|
General Vintage Technology Discussions For general discussions about vintage radio and other vintage electronics etc. |
|
Thread Tools |
26th Jul 2020, 11:31 am | #41 | |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Chard, South Somerset, UK.
Posts: 7,457
|
Re: State of repairs...
Quote:
In my post I should have said: ". . . Much 'domestic electronics' is not made to be economically repairable at the component level by a typical small commercial trader: the fitment of surface-mounted components being one example. Al. |
|
26th Jul 2020, 11:58 am | #42 |
Nonode
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 2,473
|
Re: State of repairs...
Hi Al,
In the past I would have surely qualified myself and a few shops I worked for as a small commercial trader/s, we did ok with replacing the many SM Philips "painter" chips etal. Where I started to come unstuck was with the advent of Ball Grid Array chips (BGA) and to an extent Lead free Solder. We would have needed much more expensive and sophisticated rework equipment than the Weller Pyropen that had previously sufficed, at this point I did bow out of the repair trade altogether.
__________________
I don't suffer from Insanity. I enjoy every minute of it. |
26th Jul 2020, 12:02 pm | #43 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 9,428
|
Re: State of repairs...
Spares available for 10 years, excellent, but will the manufacturer cost them at an affordable price. Somehow think they will be priced to make them unattractive.
__________________
Frank |
26th Jul 2020, 12:10 pm | #44 |
Nonode
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 2,473
|
Re: State of repairs...
Hi Frank that is a good point.
CHS etc. ie, wholesalers often listed prices for say replacement LCD screens at circa two grand!!! I take it they were priced to put off repair, or more likely spares were not readily available but if someone was daft enough to pay this price for one then one could be pulled from a factory production line. Yes, I know we could source them at more realistic prices elsewhere.
__________________
I don't suffer from Insanity. I enjoy every minute of it. |
26th Jul 2020, 1:10 pm | #45 | |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Re: State of repairs...
Quote:
|
|
26th Jul 2020, 2:09 pm | #46 | |
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fife, Scotland, UK.
Posts: 22,803
|
Re: State of repairs...
Quote:
Law makers never understand how their produce affects markets. Markets evolve to get around them. David
__________________
Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done |
|
26th Jul 2020, 2:17 pm | #47 |
Nonode
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 2,473
|
Re: State of repairs...
Maybe David (RW) ?
Either way this seemed to cover the letter of the law rather than the spirit!, a case of unintended consequences methinks.
__________________
I don't suffer from Insanity. I enjoy every minute of it. |
26th Jul 2020, 4:06 pm | #48 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: North Wales, UK.
Posts: 6,884
|
Re: State of repairs...
Absolutely. LG and Samsung screens are available at around the same price as the complete TV. But, as you say, should you, or your insurance company insist, they could get one.
I still want a 32" LED screen for a Samsung. The usual set it was part of was around £300, but the customer's special limited edition TV was nearer £1000 and she's happy to pay to have it repaired. Unfortunately it's NLA - clearly they'd forgotten about their designer sets! We're still waiting.... |
26th Jul 2020, 4:26 pm | #49 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Surrey, UK.
Posts: 4,385
|
Re: State of repairs...
That, plus plenty of red tape and hoops to jump as to just how accredited and approved you are, and don't dare get accredited with a rival brand either. It won't be like the old days of a visit to the wee shop down a side alley from the high street where the guy behind the counter gets you the brushes for your vac' from round the back and gives you a few tips about the best way to go about it 'cos he's done it a thousand times himself.
|
26th Jul 2020, 4:55 pm | #50 |
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fife, Scotland, UK.
Posts: 22,803
|
Re: State of repairs...
There is just one leetle teeny fly in their ointment....
Just wait until they refuse spares to someone they later need to sign off something of theirs...... Doesn't happen often, but it's justice of a sort. David
__________________
Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done |
26th Jul 2020, 5:00 pm | #51 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Biggin Hill, London, UK.
Posts: 5,191
|
Re: State of repairs...
Some things _were_ made to be repaired.
I mentioned my Bryans XY plotter over in the 'success stories' section. The attached photo is of a plate attached to each of the motors in that unit detailing the carbon brushes and bearings fitted. I guess they were the most likely parts to wear out and need replacement. So you didn't replace even the entire motor, just the parts that needed it. |
26th Jul 2020, 6:40 pm | #52 | |
Nonode
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Bognor Regis, West Sussex, UK.
Posts: 2,288
|
Re: State of repairs...
Quote:
Peter |
|
27th Jul 2020, 12:53 pm | #53 |
Nonode
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 2,315
|
Re: State of repairs...
