Topicle BetaFellow Australians, if you're proud of something you've been working on - from a blinking LED to a mad robot, share it in this group to inspire others.
t/electronics
Fellow Australians, if you're proud of something you've been working on - from a blinking LED to a mad robot, share it in this group to inspire others.
7 comments
Not an Aussie, but just to get things going I'll mention the HP C4480 printer, which was also sold in the Australian market.
Long story short, mine started to print very slowly, so I set it aside and then bought a new Brother printer and used it for about a decade. When the touchscreen gave out, I had another look at the C4480.
Two of the capacitors rated for 330uf were testing around 514-517, so I replaced them along with the ink cartridges, fired the printer up and it ran like new.
BUT...the problem causing it to run slowly was most likely the old cartridges and not the caps.
Still, it was a worthwhile effort because newer HP printers have "dynamic security", which is corporate-speak for "This printer will only run on our own overpriced proprietary cartridges".
I just bought a Brother laser recently because the cartridge lasts 2-3 years of moderate use, as opposed to inkjets which typically last 3-6 months. Printer ink is famously more expensive per millilitre than gold, champagne, even human blood - the printer industry is a massive racket. Rehabilitating an old printer with electronics knowledge is a really smart move.
Laser printer ink is usually a dry powder, which doesn't deteriorate like the liquid inks used in inkjets.
The C4480 is an inkjet, but the print head is integrated into the ink cartridge, which makes it easier to deal with vs. other inkjet printers. If it clogs, you just remove the cartridge and wipe the head down with a wet paper towel.
To kick things off, we're slowly making some numitron clock kits.
https://imgur.com/a/U7O4cZg
ATmega328P driving some TLIC5916 LED drivers, one per numitron. This allows for brightness control without using PWM which is bad for the incandescent elements of numitrons.
Speaking of which, Mega328 is what powers the capacitor tester mentioned in my other comments.
Interesting, thanks
Very cool!