[fpc-pascal] I found FPC v0.2 source code :-)

[Lars]

Graeme Geldenhuys wrote:
> On 30 January 2012 10:54, Mark Morgan Lloyd  wrote:
>>
>> People who repair things are a dying breed.
>
> I fully agree.  Totally off-topic, but anybody here know of a course
> or books one could buy on basic electronic repairs. Thinking in lines
> of PSU etc to start with. I've been long wanting to enter this as a
> hobby project of mine, but I have no idea where to start. I am so
> stick of buying new PSU or other power adapters, when there is
> probably a good chance it could have be repaired in a few minutes
> (only if I knew how).


Some power supplies that I have found faulty before have a blown glass
fuse in them. Sometimes it is not worth repairing things because there is
risk of electrocuting yourself.. other times it is worth repairing.
Depends. I don't know of any books but people used to start off with 555
timers and read books on them. I found it too boring building clocks and
other trivial devices and I was happy to learn programming which is easier
to do complex things than soldering (which was extremely difficult).

To keep it on topic, there is programmable hardware available where you
can change the hardware using a hardware programming language. Niklaus
Wirth is interested in such technology. Instead of soldering in capacitors
and resistors, you program in something that emulates a resistor or
capacitor. This makes prototyping circuits much easier because instead of
soldering, you program in the devices you would have otherwise soldered.
The devices are called Field-programmable gate array's I think, and from
what I remember Niklaus Wirth was programming a remote control helicopter
with it, or maybe oberon, it's been so long that I cannot remember the
details. Just trying to keep it a bit on topic.

>
> I remember 8 years ago, my laptop charger had a worn wire. You had to
> wiggle the wire before the laptop would charge. I search high and low
> in the UK for somebody that could simply replace the cable. Nobody
> wanted to touch it! Eventually I bought a soldering iron, cut out the
> broken part of the wire and fixed it myself. It's ridiculous that
> nobody wants to repair things any more.
>
>

I've had these experiences too, sometimes the power supply is 50 bucks. If
the power supply is only 12 dollars then it's better just to replace it
since time equals money.  But not always, it depends.