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We're happy to announce the creation of a Restart Wiki!
What this is
Many experienced Restarters have built up considerable knowledge and experience, sometimes over a period of many years. This comprises on the one hand a knowledge of electrical, electronic and mechanical principles and theory, and on the other, experience of working with different types of gadgets and appliance, with the tips and tricks associated with each. In addition to all that, a Restarter may have a range of online resources and supliers of spare parts at his or her fingertips.
Other would-be Restarters have little or none of that but have a curiosity about how things work and why they fail, and are keen to learn.
Those of us with knowledge or experience always enjoy sharing it, and even the most experienced Restarters are aware of types of device or appliance of which they know little but would like to learn more.
Restart parties are a great opportunity to share our knowledge and experience, not only between Restarters but also with the general public who attend our events. However, there is not always time to fully explain something, or the best way of explaining it eludes one at the time, or the Restarter who is expert in a particular skill may not be present.
This is where the wiki comes in. In the course of time it is hoped to include all the basic theory a new Restarter needs, and a wide range of articles on fault-finding and repair of different types of device, as well as a list of resources for further information, tools or supplies.
What this is not
If you want to know how to fix your particular brand and model of device, you won't find it here. But hopefully you might find some tips on fixing that class of device. There are online sites containing much information on specific devices
If you're looking for in-depth electronics theory and how to design circuits, you won't find it here. But hopefully you'll find enough on basic circuit principles to have a good stab at fault-finding at a general level. There are online courses and reference sites which will take you as far as you want to go and further.
If you want to know where to get a specific spare part, you won't find it here. But hopefully you might get some clues as to how to find a supplier.
Who this is for
In the spirit of sharing knowledge as widely as possible, everyone is welcome to read what's here, and gain from it whatever they can. (Access may be restricted until a basic range of information has been assembled.)
If you wish to reuse anything here, please do so under the terms of the Creative Commons ShareAlike Licence 3.0.
In order to maintain reasonable quality and because we don't have the resources to moderate updates, editing is restricted to Restart Project members known personally to the organisers. (If you qualify, contact the organisers for an account. If you're not familiar with editing a wiki, see User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.
Getting started
List of pages
The following pages currently exist. (Those in red don't yet exist but are projected.)
General
- Style guide - Let's give this wiki a reasonably consistent look and feel.
- Tools - Our list of useful tools for community electronics repair.
- Restarter Safety Guidelines - Safety instructions to be adhered to at all Restart Parties.
- How to search - Tips on how to search for useful material.
- Resources - Good sites for fixit or disassemble guides, service manuals etc.
Basic electrics and electronics
- Electric circuits, volts amps watts and ohms - what every Restarter should know.
- PAT testing survival guide.
- Electronic components - recognition, failure modes and testing.
- Power supplies - how they work, what can go wrong, and how to test and fix them.
- Electric motors - different types, how to recognise them, test them and maybe fix them.
Mobile electronic devices
Feature phones
Smart phones (except Apple)
iPods, iPhones, iPads
Cameras
Audio/visual
- How to mend Headphones
Computers (desktop and laptop)
- USB bootable tools
- How to deal with a slow laptop - mainly Windows oriented.
- How to speed up a slow OS X computer.
- Linux migration
- Clean up! Cool down! - dealing with dust build-up and overheating in laptop and desktop computers.
- Advanced hard disk tools
Computer peripherals and networking
- Troubleshooting inkjet printers.
Domestic appliances
Scratch Pad
Unfinished articles