RUARK R1 with NO Power | Can I FIX It?

[@ISquishWorms]

After watching your videos I thought I would give it a go at fixing up EBay stuff so I bid on and won an untested retro alarm clock radio for £5:39 only to receive a fully working alarm clock. I consider this my first EBay fix even though I had to do nothing except give it a good clean. 😁

[@balin1600]

and so the journey began

[@Mrfixit84]

A win is a win

[@jpelliz]

Nice

[@garypinholster1962]

I've done this too many times. You order something that is listed as "broken" or "faulty" and it's fine lol.

[@Yipper64]

Ive also been into Ebay fixes recently. I bought a lot of blind N64 games - not working. Two of them worked with a clean, the rest have obvious traces that are broken (which means the fix is obvious) and most of them I already had so its just - I can sell the ones I already have (that are generally in better condition) and keep the ones I fix! I also *just* bought a GBA labeled as for parts, but I contacted the seller and they said they just couldnt test it since they have no charger. So we will see how that goes, potentially it'll just work.

[@ferris7290]

I probably would've redone all the solder joints on the pins of that connector, if there's one cold joint likely to be more...

[@eliotmansfield]

Agreed

[@RegisMichelLeclerc]

I don't think it was even a cold joint, just a problem with the barrel connector: when looked from the "solder side", it worked, when turned upside down and looked from the "component side", it didn't, because gravity was pulling the pins down. Rectifying the position of the connector and re-soldering it in place solved everything, there was no need to re-solder the first pin, it's just usual metal fatigue due to pulling the jack in and out, sometimes it's even just the cable pulling down at the back: gravity is a bitch, but it's the law 🙂

[@SHADOW.GGG-]

@@RegisMichelLeclerc yep gravity sucks

[@cjh0751]

Dave's little microscope & soldering iron are adorable

[@CTCTraining1]

Can’t be long before Dave gets his own channel 😀👍

[@ISquishWorms]

Yes nice job Estar and Kegan, it is so cute and now Dave can solder too. He needs a multimeter though.

[@SCorpG22]

@@CTCTraining1 I wonder if Dave will have a Dave.

[@PaulSC1985]

😂😂😂

[@--Zook--]

Im an american, I was gaming with a british buddy today. We started talking KZbins and we both love watching your channel. Thanks for making awesome videos!

[@Rw-uy5pf]

Not been here in a while. Glad your channel is growing! Been here since you had like 20k followers and look at you now, my big man! Keep it up❤

[@chriskaprys]

really glad you're still going strong in 2025. Been going back through all your old vids for inspiration to knuckle down and repair stuff in my dusty boxes of "lost causes" - I think I'm better at soldering now and working out electronic repair puzzles just from watching your videos. Plus it makes me smile to see the evolution of your style. Happy new year, and thank you for all the inspiration and showing your process, and having fun with it. Peace!

[@lipvandip6480]

Only found your channel last week and i've been loving it! Keep up the good work mate, you've inspired me to get back to my projects that've been on hold for, well, far too long to be frank!

[@HanD_1964]

Hello Steve, I think you smelled the smell of hot Pertinax. It has a specific air. Once smelled, never forgotten. For many years it has been the basis for printed circuit boards in electrical and electronic equipment, where it has subsequently been replaced by glass fiber reinforced epoxy.

[@drgusman]

That's exactly a cold solder joint, the pin was not heated enough and there was a small layer of oxidation so the solder did cover the pin but not bonded to it, then after some time the oxidation gets worse and the contact stops working completelly. That's why is so important to use flux and properly heat up the components :)

[@hugegamer5988]

If flux is leaking from your capacitors you either failed to clean properly, or you might never make it back to 1985.

[@tambias]

Good working out for the dodgy solder joint steve.hope to see plenty of great videos this year.Always enjoy your content

[@Inugamiz]

Is always the simplest things. Here for another full year of repairs and burned plastic!

[@joshjeffery1300]

I remember in the 90’s, Children In Need did a “Smell O Vision” episode of Eastenders. You had to buy a scratch and sniff guide, and at certain points in the episode, you had to scratch off a panel. It was absolutely horrific. Especially the Pat Butcher toilet scene.

[@markmcdermott5902]

lol

[@hugegamer5988]

Ahh the 90s. We got scratch and sniff stickers at school, I remember getting one from the gas company with “natural gas” smell, the same chemical they add to make it stink. Why do people say “this is the _worst_ thing I’ve ever smelled! Here, smell it l!”?

