The backlit fold-up and its tired hinge ribbon
A fold-up that lights up but loses its picture when the lid moves. The ribbon, the hinge and a slow afternoon. Follows “The fold-up, and a hinge that will not stay open”.
Newsletter
Latest letters
One new letter every Saturday: one repair or one machine. Each says which earlier machine it follows.
Relabelling a cartridge by hand
How I make a clean, plain label for a cartridge that has lost its own: cutting, printing and fitting.
The wide model, and why its buttons go mushy
A wide handheld with a big screen and buttons that feel like wet bread. What the membrane is and how to bring it back. Follows “The first colour model, from a market box”.
Whitening a yellowed shell, slowly
Old plastic turns yellow in the light. A gentle way to bring it back over a few days, with a before and after.
The fold-up, and a hinge that will not stay open
A clamshell handheld with one screen inside and a hinge that sags. Follows “The pocket slim, and the battery door that snaps”.
The first colour model, from a market box
A grubby colour handheld from a box of odds and ends. What I checked first and what I left alone. Follows “The pocket slim, and the battery door that snaps”.
The backlit pocket: brightening a dim screen
A small handheld with a light behind the screen that has faded. How I tell a tired light from a tired screen. Follows “The pocket slim, and the battery door that snaps”.
The pocket slim, and the battery door that snaps
A smaller handheld on two cells, and the little battery door that always breaks. Follows “The grey brick: what goes wrong first”.
The grey brick: what goes wrong first
The first handheld I ever opened. Four cells, a flat grey case and a screen that fades. Where I start, and why.
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The Repair Bench
A short letter every Saturday: one repair or one old handheld, told plainly.