Hardware

Broken or cold SMD solder joints of USB-C connector

Fix unchargeable Thinkpad L390 by cold solder joints of USB-C-Sockets

We got an modern Lenovo Thinkpad L380 / L390 Yoga with loose contact of the 2 USB-C Sockets which are important for powering and charging. After disassembling the Thinkpad we could only see with a stereo macroscope/microscope cold soldering joints of loose pins (all) at both USB-C-Sockets. If you want to see the loose SMD […]

Hardware

Replacing defective BGA-Chip with wires on Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 tablet

A PI-Crew member bought a used Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 in good condition for his 9 years old son who is really into arts. Everything was fine but after an upgrade to Windows 10 the screen showed some artefacts and eventually went completely dark. Soon after that he found out that a lot of people […]

Hardware

Mobile timber-framed cork sauna

I built a small, lightweight sauna that sits on a trailer ready to be taken to a nearby lake. Its half-timbered construction is time consuming to build but offers appealing aesthetics. Following the traditional path further led me to employ natural materials all the way. Baked cork with its low weight, being weatherproof and open […]

Hardware

Low budget car key replication and transponder workaround

I lost my backup key for my Mitsubishi car and wanted to replace it. To get a cheap solution I had to remove the transponder from the key and go for a walk to the city. To get a spare key from the manufacturer, you’d have to pay 140 € – and that is not […]

Artwork

Moving Heads steuern mit µDMX und QLC+ unter Linux

2014 gab es die ersten Versuche, beim Musikfest meines Musikverein Schwieberdingen von der tollen Lichttechnik über der Bühne 2 Moving Heads mit ein Computer zu steuern (qlcplus und µDMX Adapter), anstatt mit einen Light-Jockey-Mischpult (16ch). Das machte es erstmal nicht weniger aufwendig bei der Bedienung, da wir uns einarbeiten und zurechtfinden mussten mit QLCplus und […]

Hardware

Fixing my 30 y old Miele – broken pump + always pumping after short circuit

Meteor 2100 (W 715) – A washing machine as old as I am, but serving way more consistently. That’s my parents old Miele washing machine. Now, after 30 years, it refused to pump the water off the machine. Fixing it, I discovered a beautifully modular and robust design. It’s worth the effort! How to open […]

Hardware

1,2,3: How to craft a Huge Heavy-Duty Table from standard materials in <30 min

All you need is 1x EUR-palett, 2x OSB and 3x roof battens for this 2.5 m wide heavily loadable table. Material 1x EUR-pallet 2x OSB of 15 mm thickness (or 1x 30 mm) 3 – 4 roof battens Building Cut the palett The hardest part first: Cut the EUR-palett in half perpendicular to its longer […]

Hardware

Baltic Sailing Journey How-to

In spring ’19 I bought a small sail boat, refurbished it, learned to sail and spent half a year on the Baltic sea. This is a short summary of this project. Motivation and finding a boat I had no prior experience in sailing and never sailed any boat before. In February 2019 I watched my […]