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What's On Your Tech Bench?
Twev1701 writes "As a small computer repair company that has seen enormous growth in the past few months, we are now looking to expand our facilities. With construction starting on our office space, we now turn to the task of designing a new tech bench. Our existing bench is 6'x3', has a dedicated 15" CRT, 4 port KVM, and overhead storage bins for parts. With a new bench of 12'x4', we have lots of room for expansion. What essentials would the /. community put on their new tech bench?"
Apart from computers and cases of varying kinds, you need to remember your mini fridge! Don't forget the mini fridge!
Definitely make sure you have enough ground straps and a place to ground them to......
Because we ALL know 99% of techies out there ALWAYS use ground straps. A+ basics right there.
Actually, in my experience, the single most useful tool for computer diagnostic/repair (next to a philips screwdriver, of course =]) is Linux. Whenever a friend needs to reformat or gets some virus that keeps their machine from booting, or some such, I just plug their hard drive into my Linux box here and do whatever needs to be done. Recently, my Chief (I'm a Navy recruit) needed some files recovered from a system who's admin password was lost and/or corrupted. I just hooked his hard drive into my system, recovered encrypted NTFS files with ease and burnt'em onto a CD. Yes, a 15" CRT is nice, but if all you're hooked up to is a BSoD, it's not terribly helpful =] Also, both the laptop offerings are called "m5000 Series." Typo?
When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
One CRT isn't going to cut it. Get a second LCD mounted up on the wall. That much space, you likely want to watch more than one thing at a time and a switch box is frustrating.
.).
An old laptop with floppy drive (and a burner if you want to get fancy). Nothing is more irritating than having to walk back and forth for bios, drivers, and whatnot to put on floppies at your desk . . . There's always something you want to lookup online or download to use on your hardware.
Easily accessible tools. Not bins. Not a toolbox under the bench. A nice set of phillips and flatheads, maybe a couple needle nose just there on the wall. (Paint them fluorescent orange or something so they dont walk away if you want). Those all-in-one tool cases with their plastic snapin holders are not conducive to putting things away right.
An assortment of 'known good' parts in easy to get to bins doesn't hurt. And a nice sorted variety of screws is always good (I don't know what they do with them, but people seem to like hording backplanes and their screws . .
Easy to reach canned air. Easy to reach paper towels.
Just like the BOFH! In him we trust... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/08/11/802_11bofh /
I tried to think of a good sig, and this wasn't it.
IMHO, nothing helps more with diagnosing hardware problems than some tested hardware (video card, processor, RAM). Makes isolating a problem or conflict dead easy.
Two more 4 port KVMs would then fit right in. Wall mount those as well. Keep as much bench top space as you can free. The overhead bins are a GREAT idea.
Also several drawers running along the front. Norm (New Yankee Workshop) has a plan for a storage/workbench that would adapt really well for your requirements. Flush mount the power outlets (double the amount you think you will ever need) either to the bench surface or the wall. Beware static! ;-)
BTW, check out the Xcelite PRO-SERIES ergo screwdrivers (model #XPE500 for the 5 piece). I love these things -- using quality German made handtools is really satisfying. I think I paid $25 at Fry's.
In random order:
1. Something to remove dust from the computers' inside and from the workbench (compressed air, vacuum cleaner, both...)
2. Voltmeter
3. Spare PSU
4. Air conditioning (posibly in conjunction with 1)
5. Trash bin
R Tape loading error, 0:1
Not quite related, but my bench is hand made, stands 43" high in a "L" shape, conforming to the layout of my single-car garage. I've got a kegerator in the corner, with the tap mounted 2' from my main PC's keyboard. Also have a 29" tv mounted bar-style in the corner, angled down with an Xbox and PS2 and a 5-disk DVD player attached.
:)
e /DSCN2545.jpg
:) Lemme know what ya all think, and if you're even in the SD area, look me up and I'll pour ya a pint.
My "console" consists o my main PC, an WinXP machine on an Intel 540 with Raptors in Raid-0 and 2Gb Ramm in the center, with a 2Ghz Dell laptop on the left and a 2.4 Ghz Fed Core server on the right, all controlled via Synergy.
