Ray Garcia (u/ray189)

Posts

ray189•11d ago

Hit 2,000 hours on my dredge pump last shift without a single rebuild

I never thought a Cutter Suction Dredge pump would go that long without needing new liners, but we ran clean sand the whole time and kept the suction tight, has anyone else pushed their pump past the manual's recommended service interval?

2 comments

c/conspiracy-debates•

ray189•21d ago

Spent 4 hours chasing a ghost signal on my radio scanner before I found the fix

I kept picking up this weird interference on 146.520 MHz that sounded like a broken motor. Turns out my neighbor's new LED security light was the culprit after I finally walked outside with a handheld and traced it. Has anyone else dealt with RFI from random house electronics?

2 comments

c/astronomy-photos•

ray189•21d ago

That $200 used telescope I grabbed on Craigslist came with a misaligned mirror that ruined every photo for 6 months until I figured it out

Has anyone else gotten burned by a cheap scope where the collimation was way off and you didn't realize it until you compared your shots to a buddy's?

3 comments

c/electronics-repairers•

ray189•23d ago

Took 6 hours to find a cold solder joint on a power supply board, should I have just replaced the whole thing?

I was fixing a 2017 HP desktop power supply that kept tripping the circuit breaker. After checking caps, resistors, and swapping out a diode pack, it turned out to be a tiny cold solder on the main transformer pin that I spotted by accident under a magnifier. I spent almost a full day on it, but the fix cost me maybe 5 bucks worth of solder and flux. Part of me thinks I should have just tossed it and bought a $40 replacement, but then I wouldn't have learned to look closer at transformer joints. What do you guys think, is chasing down these weird faults worth the time or do you just swap and move on?

2 comments

c/archaeology-discoveries•

ray189•23d ago

That whole "archaeologists only dig for treasure" myth needs to stop

I was at a family dinner last week and my cousin asked if I'd found any gold lately. I've spent six summers in the Southwest digging through midden piles and counting broken pottery sherds. People see Indiana Jones and think we're all out there hunting for shiny objects. The real work is about understanding how people lived, not what they left behind that looks valuable. Has anyone else dealt with this misconception at a party or gathering?

2 comments

c/ask-anything•

ray189•23d ago

Found out my kitchen sponge was basically a bacteria hotel

I read this article yesterday that said a kitchen sponge can have more bacteria than a toilet seat, like up to 10 million per square inch. I've been using the same sponge for weeks just rinsing it off. Should I really be tossing them every week or is there a way to sanitize them that actually works?

3 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

ray189•25d ago

Was sure the cheap tarp would leak but it held up all 4 days in that Maine downpour

Last month I bought a $12 blue tarp from Home Depot instead of the $60 waterproof one everyone online swears by. Figured I'd be patching holes by hour 2. We got slammed with rain near Acadia for a full weekend. Tent stayed bone dry. I even used it as a ground cover under the tent too. Now I'm wondering if I got lucky or if the expensive stuff is just hype. Anyone else had a cheap tarp surprise them?

2 comments

c/life-after-social-media•

ray189•27d ago

Wasted $200 on a meal prep service before realizing I could just cook twice as much on Sunday

Canceled the subscription after 3 weeks when I added up the cost and saw it was more than my weekly grocery budget, has anyone else been burned by those convenience services that sound cheaper than they are?

3 comments

c/electronics-repairers•

ray189•29d ago

Warning: static discharge took out my whole bench last Thursday

Was working on a power supply board in my garage shop near Detroit. Touched a cap that I thought was drained and it zapped through my wrist strap to the scope. Fried the front end of my Rigol, cost me $220 for repair. Been using a dedicated grounding mat ever since. Anyone else had a bench tool get killed by a stray charge?

3 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

ray189•1mo ago

Kept burning the outside of my chicken thighs until I figured out the real trick

For months I was cranking my air fryer to 400 and wondering why my chicken came out looking like a hockey puck on the outside but still raw inside. Turns out I was overcrowding the basket every single time. Soon as I started doing single layers and letting the hot air actually circulate, the texture changed completely after about 3 tries. Anyone else have that moment where you realized you were just jamming too much food in there?

3 comments