Dear Jack,
I used to use one of the original laptops to write letters on the road, but
it's been in the back of the closet for the years that I've had a desk job.
Now, with the Bush recession, I'm back on the road, however, the old
laptop is completely dead, and the repair shop says it'll take maybe $65
for parts, plus a minimum of $50 for labor. I don't need e-mail, I don't
need the Internet, I don't need graphics, all I need to do is write TXT
files, which the old laptop did nicely. Furthermore, it plugged into the
cigarette lighter socket, so I had "unlimited" power with the old
machine. Even used replacement computers cost hundreds of dollars,
and all are a lot more machine than I need. Are there any cheapo fix it
shops for old computers?
Cheapskate from Phoenix
Dear Cheapskate from Phoenix,
Yes, there is a cheapo fix it shop. Look in the mirror! This is not rocket science. You probably have a dead battery--it won't
take a charge, so the computer won't run even with the AC power
supply plugged in. (With some units, the AC charges the battery; the
computer actually only runs directly from the battery.) You can get a
new battery for your computer for $45, plus shipping and handling, but
if you are a real cheapskate, you can fix the whole thing for less than
$5.00. Here's how. Your original battery is a 4.8 volt NiCd rated at 1300 mAh. It consists
of four 1.2 volt cells in a shrink-wrapped pack. One of the cheapest
sources for these kinds of cells is Harbor Freight Tools, which sells a 9.6
volt replacement battery for a portable drill for $3.99.
Wrong voltage, you say? But if you take this battery apart, you will discover that it is really eight 1.2 volt cells, twice what you need.
So, all you have to do is take the Harbor Freight battery apart, then reconfigure the cells to match those in your laptop. Carefully unscrew your computer case to gain access to the internal battery. You will see that you need to wire the cells in series so that you get 1.2 + 1.2 + 1.2 + 1.2 volts, but you need to place the cells in a parallel stack so that they fit inside the computer.
You can use electrical tape to hold everything in place if you don't have shrink wrap. Once you have the cells right, clip off the lead and connector from the original battery, and solder it to your new battery pack. Put it in the computer, then screw the case halves together, and you're ready to crank out those text files.
If you are a real cheapskate, you will not want to waste those extra four NiCd cells from the Harbor Freight battery. On eBay I found another computer of the same model with the same apparent problem. The starting bid was $1.00, and there was otherwise no interest in the "vintage" MS-DOS machine, so for $1.00 (plus $9.95 shipping) you could get a backup computer. By doing your own repair work, you could have two computers suitable for your (albeit limited) needs for less than $15.00. No only is this being cheap, this could put you in the running for the "Okie of the Year" award! *
Jack Bourbon's advice column will be found in the features section at
newsNH.com.
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