[@koraypekericli]

Lucky find! Easy fix! Ruark originally put out their single box radios/music systems under the Vita Audio brand before re-branding them as Ruark Audio. If you can find a broken R4 grab it. Amazing sound from a retro designed stylish device. High quality stuff.

[@rebeltaz123]

I really enjoy watching your videos. I learned electronics from my dad when I was old enough to hold a soldering iron and made a career out of repairs for 30+ years. The first thing he always taught me about cold solder joints is that you never just flow new solder over the joint. You need to pull/suck the old solder off and flow completely new solder on to the joint. Looking forward to more videos!

[@djmystareez5961]

I have that exact one in the kitchen and has worked well for a few years now! I love it 🥰

[@hubertvale5132]

“Get in there!” is my favorite new catch phrase! 😅

[@hugegamer5988]

If repair were a fighting game it would be landing a solid combo.

[@hawaiisteve932]

Fun video , that is indeed a decent radio , $399 + new !!!! great fix .

[@cheex18]

LOVE the Canadian shirt there buddy, i shop there all the time. you dont strike me as an outdoorsman though.

[@abackimages5351]

Awesome fix sometimes micro cracks clearly wasn’t connected or morgellons

[@michaelwolak3098]

Hi Steve your video’s keep fixed to my pad your approach to repairs is both amusing and entertaining, I have a question for you in many of your videos when you are repairing Nintendo consoles with faulty batteries ,you use a small board to jump start the battery,what is this board called and where can you get them from. Keep the videos coming Michael

[@TheKoolBean]

i'll go as far as to say terrible caught me off guard and really tickled me! Great video as always!

[@dragonball7]

great fix! look simple but really good analysis of the possible power failure cause

[@alecnab2340]

You need to resolder all pin header points too, they may have cold joint too

[@wisher21uk]

They’re about £240 new, great fix Steve well done for starting with the simple things first…. 😊

[@pedrobernardi4706]

happy to see that you're back!

[@JDMBAM89]

binged all your video's love your content. Dave has a sweet set-up now.

[@ajaks7636]

Must have been a cold solder joint. Great Repair and Video! Thanks.

[@jonathanjones3527]

Hope every fix this year will be as stress free as this one 🙏

[@Rayu25Demon]

you saved the day again, hero.

[@SHawkeye007]

Dry joint Steve, keep them coming buddy!

[@biggtiming4220]

So glad you back was wondering where you was😂

[@Henck4]

Thought you were left behind in 2024.😅

[@BelovedPotatoRepairs]

I had a very similar issue on one of my videos, through me off at first seeing as I had continuity but no voltage. Just a bad solder joint in end. Nice simple fix

[@davers1610]

Glad you're back loving the videos. Don't know if you'd be interested in having a look at a Mitutoyo digital indicator? Miles beyond my capacity to fix.

[@suehunt622]

i love your channel, one thing that cracks me up is why do you put everything back together before you test it. the number of times this has caught you out is crazy. even your face is a picture when you have to take it apart again. looking forward to many more vids this year.

[@JWAM]

It makes for a rather anticlimatic "rest of the video if it has been tested to be functional before assembly. :p

[@whompronnie]

Because it's more fun for us this way!

[@foxIme-f7s]

Happy New Year, I was all the time since then waiting, for a new video and here it is!! Cherio Mate, your the best (and funniest :) )😉 really love videos especially your diagnostic skills!

[@Fingerprintguy]

Love the Cabelas 🍁 shirt

[@NikBoff]

Great vid for the new year. looking forward to many more.

[@darrenhayden40]

Classic DRY solder joint faults can sometimes be very hard to find!! Nice easy fix though this time,,lol,,😁😁

[@andersandersson7996]

Finally you are back. Where have you been? Missed your videos.

[@malcolmharrow5924]

Welcome back! You have been missed !

[@jonahweinshenker]

Nice when it turns out to be a simple fix sometimes👍🏻

[@dav1dsm1th]

If you think that last track was bad, you really ought to listen to the shite between 1:40 and 2:54 🙂 Thanks for everything that surrounds those 74 seconds of purgatory (and the timestamp that lessens the horror). Stay safe out there.

