amzn.to/2RGyHgK

Rust-Oleum 260510 Automotive 2 In 1 Filler and Sandable Primer Spray Paint, 12 oz, Gray
https://amzn.to/2EQ8BAk

Rust-Oleum 248903 Automotive 12-Ounce High Heat 2000 Degree Spray Paint, Flat Black
https://amzn.to/2Zkrzs1


EZ-RIDER Spark Plug Change....FAIL!

I have been anticipating changing the spark plugs on EZ-RIDER for over a month now.  My first challenge was to simply identify what plugs went in the bike, because it came with no documentation whatsoever, and it is a smaller displacement NON-USA reboot of the much older (and larger) 750cc model that proved quite popular in the late 1980's. 

This motorcycle is also quite heavily modified, making things even more challenging - especially in the electrical department.  This bike is a complete FRANKENSTEIN's monster when it comes to things both mechanical and electrical (Oh goody!)...and it came without paperwork, manual or a tool kit to boot!

So, basically, information about the 1997 Honda Magna VT250CR is not really all that forthcoming, adding a LOT of  spice to the mix.  This 250cc version of the Honda Magna is popular in Japan, the UK, Australia and Russia, but not seeming in the USA, where it may have been marketed under a different name - or not marketed at all.  North America is in LOVE with large displacement motorcycle (I know I was) and bikes below 500cc are somewhat derided as being gutless (mind you, I got my license in 1985 on a 250cc Honda Rebel - and I loved its low center of gravity and forgiving geometry - but that's a story for another day).

After a huge buildup that lasted weeks and involved parts coming in from three different countries....a huge FAIL because the socket that came with my cheap-o socket set was the WRONG SIZE!

NGK CR8EH-9 Spark Plug:
https://amzn.to/35BdmJC

Spark Plug Socket
https://amzn.to/2Z2zfiJ

Copper Grease: 
https://amzn.to/35KraBu

So, we have to wait a little while for the right socket to arrive, so I can get those dratted spark plugs out! 

...PLEASE STAY TUNED!




The 1st SECOND HAND Tool Buy!


A blast from the past!  Here's a video that I shot but never uploaded!





MOSTA Cordless Power Tools Update!

In this video I go over the MOSTA Cordless Power Tools that I bought (used & new) and my intentions with respect to the 1 Power Packs that I now have.  


First, a bit of a tweak to the charging stand, so it doesn't slide all over the place.


Second, a discussion of the defective power pack and examination of the three GONG TIAN 2200mAH Lithium Ion batteries I received in the mail today (with another arriving soon) that I will be using to REBUILD the MOSTA HL1480 12v power pack, either to its original 3-battery configuration or maybe go a little wild and convert it into a 6-battery "super power pack".




How To Troubleshoot & Refurbish a DEAD $10 Cordless Drill Back to Working Condition!

I bought a tool on the street for ten bucks. It was completely untested and the vendor initially refused to sell it to me because it "didn't work!".
After some convincing (I really should video the convincing some day, there are bunches of people who refuse to sell me broken things because they don't want to RIP ME OFF...) she sold it to me, somewhat ashamedly.
Here's how I brought a drill back to life, by cleaning it, troubleshooting it and buying another tool with a compatible battery.

In a future video I will show how to repair the problem (faulty power pack) by testing and changing out its defective 18650 Lithium Ion batteries.