Macopinion

The Road Warrior Mailbag - September 17, 20

Professional iBook Video Chip Repair Company

From Robert Eye

Charles,

I don't know if you are aware of this company or not, but I thought I'd pass along the info to you.

There is a company called First Phase Technologies in Tempe, AZ (USA) that does board-level electronic repairs. Specifically, they do re-flow and re-balling of the video chip on white iBooks for a very reasonable fee.

http://www.firstphasetech.com/ibook-repair-g3-g4.html

There was a lister on the LEM Swap List who offered 2 iBooks for sale recently who had this repair done to both units; he seemed very happy with the results. This is how I heard of the company (I have had no personal dealings with them, and I am not affiliated with them in any way).

You might wish to pass this along to your readers. Getting an otherwise working iBook back up to speed for a reasonable cost (especially if they can do the logic board removal themselves) might be worth the investment.

Regards,

Robert Eye
Dallas, TX

Hi Robert;

Thanks muchly. I hadn't been previously aware of this service. :ooks like a good alternative to scrapping a misbehaving iBook or paying through the nose for a new logic board.

The sticking point of course for most people would be getting the logic board out. iBooks are mean to work on. However, someone reasonably handy and with the assistance of iFixIt's teardown guides should be able to do it with care and patience.

Charles

Dear Mr Moore

Please forgive the long delay in thanking you for all the articles and for all of your advice.

Before replying to you I have been waiting see whether my solution for dealing with the fumes from the MacBook would be effective for a sustained period of time. We couldn’t face making the isolation boxes and I really wanted a portable solution. I do believe that I have had a qualified success. This is my (rather long) saga to date......................

I told the Mac Store that I needed time to try to find a solution to my problem and asked whether they would extend the two-week refund period. They were really nice and told me not to worry and that I could bring the MacBook back if I couldn't find a solution. That was a real relief, as I really needed time to try to offgass the MacBook and also to do some research.

My new MacBook went across to my friend's house. He downloaded the 'smcFancontrol' application as recommended in one of the MacForums. He ran the MacBook at his house continuously for 4 weeks. I took it back after the 4 weeks.

Meanwhile, he had lent me his two-year-old MacBook, to which I was also allergic, but not quite so virulently (he calculated that his use over the two years would amount to one year’s intensive use). I determined that I would use those 4 weeks to try to find a solution using my friend's MacBook, as I wasn't confident that my MacBook would be OK when it came back.

You will recall that I was going to try the IQAir Professional Dental Air Cleaner (see http://www.naturalsolutions1.com ) with a hose to suck the fumes directly from the back of the MacBook. However, it was priced at over £1,000.00 and was enormous. I declined the offer of a free home demo with a 30-day return agreement and looked for a cheaper version.

I found the 'Siesta Flash Streamer' (see http://www.healthy-house.co.uk ) at £359.00. It had no hose, and was the size of a small radiator, but it also offered a 30-day return agreement, so I sent off for it. Despite running it at top speed, and placing the air input vents directly behind the MacBook, it soon became obvious that it would be necessary to direct the fumes into the air input vents. So my husband secured a plastic bag loosely around the vents at the back of the MacBook and connected a number of drinking straws to reach the air intake. This worked OK, but only with the Air Purifier running at top speed and sounding like an express train. Despite the manufacturer's claim that I could easily carry it upstairs, it was awkward and very heavy. So, after all that effort, I had a rather noisy, non-portable, Heath Robinson solution.

I did some more research, but found that not many of the other Air Purifiers had charcoal filters to deal with fumes. Then my husband saw an advertisement for an 'Oreck XL Tabletop Professional Air Purifier' (see <http://www.oreck.com>www.oreck.com) on a TV shopping channel. It was the size of a large fan heater; it cost £189.00; had a 30-day return agreement and a ‘free’ gift – a portable Vacuum cleaner. So I sent off for it.

It worked much better than the Siesta (the same deal with the plastic bag and the straws), at a vastly reduced speed and much more quietly, so I sent the Siesta back. The only drawback was that the Oreck also wasn't a very portable solution. OK, it could fit onto a LARGE side table, but I had no intention of lugging both a table and Air Purifier around the house.

