On Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 8:48:41 AM UTC-7, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
"We Need the Right to Repair Our Gadgets"
http://www.wsj.com/articles/we-need-the-right-to-repair-our-gadgets-1441737868
"People can fight back against planned obsolescence by fixing the tech
we already own, but the consumer electronics industry isn't making it
easy."

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

The old Sams "Photo Fact" repair manuals were sure helpful to me back in the tube electronics days. They were always so detailed.

Some of the main problems with electronics today a

1. The removal of lead from many components causes them to fail faster.

2. The switch to "lead-free" solder has caused more equipment failures due to tin whiskers.

3. Surface mount components prevent most average people from repairing their own equipment.

4. Manufacturers deliberately NOT issuing schematics or service/parts manuals.

I have helped many people in the video arcade game & pinball machine collecting hobby by writing several monitor repair guides (for CRT monitors) and I wrote most of the pinwiki section on repairing the home model pinball machines.

I also have answered questions on fixya.com