What was your last "man vs machine" ride or die? Did the machine beat you? What was the problem? Why did you invest so much into the challenge?

[DrPepper12]

I'm thinking repairing an appliance, car, home improvement project, tool, computer repair, wifi router, remote, PC, tablet fesktop whatever!

As a very wise, sagacious man once said:

"I didn't hear no bell". Randy Marsh

[exitseven]

I had an outboard motor that got submerged when the boat it was on had sunk in a storm. I brought it home and tore it apart and made sure I cleaned all the salt water out of it. I sprayed WD 40 all over it, did a tune up on it. I ran it in a 50 gallon barrel. It started and every couple of years I would test it. It was a few years before I bough a new boat. I started the engine and it would only run on one cylinder. I could not figure out what was wrong. I finally took it to a outboard motor repair place. The guy told me he would fix it. I told him i needed it by Labor Day weekend. This gave him 2 months to get it done. A couple of weeks before Labor Day I go to the shop and he tells me he just bought the parts and was going to do it I told him of it was not done by Labor Day he could forget about it. . A week later I go to the shop and the guy is not there. The person behind the counter told me that he was working on my motor and while he was running it, a piece of the flywheel flew off and hit him in the eye, He lost the eye.

I was so freaked out I left the motor there and never went back to pick it up.

[DrPepper12]

Shenanigans. Did I stutter?

[Crimsyjo]

WTF 😳 yeah there was something seriously unlucky about that boat. Glad you gave up on it!

[exitseven]

@Crimsyjo Yes, I put a notice up on the local bullitin board and sold it.

[Likes2drive]

I remember fighting to get a new cv axle joint back into the transfer case of an all wheel drive BMW while it was snowing on me but eventually I got it in after fighting with it for an hour and got everything back together so it could drive in the morning

[DryGermanGuy]

I added an OEM foglights kit to a car during autumn 20 years ago and it just would not work correctly. I swore to myself to go back into the house only when I got it working, which took me another two hours in almost darkness. Some plugs in the car were corroded and needed to be cleaned.

[Ariesman81]

I had an '05 Jeep GC that blew an engine. I went through 3, yes 3, used engines until I finally gave up and rebuilt the original. It takes roughly 18 hours for me to do a swap. That thing was a beast in the snow though!

[DrPepper12]

So that's the payoff!!! Great! 💯😃

[msc545]

Well, I've been beating the crap out of myself for a couple of days now trying to get a very expensive Bluetooth speaker to actually work with my computer's Bluetooth. So far, the speaker has won 10 battles, and I've won zero.

[exitseven]

Did you test the Bluetooth on your computer with another bluetooth device?
Does the speaker show up in the list of Bluetooth devices?
Can you get the speaker to work with your cell phone?

[msc545]

@exitseven to answer your questions in order, the Bluetooth on the computer seems to be problematic in that it produces a lot of static on other devices. I think I've concluded that it's probably that.

However, the computer does show up in the list of Bluetooth devices as paired, and it intermittently connects and disconnects. If I move it around, it sometimes connects fairly well, and other times, it doesn't connect at all.

The speaker does work with my cell phone. You are the expert on this stuff. What do you think?

[msc545]

Also, I purchased a device that is supposed to project a Bluetooth signal for about 300 feet. The device plugs into a USB port on my computer from which it draws power and then goes ahead and does its thing. Allegedly. It also supposedly will reproduce via a DAC music from my computer and transmit it over the Bluetooth channel. It does nothing of the sort. The computer can't even see the device, or if it does see the device, there is no music or any other audio transmitted. I'm going to send this thing back. It was $150, and I don't think it's worth a shit. I don't see how simply being into a USB port allows it to somehow connect to my sound card, but that's what the instructions tell me to do. It just flat-out doesn't work.

[msc545]

Oops, I meant to say the speaker does show up in the list of Bluetooth devices as paired, and it intermittently connects and disconnects from the Bluetooth transmitter in the computer. If I move it around, it sometimes connects fairly well, and other times, doesn't connect at all. This is the speaker, not the computer.

[exitseven]

Sounds like a hardware problem with the computer. You can get a USB Bluetooth adapter for your pc for 15-20 bucks. Make sure that you disable the built in bluetooth on your computer.

[msc545]

@exitseven there's no built-in Bluetooth on this motherboard. Instead, the USB Bluetooth adapter is an aftermarket one that plugs into a USB port and has a short antenna on it. Sometimes moving the antenna around helps a little bit, but not much. I think it's just basically broken. What is your thought about the other device?

[exitseven]

@msc545 Truthfully, i have never used one of those USB devices. The USB port connects to every device on your computer. Thus the name Universal Serial Bus. It connects directly to your audio adapter. Send the thing back. It sounds like a dud.

[msc545]

@exitseven I'm trying to send it back if I can find the company that made it. I did get a letter back from them when I complained about it, so we'll see what happens. Do you know of a reputable manufacturer of these devices? There seems to be a lot of crap on the market.

[exitseven]

I never got one to use with a PC but i just bought one for my stereo.
www.amazon.com/.../ref=sxin_28_pa_sp_search_thematic-asin_sspa

It works good but my stereo is a lot better than the MP3 files on my laptop. It does not sound as good as when I play a vinyl record on it.

[msc545]

I think that nothing sounds as good as a final record. Played on a really good turntable and through really good amp and speakers.

[msc545]

That looks a lot like the one I bought with a major difference between yours and mine. Being that yours apparently works s and mine does not. I even remember seeing that one when I was shopping for mine on Amazon.

[exitseven]

@msc545 I have a pretty good stereo I put together when I was a kid. I have been carrying it around wiht me almost my whole life.

[msc545]

That's very nice. What brand is it?

[Anonymous]

A kinky ex had this machine and I will say no more.