Restarters
Talk
Fixometer
Events
Groups
Wiki
Workbench
Sign in
Join
Wiki
Wiki Help
More
Translate
Language statistics
Message group statistics
Export
Export translations
Settings
Group
Carbon-based gadgets
Case Studies
Comment comprendre les anglais
Diagnosing faults
Finding a reliable professional
Glossary:AC
Glossary:Bluetooth
Glossary:DC
Glossary:Electricity
Glossary:Ethernet
Glossary:Halogen Lamp
Glossary:Hard Disk
Glossary:Jack
Glossary:Multimeter
Glossary:Open Source
Glossary:Pixel
Glossary:Spam
Glossary:Torque
Glossary:Torx
Glossary:WiFi
How to search
Main Page
Resources
Scared to Repair?
Spare parts
Stuff
Style guide
Tools
Translation
Water damage
Language
aa - Afar
ab - Abkhazian
abs - Ambonese Malay
ace - Achinese
ady - Adyghe
ady-cyrl - Adyghe (Cyrillic script)
aeb - Tunisian Arabic
aeb-arab - Tunisian Arabic (Arabic script)
aeb-latn - Tunisian Arabic (Latin script)
af - Afrikaans
ak - Akan
aln - Gheg Albanian
alt - Southern Altai
am - Amharic
ami - Amis
an - Aragonese
ang - Old English
anp - Angika
ar - Arabic
arc - Aramaic
arn - Mapuche
arq - Algerian Arabic
ary - Moroccan Arabic
arz - Egyptian Arabic
as - Assamese
ase - American Sign Language
ast - Asturian
atj - Atikamekw
av - Avaric
avk - Kotava
awa - Awadhi
ay - Aymara
az - Azerbaijani
azb - South Azerbaijani
ba - Bashkir
ban - Balinese
ban-bali - ᬩᬲᬩᬮᬶ
bar - Bavarian
bbc - Batak Toba
bbc-latn - Batak Toba (Latin script)
bcc - Southern Balochi
bci - wawle
bcl - Central Bikol
be - Belarusian
be-tarask - Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)
bg - Bulgarian
bgn - Western Balochi
bh - Bhojpuri
bho - Bhojpuri
bi - Bislama
bjn - Banjar
blk - ပအိုဝ်ႏဘာႏသာႏ
bm - Bambara
bn - Bangla
bo - Tibetan
bpy - Bishnupriya
bqi - Bakhtiari
br - Breton
brh - Brahui
bs - Bosnian
btm - Batak Mandailing
bto - Iriga Bicolano
bug - Buginese
bxr - Russia Buriat
ca - Catalan
cbk-zam - Chavacano
cdo - Min Dong Chinese
ce - Chechen
ceb - Cebuano
ch - Chamorro
cho - Choctaw
chr - Cherokee
chy - Cheyenne
ckb - Central Kurdish
co - Corsican
cps - Capiznon
cr - Cree
crh - Crimean Turkish
crh-cyrl - Crimean Tatar (Cyrillic script)
crh-latn - Crimean Tatar (Latin script)
cs - Czech
csb - Kashubian
cu - Church Slavic
cv - Chuvash
cy - Welsh
da - Danish
dag - Dagbani
de - German
de-at - Austrian German
de-ch - Swiss High German
de-formal - German (formal address)
din - Dinka
diq - Zazaki
dsb - Lower Sorbian
dtp - Central Dusun
dty - Doteli
dv - Divehi
dz - Dzongkha
ee - Ewe
egl - Emilian
el - Greek
eml - Emiliano-Romagnolo
en - English
en-ca - Canadian English
en-gb - British English
eo - Esperanto
es - Spanish
es-419 - Latin American Spanish
es-formal - español (formal)
et - Estonian
eu - Basque
ext - Extremaduran
fa - Persian
ff - Fulah
fi - Finnish
fit - Tornedalen Finnish
fj - Fijian
fo - Faroese
fon - Fon
fr - French
frc - Cajun French
frp - Arpitan
frr - Northern Frisian
fur - Friulian
fy - Western Frisian
ga - Irish
gaa - Ga
gag - Gagauz
gan - Gan Chinese
gan-hans - Gan (Simplified)
gan-hant - Gan (Traditional)
gcr - Guianan Creole
gd - Scottish Gaelic
gl - Galician
gld - на̄ни
glk - Gilaki
gn - Guarani
gom - Goan Konkani
gom-deva - Goan Konkani (Devanagari script)
gom-latn - Goan Konkani (Latin script)
gor - Gorontalo
got - Gothic
grc - Ancient Greek
gsw - Swiss German
gu - Gujarati
guc - Wayuu
gur - Frafra
guw - gungbe
gv - Manx
ha - Hausa
hak - Hakka Chinese
haw - Hawaiian
he - Hebrew
hi - Hindi
hif - Fiji Hindi
hif-latn - Fiji Hindi (Latin script)
hil - Hiligaynon
ho - Hiri Motu
hr - Croatian
hrx - Hunsrik
hsb - Upper Sorbian
hsn - Xiang Chinese
ht - Haitian Creole
hu - Hungarian
hu-formal - magyar (formal)
hy - Armenian
hyw - Western Armenian
hz - Herero
ia - Interlingua
id - Indonesian
ie - Interlingue
ig - Igbo
ii - Sichuan Yi
ik - Inupiaq
ike-cans - Eastern Canadian (Aboriginal syllabics)
ike-latn - Eastern Canadian (Latin script)
ilo - Iloko
inh - Ingush
io - Ido
is - Icelandic
it - Italian
iu - Inuktitut
ja - Japanese
jam - Jamaican Creole English
jbo - Lojban
jut - Jutish
jv - Javanese
ka - Georgian
kaa - Kara-Kalpak
kab - Kabyle
kbd - Kabardian
kbd-cyrl - Kabardian (Cyrillic script)
kbp - Kabiye
kcg - Tyap
kea - Kabuverdianu
kg - Kongo
khw - Khowar
ki - Kikuyu
kiu - Kirmanjki
kj - Kuanyama
kjp - Eastern Pwo
kk - Kazakh
kk-arab - Kazakh (Arabic script)
kk-cn - Kazakh (China)
