I don’t know exactly when it happened. I just know that it eventually quit working. It is one of those picture frame LCD panels with a slot in the back for a flash memory card. My lovely wife had purchased it for me a couple of years ago, and I keep it on my desk at work, occasionally updating the photos on the memory card, so I can have nice scrolling pictures of my family with me while I am working. I really like these things. If you don’t have one, you should get one!
In any event, at some point this past week it quit working. The screen was black, and there was no indication of what the problem was. A quick press of the power button didn’t revive it either. So I started troubleshooting.
The power supply says that it is 5 volts DC, and that it is 1000 mA of current. A quick check with the multimeter looked good at first, since it was 4.9 VDC, making me think it was a good power supply. But then I decided to check the amperage. Bingo! It was only putting out about 100 mA, not 1000!
Well, long story short, I couldn’t find another readily available 5 volt DC, 1000 mA power supply. Then I realized that all USB power supplies are 5 volt DC, and usually 800-1000mA. So, I chopped the old cord off, cut a USB cord in half, and did a quick test using alligator clips. Success! The unit powered right up with cheery images of my fun loving family!
I grabbed some heat shrink tubing, did some trimming, warmed up the soldering iron and got to work. About 5 minutes later I had a functioning LCD picture frame!
Linux – keep it simple.