On 10/03/2021 11:17, John Rumm wrote:
On 10/03/2021 08:49, Jeff Layman wrote:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56340077

Will this make any practical difference? If an SMD integrated circuit
goes wrong in a TV, will making the SMD itself available make the TV
"more repairable"?

Yes, very much so. Currently independent repairers are frequently forced
to buy scrapped boards from various shady dealers in eWaste, and then
scavenge components because there is no official way to buy the part.

Well, it depends if the repairer has the skill and equipment to remove
the old SMD and replace it with a new one. If the original was a
multiconnection device flow-soldered in, I doubt many would be able to
replace it. Then, of course, you might have the issue of a multilayered
PCB where a via or two has failed, or is very close to the smd.

Pricing is a very relevant issue. If the smd is priced at a high level,
and you have to add to that the repairer's fee, in the long run it might
not work out much different from a completely new circuit board which
only needs to be plugged in.

Or acquire schematics from dodgy Russian / Chinese ftp sites because the
maker will not make them available.

Maybe that's something to be considered for amending legislation. ;-)

(yes Apple I am talking about you!)

Of even if you can get a part, there is no legal way of obtaining the
manufacturers configuration software that would enable the new part to
be "keyed" to the existing system.

I can't see a way round that if it is considered commercially confidential.

(John Deere being famous for ****ing off lots of farmers with this one)

Or you can get a part but that relies on firmware that the maker does
not make available etc.

Printer cartridges come to mind!

How much will it cost? How much would the complete
circuit board with SMD already fitted cost?

If buying a complete board is an option.

Isn't the latter what's done
at present?

Not when that is either not an option, or the fix is a trivial bit of
board rework.

It seems to me the manufacturers will just charge what they
see fit for the replacement part, no doubt with an exorbitant P&P to
cover "administrative costs".

Well quite possibly - hence why any legislation needs to impose a
requirement that the costs be proportionate and "reasonable".

Needless to say the makers will use any argument in the book they can -
say claiming that the product is too dangerous to allow "unskilled"
repair (hoping to conflate unskilled and third party repairers), or they
will erect bogus "authorised repairer programs" like apple did in the US
to try and stave off legislation. Needless to say they hoops one is
required to jump through to qualify to join and onerous, and once joined
the T&Sc actually prevent you from offering a useful repair service in
the first place!)

The first few test cases of non-compliance in the EU/UK are going to be
most interesting!

--

Jeff