They can cost us as much as 50.00 per, depending on the type of laptop donated.
Currently we have 4 laptops that work perfectly, we just have no way to power them back on. They are:
HP dv5000 (we have three of them)
Toshiba Satellite A45-S151
With the 2010 Linux Against Poverty event looming in June, we are sure to gain even more without adapters.
We are also in need of a screen for a Dell Latitude D600 and most any RAM available in 512-sized sticks or better. Specifically, we need laptop ram in one gig sticks of pc2100 and pc2700. PC133 in both laptop and desktop ram is also in short supply, especially 512 sticks.
While I am wishing, we need IDE and SATA hard drives for laptops as well.
Fact of the matter is, we are having trouble just putting gas in the tanks to get installs done...times are tough right now. We could use some help in getting these adapters and other pieces of hardware needed.
If you have any of these hardware parts, email me...helios at fixedbylinux dott comm or we can purchase it via your donations. Edit... Also, our friend Dave has posted a comment concerning a great site for getting these parts cheap. You can find it here.
Thanks again for being part of what we do.
We have several labs and summer camps being hosted by The HeliOS Project this summer...the most popular being one that teaches kids how to build/repair computers. We will need volunteers for this daytime activity. Not sure of the dates yet but probably sometime in July. Stay tooned for news.
All-righty then
14 comments:
Check out http://www.repc.com/ for needed supplies. I've used them for my PC donation projects with great success. While not free, they do seem to have one of everything and their prices sure beat new.
Seeing as how, Linux folk are do it yourself'ers so to speak, why not build some power supplies for the laptops, shouldn't cost much, and might learn something new!
why not build some power supplies
On the surface, that sounds like a good idea but it's not in the best interest of what we do. If one of those "home made" adapters shorts out and starts a fire, then we are responsible...
That's one of the reasons we quit donating CRT's. A three year old child pulled one over onto the floor. While it did not hit her or injure her, we had to stop using them.
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Laptop power supplies are high-failure devices. That may be missing because they failed and were recycled. The owners may have decided that it wasn't worth buying a new one so they donated the laptop as-is. Usually it's not the supply itself that fails but the cables and uncommon or proprietary connectors. I've repaired a few and it's really difficult to find replacement connectors.
A three year old child pulled one over onto the floor.
My personal safety obsession around electronic equipment with loose cables is to wrap the cable around the leg of a piece of furniture. Makes it much harder to pull something off a table.
You could try checking some local hotels if they have some power supplies in their lost-and-found box they would like to donate. In my experience they usually have a few(Great place if you are short a mobile charger too). For the average business traveler the inconvenience and cost of getting a charger returned out-weights the cost of replacements, so they usually just get a new one. Leaving the left behind one orphaned.
Morty, I am almost embarrassed I didn't think of that on my own. I bet we could score some pretty hard-to-find chargers that way.
h
The owners may have decided that it wasn't worth buying a new one so they donated the laptop as-is. Usually it's not the supply itself that fails but the cables and uncommon or proprietary connectors.
ya know, a place I used to go was retrobox which had donated parts they put up for sale after they recertified them.
It was bought and now is http://www.intechraoutlet.com/home/
You might take a look at that site or partner with them?
I've picked up orphan power supplies on Ebay. Some are amazingly cheap. But, right now, all I can contribute is advice.prona
If you are still looking for a monitor for a D600, I am 90% sure I have an operational one sitting at the house. I kept it from a system we threw out at work. Most of the laptop was cooked but the screen was good so I kept it.
(It's nice being the IT guy at a small office).
I am on the road this week, but I could stick it in a box early next week.
@ Andy,
I can most certainly use that screen. email me helios at fixedbylinux dott komm when you return and we'll see what we can do.
h
you know those adapters are not cheap. they should have use a little common sense and included the adapters. anyway good luck with the donations!
The owners may have decided that it wasn't worth buying a new one so they donated the laptop as-is. Usually it's not the supply itself that fails but the cables and uncommon or proprietary connectors.
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