The "L" is 6' by 34" on one leg and 8' by 34" on the other, along the wall. The wall portion is designed to fold down via gate hinges and gas shocks (not installed yet...it's heavy)in case I need to actually get a car in here.
My Fed Core tower has external, front-mounted IDE and Molex connectors, and it and the WinXP pc use LCD's to save on desk space. I've got a 2'6" rack box with nothin in it at the momment but plan to add sound gear and maybe a blade server of some sort when the fundage comes.
The workbench surface itself is white laminated 5/8's inch particle board stock which works great for optical mice. I wired in a 12-outlet power strip along the short wall and another 2-outlet box in the middle of the long wall.
It's quite cozy in here and I love having all this surface to work on whether standing or sitting on my barstools. And currently, I have Pyramid Heffe on tap which doesn't hurt either. Here's a link for a pic:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y41/testbenchdud
Hope you all like. I know it's kinda off-topic, but I do have a full range of miniature/microminiature solder repair equipment availible to repair PCB's and such.
There is simply too much glass..
-speakers
-dvi lcd (if the customer is complaining of a DVI problem, you'll need this)
-spare PSU(s)
-jumpers
-Y power splitters
-hard drives (pata, sata, various scsi if you got em)
-hi-speed usb device (to test usb)
-network connections (firewalled into its own DMZ, you don't want the customers wormed out pcs running wild behind your firewall)
-cordless drill and charger
-solder kit, heatshrink tubing
-all the standard various screws computers come with
-lots of outlets on a circuit supporting enough amperage to really use them
probly lots i'm forgetting, but it's a start.
"The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw."
That's all that comes to mind just now.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
You're right, spelling wise, but chose a bad way to make your point - espresso is Italian for "very quickly" :-)
A common misconception, but actually espresso is the past participle of esprimere, meaning to express or to press out, and relates to the process of making an espresso coffee.
sig under construction...
Some things to consider -
1)KVMs with both VGA and DVI in, and a DVI out to a flat panel hanging on the wall behind the bench.
2) Big, scary Server PSU with a gazillion power connectors. Maybe two or three, and lots of extra molex connectors.
3) A universal notebook PSU with all the lead attachments. You know someone's gonna drop off a stinkpad and not leave their power brick.
4) A universal wall wart for powering troublesome peripherals that the owners neglected to bring the PSU for.
5) Multimeter
6) Nice soldering station, with adjustable temp and a variety of tips.
7) Big, honking USB drive for emergency backups.
8) Wireless Router with ethernet ports, and a gigabit hub to uplink to it, to test out networking ports, read Fark on company time.
9) Electrical tape in three colors, duct tape in two, gaffer's tape, superglue and a hot-glue gun.
10) Spare cables: USB in all its variations, ditto Firewire; Mini Din-8, DB9, DB25, Centronics and gender changers and adapters for all involved; PSU cords; Cat-5 patch cables, crossover cables; bluetooth mouse extenders, RJ-12 phone cords.
11) A n00b intern willing to go look for a bluetooth mouse extender cable.
12) A bluetooth mouse, to test bluetooth functionality.
13) Ordered bins with commonly needed hardware (plastic washers, mounting studs, screws, etc.)
14) Lotsa wireties in various sizes and colors.
15) Professional grade anti-static setup your technicians won't bother to use, all the while rubbing their shoes on wool sweaters and playing with styrofoam.
16: big magnifying glass on an articulated arm, preferable with a bright light.
17: Pin vise, and one of those aligator-clip armatures. And a real bench vise, too.
18: heat gun for heat-shrink connectors.
19) Locking toolboxes assigned to each tech, inventoried in the morning and at night. You'll save a ton of money on tools. What goes in those boxes is another post in and of itself.
SoupIsGood Food
I used to truly love my Klein screwdriver. There it is right on the home page. Sniff.
It made the Xcelite tools seem like toys.
What on Earth do you want an e-meter on there for?
Be careful. People in masks cannot be trusted.
