ATX Power Supply - The Simplest Way To Repair It

I had stopped repairing ATX power supply many years back due to the new one cost very cheap. It's not worth to repair it because the spare parts sometimes were much more expensive than getting a new power supply. Searching for ATX power supply spare parts was not easy as many of them you can't even find them on the internet. Not only that, many complicated and different designed by power supply manufacturers had eaten up our precious troubleshooting time too because of we need time to understand how all these different designed power supply work.

Some of the power supply designs were using the PWM IC (UC3842) and power FET, some use the double transistors while some use only a single power IC in the primary side. Because of the manufacturers wants the design to be made into compact size, many secondary or even primary power supply circuit were build into a modular board (smaller board). This made troubleshooting even more difficult because many times the meter's probe can't reach to the testing point.

The real reason why I had stopped repairing ATX power supply was the profit margin. If you charge to high the customers rather buy a new unit with one year warranty given. If you charge too low, you may end up in the losing side because of the components replaced, electricity and etc. If you charge reasonable, the profit margin gained can't even cover your time spent on troubleshooting it. I'm here not to discourage you to stop repairing ATX power supply, however if you have the time, have contacts getting cheap power supply components, easy to access many power supply schematic diagrams and etc then you may go ahead to repair it.

Okay back to the article, one of my customers had asked me to repair his ATX power supply. I told him to get a new one (since it was very cheap) but he said he couldn't find one that suits his customer's CPU. He wanted a power supply that is either same size or smaller then the original one with same or higher specification but all he could find was a standard size power supply!

As a favors to my customer, I would do my best to help him to repair the ATX power supply. When the power supply was switch on, measurements were taken. The results were over voltage. The 12 volts line shot up to 13 + volt and the 5 volts line became 5.6 volts. After the casing was removed, I found the inside was very dirty and I used a vacuum cleaner and a brush to clean off the dirt. Then I saw four filter electrolytic capacitors had bulged at the top casing.

As you know, we as electronic repairers can't just see things at only one side; we have to see the other sides too. What I mean was, try to see if there are any suspicious components that contributed to the failure of the power supply such as broken components, dry joints, loose connection, decay glue and etc before start checking the suspected area.

What I saw was at the primary side there were some components covered with decayed glue as seen in the picture. I have to carefully remove it by scrapping off the layers of the decayed glue while preserving the outer layers of the components. Once it was done, I clean it with the Thinner solution. Decayed glue could cause serious or intermittent problem in electronic equipment because it can be conductive.

If you repair any ATX power supply, make sure you check the fan too because some power supply failure was due to heat caused by a faulty fan. The purpose of the fan is to suck out all the heat generated by the components inside the power supply. In order for the fan to run smooth, you can service it by using a Philips oil base spray as shown in the photo.

Once the four electrolytic capacitors were replaced and the decayed glue removed, I then have to plug it into a junk motherboard together with a hard disk to test the performance of the ATX power supply and measure all of its output voltages. It seems like the output voltages were back to normal. Once everything is okay I then test it in a working CPU to check for the display.

The reason I test it with a junk motherboard first as a way not to cause my good motherboard to go bad just in case if the output voltages is still very high. Better safe than regret later. By the way you can't test a power supply without load otherwise it may turned on for a while and then shut down. If you do not have a junk motherboard you can always at least connect a hard drive and a wire jumper to its connector to turn on the ATX power supply.

Do you know that most ATX power supply is using dual schottky barrier rectifiers to convert the ac wave into DC voltages? Even in LCD Monitor power supply, a dual schottky were used in the rectification too. For your information, checking schottky diode is different from checking a normal diode. With analog meter set to X10 K ohms, it should show some leakage reading when doing the reverse bias test. If this component becomes faulty it is very easy to get a replacement, of course you have to get one with the right specification. That's all for today, hope you enjoy the article and come back more often to check out for any latest repair techniques that I'm going to share to you.

Jet-Set Extravagance Courtesy Lamborghini Reventon

Few car makers (if any) have the reputation of Lamborghini. Since the early sixties, Lamborghini has produced exotic vehicles that inspire drool and envy - including the Miura, the Countach (which helped popularize sharp-angled sports cars) and the Diablo. And, yet, the latest Lamborghini model still manages to top its maker's reputation.

