Monday, May 01, 2006

Wired for Sound

This is the post that will make Dad pop the top three buttons off his shirt. Dad is the champion tearer-aparter-and-put-'er-back-together-better of ALL TIME. Seriously, the man once swapped the engine out of his Dodge pickup with the one in his Grandmother's cadillac (and back!) in one weekend, just because he could. He builds stuff on his lathe for people who can't get the parts they need, made anywhere else. I remember dozens of Polaroids scattered on the living room floor with pictures of various electronic components , in various states of disassembly, so that he would know how to re-assemble whatever it was he took apart. During one such session, I was given a brief lesson in looking for cracks in the soldering on the insides of a stereo. It lasted maybe 30 seconds, and "OK, whatever Dad, get on with your bad self".

Fast forward 20 or so years, when my computer speakers stopped working and I suspected a problem with where the power cord attached to the speaker. I did a quick search on E-bay and discovered my stereo speakers were still selling for about $70. That's a no-go with the budget lady in me. I put off tearing the thing apart for a couple months, but finally broke down and did it today. When I popped off the cover, lo-and-behold, the familiar sight of soldered wires on a board, and it took me no time at all to discern where the problem was. After talking M out of trying to heat up a screwdriver with my stovetop to repair the solder, I went and purchased a handy-dandy soldering iron. Upon returning to the house, M's men-only, new-tool-in-the-house-senses drew him out of his room to "complete the repair" for me. After he mucked up the soldering job, and I reassembled the speaker, only for it to break moments later, I took it apart again, and fixed it myself. Yes, Dad, all by myself, I tore apart my speaker, (twice!) cleaned and soldered up the connections and put it all back together. And it works. And there are no parts left over. And thanks, Dad.

8 comments:

Papa said...

Cool! My Dad was kind of a handyman, but not too much into detailed stuff. I've just picked it up over the years, usually because, like you, I was too cheap, or broke to pay someone else. Sometimes I had to give up and admit it was outside of my skill level. Keep up the good work.

Gabriela said...

Good for you!! I am so impressed. I have no talents in this area.

Unknown said...

Can I live next to you so I can call you when I need help fixing something??? You are so talented!

Anonymous said...

i'm 100% impressed!

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh what a man!! and you soddering with a hot screw driver amazing!!

Nettie said...

Aren't you the handy woman! I once fixed my toaster and thought I was the Bomb. Isn't it funny how as a mom you can accomplish way more challenging things, really, and not bat an eye, but you try and do something in the man's arena and it just tickles you!

Lei said...

How fortunate you are to have inherited the handy dandy trait! Impressive!!!

Thanks for stopping by... :)

Amber said...

My parent's fixed everything themselves. THey didn't have the money to buy stuf- so they fixed it. Now I attempt the same thing. I've pulled apart and fixed several little appliances in the house- and have attempted and given up on a couple of larger appliances. The 'I can do' attitude confuses my dh who grew up in a family of 'call a repairman' or 'go get a new one' people.