Around this time, I remembered that I had bought a small Roomaid Air Purifier (see http://www.healthy-house.co.uk ) some years ago to deal with the fumes from a new car, but for some reason, I had never used it. My husband found it in the garage and it really was a neat tabletop size. Unfortunately, we couldn’t use the straw system as it sucked air in through the large, outer, HEPA Filter. It also blew the clean air out of a vent around the base of the machine, which had the effect of blowing the Mac fumes back into my face! So we dismantled the Roomaid, and my husband organised the plastic bags and straws to go directly through the carbon and zeolite filter. But this was a very unstable arrangement, as the fan was loose on the base of the Roomaid, and it still meant lugging something awkward and rather heavy around.

It was then that we got our own MacBook back. It was as I feared. It was still offgassing, although not quite so much, and I was still reacting.

However, by now, my husband had devised a flexible tube system (instead of the straws) to go directly into to the Roomaid filter; he had managed to get an airtight seal and had ducktaped the filter to the base of the Roomaid. So, it was only a matter of attaching the plastic bag to the back of the new MacBook!!

Unfortunately, the vents on our new MacBook were in a completely different place to the vents on the older one, and they were almost impossible to seal off.

However, he persevered, and eventually did it. We set the smcFancontrol to maximum and switched the MacBook on but…………………. POUF…………………the MacBook nearly exploded and just expired! I was convinced we’d killed it, so we quickly removed the plastic bag from the vents and switched it on again. It was OK, but I certainly needed resuscitation!!

It was back to the drawing board. I couldn’t use my new MacBook, so I went searching the Net again on my old PC.

By now I really was determined to find a truly portable solution. I noticed various portable Ionisers hanging around people’s necks but try as I might, I couldn’t see how they could help, as they only deal with particles. Then I saw one photographed next to a white MacBook on the ‘Healthy House’ website (see http://www.healthy-house.co.uk ). It was called ‘myairZone’ (see http://www.myairzone.com ) and it claimed that it could clear the ‘outgas’ from photocopying machines. I phoned the Healthy House to ask how an Ioniser could possibly deal with a gas. They didn’t know, so they gave me the number of the manufacturer ( 01425 638169 ).

I spoke to a gentleman called Julian Laws and he said that the Healthy House blurb was misleading, as the Ioniser dealt with particles produced by toners used in photocopying machines which were then commonly referred to as the ‘outgassing’ of the photocopier. He said that he would get the Healthy House to alter the blurb.

We then fell into conversation about particles and gases, and the point at which a gas becomes a particle. We talked about the use of carbon and zeolite filters for the effective removal of gases. He said that his company really manufactured large Air Purification systems for Industry and Commerce and that Companies seemed to find that his Ionisers also dealt with chemical odours, although he never made any claims that they would, and that he always gave a trial period and money back guarantee. He said that the ‘myairZone’ was only a small part of their business.

I asked why the website showed a photo of the ‘myairZone’ with a MacBook, and he said that people with electrical sensitivity to computers seemed to benefit from using the ‘myairZone’, and that it also seemed to be effective in combating ‘sick building syndrome’. He said that he had received a few enquiries from chemically sensitive people and had told them that he couldn’t say that it would help, but that he offered a two month return agreement if it didn’t. He said that he had never had any returned, but neither had he had any report on their effectiveness on chemical sensitivity.

All in all, I was impressed by the manner of his conversation, and the testimonials on the Website, so I decided to try one. However, my memories of the pyramid-shaped 1980’s Ionisers which had given no benefit at all, made me extremely skeptical that the ‘myairZone’ would have any effect.

I was very cautious at first, and used it in conjunction with the ‘Oreck’, but when I got up the courage to try it on its own, much to my astonishment - it worked! I can do about two hours on the MacBook now with no ill effect. Any longer and I feel a bit tired, but am OK after a short break.

