'Someone' Set Us Up The Bomb

Near tragedy was averted today, thanks to some quick thinking and desperate soldering. The semester has officially ended, so yours truly had to haul all of his earthly belongings back home. This means a certain home-network needed to be set up again, since certain family members refuse to go without internet access and yours truly's computer is rarely left unattended.



7.5V devices do not like 10V power sources. This is an intractable rule of nature, much like the one stating that lameduckie cannot dance. It should not be done, and if it is, disaster may result. Insufficient care was taken as a Linksys 5-Port Hub was powered up by a cable with an un-checked voltage rating. Above illustrates what resulted as a 100uF capacitor overloaded, self-destructed, and caught fire.



After extinguishing and disassembly, a desperate plan to save the stricken hub was conjured-up, since we were too lazy to cut open a piece of CAT5 and make it a crossover cable. We made a quick visit to a local Radio Shack, where they needed to know where we lived in order to sell us a 99¢ replacement capacitor.

After some amateurish soldering, prayers offered, and holy water sprinkled, the hub was powered back up (with the right DC brick). To our amazement, this little trick worked. A replaced capacitor breathed new life into the $20 hub, and with the internet connection shared, a family crisis was averted.

Almost more excitement than I can handle, but this was shortly after the PT-40 incident described in tomorrow's edition. This kind of entertainment almost makes up for the social life I lack!