1

So, we all get this, “Hey, you’re a computer guy…right?” Then it leads into the assumption that you know any and everything about things with a cord attached to them.

Just wondering if anyone has any funny stories about conversations that have started that way. The reason I bring it up is this weekend I became a DLP TV Repairman in a few hours, fixing my parents and then their neighbor stumbled over…“Hey, you’re a computer guy…I got this 72” tv in my basement…". I never touched one in my life before this weekend, frankly I’m a little proud of myself.

So yeah, how about some group therapy on this topic? :slight_smile:

EDIT: So far these responses have been hilarious! Also, I wanted to note that 9 times out of 10 I generally enjoy the weird requests like these, it kind of validates all the time I spent taking apart random electronics as a kid. Also, they make for great stories and self-confidence builders.

31 Spice ups
2

Mine range from leveling cubical walls to fixing old style manual thermostats. The strangest request I’ve ever had is from a mom asking me to check if her son was hiding from her in the men’s bathroom (our office was right nearby).

3

I feel your pain. I’ve had to fix an ultasonic dental scaler.

4

does a jammed coffe maker count?

5

I used to get stuck un-jamming the coin counter at a bank I worked for many moons ago.

6

I was asked (well OK, I half volunteered) to fix a 220V exit sign so our office could pass fire code (we had recently moved in and the sign did not light up). I wired it up with the power live as there was no circuit breaker for the floor, I wore heavy gloves and took my time. It went fine!

7

Heh…I’ve got a good one.

Handheld Poker Game (RadioShack brand, circa 1980’s). One of the guys in the shop came back and sheepishly asked if I could fix it. He’s a nice guy, and the way he asked kinda indicated that while he felt it was silly to ask, he really wanted to get it working again, so I figured, what the hey.

Turned out that the contacts for the buttons REALLY needed a cleaning. Couple blasts of electronics cleaner, and some rubbing with a cloth, and bam, good as new.

But it was all in the ask – if he hadn’t been nice about it, well, it would have ended differently.

8

I had to come up with a way to send audio over Cat5 wiring to another room, since the servers got moved to a different room than the phone system. Music on hold was playing from one of the servers via a usb sound card.

No computers remotely close to the phones, but the old patch panel was still there, as well as a patch to the new server room.

Went to Radio Shack and bought some audio transformers to use as a balun. Worked like a charm.

I pity the next guy who works on it and wonders what the heck the mini din cable to rj45 with a shrink wrapped thingy in the middle is for.

9

Apparently knowing about computers means knowing how to fix projectors too. I was given an optoma tw1692 to fix by one of the senior staff. He told me the lamp light was red even though the lamp had been switched with a brand new one and that I needed to repair it. I was a little dumbfounded at first, but after a few well placed questions and some maneuvering I figured out it was one of the cooling units acting up. It was loose and not working because if the device was moved then the fan would tilt and catch major drag on internal bits causing the unit to over-heat and the lamp light to turn red after prolonged usage. What got me was that no one noticed the odd buzzing noise the thing emitted when it was tilted or jostled in any way.

10

I got stuck fixing a medical negative pressure chamber at a local university. We contracted with a medical equipment company for their computers and they had no one else in the region who they could send in, so I was sent in.

I remember using some weird detector and and rubbing alcohol to detect leaks in the plastic, and I did the most horrible caulking job around the doors of the airlock.

11

The Toliet! Aparently I was the only guy who knew which end of pipe wrench to use.

12

I once solved an HVAC issue by noticing that the timer that turns the fans from always-on to on-demand was off by several hours because nobody reset it after a power outage.

We were often responsible for facility issues, more or less by default, so I’ve done my fair share of plumbing, electrical, HVAC, security, fire alarm, and other such issues over the years, most of them only vaguely connected to anything we were doing in IT.

13

I’ve had requests to fix way too many things that i can’t remember them all.

A old friend who i hadn’t talked to in over a year called me up, “hey you still doing that computer thing?” I replyed back, “You mean working as a computer tech?”. He replied back, “Yha that, well i’m gonna buy a stereo for my car and was wondering if i payed you if you could wire it and hook it up for me?”. Sure enough that weekend i became a stereo installer.

14

Today I received a ticket to fix a Typewriter…

2 Spice ups
15

+1 if you actually fixed the typewriter

16

Not sure if it technically falls under the category of fixing, but here is a good one. I was visiting the college I graduated from for an alumni event and heading back home (school was OH, I was living in PA). There is a hill on the way that is 25MPH at the top and 55MPH at the bottom, and the cops sit on it. Being a bit stupid I coasted down the hill, and the flashing lights came on. The officer came out and asked me how fast I was going, figuring honesty was best I told him he probably tagged me at around 40-45 since I was coasting. He took my license, insurance card, and registration and ran everything. A few minutes later he comes back and hands me my insurance card and registration and tells me that he is going to let me off with a warning but there is a problem. He has a gap in the center console of his car and my license fell down inside, and the screws holding it on are a weird star shape. Knowing that if I get stopped for anything else telling an officer I am driving without a license because it is trapped in a cop car in OH will be a tough sell. I tell the officer that I am a computer technician and have a full toolkit with me and ask if we can attempt to get it out. He agrees and we drive about a mile to the police station. As we are working a firefighter wanders over from the station next door to see what the hell we are doing and ends up helping.

So I end up dismantling the center console of a cop car with the aid of a fireman at around Midnight to recover my license. I did put it back together when finished though and gave him some electrical tape to cover the gap.

5 Spice ups
17

Justin.Davison wrote:

So I end up dismantling the center console of a cop car with the aid of a fireman at around Midnight to recover my license. I did put it back together when finished though and gave him some electrical tape to cover the gap.

Have to say that is a really good story,but curiouse, did the cop jsut stand around and watch the two of you or what? lol.

18

Eric.V wrote:

Pretty much, but he didn’t arrest me or give me a ticket so I can’t complain. He also gave me a story that usually lets me win “best getting out of a ticket story”.

19

lets see…clogged sink, toilet issues had to disassemble and reassemble the whole thing…projectors, 3 hole punches and staplers, VP’s car radio, motion detectors, presidents sons XBOX 360, lunchroom sink…i know there is more but i cant think of them now…

20

Kencussion wrote:

Today I received a ticket to fix a Typewriter…

Did you throw it in the dumpster?