I've been an active participant here for around a decade, and owe much
of what I know about repairing electronics from the helpful techs who
have hung out here donating their time to share tips and information
with others. Over that time, I've witnessed the steady and unfortunate
decline of the service industry as goods get cheaper, more complex, and
less repairable. I've also watched a steadily worsening signal to noise
ratio here as more and more of the real techs drop out and find myself
answering the same few questions over and over while by the time I get
stuck on something I'm working on, it seems it's usually a really tough
one that can't be easily solved through usenet posts. I know there's
still a few of you regulars who have always been helpful, keep it up and
maybe a few more items can be kept out of landfills or the inevitable
demise of a few more repair shops can be delayed, you guys know where to
find me if you need to bounce ideas around or just want to chat. In the
meantime, I feel lately that my increasingly scarce free time is better
spent elsewhere so I'm dropping out of here. Good luck.