Category: Repair

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Ebike BMS Upgrade

An ebike battery from 2012 has given great service, but the balancing of some individual cells in this 16S Lithium Iron Phosphate battery started to take much longer than others. Eventually, some cells would not balance at all. Each cell has its own “channel” on the battery management system (BMS). A red LED on the BMS should illuminate when the cell comes up to full charge.

On closer examination, some of the sense wires to individual cells were found to have become disconnected. These were resoldered which brought some improvement, but still balancing was not happening consistently. Some damage and corrosion on the BMS circuit board was then found. In the world of ebikes, things have moved on quite a bit since 2012. So it was decided to replace the stock BMS with an up-to-date Bluetooth enabled one.

A “JK” BMS was chosen, which seems to be a popular brand from various online forums. The one page “manual” that came with the BMS isn’t the best, and would probably get a “could do better” if it was a school or college project. Thankfully, with a bit of help from a number of YouTube channels, the BMS was fitted ok and started up. With the matching smartphone app installed, it’s cool to see all the individual cell voltages in real time and the balancing happening before your eyes.

If you’d like to see these kinds of fixes and mods that we get up to, drop in to our Monday night Electronics or Tuesday Open House.
 

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Another Repair Café Fix

We’re no stranger to Repair Cafés  here at TOG, having just run our biggest one ever in January. Repair Cafés are events where volunteers try to fix stuff to keep it in-service and out of landfill. We had about 90 fixes attempted on the day with much success, thanks to a fantastic pool of fixers. You can read about it in the Irish Times.

This particular fix was a simple one, but we also decided to upgrade the power socket to USB-C. A rechargeable work light from ALDI had become intermittent in charging. The charging socket (micro USB) seemed sensitive to touch. Some of the tiny surface mount pins on the charging socket circuit board had failed. These proved quite difficult to re-solder, even with our best hot air kit.

Checking the usual Chinese websites, there are many kinds of USB-C plugs and sockets available. We bought 3 types…. some chassis mounting ones, some on a small PCB similar to the original one, and some plain vanilla ones with just 2 flying leads. We decided to use the plain one. With a bit of enlarging of the hole to make it fit, and some 2-part epoxy, the new USB-C socket is now in place and connected up. These have just a red and a black wire so it’s just 5V, but that’s fine for this application.

Talking afterwards, most of the gadgets and gizmos that we’ve made at TOG have traditionally used some kind of barrel plug for 5V or 12V. Since USB-C is now the in-thing, it’s easy to use it for new projects. Drop in to our regular Monday night Electronics or Tuesday night Open House to see this and much more.

If you need something repaired come along to our upcoming repair cafes.

Fingal Makerspace, Blanchardstown Library 29th March 2025

Tog Hackerspace, 19th April 2025

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January 2024 Repair Cafe

Bring your broken gadgets and gizmos to get them fixed by skilled volunteers at TOG Hackerspace!
Save your things from the landfill and your wallet from having to replace them.

Join us in Tog on Sunday 19th of January from 12 pm – 4 pm.

What objects can you bring in?

  • Clothes and accessories
  • Toys
  • Small electrical appliances and electronics
  • Small furniture
    … and many other things!

Safety testing (PAT) for electrical devices will be available.

Whether it’s a wonky toaster or a glitchy switch, our experienced volunteers are here to help. No need to throw things away when they can be fixed! Swing by with your items and let’s get them back in working order together. TOG members will be on hand to show you around the space – come and enjoy a tea or coffee and a tour while you wait!

See you there!

Where? – Unit 1B Motor City, Kylemore Road, Dublin 12, D12 CF6V
When? – Sunday, January 19th, 12 pm – 4 pm
Admission is free – but book a ticket so we can plan numbers – all are welcome!

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/1122854872149?aff=oddtdtcreator

If you would like to be a fixer, drop us an email.

Continue reading “January 2024 Repair Cafe”
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Fixing Household Items with 3D Printing: Two Simple Projects

3D printing has become an incredibly useful tool for household repairs. With a little creativity, you can fix broken items instead of throwing them away. In this post, Christian will share how he used a Prusa 3D printer to repair two everyday items: a toilet roll holder and a window blind clip.

Project 1: Toilet Roll Holder Repair
When the mounting bracket of my toilet roll holder broke, I decided to design a custom clip to fix it. Here’s how I did it:

  • Problem: The original bracket snapped, making the holder unusable.
  • Solution: I measured the dimensions of the broken part and designed a replacement in CAD software.
  • Process: I printed the new clip using a Prusa 3D printer, and it fit perfectly. The 3D-printed part is sturdy and works just like the original.
  • Materials: PLA filament, 0.2mm layer height.
  • Time: Approximately 1 hour to print.
Continue reading “Fixing Household Items with 3D Printing: Two Simple Projects”
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October Repair Cafe

Bring your broken gadgets and gizmos to get them fixed by skilled volunteers at TOG Hackerspace!
Save your things from the landfill and your wallet from having to replace them.

Join us in Tog on Saturday 19th of October from 2 pm – 6 pm.

What objects can you bring in?

  • Clothes and accessories
  • Toys
  • Small electrical appliances and electronics
  • Small furniture
    … and many other things!

Safety testing (PAT) for electrical devices will be available.

Whether it’s a wonky toaster or a glitchy switch, our experienced volunteers are here to help. No need to throw things away when they can be fixed! Swing by with your items and let’s get them back in working order together. TOG members will be on hand to show you around the space – come and enjoy a tea or coffee and a tour while you wait!

See you there!

Where? – Unit 1B Motor City, Kylemore Road, Dublin 12, D12 CF6V
When? – Saturday, October 19th, 2 pm – 6 pm
Admission is free – but book a ticket so we can plan numbers – all are welcome!

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/repair-cafe-tickets-1015213750657?aff=tog

If you would like to be a fixer, drop us an email.

Continue reading “October Repair Cafe”
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Dublin Climate Action Week 2024 Launch

We’re excited to share that our very own Jeffrey Roe presented Tog’s latest initiative, the “Repair Café in a Box”, at the Dublin Climate Action Week 2024 Launch. This event brought together an inspiring mix of community groups from all four Dublin local authorities: Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal, and South Dublin.

Repair Cafés provide a volunteer-run space where people can bring broken household items—anything from electronics to furniture—to be fixed. Our new “Repair Café in a Box” model aims to make it even easier for community groups to set up their own repair cafés by providing them with all the essential tools and resources, available for free rental.

This initiative is not just about fixing broken items but about fostering a culture of repair, sustainability, and community-driven action. It aligns perfectly with the themes of Dublin Climate Action Week, focusing on reducing waste and supporting local climate initiatives.

Check out some of the press coverage from the event below:

https://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-climate-action-week-2024-6482926-Sep2024

We’re excited to share that our very own Jeffrey Roe presented Tog’s latest initiative, the “Repair Café in a Box”, at the Dublin Climate Action Week 2024 Launch. This event brought together an inspiring mix of community groups from all four Dublin local authorities: Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal, and South Dublin.