[@thereformedvapist4829]

woo hes back hope you had a great break

[@alanbutler487]

Nice easy fix, I would've redone all the solder joints, just in case 😊

[@anthonywenban7471]

You may find that the edge connector pin is broken on the opposite side to the solder, due to board being supported by the edge connector and your soldering has bridged the break. It may fail again and require the right angle pin replacing? Just a thought 🤔

[@binarysneaker]

Hey Steve, been watching for a while, love your channel. Recent videos have been pretty straightforward fixes... how about something more challenging?

[@JeffreyGroves]

Cold solder joint for sure. Crazy how that works sometimes.

[@StezStixFix]

Yeah, it's pretty crazy. I know i kept saying it in the video, but it looked absolutely perfect! Without the multimeter, I would never have suspected it.

[@edz]

Dad joke says I hate it when someone/something gives me the cold solder.

[@gosurc1860]

Your comment is top. Thanks for the spoiler !

[@damu1969]

Did you hear about the cannibal who was late for supper? He got the cold shoulder! 😉 👉

[@MikeJones-xi8bg]

Where can I send stuff got a couple things that should make a good video

[@1kimdotcom]

Nice simple fix. well done

[@TELEMIZERIE]

nice to see you again 👍

[@alejandronan607]

I almost could smell it myself! Nice retro flashback to the times before green PCB's 😂😂😂

[@T.K.electronics]

Great to see your post hope there more to come!!!

[@DashiZle69]

Happy New Year Steve, nice to see a video from you ❤

[@DavidHolden15911855]

When you were testing the top side of the Power PCB your black probe for VDC was being touched to the USB port, which might not be the same ground as the DC ground from the wall plug. I wonder if that is why it wasn't reading anything when you measured from that side of the board, but when you tested the bottom side you were using the GND pin on the DC jack

[@norlin76]

I was looking through the comments for this, wanted so badly for him to check continuity from the barrel plug negative to the USB port.

[@acidhelm]

Welcome back, Steve! I hope you had a good holiday. I'm guessing that the pin was broken near the solder joint, and when you added solder to the joint, you fixed the break.

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks acid! Yeah, i wish I'd have looked at it more closely before filling it up with solder! But at least it's working now!

[@ralphj4012]

Yes, they tend to crack on the top side, which may (or may not) have explained the jack moving slightly.

[@AfroBonsai]

Long time no see, missed you Steve. You have a cute assistant.

[@angelaherron2090]

Hi Steve love your videos a lot after watching you from the beginning its inspired me to brave an start my own channel I have been putting it of for three years also before I go I would like to buy you something from your Amazon wish list if I can

[@infin1ty850]

Welcome back! Hope you had a great holiday. Here's to a good 2025!

[@StezStixFix]

Had a great break, thank you! Here's to 2025! 🍻

[@DesignbyNilsson]

@@StezStixFix Oh, you had a break. Spent last sunday evening pressing F5 a thousend times waiting for your video here on YT. I was very sad when i went to bed.

[@PyroX792]

I agree, very likely a cold solder joint

[@KARLLARK100]

I just started wachting you vids and love them very cool and went back like 3 years of your vids,.//.,

[@FormulaGuppy]

you are a clever boy. glad i subbed

[@ElektroTechNL]

Great fix 😊

[@RichsRandomRetroReviews]

I really like the background music in this one. Would you share what it's called please?

[@juaniiito]

Nice! No plastic, but 12:12:12. That's a good signal. 😊

[@steadyforge6904]

you are just like me but we really need to start turning on our vacuum system before soldering stuff

[@richieb1990]

Haza he's back!

[@jimmyhill7477]

Entertaining fix once again

[@bennyholgersson4686]

God, you are finally back.

[@cmdrshanegooseman]

happy new year, Steve!

[@johnnythefixer]

I was working on an iPad dock that wouldn't turn on. Voltage on psu said 12v, so I started checking inside the unit. Everything looked ok. I tried another 12v psu, and the dock worked. Although the psu read 12v, something in it was not sending out enough amps.

[@GruffSillyGoat]

One possible cause is the pin could have sheared between the bottom of plastic header and the pin entering the PCB. The flexing of the power board from repeated plug insertions or a drop could have transfered the force to the pin header breaking the first pin closest to the jack socket, particularly as the power board is only supported at the edges by two short plastic rails in the back panel. Resolding the pin on the underside of the PCB could have melted the solder on the other side of the through hole and so bridge the gap in the break in the pin.