I have to say that one of the most useful things I've gotten my hands on in a long time is an IDE to USB cable. It saves tons of time hooking up drives that aren't able to boot for one reason or another for data extraction. All that slaving to another system and rebooting gets old real fast, but I end up working on quite a few laptops. I'd also reccomend a hard drive duplicator/maintainence station. As far as tools go, everyone has their favorite for one stop shopping, but I prefer the Swiss Army Cybertool. It's way more useful than the model with a USB drive, and has nearly every commonly used PC maintenance tool I need, including a pin for reset buttons. A bit bulky, but I wouldn't be without it in my pocket. I don't know what type of KVM you use (USB or PS2), but I would also reccomend keeping a genuine opposite, read not using adapters, keyboard and mouse handy. Typically, I use PS2, but every now and then I get a system like a Compaq iPaq (the desktop not handheld) that only has USB, and doesn't work well with adapted PS2 devices.
I'd definitely agree with the USB key/CDs.
:-)
Much of the time spent fixing is in diagnosis. Having a selection of USB keys and CDs to boot into memcheck and Linux environments for analysis will be very useful. Also have a huge disk around with *everything* on it.
You'll need power. Lots of power. Put a few mains sockets on the wall, and get a couple of big computer power supplies screwed to the wall with extra-long cables. Just make sure you have a means to turn them on and off- modern power supplies can be a pain in this respect. On the ATX ones, I recall you ground pin 10 to turn it on... but check this!
I'd also say my Leatherman has fixed more than its fair share of VCRs and computers
http://blog.grcm.net/
It used to be that repairing computers involved electronics knowledge. You would need to troubleshoot down to the chip level and replace the bad component. Motherboards back a couple decades cost upwards of $500 to $1000 depending. A well equiped bench would have Multimeter, Oscope, Logic probe, Chip tester, eprom programmer (bios upgrades),
Nowadays the motherboards (and most other pc components) use ASICs (aplication Specific Integrated Circuits). Even if you could troubleshoot down the that level replaceing them is very difficult (surface mount ICs mostly) and getting the parts just as tough. With motherboards costing only $80 to $200 it's not worth it. The one repair we still do is replacement of bad caps. These are a VERY common failure and are easy to spot (bulged tops). To unsolder these you will need a soldering station (irons don't get hot enough and aren't temp controlled) and a desoldering vacum station. The ground and PS PCB plains are so large they draw away mass amounts of heat when trieing desolder them. We generally have to use both the iron and the desoldering tool at the same time (one on the back of the baord, one on the front) in order to clean the cap lead holes. The caps? We get plenty of those from old/bad motherboards.
Power supplies are another thing we sometimes repair. The thing that most often fails is the fan. Like to MB's the caps can fail here to, however these are much easer to desolder.
A post diag card is helpfull to some degree but the best thing to have is lots of spare parts to swap. Old eqipment (486 and earler) is valuable for caps and fans. Allways salvage these parts before trashing.
I find most tech work these days involves not hardware repair but software repair. Most of our time is spent getting rid of spyware and viruses and fixing OS screwups (frequently reinstalling windows). The key here is to be able to work on several machines at once because you spend a lot of time waiting for things to happen (virus/spyware scans, os installs). Have at least three hookups for machines so you can work on three at once.
If you really want some test gear (machine that goes ping) for wow factor consider a used Oscope from ebay (~$100-$200). Analog is good enough here. I personally like HP test equipment here. You should be able to get a 100MHz or better scope for very little money. If nothing else they look impressive. A freind of my father used to have a sign in his office that read "If you can't dazzle them with brilance, baffle them with bullshit".
I prefer to attribute the origin of the name espresso to the "quick" way it is prepared in opposition to the usual italian way of preparing the coffee (at home) by using a special coffe maker tool called "moka" that produces coffe lighter than the espresso.
Gah! No, no, no! A moka (such as the classic octagonal aluminium pot that you are talking about) is an espresso machine. It's a cheap stovetop version designed to emulate the cafe espresso machines. The point of espresso and the reason an espresso is called an espresso is that the water (or steam) is forced through the coffee grains at high pressure, which is exactly what a stovetop espresso machine does. The heating of the water in the lower half of the moka builds up the pressure, until the steam is forced through the coffee, up through a tube and into the top half. You are right that it doesn't match a cafe espresso, you don't really get a crema with a moka. Another disadvantage is that because the water is boiling when it passes through the coffee, the coffee gets a bitter burnt taste when compared with a cafe machine, which runs at about 90 degrees C. All the same, it's still an espresso.
sig under construction...
