In the bad news department, my air conditioning unit went on the fritz the other day, arrrgh! Worst case scenario meant it needed to be replaced to the tune of three or four grand. That would've seriously hinder my geek budget, and since I've only bought one figure so far this year, well, I think it would tank me! We dodged a big ole bullet, turned out it was a simple part that went out and a quick switch and it was as good as new. Repairs cost a mere fraction of what we were thinking, and I got a bonus.
The dead part is what you see above, a capacitor (fig for scale) that apparently ran the entire unit. When the repair guy popped it out I was all like, "Oooh, can I keep that?" Of course I had to endure the 'what are you going to do with it' conversation in which I explained our hobby as, "It's like model railroading, but in space, where you fight each other with robots and/or aliens..." That's when he went to the truck to get the invoice.
A charged up one of those might be able to kill you.
ReplyDeleteBah. Nice grab.
ReplyDeleteLol. The point where people ask what it's for is the part where I usually start making up lies. It's just easier that way.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing this one is dead, since it konked out the whole system, but now you've got me concerned Brad!
ReplyDeleteIf he was a certified repair man he would not have touched it without first verifying that it was not holding its charge let alone take it off and hand it to you.
ReplyDeleteYou just have to watch out for those things in general when messing around with electronics. They can hold a charge for a surprising long time. Just watch the light on a power converter(for a laptop) after you unplug it. Takes a few seconds to drain away and the ones in those are tiny compared to that monster.
I'm glad you said something anyway, otherwise this would be a bad case of natural selection! When I unplug my XBox it's power light stays on for quite a while.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the price we were charged I would say he was a professional indeed.
Stand a distance away and touch metal across the poles (NOT TOUCHING THE METAL AT THE SAME TIME).
ReplyDeleteNothing a good whack with a ball-pinned hammer can't figure out.
ReplyDeleteAll right, I've got a voltage meter somewhere in the garage, I'm testing this sucker...
ReplyDelete