Moms in IT

I have a degree in Information Technology from BYU. There are certain things I knew I would use, like the programming and networking for my own hobby use or home network stuff. I didn't think so much that it would actually be useful to my life as a mom. In IT101, Introduction to IT we made these little circuit board Ys that have an LED that blinks and it plays a couple songs. That one lab taught me the basics of circuitry and electronics and how to solder it all together.

Last year my dear MIL bought the kids this awesome MP3 player for the kids, it looks like a little boom box and has easy to use buttons and functions for the kids to use. I really like it since i was able to put 15 cds worth of songs on it for the kids to play whenever they like. Well Zoey decided one day it would be fun to throw it over the railing upstairs. Lucky thing ended up smashing on the tiny tiled area in front of the fireplace. It rattled but it was still working, amazingly.

The MP3 Player boom box the kids broke and I fixed.

Then one day a week or so ago, it quit working. I figured it was only a matter of time, but I decided, hey I know a thing or two about electronics, I'm gonna fix this thing. First problem, one of the screws holding the halves of the casing together won't unscrew and I end up stripping the head trying to get it out. I left it abandoned on the counter for a week or so. With Thanksgiving coming up I knew I was going to need to clear it off the counter so I finally decided to either fix it or trash it. I took a drill and drilled out the screw so I could get it apart. On first look I can't see any issues with the electronics. As I'm doodling with it checking from the battery to the switch to the circuit board I finally notice one of the ribbon cables from the switch to the circuit board is partially broken away. I immediately think back to my IT 101 class and I'm sure I can fix this.

I rummaged around for the soldering iron, some desoldering braid and wire strippers. I spent the next hour and a half messing with the stupid thing. I talk about Brandon getting fixated with things, but I was not going to give up on this because I knew I could do it! I was having a heck of a time pulling up all the old solder so I could remove the broken wires because the manufacturer put some kind of hot glue over it and it was just making the contacts difficult to get to. Eventually I cleaned out 3 of the 4 holes for the ribbon wire. The last being the ground I couldn't clean out but the contacts were exposed enough that I figured I could just solder over top the existing wire bits. I soldered the ribbon wire back into place and tried to turn the box on and it wouldn't boot up. I knew I should have double checked the markings on the switch and board. I wound up soldering the ribbon on backwards. DOH! So I unsoldered it all again, soldered it back on properly and it fired up perfectly. I put it all back together and strut out of the office buffing my fingernails and jammin' to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

With all the electronic toys these days, it's pays to be a mom with IT experience.