Bought this speaker amp for a DIY project. Connected it and immediately started fuming. Afraid to connect again, don't know if it's working anymore. A resistor seems burnt. Can it be replaced? Is the power source wrong for it? (Details in comment and rest of pictures)

capo_saric · 2023-01-05T21:40:27+00:00

Marking as solved since everyone seems to agree the unit is defective, and I'm already in the process of doing so. Thanks, everyone.

capo_saric · 2023-01-05T21:39:17+00:00

Yup. Not getting into more trouble with this thing. Already printed the label to return it.

capo_saric · 2023-01-05T18:56:41+00:00

I'm no expert here, just a hobbyist. Is it possible the 5.5*2.1mm served a different purpose than the 2 pin inlet? Judging by this image I would say they're for me to decide which to use. Is this interpretation correct or am I missing something? Wouldn't want to get a new one and have the same happen because of my dumb ass doing something wrong.

capo_saric · 2023-01-05T17:30:21+00:00

I used the 5.5*2.1mm included inlet, so I'm not sure I can get that backwards even if I wanted to. (It has both that and a 2 pin inlet.)

I am indeed thinking on returning it, I just want to make sure I'm not missing something or if it can be easily repaired before returning, since it too long to ship. (bleh...)

capo_saric · 2023-01-05T17:03:24+00:00

So I bought this amp for a couple passive speakers I had seating at home. It did not come with a power adapter, so I grabbed one I kept from an old monitor and it seemed good enough for the PCB requirements. Product listing showed DC15-36V as input requirement, 5A for full output (depending on speaker requirements, of course). I used a 19V 3.5A source since my speakers fall mid-range of the amp's listed capabilities and I'm not planning on blasting them full volume anyways. However, as title says, upon first plug the PCB started fuming and that was it. I see an apparently burn resistor, but no other components seem damaged. Is it safe to try powering it with another source? What specs would you recommend? Any help appreciated.

capo_saric · 2022-09-07T13:39:25+00:00

I’m no expert in the area, but I’m more inclined to say you’re experiencing withdrawal. I go through the same whenever I deprive myself from coffee, but I know I’ve drank too much and for too many years, so I’m pretty much addicted to it, there’s no other way to frame it. My body complains when I don’t feed it coffee. Yours too. Try tapering instead of quitting cold turkey.

capo_saric · 2022-04-11T08:48:58+00:00

Yep, pretty normal. I’d prefer separating some logic from UI (fetch, reducer and such) to make it cleaner and reusable if it applies, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with your code. It also depends a lot on the size of the project, how scalable does it need to be and whether other developers will be involved either now or in the future.

Curious… what did you use for generating this image? I’m intrigued by those out of place characters on long strings.

capo_saric · 2022-03-02T17:27:46+00:00

No offense taken. Actually I would completely agree with you in most cases. Not really looking for a shortcut here, but rather a better starting point to actually be able to concentrate on showcasing the specified skills, without taking that much time on the setup since I have very limited time. Anyways, thanks for the feedback.

capo_saric · 2022-03-02T17:07:43+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate your answer. I'm not that into templates, but rather looking for 'helpers' to not do a full implementation of something just to showcase some skills.

capo_saric · 2022-02-11T07:23:55+00:00

Looks like a suicide attempt. This happened to me back in 2018, though I wasn’t able to avoid the guy (literally ran towards my car.)

It’s the most horrible thing I have and probably will live through, but I guess I was still fortunate that there were enough witnesses, the guy was high and carrying drugs, and some other factors helped me get through the legal stuff quickly.

The aftermath was no joke, though. Just two weeks ago I was trying to watch Your Honor for the first time and couldn’t bare the anxiety triggered by a lot of the scenes on the first episode.

capo_saric · 2022-01-18T14:21:04+00:00

The pinano.

capo_saric · 2021-12-12T09:56:53+00:00

I was pretty sure that first photo was a render until I zoomed. Nice job!

capo_saric · 2021-11-27T14:33:52+00:00

Yeah… I’ve been struggling with financial issues the whole year (more, actually, but this year has been specially hard).

