[Dave]

"William Sommerwerck" wrote in message
...
I have an excellent -- indeed, I'd say exceptional -- sense of how to go
about diagnosing problems. But I don't have the in-depth, day-to-day
experience Arfa, et al, have.

I used to service most of my own equipment, but consumer electronics have
become so complex and so fundamentally un-repairable that I rarely repair
anything. The last item I fixed was one of my electronic crossovers,
replacing an output drivers. (Believe it or not, John Curl helped me
diagnose the problem, by pointing out something I'd overlooked.)

One of the reasons I'm here is that I like to see what's going on in
electronic servicing, and get a better view of how the "new stuff" works.
You never know when it might come in handy.


I'm about the same as far as experience goes. Background in electrical
engineering (long long time ago), used to repair just anything, but have
never had the urge to move into SMD work, my eyes probably aren't good
enough anyways. Most of the repairs of newer TV's, multi-channel amps, etc.
seem to be board replacements, which holds no interest for me... I like the
troubleshooting process itself and get great pleasure from being able to
take a doorstop that cost somebody $1,000 long ago and turn it back into a
great amplifier or TV or washing machine or for the cost of a few caps and a
$1 regulator or $5 IC. My collection of TV's, stereo equipment, etc. was in
large part received for free in non-working condition, and I doubt I've got
$100 in any single piece. My wife calls me a packrat but doesn't complain
about my rates...

This group is a gold mine for experience, and it annoys me to no end when
people dare to complain about ABSOLUTELY FREE advice and assistance. Advice
gleaned here has helped me to repair items of which I initially had little
or no understanding.