With a sleek, dark-gray (or "matte gray" as it is called) exterior, gazing at the Lamborghini Reventón is like staring into the future. Everything about the vehicle screams cool. That statement can be taken both figuratively or literally since the Reventón includes a number of unique external features designed to keep components from overheating at high speeds. Extraction fans positioned below its rear LED brake lights pull hot air from the engine, and opaque fins attached to the aluminum rims help cool the ceramic brake rotors. Other than the roof and doors (which are constructed of steel), all the body panels (and even the rim fins) are made of a carbon-fiber composite. The interior of the vehicle is no less impressive, with comfortable suede and shiny carbon fiber everywhere. But that's not the interior's most impressive component - that would be the dashboard display. Featuring three LCD screens, the driver can choose among various modes for the gauges - including a jet mode with a G-force meter.

If the jet connection seems appropriate, it goes deeper - the Reventón was intentionally designed with a jet feel in mind. Inspired by the stealth F-22 Raptor, one of the world's most effective fighter planes, Lamborghini's director of brand and design, Manfred Fitzgerald had each of his designers create a vision for the Reventón based on the jet. Fitzgerald then chose the design he liked best and sent the team to work refining it. Still, despite all the bells and whistles on the design end, in terms of performance, the Reventón actually doesn't do much more than the Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. Like the Murciélago, the Reventón has a V-12 engine, is controlled via a six-speed manual transmission and tops out at a similar speed of 211 mph. While the Reventón has a slight edge over the Murciélago in horsepower (650 instead of 640), the Murciélago has a slightly quicker pick up time (0 to 62 mph in 3.3 seconds compared to the Reventón's 3.4 seconds).

Certainly, though, no one will confuse the tag on the Reventón with the Murciélago's $300,000 ballpark price. The limited-edition piece of automotive artwork costs nearly $1.4 million (or 1 million euros). And don't get your hopes up, millionaires - only 21 Reventóns will be built and all of them have already been sold (with the exception of one car which will be stowed away in the Lamborghini vault). So, if not to make money (the costs of producing the vehicles doesn't leave room for much profit), what's the point? More than anything, the Reventón is a reassertion of Lamborghini's high-end position in the car industry. While it may not necessarily be practical to produce a wildly expensive car simply for visual appeal in a world of economic woes and debilitating gas prices, there is something to be said for the awe of excess. And nobody does awe or excess quite like Lamborghini.

Diablo 3 *Monk Trailer and Gameplay* (HQ 16:9)

Diablo 3 new class revealed! Enjoy the movie! Diablo 3 Monk trailer and gameplay! visit: www.diablo3.com if you are Polish visit www.diablo.phx.pl for the best d3site. Diablo 3 Monk trailer and gameplay! Diablo 3 Monk trailer and gameplay! Diablo 3 Monk trailer and gameplay!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0aakGdBSl8&hl=en

Diablo 3 - Deckard Cain GPS Voice Pack

diablo.incgamers.com This is part of the April Fool's joke by Blizzard in 2010, here compiled for easy "enjoyment" on video. The man in the pictures is the Blizzard's Diablo 3 Community Manager Bashiok.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y593kChlV6w&hl=en

Diablo 2 Español - Muestras de Doblaje - Parte 1

Muestras de doblaje de Diablo II y Diablo II Señor de la Destrucción en Español, centrado en los personajes dentro del juego. Actos 1-3. Este video ha sido creado para un artículo en www.diablo3-esp.com. www.diablo3-esp.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztEq10_aQss&hl=en

The Top Five PC RPG Games

Role-playing games have been around for over three decades.  During that time, there have been a horde of great RPGs for the PC.  Here is a list of five of the best PC RPG games ever.

This list was created using the following rules:

- Only one game per title series may be included - The game must be an RPG - The game must be available for the PC - The game must not be an MMORPG

#5 - Fable - Fable was released in 2006 and published by Microsoft.  The game received critical acclaim even before its release.  The game ended up selling over two million copies in its first two years and was the top selling game upon its release.  There were also follow-up games that Fable spawned, one of which included Fable 2.