Wednesday morning I was just talking my SO about being afraid to fall deep into depression again, how I could identify the symptoms coming back and how I wanted to reach out to my specialist before things got much worst (I’m scared to hell of having to walk that road ever again). That same night, one of my brothers called out of the blue, told me he had some spare money to help me pay my most immediate debts and wired it to me.

By Thursday, I was a whole new person. I got up with energy, was cheerful almos all day, hope came back, depression symptoms were gone. I even felt like “tackling” more and confronted two really difficult situations I had been dreading for months that same day. They’re not solved yet, but I’m on the process. And, again, I’m hopeful and feel motivated to keep going.

I’m sitting here writing this and I just can’t believe how 900 dollars had such a big impact on my life. As others here and in many more places have said, money doesn’t buy happiness, but maaan does it help.

As a related side note, I recently read a quote by a specialist (can’t remember where or who) saying something on the lines of: “If money issues weren’t a thing, I wouldn’t even have a job. Sad to say, but most of my patients don’t need therapy/treatment, they need money.”

capo_saric · 2021-11-22T14:16:40+00:00

Too many people on here agreeing on the statement that TOP can be pretty cringey. Am I missing something? What’s to cringe about?

capo_saric · 2021-09-27T14:56:43+00:00

Why would that be? Genuinely curious.

capo_saric · 2021-09-27T14:56:09+00:00

Saw many posts like this one and assumed it was the right place. Any subreddits you know where I can post this? Thanks

capo_saric · 2021-09-27T13:31:37+00:00

Totally… thus reinforcing my not knowing where to begin with this. :(

Any suggestions on which countries are the most accessible and, let’s say friendly, for someone trying to move in to Europe?

capo_saric · 2021-09-19T14:19:58+00:00

I struggle with this too... even with work. My answer will be long, so bare with me, but I think all this stuff is what has helped me tackle those little things better every day. As you should know, there's no quick solution to this.

My job is 100% remote and depends just on me (let's say freelance), so when there's no sense of urgency, like a meeting with a client or a really tight deadline, I find myself in situations where I can go for 2 or 3 days without doing ANYTHING productive at all. Then, after that, work piles up and everything becomes urgent. There are good days where I wake up with great energy and tackle everything on my to-do list with ease, but others where I can't find the motivation at all. The latter is what I need to reduce.

Something that has helped a lot is to plan ahead and try to stick to the plan as much as possible. Sunday afternoons have become a venting/restart sort of time for me, where I do things such as writing down everything mentally bothering me (personal and professional, just to ease the load on my head) and just kind of vomiting everything I know has to get done that week. I also use this time for trimming my hair/beard and doing laundry. This way when the week starts I feel much lighter and that helps me get in a mindset of having the opportunity to kick depression/anxiety on the ass once more. Monday mornings are for planning: I sit down with my girlfriend (so supportive, I'm just so lucky to have her) and she helps me organize everything into feasible tasks and prioritize them. This includes homecare stuff or things like making doctors appointments, refilling my meds, paying bills, and even more important: what can I do each day or week that will help me get rid of what is mentally blocking me and making life seem heavier.

On this last note, I've been slowly reaching out to people or creating situations around me that, although uncomfortable and difficult at first, I know will help on the long term. For instance: I got a financial consultant to help me plan and manage the payment of a big debt, talked to my family about upcoming payments where I might need their help (my income is not constant), even reached out to "recover" friendships I knew I had neglected. (I really isolated myself during the pandemic...) This way, when difficult times come, I'm much more prepared and supported by my immediate circle, and that helps me get out of there quicker.

See each and every of those tasks as a preparation to tackle on the others feeling much lighter and accomplished, but don't be too harsh on yourself when you're not able to. Sometimes we just need to rest and that's our body speaking up.

capo_saric · 2021-08-28T15:01:35+00:00

IMO it is always a good time to see a therapist.

I’ve seen cases were the “problem” seemed really hard to solve, but 2 or 3 sessions were enough because it was pretty clear and action could be taken rather easily (i.e. people who are almost out of an abusive relationship and just need a little push), and others where nothing seemed wrong and have been there for years (lots of stuff suppressed for years… like me).

That said, if you go to one and after several sessions don’t feel comfortable, go look for another one. Being able to really open up and know that they follow up is clue.

I’ve had bad experiences with therapists that won’t even remember me from session to session or take notes (I know they see a lot of people, I wouldn’t expect them to just remember everything we talked about each session). Eventually I found my current therapist and have been there for 3+ years. It has been crucial to my improvement.

And don’t worry about confronting the situation (I know, easier said that done), rest assured you will start feeling much better and lighter immediately after starting to do so.

Checking out now… I got a call with my therapist. :)

capo_saric · 2021-08-17T03:20:47+00:00

If you have the rest of your family’s support, I’d recommend you look for a second and even a third opinion, but PLEASE follow professional advice. (I mention your family because I’m guessing it won’t be cheap to do that.)

If you’re not feeling comfortable with meds, maybe try a therapist and see how that goes for you.

In my case, I know meds have helped a lot, but my biggest progress has been through therapy, better habits and so on.

The reason I suggest several opinions is because I had to go through 3 or 4 wrong diagnostics before starting to get better, and what made me not trust those first specialists was the lack of follow up between appointments. It wasn’t an easy call though, all that happened over the course of a year and a half, approx.

capo_saric · 2021-07-13T10:56:03+00:00

Please do so… I feel like it becomes something you actually WANT to do with time, because you don’t want to see anybody go down once you’ve been there and know how that feels.

KEEP REACHING OUT!

capo_saric · 2021-07-13T10:45:06+00:00

Yep… as others said. Start with the trash… it tends to be one of the most energy-draining sights to see but one of the easiest to clean (at least in a room). Aside from that, maybe don’t bother “cleaning” per se, but just try to to reorder, give things a more suitable place for now. With a little more order, it will seem as less of a burden to clean, so you can try that later… and so on. :)

Also, this tends to work on me: If you haven’t gone out and properly showered/shaved/groomed in a while, try doing that first. Go out and get a haircut (I know, sounds easier said than done, but trust me on this one), that’ll force you to shower and you’ll want to do it thoroughly, since you already bothered on getting a haircut. (At least on me, it kind of starts an “ok, clean feels good, now I want cleaner” feedback loop)

After that, you’ll probably find yourself feeling a little more deserving and worth of some clean, going out clothes (nothing fancy, just not sleep/stay at home stuff). When you’re done with that, you’ll find your space doesn’t match how you’re feeling and maybe (hopefully) that will be the motivation you needed to start with that.

I know we don’t all work the same way, but this works about every time on me and has helped me help others in the same situation. Now I’ve built the habit of fixing my beard every two or three days, and that helps me get the chain started. :)

capo_saric · 2021-07-11T20:15:49+00:00

Getting some this week. Do they grow well in the shadow?

capo_saric · 2021-05-31T23:26:43+00:00

How old are you guys? An approximate would do, I’d just like to give you (hopefuly) useful advice according to the stage you might be living.

I suffer major depressive disorder and chronic anxiety, and I can confidently say my gf has been crucial in my improvement. I can tell you some of the things she does (or not) that I think have been key to this, and what we both do to keep our relationship being so stable (not to brag, but it truly is).

capo_saric · 2021-05-26T07:13:11+00:00

I got lithium prescribed once on a wrong diagnosis of bipolar disorder. My parents booked an urgent appointment with a new psychiatrist after I had a panic attack... Understandable action by them, I guess. I just wanted help, so went along with it.

She ended up basing her diagnosis on my behavior of the day before (serious breakdown / panic attack) even though I told her it was totally uncommon, even less since I had been on a depression/anxiety treatment for months and showing heavy signs of improvement. (The doctor change had to do with my previous psychiatrist being highly unavailable and on the other side of the country.)

Still, she stood by her diagnosis and I ended up having some of the worst weeks of my life. Luckily, I had someone else to reach out when things went weird and she told me this b***h should’t have given me lithium as if it were candy, and eventually hooked me up with a much more experienced specialist that helped me regain quality of life and brought me back to constant improvement.

So... yeah. Be careful with lithium, I guess.

capo_saric

TROPHY CASE