Take it Apart, Clean it, & Put it Back Together Method (TiA-Ci-PiBT)
(c) 1967 Copyright David Dilworth, Hal Williams & Alan Williams
SpaceCraft Repair Guides
When any device stops working – from a Flashlight, to Slot-cars, to Carburetors, to Drones, to Computers to Spacecraft — there is one method that works a majority of the time – even when you don’t know how the device works!
We call it the Take it Apart, Clean it, & Put it Back Together Method.
Most recent experiment:
Inherited a Flash for a Canon EOS camera; a 220ex. Installed New batteries – no go.
Battery connections were mildly corroded. Wire brushed the connections & then I could get ohm measurements across a flat bar connecting the two battery terminals. But it still wouldn’t work; wouldn’t turn on. (I did sneak a peek at the manual to see how to turn it on)
So, took apart the 4 screws that hold it together.
Examined it and saw nothing obviously wrong, and nothing I could repair as it appeared quite complex electronics. Used a pencil eraser on the battery leads.
Put it back together without doing anything notably substantial, put batteries back in.
And SHAZAM ! – it turned on.
Put it on a camera and – IT WORKS !
Its not exactly magic, but sometimes feels like it.
🙂
As you can see this is not at all complex, nearly anyone can do it.
All you really need is Confidence and some good, but simple tools appropriate for the device.
History: We three learned this method during our fiercely fought slot-car racing careers.
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