I'm feeling pretty handy today -- I fixed my ailing stereo system and Berea-Rose can once again thump to the bass beat of obscure techno.

Yeah, I've had some positive experiences with Philips equipment. When they fixed my flat screen TV last summer I had good things to say about not only that but the Philips home theater I got when we first moved out here.

Well, since then the sound on that home theater has gotten bad: a buzzing crackle when they system is powered on. It took longer and longer for it to fade and then I noticed the subwoofer was dead. Some online research showed that this is a common problem for anyone operating the HTS-3450. The crackling would only get longer and eventually the whole thing would die.

So I disassembled the faulty system and put it in a box, expecting its next stop would be the curbside. Then I read a thread that included a fix -- open the guts and replace a couple of failed capacitors. At first I scoffed: there was no way I'd be soldering parts onto a circuit board. But then I got adventurous. Saw another blog confirming the fix. I got the components at Radio Shack and today I got a cheap-o soldering iron at Home Depot. I got everything spread out in the basement, opened the case, unplugged the board, made some of the ugliest solders ev-ah, then plugged it all back in and closed it up. Got upstairs and tested it.

And my revitalized subwoofer said: yes, there will be rock; yes, there will be roll.

(Though I see one more recent comment on that thread that reports that the fix is only temporary... which would suck mightily, as I am now glorying my supposed avoidance of having to shell out several Franklins to replace the thing -- and I'd like to keep avoiding that.)

Anyway, it's the little victories in life that count. And to complete today's adventure without having to involve the local fire department was definitely a triumph.