View Single Post
Old 28th Jul 2021, 8:13 pm   #32
lightning
Heptode
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 710
Default Re: (The trade). Golden years?

l am still in the trade now, l started in business in 1986 and soon managed to secure a part time job at a local TV repair shop, kind of an unofficial "apprenticeship" two days a week, while carrying on my business the other three days.

ln those days (as already said by others on here) almost every TV that came in was repaired. ln fact if we couldn't find the fault the Hitachi or Panasonic rep would visit and what a (friendly) rollocking we got if it was an easy fault that we'd missed!
I would repair dozens of VCR's every month, with a regular order for belts, idlers, and video heads sent to a place in Manchester for repairs every week

Nowadays TV repairs are a nightmare, all the parts suppliers have gone and it's mostly board replacement, with every TV (even visually identical models from the same manufacturer) having different boards.
There are a few companies specialising in used boards but l would say 50% of TV sets that come in, are scrapped.

Fortunately l branched out into white goods repair about twenty years ago, and that's where l make most of my living now.
Dishwashers, washing machines, electric cookers etc.

l've always repaired HI-FI which few engineers seemed to want to do, even back in the 1990's.
HI-FI still comes in for repair, although not the steady stream of Aiwa units with the 5 disc changers and twin auto reverse cassette decks, that everyone seemed to own.

Sony have recently discontinued the KSS series of lasers which is a real problem for all these older units when they can no longer be adjusted to make them read discs.

There are alternative lasers available but they are Chinese rubbish, it's a lottery as to whether they read discs at all when you install them. Also a lot of IC's are no longer available, l've just scrapped a nice Cambridge A1 amplifier for want of a pair of decent TDA1514A.

Turntables are a current popular item, exhumed from the loft after thirty years, last week someone gave one to me "found in my dad's loft" and "Can you get it going, if it's not worth doing scrap it"

lt's a good job l am honest, it was a pristine Linn Sondek LP12

Last edited by lightning; 28th Jul 2021 at 8:21 pm.
lightning is offline