I reckon that it’s the equivalent of the charcoal mask, just a lot more comfortable and convenient. I set the ‘smcfanconttrol’ to 3795 and make sure to keep the Mac book plugged into the mains (I find the long leads on the Mac give me sufficient freedom in the house). I’m certain that I’m reacting to the flame retardant on the battery. It comes flooding out when I use just the Battery, and even the myairZone can’t cope with that. I haven’t yet tried using it on battery with the fan set at its highest speed.

The MacBook is still offgassing somewhat, so I want to rig up a fan system to put at the back of it when I sit at a desk to use it for long periods. We’re going to use a combination of parts from the ‘Roomaid’ (see above) and an Airpod ( http://www.airpurifiers.com ). I’ll let you know if it works!!

As for the ‘Oreck’ I’ve kept that as has it proved very useful in assisting me to cope with the offgassing of a new Sofa (my 30 year old sofa just couldn’t take any more renovating!!). I am also wearing the ‘myairZone’ constantly in the house and the combination of the two devices has ensured that I have escaped the usual horrible reaction to the flame-retardants in the new sofa!! The ‘myairZone’ also allowed me to spend more three hours in the Sofa shop!!

Would you consider trying a myairZone?? I know that I haven’t imagined its efficacy. You see it has a flashing orange light at the side to tell you that the emitter has clogged up. It can’t be seen as you are wearing it around your neck, but if I suddenly start to smell the fumes, or sneeze, I quickly check to see if the orange light is flashing. It inevitably is, and a quick flick to the emitter solves the problem. (Alternatively, I have disconnected the lead to get up out of my chair and have forgotten to reconnect it, so I'm running on the battery!!)

I had run-in with an HP Laptop on a job whilst all this was going on. It was about two years old, and someone else was using it. It was totally unexpected, and I couldn't get out of the situation, as a report had to be done there and then. It was the same dreaded smell, the same effects. It was the first time that I had worked with these people (very high profile), a brand new job, and I didn't have the 'myairZone then. I couldn't avoid the situation. I had all the windows and doors open and was hopping in and out of the corridor, with my hanky clamped firmly to my face, agreeing very important decisions whilst generally behaving like a lunatic!!

I’m sorry that this is so long and rambling. It’s been a long haul. What do you think??

anonymous

Charles

Globilization Sucks! - Soy Allergy And Computer Plastics

From Joseph

Hi Charles,

My wife has allergies to among other things, soybean derivatives. A week ago, I poured a glass of soy milk and she got sick.

I have bought 4 USB hubs in the past few months. All of them gave her an allergic reaction. But none affected her like the one I brought home yesterday from the Apple store. It was a Belkin that I paid $30.00 for. She had to flee the house.

My wife is still recovering after the disaster of yesterday.

What is happening is that the Chinese are using soybean to make soft molded plastics. The shiny plastics are petroleum based, like in computers. The opaque plastics are many times soybean based. The reason is that petroleum is more expensive than soybeans in China.

In 1946 when there was a scarcity of metal, Henry Ford made a few cars with the exterior made of soybeans. So it is quite feasible.

God help us if the Chinese start using peanut oil to make plastics. People will die just going to the mall! Luckily, my family wouldn't be affected by that.

For someone even more sensitive than my wife, it could be life threatening.

Best regards,
Joseph

Hi Joseph;

Terribly sorry to hear about your wife's sensitivity to plastics. Soybeans, eh? I had never thought of that, and to my knowledge I'm not allergic to them, or at least I wasn't the last time I ate tofu.

But I am drearily familiar with the concept of fleeing the house when the airspace gets contaminated with things I am sensitive to.

It's certainly plausible, and I've seen a famous photograph of Henry Ford, who was a big soybean-products booster, wailing on the soybean-based plastic trunk lid of what looks like a '39 or '40 Ford car to demonstrate how tough it was.

And yes, peanut allergy can be especially lethal it seems.

As I've mentioned in columns on the topic, I would be interested to know the respective provenance of the circuit board plastics used in the first generation '98 WallStreet PowerBooks (made in Ireland), and the second generation (made in Taiwan). The former gave me no problem; the latter made me quite ill.

Charles

CM