kk-cyrl - Kazakh (Cyrillic script)
kk-kz - Kazakh (Kazakhstan)
kk-latn - Kazakh (Latin script)
kk-tr - Kazakh (Turkey)
kl - Kalaallisut
km - Khmer
kn - Kannada
ko - Korean
ko-kp - Korean (North Korea)
koi - Komi-Permyak
kr - Kanuri
krc - Karachay-Balkar
kri - Krio
krj - Kinaray-a
krl - Karelian
ks - Kashmiri
ks-arab - Kashmiri (Arabic script)
ks-deva - Kashmiri (Devanagari script)
ksh - Colognian
ksw - စှီၤ
ku - Kurdish
ku-arab - Kurdish (Arabic script)
ku-latn - Kurdish (Latin script)
kum - Kumyk
kv - Komi
kw - Cornish
ky - Kyrgyz
la - Latin
lad - Ladino
lb - Luxembourgish
lbe - Lak
lez - Lezghian
lfn - Lingua Franca Nova
lg - Ganda
li - Limburgish
lij - Ligurian
liv - Livonian
lki - Laki
lld - Ladin
lmo - Lombard
ln - Lingala
lo - Lao
loz - Lozi
lrc - Northern Luri
lt - Lithuanian
ltg - Latgalian
lus - Mizo
luz - Southern Luri
lv - Latvian
lzh - Literary Chinese
lzz - Laz
mad - Madurese
mai - Maithili
map-bms - Basa Banyumasan
mdf - Moksha
mg - Malagasy
mh - Marshallese
mhr - Eastern Mari
mi - Maori
min - Minangkabau
mk - Macedonian
ml - Malayalam
mn - Mongolian
mni - Manipuri
mnw - Mon
mo - Moldovan
mr - Marathi
mrh - Mara
mrj - Western Mari
ms - Malay
ms-arab - بهاس ملايو
mt - Maltese
mus - Muscogee
mwl - Mirandese
my - Burmese
myv - Erzya
mzn - Mazanderani
na - Nauru
nah - Nāhuatl
nan - Min Nan Chinese
nap - Neapolitan
nb - Norwegian Bokmål
nds - Low German
nds-nl - Low Saxon
ne - Nepali
new - Newari
ng - Ndonga
nia - Nias
niu - Niuean
nl - Dutch
nl-informal - Nederlands (informeel)
nmz - nawdm
nn - Norwegian Nynorsk
no - Norwegian
nod - Northern Thai
nov - Novial
nqo - N’Ko
nrm - Norman
nso - Northern Sotho
nv - Navajo
ny - Nyanja
nyn - Nyankole
nys - Nyungar
oc - Occitan
ojb - Ojibwemowin
olo - Livvi-Karelian
om - Oromo
or - Odia
os - Ossetic
pa - Punjabi
pag - Pangasinan
pam - Pampanga
pap - Papiamento
pcd - Picard
pdc - Pennsylvania German
pdt - Plautdietsch
pfl - Palatine German
pi - Pali
pih - Norfuk / Pitkern
pl - Polish
pms - Piedmontese
pnb - Western Punjabi
pnt - Pontic
prg - Prussian
ps - Pashto
pt - Portuguese
pt-br - Brazilian Portuguese
pwn - Paiwan
qqq - Message documentation
qu - Quechua
qug - Chimborazo Highland Quichua
rgn - Romagnol
rif - Riffian
rm - Romansh
rmc - Carpathian Romani
rmy - Vlax Romani
rn - Rundi
ro - Romanian
roa-tara - Tarantino
rsk - руски
ru - Russian
rue - Rusyn
rup - Aromanian
ruq - Megleno-Romanian
ruq-cyrl - Megleno-Romanian (Cyrillic script)
ruq-latn - Megleno-Romanian (Latin script)
rw - Kinyarwanda
sa - Sanskrit
sah - Sakha
sat - Santali
sc - Sardinian
scn - Sicilian
sco - Scots
sd - Sindhi
sdc - Sassarese Sardinian
sdh - Southern Kurdish
se - Northern Sami
se-fi - davvisámegiella (Suoma bealde)
se-no - davvisámegiella (Norgga bealde)
se-se - davvisámegiella (Ruoŧa bealde)
sei - Seri
ses - Koyraboro Senni
sg - Sango
sgs - Samogitian
sh - Serbo-Croatian
shi - Tachelhit
shi-latn - Tachelhit (Latin script)
shi-tfng - Tachelhit (Tifinagh script)
shn - Shan
shy - Shawiya
shy-latn - Shawiya (Latin script)
si - Sinhala
simple - Simple English
sjd - Kildin Sami
sje - Pite Sami
sk - Slovak
skr - Saraiki
skr-arab - Saraiki (Arabic script)
sl - Slovenian
sli - Lower Silesian
sm - Samoan
sma - Southern Sami
smn - Inari Sami
sms - Skolt Sami
sn - Shona
so - Somali
sq - Albanian
sr - Serbian
sr-ec - Serbian (Cyrillic script)
sr-el - Serbian (Latin script)
srn - Sranan Tongo
ss - Swati
st - Southern Sotho
stq - Saterland Frisian
sty - себертатар
su - Sundanese
sv - Swedish
sw - Swahili
szl - Silesian
szy - Sakizaya
ta - Tamil
tay - Tayal
tcy - Tulu
te - Telugu
tet - Tetum
tg - Tajik
tg-cyrl - Tajik (Cyrillic script)
tg-latn - Tajik (Latin script)
th - Thai
ti - Tigrinya
tk - Turkmen
tl - Tagalog
tly - Talysh
tly-cyrl - толыши
tn - Tswana
to - Tongan
tpi - Tok Pisin
tr - Turkish
tru - Turoyo
trv - Taroko
ts - Tsonga
tt - Tatar
tt-cyrl - Tatar (Cyrillic script)
tt-latn - Tatar (Latin script)
tum - Tumbuka
tw - Twi
ty - Tahitian
tyv - Tuvinian
tzm - Central Atlas Tamazight
udm - Udmurt
ug - Uyghur
ug-arab - Uyghur (Arabic script)
ug-latn - Uyghur (Latin script)
uk - Ukrainian
ur - Urdu
uz - Uzbek
uz-cyrl - Uzbek (Cyrillic script)
uz-latn - Uzbek (Latin script)
ve - Venda
vec - Venetian
vep - Veps
vi - Vietnamese
vls - West Flemish
vmf - Main-Franconian
vmw - emakhuwa
vo - Volapük
vot - Votic
vro - Võro
wa - Walloon
war - Waray
wls - Wallisian