As a macintosh repair tech I probably have a little different spread of toys than many PC techs, but I suspect the basics will be much the same. Some items have been added after a moment of inspiration, and have made life a LOT easier.
* A parts caddy. One is a large caddy, and is full of parts of course. Start out with one at least twice as big as you think you'll need, then add a second one later when you run out of space.
* Another parts caddy. This should be a smaller one, with 36 small drawers. DO NOT put anything in this one, it's for service. This is a huge idea. When taking apart a laptop, each step of disassembly, pull out a drawer and put the parts/screws/etc in the drawer and set it on the bench to the side. Set them down in a row as you take apart the computer. This does three important things for you. First, it makes it unlikely that you will lose a part or try to put a screw in the wrong place. Second, you now have a distinct order in which to reassemble the computer so you don't put a panel back on and then realize you have to take it back off to attach a cable. Since you can't always count on having a service manual, especially for a laptop, this is very important. Third, all the parts for each assembly step are grouped together, which also helps prevent delays in reassembly and "hmm I have parts left over...". This is good for laptops and desktops, but the biggest benefit is really anytime you really have to tear something apart.
* KVM or similar switch, to switch video between your service monitor and up to 3 other VGA sources. USB switchbox to switch your keyboard between your service machine and up to thee other computers. Four VGA/USB combo cables to run around with. Number them, and number your switchbox positions. Some people opt for the "tap shift three times" KVMs, but I personally prefer the good ol pushbuttons.
* Tools. You can never have enough. I have particular need of my precision screwdriver set from Sears. It includes philips 0, 00, and 000 which are essential for laptops. It also comes with t5-t8 and small flatheads too. I also have a larger set of long handled philips 1 and 2, plus a set of large torx wrenches for t powermac g5's.
* multimeter. Doesn't have to be an expensive one. You need to test voltage (BIOS batteries, power supplies) and continuity (is that wire good?) $15 from radio shack is fine.
* firewire card in your service machine, and firewire enclosure, opened up, on your bench. This is for quick hookup and removal of drives for testing and repair, without having to reboot your machine. Another very "big idea", this will really help you. I *strongly* recommend a Granite Digital "FireView" bridge board, it has an LCD display and menu buttons and can be used to test a drive without even hooking it to a computer - extremely helpful and costs only about $100. Hard to find good diagnostic hardware of any type for that price. This will easily save you hours of frustration trying to track down a gremlin that ends up being a flakey or failing hard drive.
* air compressor, and a place to use it. (outside) You will be thankful for this when a machine comes in that looks like it was fresh dug up out of the ground. You'll see the worst ones at least twice a month, and they will send up a huge brown cloud when you first hit them with the air. Make sure it does not have a tool oiler in line, (yes, I've seen that done to a computer, once) and it would be better still if someone knew how to empty the water drain valve occasionally.
* cables and adapters. Like USB A-to-B, USB A-to-mini, firwire 6-6, 6-4, and 6-9. Parallel, maybe even some scsi (they come in handy from time to time). Serial, old and new style. Don't forget a DVI to VGA adapter (both ways!) because you will need them.
* floppy drives. Definitely need a 1.44mb usb floppy, and should also try to have a zip-100 if at all possible. Zip 250 is optional but good. DVD burner also manditory, for data backups. Anything else probabl
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
Double checking their answers while they fill out the questionaire before you start work on their PC?
