|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
50.4.168.165
In Reply to: RE: Repair Shops/stores of day's gone by? posted by Brian McGowan on February 11, 2015 at 09:00:09
TV opened up a new era of home entertainment in the early 1950s. The market required local support for the less than reliable TVs. Outdoor antenna installations was a huge market too. And, a TV shop owner made a good living.
Now anyone can order a TV delivered to ones house from their house in a minute. The TVs are very reliable plus cable provides a great signal.
The only romance of that TV shop era left is........... you guessed it. High-end vintage stereo with repairs & upgrades. Let the hot rosin core solder smell continue. At my age it is like getting a hit from a powerful marianna joint.
Follow Ups:
Those TV's back then may have needed new tubes and some tuner cleaner now and then, but they lasted for decades. I can promise you nothing made today will last that long. Today stuff works fine right up till it is too costly to fix, assuming you can buy the parts. There are a few brands that "can be fixed" but most consumers won't spend the extra up front for that ability, nor down the road for repairs. So who can blame those that design for a "throw away" mentality.
Imagine we when we get that way about cars. Needs spark plugs....nah junk it because it makes more sense to buy new, with latest and greatest features.
I am not sure that is entirely true. This year, because of financial pressures, I have been DIYing my hose repairs. The HVAC in my house is over 10 years old, and I know that if I had a repairman out, they would be pitching for me to replace it. Fortunately, their are online resources for this stuff, and since my father raised me working on electrical equipment, I am very comfortable working with high voltage, and know all the safety procedures. It turns out this stuff is not that hard to fix. My AC just needed some contacts cleaned and tightened. The heater was a bigger job, needing a control board and a hot surface igniter, but under $200 in parts, saved me close to $1,000 in labor (lots of diagnostics). In both cases, even thought the repairs were small, I learned how the devises functioned and how to diagnose problems and fell confident, that if something else goes wrong I can deal with it. I just fixed my washing machine last night.
My point, which I am probably taking to long to make, is that this "throw away" stuff is often fixable. I have decided to take as my model, my parents and there entire generation, "the Greatest Generation". From taking on Fascism and Communism, to spear-heading the industrial revolution to the greatest prosperity the world has ever seen, they took what they had and they made it work. I want that "can-do" attitude, so I humbly walk in their shadow.
Dave
I'm a maintenance man at a hospital. My dad was a mechanic. Fixing things is what I do. Feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance on your home repairs.
There are certain items you might wish to have on hand for the AC.....basically the "start" componets.....current/potential relay, start/run caps, maybe a contactor. Oil your fan motors once a year. Clean your coils yearly. Replace filters often.
The "control board" is an example. Once upon a time everything on that board was able to be rebuilt individually. Now they stick it all on a PCB and make you buy the entire thing. That isn't too bad until they decide to obsolete it and you can no longer buy one.
I can promise you that most TV sets made today are not worth fixing. IMHO spend a bit more and buy a Samsung.
Thank you very much for the offer!
I figured one of the relays was bad on the control board, but it was cold outside, and my wife wanted it fixed fast! I kept the old board, and will do board work if I cannot get a new one. I suspect that wont be a problem, because the board I bought works on a number of different models and brands of heaters.
When I took the AC apart, I check the contactor for pitting, corrosion and stuck contacts. Everything looks good. I do not have an ESR meter, so I couldn't really tell if the start/run cap was bad (it had a large run cap with an axillary start cap), but it had no outward signs of leaking or bulging. I discharged the capacitor, and checked it with a resistance meter. It went to zero and then slowly climbed to maximum, so I figure, it was likely still good. When I got the thing running, it did not have any trouble spooling up. A friend of mine with more experience said that meant the cap was good.
I will be hosing down the condenser coil and oiling the fan motor in the spring. (Of course after I kill the power and test that it is dead. 220 will kill you quick!) Thanks! I did no know about lubing the fan motor. Is standard machine oil the thing to use?
I replaced the hot surface igniter with an OEM unit. The one on their looked like a thin piece of junk. It failed in about a week after I replaced the control board. (I should have checked it for bright spots!)Funny, when I first put the new one in, it didn't work. The inducer wasn't even spinning. The control board was flashing a code for a pressure switch, but I had tested it thoroughly. After I calmed my sense of panic I noticed that they turning wheel on the inducer has worn a hole in the in the vacuum line to the pressure switch. I trimmed and rerouted it and all was good. Whew!
I am trying to do the filters once am month, but I forget sometimes! Thanks again!
Dave
After nearly fifty years of repairing things I could write several textbooks. Again feel free to email if there is something in particular you would like explained.
I'm going to tell you that troubleshooting and fixing is a bit like being a detective and doctor. If you want to be good you need an understanding of how something works. In most machines there are "steps" that have to take place, and be proven, before the next step can take place. For example....mr. heater won't let you have flame untill you have "proven" air flow (generally with a pressure switch). Understanding these steps, and the parts that prove them, is key. You need an orderly methodology. You need to "prove" things yourself with test equipment. Too many guys guess and change parts at random. Not knowing the steps, the parts that prove the steps, and knowing how to use the right test equipment to verify these things, is the "mother of all evils".
It isn't that hard. You just have to have an interest. What you learn is transferable to your audio hobby. Once you understand how something works, the ways used to prove proper succession of steps....you will quickly see how many things could be vastly improved.....if they only had an extra sensor/part....and in many cases this could even lead to a self-diagnostic/smart system. I supppose I'm lucky that I get to see well designed stuff in the medical field but it ends up depressing me on how poorly engineered the household stuff is. And all for 50 bucks more worth of parts!
My father taught me to solder when I was in elementary school. I helped one of the older guys in the neighborhood tear down and rebuild an MGA when I was 14. I won't work on something until I fully understand how it works. After I fixed the furnace, I enjoyed watching it go through its cycle. I guess I am easily entertained! My wife even tolerated me explaining it to her!I know what you mean about sensors. I bought a code reader for my car (97 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC) that tells me precisely what's wrong and how to fix it. It cost about $60 (on sale) and was one of the best purchases I have ever made. It has saved me a bundle of money. It would be nice if every major appliance had that sort of sensor.
Dave
Edits: 02/13/15
I'm waiting for 3D television!
"If it measures good and sounds bad, it is bad; if it measures bad and sounds good, you have measured the wrong thing."
- Daniel R. von Recklinghausen
I remember watching that sow on our tube black and white TV. They had a show where Alice wanted to get a telephone, but Ralph thought it was too expensive. It must have bee reruns, because the final episode aired on 9/22/1956, which was before I was born.
Dave
Dave
These shows were made before most of us were born but you have to admit,I love Lucy,Andy Griffith,Leave it to Beaver,My Three sons and the Honeymooners are all timeless classics that will never die.
"If it measures good and sounds bad, it is bad; if it measures bad and sounds good, you have measured the wrong thing."
- Daniel R. von Recklinghausen
They will be watching them long after all of us are planted!
Dave
Thank's I loved that line too! I also hope you got the email I sent ya.
I did.
"If it measures good and sounds bad, it is bad; if it measures bad and sounds good, you have measured the wrong thing."
- Daniel R. von Recklinghausen
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: