Hello! I'm Nathan, and I'm excited to share my interest and contributions to repair towards the iFixit community! I am a student at York University, currently pursuing a Bachelor in Information Technology. This degree interests me as it provides opportunities to apply problem solving skills to real world scenarios. This also includes my knowledge and skills in electronics repair, which will prove useful in diagnosing hardware related issues.
My Story
Since I was little, I was fascinated with how things worked. I would peer inside toys and shine a light through an opening, casting a shadow of all the various electronic components against the plastic. Without access to tools, I had no means of disassembling my toys until one day, I received a DIY model kit. Inside was a small, child-sized Philips head screwdriver, the perfect size for removing all the screws found in my other toys! With the screws out and the plastic casing apart the innards revealed themselves, a sea of neatly arranged components. While before I could only see shadows, now I can see what was behind the shadows, the cylindrical capacitors and rows of resistors vital to many electronics today. Having access to this simple tool allowed me to gain significant insight, just like how iFixit will allow many people to access the info they need to repair their own devices.
Current Goals
Having acquired more tools since that first screwdriver, my goal is to learn how to disassemble and repair devices in a safer, less destructive manner compared to previous attempts. By learning safe disassembly practices from iFixit I will reduce the chance of damage to components during the disassembly process, resulting in a cleaner repair. I would also like to improve on the process of documentation, ensuring others can replicate my process and increasing accessibility of repair instructions.
Skills
- Disassembly of small electronic devices
- Through hole soldering
- Attention to detail when creating structured, procedural documents
Repair Experience
- Component level disassembly and reassembly of several smartphones and computers without provided instructions.
- Replacement of a broken USB-A female port for a wireless Karaoke microphone
- Design of 3D-printed bracket to reinforce a button inside a USB battery bank
Figure 1: Reassembly of old LG smartphone (not sure if GIFs are supported)
Video not scrapped
Figure 2: Wireless Karaoke mic working with battery plugged into newly replaced female USB port
