That's a violation . . . .

. . . . of the manufacturer's warranty.



Some of you may remember I got an EEE PC 900 a while back. This morning I spilled coffee into it. (I knocked my arm into the mug, and was treated to a Hollywood-style slow-motion moment where the mug teetered at a 45-degree angle, as I brought my hand around to try to catch it, only to be a fraction of a second late and see the coffee slop all over the computer.) I thought some of you would be interested in the guts of it after I took it apart in an effort to swab everything dry and get it working again. It wouldn't boot before, but it now seems to be fine. (I am in fact using it to type this.)

How interesting to see the guts of my precious little machine. I do love the thing. You wouldn't believe how many people stop to marvel over it when I'm at school. It sure is heartwarming to hear that it's so sturdy!

But how the heck do you manage to type on the thing? If I have to type anything in, I have to stop and consider if it's THAT important to be worth struggling with the tiny keyboard. Probably a good thing, considering how verbose I can be. ;)

wow...good job

How was the coffee?

What was left was kind of lukewarm by the time I was done taking the computer apart. Fortunately I don't take it with sugar.. I think that would have made it a lot harder to clean up.

When the chips heat up, do you get that burnt coffee smell?

- Is it a better smell than the room before the spill?

thats awesome...good thing you dont use coffee...cause cleaning sugar off electronics is a bitch...only reason i know is cause i have a 7 year old and a 15 month old that always decide to spill shit on everything electronic i own LOL

Undertoad;524081 wrote:

Is it a better smell than the room before the spill?

Stop making me wonder how his room smells, and why you know that.

Oh You are SOO On Report Steve !!!

Undertoad;524081 wrote:

When the chips heat up, do you get that burnt coffee smell?

- Is it a better smell than the room before the spill?

Not so's I'd notice, but then the coffee got on my desk too. (I did wipe it up, but there's still a frisson of coffee around.) I'll know more tomorrow when I have to go off to some meetings.

Griff;524057 wrote:

How was the coffee?

Also not covered by a warranty.

He paid less than $6. Buyer beware.

I've heard from a computer repair tech that most electronics are a good chance to survive contact with pure water provided you get the power off before any shorting occurs. Plain coffee is also not so bad, but sugar and especially milk are usually fatal.

Looks like you rolled a natural 20 on that one, Steve. Good work on the quick rescue!

ZenGum;524215 wrote:

I've heard from a computer repair tech that most electronics are a good chance to survive contact with pure water provided you get the power off before any shorting occurs.

Too many know without first learning how electronics are even made. Once a PC board is assembled, a dishwasher cleans the electronics. Water is not destructive to electronics - despite popular myth. However electronics (due to those low currents) can temporarily fail if powered when still wet.

Keyboards are a perfect example. That soft plastic membrane means water remains trapped and conducting electricity. Remove the cover, wash electronics in clean water, and dry. Then electronics should work OK.

These well understood concepts are not understood when one does not learn why. Many assume water destroys electronics. Then make another assumption - declare that mistake as a fact.

Coffee in a keyboard (even with sugar) is not destructive. Coffee creates a temporary problem that (unfortunately) requires significant labor and some basic knowledge. Hardest part is removing the moisture and other contaminates.

Again, how do we clean newly soldered electronics? Wash it in water. Water is not destructive once myths are exposed by simple questions such as 'Why?'.

tw wrote:

However electronics (due to those low currents) can temporarily fail if powered when still wet.

Yeah, but the problem is 99% of the time they're already powered on when something spills on them. What are the chances it will short during the time it takes you to turn it off?

tw;524327 wrote:

Again, how do we clean newly soldered electronics?

When I was fabricating boards way back when, we cleaned them with alcohol.

So they wouldn't be fluxed up.

Thanks Bruce - It was a long time ago. I couldn't think of the word.

Clodfobble;524338 wrote:

Yeah, but the problem is 99% of the time they're already powered on when something spills on them. What are the chances it will short during the time it takes you to turn it off?

Most all electronics can be shorted (by water) and not be damaged. Exceptions include high voltage devices (cathode ray video screens, microwave ovens, etc) and certain devices where water inside the device cannot be removed. In fact, we routinely would short outputs (using wire) of digital electronics and power supplies to confirm other functions were working. That shorting must never cause damage. Water is even less conductive than wire.

For example, every output from a microprocessor can be shorted and never be damaged. A standard that existed even in the original Intel 8080 microprocessors.

Never saw a PC board shop using alcohol. However large vats of CFCs were routinely used to clean electronic boards. That CFC then air dried faster than water making the board immediately ready to ship. Dishwashing of electronics was the replacement for CFCs.

tw wrote:

certain devices where water inside the device cannot be removed.

Does that include cellphones?

Clodfobble;524636 wrote:

Does that include cellphones?

All electronics. Now, what devices don't dry well? If moisture gets inside a LCD, then little can remove it. LCDs don't open. But then it should take pressure to get into an LCD.

How LCDs connect to a PC board is interesting. Numerous tiny wires are impeded in a styrofoam like material. Slight pressure of the LCD causes wires impeded in that styrofoam to make contact with the PCB. So it may take time and effort to remove that moisture.

But again, moisture does not cause electronics damage. If left too long, it may cause corrosion. Moisture must be removed so that near zero currents flow in proper directions again.

Appreciate how a cell phone keyboard works. Those switch buttons are not very conductive. But the microprocessor sees a poor conductor make contact. However, if water gets between those PC traces, then the microprocessor thinks multiple or all keys are pressed - and ignores it. So that a cell phone's microprocessor can see a keypress, that membrane (that keeps water trapped for months) must be removed, dried, and restored. IOW labor and care.

I have experimented with removing water using vacuum. IOW put a phone inside a plastic bag, suck all air out with a vacuum cleaner, then let driest air in. Did that about 30 times without success. Not enough. A cell phone could also be dried this way. But expect this technique to take at least hundreds of cycles in a room with very dry air. And the technique assumes the water is not contaminated with other conductive materials such as salt.

Get the item into a sauna ASAP!

Aren't sauna's wet from the water on the hot rocks and shit?

That's a steam room. The sauna has the dry heat.

Yeah, we call that "outside." (Especially this year. Did you know it's about 80 degrees outside my house right now?)

Now Clod is on report...

really? Can I go wherever she is and be on report too?
Its freeezzzzzzzziiinggg here.

We're getting used to it here. I fed the animals this morning and came inside without noticing that it's 16 out.