wo - Wolof
wuu - Wu Chinese
xal - Kalmyk
xh - Xhosa
xmf - Mingrelian
xsy - Saisiyat
yi - Yiddish
yo - Yoruba
yrl - Nheengatu
yue - Cantonese
za - Zhuang
zea - Zeelandic
zgh - Standard Moroccan Tamazight
zh - Chinese
zh-cn - Chinese (China)
zh-hans - Simplified Chinese
zh-hant - Traditional Chinese
zh-hk - Chinese (Hong Kong)
zh-mo - Chinese (Macau)
zh-my - Chinese (Malaysia)
zh-sg - Chinese (Singapore)
zh-tw - Chinese (Taiwan)
zu - Zulu
Format
Export for off-line translation
Export in native format
Export in CSV format
Fetch
<languages/> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> There's nothing to be scared of when opening up your gadget. Here are a few tips to encourage you to get started. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> == A beginner's safety guide to repairing electrical and electronic things. == </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> So you're nervous about repairing something electrical... </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> Let's look at some basic truths. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> Yes, electricity can kill, but only in the right circumstances. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> Of course you shouldn't take risks: if you're not 100% certain about what you're doing then find someone knowledgeable to help you, but there's no reason to be scared. Electricity isn't a magical force, it's a well understood scientific phenomenon with some very simple rules. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> ===Voltage v. Current=== </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> The first rule for us is: </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> * Voltage Shocks. Current Kills. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> If you think of electricity as being like water: </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> * Voltage is the pressure, formally known as "potential difference" measured in volts, symbol "V" * Current is the flow rate, measured in amps, symbol "A". </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> It's the flow of electricity (amps) that will kill you, but it's the pressure (volts) that will push the flow through you, so you need enough of both to kill you. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> ====Some examples==== </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> * A very high voltage with a tiny current may hurt you but it won't kill you. This is what static electricity is: when you get a shock from, say, walking across a nylon carpet, it may be several thousand volts but it's only millionths of an amp, so it may hurt, but it won't kill. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> * On the other hand, touching a car battery which is capable of supplying a huge amount of current (say 50 amps), but only a little bit (12V) of "pressure") will give you at most a slight tingle: there's not enough "pressure" to push all that current (flow) through you. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> * Mains electricity is 230V in Europe, usually 110V or 220V in the USA: that is enough "pressure" to push the current through you and, if it goes through your heart or brain, it can kill you even if there's only a tiny bit of current. The amount of current it takes to kill someone is not much: about 0.2A (200 milliamps), which is about enough to light a 40Watt lightbulb. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> ===What is safe for beginners=== </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> OK, enough talk: how much is safe? Simple answer: Anything below 20 volts won't kill you. Anything above, say 40 volts can give you a nasty shock or kill you. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> In practice what this means is that these things are safe * low-voltage lights * most battery operated devices, especially mobile phones, tablets, torches and most other battery operated devices (**except digital cameras with flashes**) * most car electrics except the spark-plugs and the circuits which supply them * laptops but not the mains-operated power supply. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> Unless you know what the voltage is, DON'T TOUCH IT! </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> When you look at a piece of electrical equipment, it will usually show the voltage, so check all labels and markings first. Let's look at some real examples... </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> ====Some concrete examples==== </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> * Work out the voltage of a '''torch''' by adding up the voltages of all its batteries: if it has 4 batteries each of which is 1.5V, '''the total voltage is at 6V''', which is not enough to do any harm. * A '''laptop power supply''' (picture) is connected to the mains (240V), so that part is dangerous, but '''the part that supplies the laptop is only 18V''', so that's safe to do repairs on: you'll get at most a bit of a tingle if you touch it. * A '''mobile phone charger''' is connected to the mains, so that part (240V) is dangerous, but '''the part that plugs into the phone is probably 5V''' (check the label on the part that plugs into the mains), so very safe. * USB sockets provide '''a maximum of 5V''', so they're very safe. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> Now, be aware that by "safe" I mean that you can't hurt yourself by touching any of the wires, but you can damage the equipment by, for instance, accidentally joining 2 wires together and causing a "short". In other words, causing 2 wires which want to be at different voltages to try to get to the same voltage... </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> So, the next thing to think about is </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> == How not to damage the equipment. == </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> First of all, always go carefully and don't rush it. Spend a little while trying to see how it's put together and which screws might be the key ones to allow it to come apart. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> For delicate electronic equipment, earth yourself before you start and during the process by touching a radiator, a water pipe or an earthed electrical appliance. Avoid such tasks if the air is very dry such as in very frosty or hot and dry weather and if you seem to be picking up static from the carpet or nylon clothing. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> If there aren't any screws visible, look for a label that might be covering them, or maybe the plastic case is in two parts held together with hidden clips that can be separated with a small screwdriver, a guitar plectrum, or (with great care!) a small knife. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> Once it comes apart, there may still be delicate wires connecting the two halves. Separate them carefully. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> Mechanical parts often contain springs. These can fly across the room when you release whatever is holding them in place. Screws and other small parts sometimes fall out unexpectedly. If any such parts head for the floor, lock your eyes onto them or they may be lost for ever. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> An egg box is good for keeping screws and small parts in, or a set of pill boxes for smaller screws. You might think you'll remember where they all came from, but if there are more than a very few and if they're different sizes, you'll forget like the rest of us. Keep careful notes or take lots of photos as you proceed. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> The best time to practice reassembly is just after you've disassembled something. If it's anything less than completely straightforward, follow that principle at every stage. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> If you get stuck, don't despair - it happens to the best of us. Put it aside, sleep on it, maybe dream about it, and come back to it a day or two later - or discuss it with another Restarter. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> If you don't succeed in mending it, you will still have learned something, but make sure you dispose of it responsibly. Here is [http://therestartproject.org/unrepaired/ our guide] to what to do with unwanted, unrepaired devices. </div> <div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"> [[Category:Fixing]] </div>
Translate
Language statistics
Message group statistics
Export
English
Log in