From: http://lotl.cc/humor.xs
1. Describe your problem:
2. Now, describe the problem accurately:
3. Speculate wildly about the cause of the problem:
4. Problem Severity:
1. Minor __
2. Minor __
3. Minor __
4. Trivial __
5. Nature of the problem:
1. Locked Up __
2. Frozen __
3. Hung __
4. Strange Smell __
6. Is Your Computer Plugged In? Yes_____ No______
7. Is It Turned On? Yes_____ No_____
8. Have you tried to fix it yourself? Yes_____ No_____
9. Have you made it worse? Yes_____ No_____
10. Have you had a "friend" who "Knows all about computers" try to fix it for you? Yes_____ No_____
11. Did they make it worse? Yes_____ No_____
12. Have you read the manual? Yes_____ No_____
13. Are you sure you've read the manual? Yes_____ No_____
14. Are you absolutely certain you've read the manual? Yes_____ No_____
15. If you read the manual, do you think you understood it? Yes_____ No_____
16. If 'yes', then explain why you can't fix the problem yourself?
17. What were you doing with your computer at the time the problem occurred?
18. If you answered 'nothing' then explain why you were logged in?
19. Are you sure you aren't imagining the problem? Yes_____ No_____
20. Does the clock on your home VCR blink 12:00? Yes_____ What's a VCR? _____
21. Do you have a copy of 'PCs for Dummies'? Yes_____ No_____
22. Do you have any independent witnesses to the problem? Yes_____ No_____
23. Do you have any electronics products that DO work? Yes_____ No_____
24. Is there anyone else you could blame this problem on? Yes_____ No_____
25. Have you given the machine a good whack on the top? Yes_____ No_____
26. Is the machine on fire? Yes_____ No_____ Not Yet_____
27. Can you do something else instead of bothering me? Yes_____ No_____
Curiosity was framed; ignorance killed the cat. -- Author unknown
1. Ability to make coffee: insinkerator hot water tap (replaced our bunson burner and fleaker.) We still use a glass funnel with coffee filters. Fresh grind and then pour 190 deg F water over them in a careful method. Perfect concentrated brew.
2. Multimeter. *vital*.... never leave home without it.
3. Complete screwdriver/torx set.
4. Spare towles for laptop disembowlment operations.
5. Stack of "fresh" drives. Never trust an old drive!
6. Rubermaid container full of untouched, pristine, NIB IDE cables. Another must have. I tend to swap out IDE cables when ever I get a box just in case. It's saved me a lot of problems.
7. Trusted powerspuplies.
8. iPod hooked to sony stereo system.
9. KVM.
10. 19" LCD Samsung 930b + Sony trinitron E400.
11. Laptop cooling pad.
12. 7pt USB hub.
13. 8 pt netgear switch (home bench) and 24 pt gigabit switch (foundary) at work.
14. Safety gooooogles and electrical tape. (I guess for sledge-o-matic operations safety.) Must have my PPE's.
15. Swingline stapeler. (Not red.) Vintage.
16. TI-89.
17. Perrys Handbook for Chemical Engineers. (DOn't ask why I have it near my comp workbench.... you don't want to know.)
-=fshalor
No, seriously! Go to your local Staples, and buy a bag of those big, pink, school erasers.
They work WONDERS for cleaning contacts -- RAM contacts, AGP, PCI, etc.
I learned this from an electronics engineer. I've taken *MANY* RAM chips that failed memtest, cleaned them off with the eraser, put them back, and voila! Never seen again.
I don't know how it works or what it is that does it, but erasers remove corrosion from copper.
When you have DC flowing through a high-impedance coil, there's a static magnetic field formed around the coil. Remove the DC supply, and the rapid collapse of this field induces a current in the coil flowing in the opposite direction from the original DC input.
This is the principle by which your car ignition system works. The ignition coil doesn't have a constant current to it. Voltage is applied, builds up the magnetic field, and when it's time to spark the plug, the voltage is removed, and the collapsing field generates one hell of a high voltage across the secondary side of the ignition coil, which is typically many times the impedance of the primary side.
You're feeling a little tingle of maybe 50 volts and a few milliamps on the primary side by doing what you describe. The secondary side has a voltage between 25,000 and 80,000, depending on the ignition system, but with only microamps of current available. That's why if you grab a spark plug lead when the engine's running, you feel quite the belt, but it doesn't do any damage. Not enough current.
"City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
I would have kits and cables to conect any disk to a very simple, test "box" SCSI, SATA, IDE (2.5" & 3.5"). including a PERC 3/DC (Dell RAID card) Box is in quotes because it would never actualy be closed.
:)
It should have a multiboot disk drive (Linux and a few other OSs.) a 2nd very large drive for dumping rescued data. A DVD/CD burner and DAT drive for returning rescued data to clients.
A small vacum cleaner and some canned air are esential (Broken computers tend to be dirty).
A set of Jewelers screwdrivers (For laptop work).
A Leatherman (look it up)
And last but not least; an anty static wrist strap.
PS: Ohh and a competent enginear.
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?