Master Techs

here should be some info about "us"

I hope it's ok if I start ;-)

I joined iFixit back in 2009. At the time I joined, I was still learning with XP-licensed (common) retired Pentium 4 systems because of how readily people would give them away at the time. Part of the reason behind this was if I fried one of these systems, it wouldn't be an expensive mistake as the "common" AGP/DDR spec was plentiful. I later took on more expensive gambles, but this happened over time. These days, I generally avoid anything older than 8th gen Intel and Ryzen 3000, unless the board can take one of these chips without too much trouble (in the form of a BIOS update).

In addition to this, I am of the mindset it is better to "figure it out for yourself rather than pay someone to do it", within reason. What this essentially means is if I am going to do something like get negative scans done, I'm not going to pay a lab to do the scans (or if I HAVE to accept scans, the "free" ones as a roll preview and then disregard them). When I get it done I would rather run something like SilverFast with my Epson scanner, invert the colors as needed with a tool like FilmLab if it needs to be done outside of SilverFast, and then for final color correction correct the colors in a program like Affinity Photo in a print-friendly color profile like CMYK/8 or LAB/16 to get as much color fidelity out of the final image, and save it as a TIFF LAB/16 file (but create a backup JPG for places which cannot process TIFF files if the printing is done externally). If I am printing, it would be done in a program like Qimage One where I can load a paper profile for the printer as needed, especially for stocks like Red River where profiles are provided. This is more expensive, but knowing I have complete control of the process makes up for this.

I realized I had a the knack when I was younger. In the early days, I was modifying/repairing Beyblades and the launchers, as well as custom builds such as shell swaps or full color changes. Incidentally, along the way, I found a way to fix a common ripcord issue we ran into a lot where it got stuck; the solution meant disassembling it and removing one gear, but it fixed the issue every time without destroying more ripcords. At the time, everyone tolerated it because it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to send them in since they were cheap and the fix was known to be better than the repair, and it saved the ripcord.

After Beyblades were phased out as a hot toy within my circles at the time, I shifted towards computers. Even though Beyblaces were mostly done, I would still work on them as they came up. On the IT side, some of my first experiences were with Win98 FE due to its tendency to crash (and yes, I still consider WinME worse than 98 FE if you're going off of instability alone). While I never experienced Windows ME back then (and generally, very little), I did gain very useful experience from Win98 FE when I was 6. Win98 SE is a much better release of Win98 by far.

This is somewhat recent after seeing what you could drive for the price of an economy car if you can do the majority of repairs (which do not require high-level parts pairing or activation only doable with a dealer scan tool) or running the mileage on an older Japanese car without expensive repair bills yourself by waiting for 3-4 year leases to expire on European luxury cars from Mercedes, Audi, and BMW. This is in addition to Japanese luxury cars from Lexus and British models like Jaguar/Land Rover.

This was also pushed further after seeing what one can own a "classic" car for by not relying on a shop for repairs, especially things like older BMWs like the E39/E46 or W140/C140 S-Class. However, despite the shift, the computer stuff remains around, albeit less frequently.

I want to start an offensive in Germany to get the idea of repair, saving resources and give a "no-go" to planned obsolescence". It will be great if some of the german users (like Markus...) can contact me so that we can concentrate our efforts for going to a better future! http://erhaltungsgesellschaft.de is "my child" and I want to start there with a german wiki for repair-tips and hints in all possible parts like cars, electronic, etc.

so, here comes a little bit about me ;-)

i try to fix almost everything that comes between my fingers. i work mostly on cell phones and saeco coffee makers. from time to time i fix notebooks with bga problems. but there is another thing i work on at the moment, i bought a real bakery oven a few weeks ago and now where having some fun in the neigbourhood (and some jobs to do at company parties and so on)

i fix many things for free, but not for everone - i have a few customers (cell phone and computer stores) - they surely have to pay - except for my ex boss at the nokia store - i worked there 8 yrs ago and if i need anything - i'll get it from him (great source for spare parts - let's not forget - most stuff i'm doing is component level repair and some sparparts are simply not on the "market")

i can't compete with the social engagement of other members.

i live in weisendorf, we don't have those extreme social problems here - but i'll try to teach others how to use a computer the right way (not just for chatting and so called social networks). but as always - i have way to little time to do all the stuff i want to do...

markus

ps: if you can't get enough of that picture - click here for a larger version: CLICK

pps: btw - i bought the bakery oven on ebay for around 50$ - replaced a fuse for a few cent and it works great

I try to repair/rebuild at least one computer per quarter to give to a child who can't afford one. mayer has offered to help me in that endeavor.

Just delivered a rebuilt iMac G4 to the local Y kids computer lab. Trying to decide what next.

Well it turns out next is a project is a MDD G4. I have maxed the memory and added a USB 2 card. The unit checks out well and has been given to the Y kids computer lab--helps more kids for the buck.

My new primary will be a 2.4 GHZ Mini starting with 4 GB of ram but in time I will max the ram to 8 GB. I am saving my Thinkpad T 42 as a backup computer.

Update--The T42 will be given to a child after all. I just purchased a Pismo for my backup--always did like working on those.

The T-42 has been delivered to a child--working on some upgrades to my Pismo now.

That Pismo and a G4 DVI have gone to children and another Pismo will go in a week or so. I'll have to back off for a while to build up funds again.

OK I've picked up a IBM desktop for a good price and have just finished going through it and installed Mint Linux. Unit will go with a new keyboard/mouse and a copy of Mint Linux to a child when school starts in the fall.

Picked up a decent G4 iMac for $40 and a MDD G4 for $80 for my next projects for children.

The iMac and a G4 MDD are going to children this week.

I delivered my Powermac G5 to a local home for unwed mothers to be used to help train them in useful job skills. Purchased another Pismo for my backup machine.