That kind of spares shop is probably exactly what the powers that be had in mind with the legislation. I don't know if it's possible to create that sort of market from the top down, but I sincerely hope it is! There is some resurgence of Repair Cafes and 'The Repair Shop' but with the demise of Maplin it's not like anyone can go to a shop and get advice and a paper bag of parts from an assistant in a brown coat!
I've been able to do that at one place, which was Bardwell's in Sheffield. When I was a student there about 2011 they were still going, but have since retired. |
27th Jul 2020, 8:12 pm | #54 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Surrey, UK.
Posts: 4,385
|
Re: State of repairs...
This is in no way aimed at any particular grouping of legislators/ bureaucrats/ politicians but it's a feature of life that the more power you think that you yield, the more you will be leaned on by multi-national lobbyists and others with big money and real power to swing legislation in their favour, with favourable PR fluffiness about eco-ness, safety, reliability etc.. The spares-for-ten-years sounds great, but the actuality will have loads of strings attached.
In the meantime, I'll continue to be impressed and gratified by forum members' accounts of ingenuity and persistence at solving otherwise "BER" quandaries with an eclectic array of devices, whether from last year, 40 years or 80 years ago. There'll always be under-the-radar work for the handy odd-job person- my sister's chartered engineer partner sliced through the cable of his hedge-trimmer within moments of starting to use it, another time nailed through not one but three heating pipes when attempting to cure creaking floorboards- each time, it was me who got the worried phone call about doing a favour sharpish.... |
28th Jul 2020, 7:43 pm | #55 |
Nonode
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK.
Posts: 2,013
|
Re: State of repairs...
It can be that the C.Eng knows what his time is worth?
Many professionals need help to cover the small stuff. I don't put tyres on my own car. Last edited by Jon_G4MDC; 28th Jul 2020 at 7:55 pm. |
28th Jul 2020, 8:14 pm | #56 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 13,953
|
Re: State of repairs...
Precisely! I always look at the 'time-cost' of doing stuff, and appreciate that - the older I get - the higher the value I must place on every hour of my remaining life. To the point where I'm happy to pay an electrician for an hour of his labour to come in and replace a couple of sockets and a ceiling-rose because that buys me an hour in which I can do something I *want* to do rather than something I _have_ to do. [and if he screws-up it's his liability-insurance that gets to pay-out].
OK, some people enjoy doing certain things and so the 'time-cost' needs to be offset by the enjoyment-derived. Each according to his/her tastes. But always think "If I wasn't doing this, what else could I be doing that would bring me greater pleasure?" [This message brought to you by a lifetime hedonist]. |
28th Jul 2020, 8:33 pm | #57 |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: St Osyth, Nr Clacton, Essex, UK.
Posts: 1,482
|
Re: State of repairs...
Anyone got "chapter and verse" re 10 years spares availability? Reason I ask is I was quite prepared to pay for a mechanical part a few weeks ago and contacted the company who said "ain't got none". I did an online search which suggested there was no legal liability to stock any spares for any specific period.
And here's the rub: I had to modify an existing part to do the job and stupidly had an accident with my reciprocating saw, thereby needing 3 stitches in my thumb and needing to isolate myself in the shed at the bottom of the garden for 3 weeks. Yes, very stupid accident and totally unfair on SWMBO but... spares? Graham
__________________
Half my stuff is junk - trouble is, I don't know which half! |
28th Jul 2020, 8:36 pm | #58 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Surrey, UK.
Posts: 4,385
|
Re: State of repairs...
It was the "I broke it- now I'm walking away and expect a favour while I watch the footie" attitude that I found objectionable. No nationality, no pack drill....
The point is that I'd expect someone described as any sort of "engineer", chartered or otherwise, to have had the wherewithal not to have done either of those things in the first place. Last edited by turretslug; 28th Jul 2020 at 8:45 pm. |
28th Jul 2020, 10:05 pm | #59 |
Nonode
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK.
Posts: 2,013
|
Re: State of repairs...
|
28th Jul 2020, 10:27 pm | #60 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Surrey, UK.
Posts: 4,385
|
Re: State of repairs...
It's curious how there is such a wide spread of inclination amongst the broad engineering fraternity- I regard plumbing almost as an artistic pastime, the challenge of nested, symmetric polished curves and avoidance of elbow fittings becomes a point of honour! Equally, I'll look for a metalwork challenge even if it isn't strictly necessary. Others have multi-million pound civil engineering projects under their belt, yet shrink from fitting a 13A plug. Perhaps it's a good thing that there is such a complimentary "horses for courses" that achieves the overall aim.
BTW, remedying the dripping ceilings did at least earn several cuppas during and a good curry afterwards! |