The world's oldest intact computer is turning 60 in Victoria.

[Mr.T]

An expensive consumable cheaper than snipping out a couple of wires -

how?!


Sorry, I assumed you charged them money for your time!
And pulling a PC power supply apart to snip the wires, is not a 5 second
job. A few minutes and one tube of araldite would probably do all their
computers.
But as long as you both were happy.....

MrT.

 

[Rod Speed]

An expensive consumable cheaper than snipping out a couple of wires - how?!

By being cheaper than your time and something they could do themselves.

 

[Bob Larter]

An expensive consumable cheaper than snipping out a couple of wires - how?!

Epoxy would be something that they could apply themselves without the
time & expense of having someone open up the PC.

 

[terryc]

Epoxy would be something that they could apply themselves without the
time & expense of having someone open up the PC.

Lol, and just who on the school staff do you think should have done it?

And, I've seen some epoxy stuff not bond well and fall off.

 

[Rod Speed]

If I'd told them how to stop vandals blowing up the PC PSUs I would
have done myself out of a lot of paid work.

What an arsehole.

Making sure the vandals cant do it again while I have the PSU apart
reduces the chances of it blowing up again within the warranty period.

Vandalism isnt covered by the warranty, fuckwit.

 

[Rod Speed]

Here in the UK, we have health & safety rules that literally make us a
laughing stock.

Any visible bodge like aralditing a switch would get someone sacked.

Only in your pathetic little fantasyland.

 

[Rod Speed]

There was a local shop that paid me to remove the 110V link from a
whole order of open frame PSUs they had shipped from the US. It would
have been dead easy for them to simply move the jumper lead from the
110V position to the 220V pin.

They could have simply instructed their field service engineers to
check the jumper before fitting, they just decided it was less hassle
to get me to remove the jumper links.

Fools abound. No news.

 

[Rod Speed]

Here in the UK, we have health & safety rules that literally make us a
laughing stock.

Any visible bodge like aralditing a switch would get someone sacked.

Superglue in the switch wouldnt even be visible.

 

[terryc]

Here in the UK, we have health & safety rules that literally make us a
laughing stock.

In Australia, we have an endless supply of "parents(pricks and cnuts)"
that do not value the work put into educating their child and think
teachers have endless time on their hands. Now if those same P&Cs
actually purchased simple stuff like books for the home, there children
would have done far better at school. Instead, they highly value
mediocrity and show, unfortunately why those OH&S rules were created. I
really prefer Darwin's concept.

 

[Rod Speed]

The customer would argue that the repair failed under warranty

And it would be obvious that the little arseholes had just repeated their previous stunt.

and I'd be hard pressed to prove a vandal flicked the 110V switch.

Wrong, as always. The effect of doing that stands out like dogs balls.

And using that mindlessly silly line, the supplier of the PC would have
done something about the switch before it was supplied in the first place.

 

[Rod Speed]

You are the new Philthy - I claim my £5.

You never ever could bullshit your way out of a wet paper bag.

 

[Rod Speed]

I see you've already tried it as an enema - you're full of shit.

You never ever could bullshit and lie your way out of a wet paper bag.

 

[Hunter]

For a while I got a fair bit of work from local schools & colleges replacing
burst electrolytics and repairing smoked SMPSU primaries - some students
apparently thought it was funny to lean round the back of the PC and flick
the 110/220 switch.

As the switch only closes for 110V I offered the service of removing the
wires to prevent repeat sabotage.

We had a couple go like that where I work many years ago, rather than
waste a shitload of manhours following the approach of having to
dismantle each and every PSU we just applied super-glue to all classroom
PC PSU's which had the switch and told our supplier that all future PC's
were to come with PSU's without that switch. Fixed quickly and cheaply,
those you dealt with obviously had money to burn.

 

[Jasen Betts]

The customer would argue that the repair failed under warranty and I'd be
hard pressed to prove a vandal flicked the 110V switch.

I've seen seals fitted over that switch, a flimsy paper "warranty void
if tampered" label, but a seal nonethless.

 

[terryc]

Most of the PC PSUs I handled were sub-contracted out to me by a local
computer service company, I've no doubt the end user was charged
substantially more than my repair fee.

AAaah, one of those. When I was active in the game, I just accumulated
blown PSUs and eventually another kid decided they were going to get into
"computer/electronic repairs" and offered a $10/$20 introductory PSU
repair service. I would send all the blown PSU's to them for repair and
customers had the choice of a new one or a cheaper repaired one.

 

[Mr.T]

What time? - The PSU is already apart to repair the blown up primary side,

Fair enough, but I was thinking of all the other ones that aren't blown up
yet.
I guess you would prefer they don't do anything about those just yet

And I'm amazed you can repair a PSU cheaper than installing a new one these
days anyway. I doubt they are the most expensive ones on the market.
I sure don't bother with the typical $20-$30 items. And I wouldn't pull a
new one apart until it's warranty expires.

MrT.

 

[Hunter]

Most of the PC PSUs I handled were sub-contracted out to me by a local
computer service company, I've no doubt the end user was charged
substantially more than my repair fee.

Even without the middle-man super-glue and common sense in purchasing
would've been much wiser. We could've disconnected the switches
ourselves, but the man-hours involved made it a very bad solution as
opposed to super-glue and making sure we received no more. That being
said if someone is silly enough to pay you to go to that extent you'd be
mad not to take the money!

 

[Mr.T]

Several manufacturers use non-generic PC PSUs and charge outrageous prices
for replacements.

Which is exactly why they do it, and exactly why I simply refuse to buy
their crap!

MrT.

 

[Mr.T]

As has already cropped up in this thread, I made a big mistake not buying
anti tamper stickers to put over the 110V switch.

Buying? You simply print your own and sign it. You still have the problem of
proving it ever existed if it can be removed (impossible to stop on polished
metal cases) so it all comes down to how hard both of you are prepared to
fight anyway. The sticker is merely a deterrent.

MrT.

 

[Mr.T]

You can buy anti-tamper stickers that disintegrate if anyone tries to peel
them off, even if they scrubbed the fragments off with solvent there would
be particles in the switch slider to give the game away.

I doubt it. The slider is recessed and the sticker probably wouldn't touch
it. If it did, it wouldn't stick that well to the plastic, and if by some
chance it did, the same solvent would remove it from there as well.

BTW, most anti tamper stickers are simply cut in a number of places. Easy
enough to do your own with a scalpel unless you need large amounts.
A drop of super glue under the label also works well.

MrT.