#4 - Final Fantasy VII - Final Fantasy VII has been credited as the game which helped console role-playing games find a market outside of Japan.  Although it was a very successful console game, it also was one of the most successful PC RPGs ever.  The Final Fantasy series is one of the most popular RPG series ever, possibly the greatest.  And Final Fantasy VII is the best of the best.

#3 - Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - This is the third installment of the Elder Scroll series which was released in 2002.  Morrowind received very high review scores upon release.  It has spawned multiple expansions and follow-up games.  

#2 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - This RPG was one of the highest scoring RPGs by reviewers ever.  It is set in, arguably, the most well-known space opera or sci-fi setting ever, Star Wars.  But the setting was a newer setting developed at the time of its release.  Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic won numerous awards, including Game of the Year, Best Console RPG, and Best Computer RPG from multiple reviewers.  BioWare and LucasArts are currently creating an MMORPG based off of the game series called, Star Wars: The Old Republic.

#1 - Fallout 3 - This action role-playing game was released by Bethesda Game Studios to rave reviews.  It sold over 610,000 units during its first months of release, making it one of the most successful RPG releases ever.  It won numerous awards during its release, including Game of the Year, Best PC Game, Best RPG, Best Xbox 360 Game, and many more.  

There are numerous other PC RPGs that could have made the list.  Some of the games that came close to making the cut are Diablo, Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, and Might & Magic 6: The Mandate of Heaven.  There are definitely many other games that could have made this list.  Even within the games that were chosen there are several other great choices in the series.  But this is a pretty solid list of the best PC RPG games ever.

Bearded Dragons Shedding - Is Skin Exfoliation A Problem?

A bearded dragon sheds its skin regularly. In order for this to happen, he requires the correct conditions. In captivity these conditions are aided by a basking lamp and warm environment. Together with exfoliation would be the sun lamp. As I mentioned, dragons love to bask in the sun. To create this environment, we give them a basking lamp under which they sit for hours. (Don't forget natural sun is very important for him - being a desert creature, he needs large amounts of Vitamin D).

The skin comes off in large patches. Don't help them to pull it off--you can damage the new skin underneath. Letting them soak in shallow warm (98 deg) water or misting them helps shedding. Exfoliating dragon

Going into shed is not a real fun thing for beardies. Most get rather cranky during this time, with some becoming hissy or snappy, objecting to being held or touched. The best thing to do is to respect their ill-feeling as much as possible. Some beardies will greatly reduce their food intake during a shed, others stop eating altogether until after they have shed. Offer a nice warm bath to help keep the skin moist and offer fluids for beardies that are off food.

Problems during Shedding

A problem shed is a shed that isn't happening like a normal, healthy shed should. Adult beardies normally shed in pieces, a problem shed would be where it is taking too long, or where skin is retained in problem areas, such as around toes, spikes, and tails. A problem shed is a sign of an even greater, underlying problem. When a problem shed occurs, or one that is too slow to start or finish, you need to figure out why it is happening and correct the problem.

- First, analyze the environment, diet, etc. Are their any signs of pain and discomfort?

- Correct the problem (adjust heat, lighting, photoperiods, diet, etc.).

- If the beardie has started shedding, but not properly completed a shed, you can help it along. Soak them in a tub of warm water (95-99 degrees F) for 10-15 minutes, then begin gently rubbing their skin. Make sure the skin is removed from their toes, spikes, and tails.

- If there is still retained shed in these problem areas, wrap the wet beardie in a warm damp towel, then wrap that in a dry towel. Sit down with it for 5 minutes or so, then expose a small area of the crest, or a foot, and begin to gently work at the retained skin.

- If there are several layers or one very resistant layer, rub some mineral oil into the area while the beardie is still wet from the bath. This will help lock the moisture from the bath into that area. Do this for a couple of days (bath followed by the mineral oil worked into the skin); this should get enough water wicked up between the layers of skin to make them very easy to remove.

You might wonder as to where all the shedded skin has gone. Some beardies will occasionally eat some of their shed. This is not a problem as long as the beardie is maintained in a clean environment.