On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 18:46:16 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

In article ,
says...



You'll also need specialized tools to build and repair those, such as
a hot air desoldering station, reflow oven, solder paste, and various
chip manipulation tools.

Yep, I'm sure they sell all this stuff, but I'm not investing the money
in it. I'd probably spend several hundred dollars to get all this stuff,
then spend a thousand dollars to my eye doctor for eye strain, trying to
see these parts. Then I'd remove parts, which are not labeled, and after
wasting hours trying to understand it, I'd still end up tossing it in
the trash. I think I spent around $25 for this charger, and dont think I
got my money's worth out of it, but I am fully aware it is not meant to
be repaired. Like most stuff these days, it's disposible.



A couple of years ago I decided I needed to get set up for the small
stuff. As this is just a hobby I bought some inexpensive gear. The 10
x stereo microscope was the most at $ 200. The a hot air rework station
with a small soldering iron was another $ 60. Then about $ 800 for
solder wick, solder paste, tweezers and a few other things. The most
expensive was the pound of.015 inch solder that will last me a lifetime.

I agree, many things are not made to be repaired. The parts cost more
than a new item. Like one older battery drill. The batteries would not
hold a charge. For slightly more than one battery, I bought another
drill of better quality that had 2 batteries.

This is a hobby for me too, but I dont even want to work on the
extremely small stuff. I'd leave the hobby real fast. I find stuff that
small very nerve wracking to work on, and since my eyesight is not real
good, I cant see the stuff too well. Not to mention that for most of
that stuff, you cant even get parts since they dont ID the parts
anymore, and even if they did, as you said the parts cost more than the
item.

I enjoy working on tube stuff. I will tackle some early transistor stuff
if it's worth fixing, but I usually only work on stuff that I enjoy
doing.

I only tore this solar charger apart to save the solar cell panel. I
know the unit was trash before I even opened it. None of the chips on it
even have any numbers. Before I even spend an hour on that thing, I'd
sooner buy another solar phone charger for around $25. (not that same
brand though). But I dont really need one anyhow. Those $6 battery packs
work just fine and I can charge them on my computer, with my AC phone
charger, or in my car with my car phone charger. I dont even use my
phone real much, but it always seems to need charging when I do need it.
Those power packs work just fine.