One way to learn, is to get a job in a service centre that will allow him to
work on customer's equipment. He will have to simply struggle along to
learn. He will be servicing mainly older appliances, and electronic devices.

The very first thing he will have to know very well is the basic theories in
electronics. The more details he knows and understands, the easier it will
be to troubleshoot the equipment. Then there is the practice of applying
what one knows.

The unfortunate part is that much of the newer equipment is designed to not
be serviced, or only serviced at the board level if it is an expensive type
of device. During the proto-typing, these systems are troubleshooted by the
engineering groups that are doing the design. Once done, the runs are put
out for the distribution of the product.

For the field service during warranty, most of the products are serviced by
changing them completely, or changing a complete board or assembly. The only
thing the tech has to do is the calibration, with the proper tools, jigs,
and equipment. Many of the new types of products are complex, and the
authorized service reps get the proper training for the lines of products
that they will be contracted to service.

As far as the service information is concerned for the new products, there
is no outside support for many of the models. This is why parts, service
manuals, and schematics are not available for many of these. For many of the
units that are serviced at the board level only, there are no schematics of
the boards published for services. The authorized service reps would get the
calibration instructions only, with a basic wiring diagram.

This is part of the reason why appliances have become so low in cost today.
Having the infostructure for parts and service is a cost to the manufacture.
By cutting this cost, they can sell at a lower price. This means higher
volumes of sales, and greater profits over the long run.


--

Jerry G.
==========================


"Leonard Caillouet" wrote in message
news:yHC%c.16336$aW5.945@fed1read07...
This is a question that cuts across most fields. I have a young tech that I
am training and attempting to accelerate his development as much as
possible. Recognizing that it takes years of doing repairs to master the
skills involved in troubleshooting and repairing electronics, I still want
to make him as useful as possible as quickly as possible. If anyone has
suggestions I welcome them.

I see most problems solving as a matter of both inductive and deductive
reasoning. The ability to use both, recognize when either is getting you to
the result needed, recognizing when your assumptions need to be checked,
your facts need to be checked, and your steps in reasoning need to be
checked is key to effectively fixing things.

My method is essentially to give him jobs that I know he can complete, but
also give him the ones that I know he will get stuck on and as he gets
stuck, talk him through the process that I would use to figure out the
problem. My basic routine is to gather the information (complaint and
related info, observe the symptoms and condition, look for the obvious,
etc), search my memory, notes, and databases for info relevant to the
problem and device, block diagram the system mentally, then break it down
into the likely areas of the problem.

Where I see him (us) getting stuck is often due to the assumptions made,
both about the system and about the facts found. The solution is often to
gather more facts (use the scope, dumbass), but often also to test the
conclusions that we come to that are based on preconceptions and
expectations. Of course, we get to be efficient in this business by
recognizing patterns and getting to the problem quickly, but there has to be
a balance between the two extremes of treating everything as symptom-repair
(inductive) and getting mired in making measurements and test set-ups
(deductive). Walking that line can make the difference between an efficient
and profitable shop and one that fails.

Any suggestions or discussion of your methods?

Leonard