General > General Technical Chat
What ever happened to TV technicians?
David_AVD:
That's definitely part of it. I used to repair A/V gear back in the 80s' and 90s' but then people started replacing those items instead, so I pivoted to other technical areas. Now there is demand again for the repair of older gear, so it's come full circle in a way.
The other issue now is that the techs who used to repair stuff other than TVs and stereos are disappearing. That leaves very few to work on specialty gear at anything more than a board change level. What happens when the boards are NLA or 6 months leads time?
vk6zgo:
--- Quote from: David_AVD on May 10, 2022, 10:35:40 pm ---That's definitely part of it. I used to repair A/V gear back in the 80s' and 90s' but then people started replacing those items instead, so I pivoted to other technical areas. Now there is demand again for the repair of older gear, so it's come full circle in a way.
The other issue now is that the techs who used to repair stuff other than TVs and stereos are disappearing. That leaves very few to work on specialty gear at anything more than a board change level. What happens when the boards are NLA or 6 months leads time?
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That was the case with components from the EU for TV transmitters or test equipment, as early as the late 1980s.
A month to even notice an order from Oz, two months to finally find the part, one month to organise to place it at the very bottom of a container, one month for the shipping company to fill the container, a month in transit, followed by less than a week for the container to be emptied, so yes, just over six months.
I often thought that a fleet of fast "clipper ships", could, under sail, economically trim a couple of months off that time for small parcels.
Sony, of course, used airfreight!
Brumby:
--- Quote from: bd139 on May 10, 2022, 06:20:53 pm ---I don’t think my argument was dumb. Go and look at the logic board in an M1 MacBook Air. It’s a couple of ASICs, FLASH, RAM and power management and SFA else. The component level repair isn’t viable even if skilled.
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That's a pretty broad statement. Replacing a shorted SMD cap is not an unrealistic possibility ... and that's not viable?
Certainly, having access to a schematic would be helpful. Yeah, well.
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Reputation doesn’t even factor in here. That’s not a value you can add without lying about your capability to validate the repair.
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While I understand the value of a validation process, I don't see why it is so essential here. When a motor vehicle is first released, it goes through exhaustive testing, but when you change a head gasket or just replace brake pads you don't go through all that again.
There are risks - yes - inversely proportional to the level of skill utilised, but those risks will be reflected in the longer term results and it is these results which will create the reputation for that repairer. Yes - I admit - validation would apply to each repair and a reputation is something built "after the fact".
However, validation of each and every repair will make the whole concept absurd. A reputation built on previous results will indicate how well a customer will be looked after - and that is what really matters. If a repairer is fair, honest, explains things to the customer and offers a warranty, then validation isn't really necessary ... IMO.
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People have access to spares now and everyone is complaining still :-//
No one is ever happy :-//
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Yes sir, we have spares for your vehicle. We have replacement windscreens, spark plugs and tail lights. <end-of-list>
.... and I'm supposed to be happy with that?
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For reference Apple are slowly ramping their repair scope to all devices. They did the phones first because the market impact is the highest. It’s computers next I understand.
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Increasing products included is to be commended, but without more depth, to me it feels more like a PR stunt than a genuine effort. I call what they have offered - a start. It needs more to truly be what it purports to be .... IMHO.
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What I really want to see on the market is replacement port daughter boards for the recent MacBooks because that’s the thing I’m probably going to break and can replace myself. (Unlike Lenovo who solder the damn things onto the logic board now and when they go it tears the tracks off |O)
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The more the merrier!
Anyway, getting back on topic - If manufacturers (such as Apple) are more forthcoming with support for repair, we could see a resurgence in the repair industry as people with the interest and ability will have fewer issues chasing parts.
tggzzz:
--- Quote from: Brumby on May 11, 2022, 11:17:41 am ---Yes sir, we have spares for your vehicle. We have replacement windscreens, spark plugs and tail lights. <end-of-list>
.... and I'm supposed to be happy with that?
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Given the profusion of lights with funky shapes, I wouldn't presume they would have spares available at a reasonable price.
A replacement for a Toyota Yaris 2003's exhaust system from the manufacturer is >£1000, not far off the value of the car. Fortunately I found someone that could fix the faulty bit for a sensible sum.
Brumby:
--- Quote from: tggzzz on May 11, 2022, 12:05:27 pm ---Fortunately I found someone that could fix the faulty bit for a sensible sum.
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Was there a validation process performed before you took delivery after the repair?
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