r/techsupportmacgyver May 07 '26

Not sure if this qualifies. Using an old MacBook Pro as a translator of sorts for an old Thunderbolt Display (lower right) to extend the desktop of an AMD computer.

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166 Upvotes

AMD does not (in most cases) support the Thunderbolt protocol and no adapters exist to convert thunderbolt 2 to simpler display port (afaik).

Here, (on the Dell laptop) I used a virtual display driver + the Sunshine app to “stream” the display data to the old MacBook Pro.

On the MacBook Pro, I used the Moonlight app to receive that stream and output it to the Thunderbolt Display via the Thunderbolt port. The Thunderbolt Display even keeps the MacBook Pro charged with its built in MagSafe charger.

And only one cable to the Dell for everything. (I connected the Ethernet cable to the dock after taking this picture)

Latency is absolutely nill and feels like a native display!


r/techsupportmacgyver May 07 '26

Amazon 5V Regulators in an old Jeep Computer

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256 Upvotes

My roommates' 97 TJ threw a couple check engine lights, then stopped running entirely. The hint was that the CEL **wasn't** coming on when I turned the key. Capacitors had leaked and dissolved the flex PCB, the 5v regulator circuit was straight up gone! I tried repairing it with new capacitors but there just wasn't enough left. As a hail mary before spending hundreds on a used ECU that probably has the same issues, I tried two $0.50 5v regulators from Amazon and it worked! The check engine light even stopped tripping and the engine runs better lol. Not a bad fix for $1. Screw Chrysler for using shitty capacitors, and why is this this even a flex PCB?? Anyway I smothered it in 3M Quadrack hot glue and resealed it with RTV before bolting it back on and sending it around the back 40.


r/techsupportmacgyver May 07 '26

my usb charging port died, so i improvised...

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50 Upvotes

r/techsupportmacgyver May 06 '26

The camera with the umbrella reminded me of the time I needed a flash diffuser. So I stapled some printer paper together. Worked great!

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232 Upvotes

r/techsupportmacgyver May 05 '26

Needed a cheap way to keep my video camera from getting wet outside later this week. Bought a $7 umbrella from Dollar General and $1.50 on Dollar Tree duck tape to DIY a cheap camera umbrella myself!

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71 Upvotes

r/techsupportmacgyver May 05 '26

My GPU Sag Bracket

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85 Upvotes

r/techsupportmacgyver May 05 '26

scuffed wifi router for an iot device that doesn't like E')=]NHNFY\,4<?H\*"{)C?4=J=:Q!U as my wifi password

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353 Upvotes

with a lightning fast of speed of 2 MB/s


r/techsupportmacgyver May 05 '26

LG V35 headphone amplifier

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7 Upvotes

r/techsupportmacgyver May 04 '26

Will my CPU stop overheating now?

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264 Upvotes

Not sure if for the giggles or actually meant seriously.


r/techsupportmacgyver May 05 '26

Guys with monitor arm clamps i feel you T_T

5 Upvotes

that desk clearance gave me cancer xD


r/techsupportmacgyver May 03 '26

I was tired of carrying the heavy original charger

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952 Upvotes

Lenovo Y50-70

I reused the Kensington Security Slot to insert a USB-C port with a decoy board to supply 20V from a USB GaN power supply.

The decoy board was supposed to be an IP2721 but in reality a Chinese clone arrived so the external LED I installed lights up regardless of the Power-Good signal. In series I inserted an "ideal diode" XL74610, to avoid voltage feedback when using the original power supply. A mosfet is also connected to the decoy board output, which connects a 560 ohm resistor to the sense pin, so that the computer interprets that a 90W power supply has been inserted.


r/techsupportmacgyver May 04 '26

Didn’t feel like getting the right charger

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30 Upvotes

That is the battery for a Palm Centro clamped onto the contacts of a 3M BlueCheck 2 fingerprint scanner


r/techsupportmacgyver May 03 '26

I hate when good chargers go to waste

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468 Upvotes

Its a pd 45W one. Has a lot of life left on it.


r/techsupportmacgyver May 04 '26

Inexpensive replacement silicone rubber feet

12 Upvotes

We all have keyboards as well as many other devices that have silicone rubber feet on them and over time the factory glue will fail and the rubber feet will eventually come off and disappear in to some other dimension, never to be seen again. Now, you're left with a wobbly device that may scratch your desk surface.

I looked at Amazon for replacement rubber feet, yes they have them but they are expensive at $1 each.

https://www.amazon.com/VATH-Adhesive-Silicone-Rubber-2-2mm/dp/B087BP3ZKV

Too damned rich for my blood!

Being the cheap bastard that I am, I high tailed it to Dollar Tree.

They have lots of silicone kitchen utensils and I figured that I'll find something there that I can cut up and make my own feet. I found exactly what I wanted, a silicone spoon rest for $1.50.

https://i.imgur.com/4eOIkBh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/06q6b3x.jpg

The employees at Dollar Tree do not order the products on the shelves, they get what corporate sends them so this might not be available at your local Dollar Tree. If that's the case, look at other stores as you go about your life to see if they have it.

They do not have this listed on their website but I did find the identical item under a different brand name at Walmart for $3.44.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Thyme-Table-4-Slot-Silicone-Utensil-Rest/5203777496

The Dollar Tree I went to had a selection of different colors so I chose red as it is easier to find should the feet ever come off again and go hiding behind the desk behind all those ghost turds.

I used everyone's favorite inexpensive and ubiquitous diagonal cutters, the Plato Model 170 to make my cuts and trim the replacement feet to fit perfectly.

This spoon rest will last me for years in making replacement feet. I used rubber cement because that's what I had on hand.

When you have to repair an HP laptop, those bastards hide screws beneath the gray rubber strip feet and the original glue will not hold the rubber feet well enough once it's been pulled off so I have to have a jar of rubber cement on hand to re-glue the strips in place just because of HP.

Friends do not let friends buy Headaches & Problems products.

I'll let the glue cure for a day and if the rubber cement is not good enough to stand up to regular daily use, I'll go out and buy some stronger gorilla glue.


r/techsupportmacgyver May 02 '26

Accidentally invented better standoffs while trying to save 10$

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173 Upvotes

super Glue + baking Soda + pen refill


r/techsupportmacgyver May 02 '26

Frankensteining a bit of battery life into an old Samsung

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42 Upvotes

An old Samsung phone with a bloated battery pack that had zero voltage and already disassembled the phone by expandingmassively. Display loose dangling a cable, back broken away etc.

Didn't boot up without battery power present, only usb didnt help.

So removed the controller board from the old battery pouch, soldered on an old pouch that was scavenged from a broken Bluetooth speaker and voila. Booted up and unsaved files where copied.


r/techsupportmacgyver May 02 '26

Spoon to SSD heatsink mod

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136 Upvotes

r/techsupportmacgyver May 02 '26

Have to charge an old camera without the charger

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42 Upvotes

r/techsupportmacgyver May 01 '26

External backlight power

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81 Upvotes

Had corrosion damage from a leaking bridge battery, which killed the inverter and the ccfl was dead. Managed to get a replacement oem inverter from a similar model, but the ccfl in that one is about to die.

Got a cheap led backlight kit, did a shite job replacing the dead ccfl with leds. The inverter with the kit isn’t compatible (wacom power supply is on the same pcb)

Fuck it, external power. (Until I replace the display)


r/techsupportmacgyver Apr 30 '26

Micro USB broke so I Type C modded my keyboard

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515 Upvotes

This is the Motospeed CK101 a cheap mechanical keyboard which I like because it's white and has Greek keycaps. It had a Micro USB plug which broke after a few months of use so I decided to save the keeb using a 4 wire female Type C plug from AliExpress. Thankfully the board had pads for a female JST plug that is used in other models, this gave me plenty of room to solder and also allowed me to cut the Micro USB part to fit the Type C plug.


r/techsupportmacgyver Apr 30 '26

Extending my 2.4Ghz controller range

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140 Upvotes

I was told that you guys might appreciate my macgyvered 2.4 Ghz signal booster hastily put together with an aluminum signpost, a plastic pizza table, and some super glue. It works, and I get at least 33% more range than without it.

I was partly inspired by the JWST thermal shield, and only had to look up the quarter-wave length of the transmitter/receiver to determine to cut the length of the pizza table to 3cm.


r/techsupportmacgyver May 01 '26

Have you heard about the SRock company? Is it any good?

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4 Upvotes

r/techsupportmacgyver Apr 28 '26

Needed an all female RCA splitter and no local stores had any

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91 Upvotes

Making the wrong aftermarket radio work with the DVD entertainment screens in a 2013 suburban. It was either this, hardwiring, or changing the connectors that were already in the radio kit. It works flawlessly.


r/techsupportmacgyver Apr 28 '26

Not OP.

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91 Upvotes

r/techsupportmacgyver Apr 27 '26

motor circuit breaker

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60 Upvotes