[@garymucher4082]

"Stupid cold solder joint" works for me. I mean what else can you label it... Thumbs Up!

[@thebanditboy152]

Great video Steve! What solder do you use?

[@TokkanFX]

I would have just resoldered all the pins on that board just in case.but good catch.

[@TheNITRO68]

Love your shit Steve and Dave! Keep up the great content, oh yeah the next cold thingy should be by cold play and yes I listen to your music epilogs, Love from Down under Perth.😜😜

[@adrianbestboy98]

Happy new year, my resolution for 2025 is to get a heart from Steve PS: Stupid cold solder joint

[@rickseiden1]

A few days ago I bought a Bluetooth speaker from Goodwill for $5. I got it home, and it didn't power up. So I took it apart and looked for the typical stuff. Nothing. But I randomly tested the switch, and it didn't work. I sprayed some IPA in there, moved it back and forth 20is times, then blew some compressed air in there. And now it works.

[@timowallin8020]

What there is automatic time---Cheers from Finland!

[@Dan_Canuck]

Looks as though one of my fellow countrymen sent you a shirt from The Great White North.❄️🇨🇦❄️

[@dakarpsi]

I've seen a solder joint completely break in half and oxidize around a power port on these two way radio chargers we use at work

[@DumahBrazorf]

BTW the positive track is on the top of the board, on the bottom is all ground, so the points you were probing on the bottom side are surrounded by ground plane.

[@klorslug]

3:30 the lovely smell of burnt dust. That old electronic smell

[@Nele_BiH]

Few days ago joey was fixing nitendo switch and it had solder that was not conductive under apu

[@chrisj2848]

Happy New Year Steve!

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Chris! Same to you 🎉

[@Druid_Plow]

Kept confusing Daves solder iron with hair on my screen 😅

[@ISquishWorms]

🤣

[@EnigmaNL]

Do you have a fume extractor? It always looks like the fumes are just hanging there.

[@t.j.stabler9253]

How does the radio set the clock using the radio reception? Can FM do that? Maybe I've never owned a fancy enough clock radio bluetooth speaker thing.

[@travisfabel8040]

Not the first time I've seen something like this happen but once you see one joint like that, I would have done all the pins on that connector.. Just a quick hit with the iron and if any of them looked low after doing that dab a little extra solder.

[@biggusnippus]

Yay more Dave 🫡

[@puciohenzap891]

How did you like the sound? I was deciding between the bigger Ruarks but went with a discounted Yamaha Musicast 200 instead, it's completely bonkers what kind of sound they're able to cram into a glorified kitchen radio these days and the Yamaha is not even class-D. Even compared to gear from 15 years ago, let alone 70's-90's vintage, that new stuff is crazy good.

[@nihatharmankaya7949]

steve and dave master

[@kamil6169]

Hi mr. Steve. Greeting from Poland. I watching your work and very impressed. Im working with electronics from about 20 years, sucessfully repaired some stuff, some amplituners and radio tuner. My favorite- old radio. Some cheap radio from '80 works preety well. No ic only transistors. Now im working small internet radio, cpu AR9331-AL3N, some difficully to replace the cpu. Can you show how solder this cpu? 2 rows of pins, small ic. The same cpu is in tplink wr-840n ver.4, old router. Ps. IC from chinesse friend will not work.

[@kamil6169]

Dave is best friend hand during repair

[@Kerem-qh1jm]

yey youre back. the video is great! or is it?!

[@FiveStringCommando]

1:31 Careful, mate. Dave might setup a competing channel in your studio… 😂😂😂

[@georgeadrianionita3798]

Hello Dave! I have a JBL extreme 3 with a power issue. Looks like it is charging and is coming on, but only if the charger is plugged. Please, would you give it a try?

[@mikehibbett3301]

The "good" solder joint was on the bottom, but there was no trace on the bottom - it was on the top. So probably the top trace didn't have enough solder.

[@3M3R3L]

When does the album come out?

[@randelcross]

The power of your multimeter!... Good you checked that input V... you would have gone down the 🐇 however! Likely was dropped...

[@frankurmom8741]

I literally farted like 5 seconds before you started sniffing and pointing out a funny smell. I thought you sneaked into my house for a second 😆

[@Timothycan]

Dry joints can often catch people out, they really can look fine.

[@Martin_PA0KGB]

just question, why did you not try to power the device via the USB C port?