Dremel 3000 Suddenly Stopped Working - Fix

I had my Dremel 3000 for about 3 years but in that time it had probably only had about 30 minutes use if that. You can imagine my surprise when having just started to remove rust from an escutcheon plate from my front door it stopped dead. No, a fuse had not blown, it doesn't have one. Neither had the fuse in the plug top blown. So what had caused this good as new Dremmel to depart this mortal coil?

A quick Google and perusal of a couple of video's suggested that assuming the brushes were in good order, they were, the fine copper wire from one or more of the Stator windings may have broken.

I followed the tear down in this video on Youtube:-

https://youtu.be/KOnnYD9UQS0

The broken wire can be seen at 2.36 minutes in.

Following the steps in the video I had no problem dismantling the Dremel or in rebuilding.

The broken wire was repaired by unwinding half a turn from the affected winding and after removing the broken wire from the termination clip, see the video, I inserted the wire and reinserted the termination clip. Be careful you do not snap the fine wire again.

Reassemble the Dremel without having any bits left over at the end, Make sure you do not lose the circular steel spring from the rotor shaft lock button in the process.

I am delighted to say the Dremel burst into life when switched on. Job done! For how long remains to be seen.

iPhone 4s Weak Wifi Reception Fix

The wifi signal on my iPhone 4S had been getting worse and worse. At first I thought this was just the distance from my router, but at the same location in the house the reception on my iPad was still 4 bars and on my phone 2 or 1. A web search revealed that deterioration in WiFi reception was a known issue with the iPhone 4S. A couple of articles and forum posts suggested that this was due to an internal screw loosening off.

As my iPhone 4S is coming up for changing and is out of warranty I thought I would have a go at fixing the problem following the suggestions in these various articles.

WARNING:- opening your iPhone will invalidate your warranty so think carefully before you start fiddling.

Fixing the problem involves removing the back and tightening the relevant screw. A simple job one would think. Nothing about an Apple product is ever simple. The back is held in place by 2 pentalobe tamper resistant screws. The chance of have the appropriate screw driver in your kit is remote. They look like a Tork screw but they are quite different. I purchased a kit from Maplins at a cost of £6.99 but you can buy iPhone 4S tool kits on the Internet from a variety of source including Amazon. Warning do not attempt this job without the correct tools.

The first link I found gives a step by step photo sequence for removing the back and getting access tpo the screw in question but unfortunately the most important shot of the screw is misleading, there is no screw! So I have added the image below which clearly shows to screw that needs to be tightened. 

IMPORTANT: it is very easy to damage the pentalobe screw slots so be VERY careful when removing and replacing any screw. Make sure the tip of the screw driver is full engaged in the slot. It is also easy to strip threads so do not over-tighten.



Instructions for removing the back of the phone link.

This photo on the left shows the screw you need to tighten. In my phone the metal shield that this screw holds in place was silver not black as here.

It is a good idea to check the tightness of all the screws you can see. In my phone they were all slightly loose.

 
























NOTE: If you experience wifi problems after having a screen replaced you may find that this screw could be missing completely or more likely the small metal contact that is underneath the screw is missing, see the photo below.

If you want to swap your pentalobe screws for Phillips screws or if you have a problem removing or replacing the pentalobe screws see this article in IFIXIT.  Link

Article updated 2.2.14

Dell Monitor Power Button Failure

The power (on/off) button on my Dell 2407 WFP-HC monitor failed, fortunately in the ON position. Despite the monitor being about 8 years old it works perfectly well and I had no intentions of trashing it, so was it fixable? Lo and behold first Google search result was a YouTube video, in 4 parts, of how to repair the power button on a Dell 2407 WFP monitor by thinkofwhy.

I would advise watching all 4 videos before starting. Watch out where he mentions removing the stand and rear cover in part 4.  Removing the rear cover will make the removal of the circuit board that holds the switches much easier and its replacement. It is important to replace the button in the correct orientation, that is with the line vertical. Before I got to dismantling my monitor I discovered that if I used a blob of Blue Tack pressed on the button and turned the button to the correct orientation I could operate the button.

The problem is if your button fails in the OFF position you will not be able to watch these videos.  From the number of comments on the video's this is a common problem with this and other Dell monitors so even if yours is working ok check these instructions out before it is too late.

Part 1       

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4