As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything that ran
on electricity. Whether it was a flashlight, a calculator, or a tape
recorder, I was always taking things apart to see how they worked, and
trying to repair them. I remember, when I was about 4, spending a couple of
hours trying to "repair" a disposable flashlight that was getting dim. My
parents wouldn't let me tinker with the family TV; I'm not sure whether it
was safety concerns, or the fact that we couldn't afford to replace the 19"
black-and-white set. I'd have to wait until I was older to tinker with
those.....
So not surprisingly, as I got older, I knew I'd want to go into this line
of work someday, repairing consumer electronics. At 19 I began rounding up
broken TV sets, and then VCRs and other appliances. I began repairing things
for customers before I had gained adequate experience, but it was just as
well; because by the time I became properly experienced, there would be
almost no demand for my skills.
For a while, business wasn't too bad. I kept fairly busy, with customers
coming and going on an almost daily business. Not bad considering this was
just a small shop, run in a small building next to my house. At it's peak, I
took in about $6k in one year - that may not seem like much, but it kept
bills paid and gave me some extra spending money (I had little overhead so
almost everything was clear profit).
But in the last 2 years or so, things have gone downhill at an alarming
rate of speed. At first, sales of used electronics started to dwindle. Then
more and more customers were turning down repair estimates, saying "I'll
just buy a new one".
So where do things stand now?
Earlier this year, the local corner store changed hands, and I set up an
agreement with the owner to let me sell electronics from a corner of his
store (the only store in the community). With deals like 25" stereo TVs for
$79.99, you'd think they'd sell fast wouldn't you? Wrong. In the nearly two
months I've had my display set up, not a single television set has sold. A
few other misc items did sell, netting me a grand total of just over $100.
In short, the results of this venture have been very disappointing indeed.
If the store owner decides to give me the shaft to make way for something
more profitable, I won't blame him at all.
And while sales have fallen through, it seems repairs have taken a drastic
drop as well. Fewer and fewer items are coming into my shop for repairs, and
those that do are often left there when the owner decides to buy a new unit.
Either that, or replacement parts are no longer available - even for sets
less than 6 years old.
I think the best indication of the industries decline, would be the things
I see in the trash each spring. This spring I rounded up what seemed like a
bounty, hoping it would be stuff I could resell. The haul was unbelievable.
More stuff than I could list here. And the vast majority of the items were
untampered with - it appeared that the owners hadn't even bothered to get an
estimate of repairs, they just threw them in the trash and bought new ones.
Another indication would be the activity of this very newsgroup. In the
years I've been posting here, I've noticed a big drop in activity. I'm
guessing it's no coincidence.
At present, I have two buildings full of hundreds of appliances. Dozens of
nice, remote color TV's, dozens of nice VCRs, mini-systems, audio equipment,
and so forth. Ten years ago this stuff would have been worth a fortune - now
it appears that most of it will end up as landfill. Nobody wants it anymore.
Everyone just wants to buy something new, even if it's just a piece of junk.
Nobody appreciates quality anymore. It seems that the world is rapidly going
to hell in a handbasket.
So what do I do now? Part of me just wants to trash the whole works of it,
and try to find some other line of work. But it breaks my heart to throw out
so many nice appliances, which could be easily repaired and provide years of
useful service. But what's the point in keeping it all? I can't sell it. I
probably couldn't even give most of it away. TV's and VCR's could be
stripped for aluminum and copper, though most sets yield less than $1 worth
of such metals. I could just throw it out, but like I say, I hate to do
that.
But it appears that I'll have to do something, and soon. There's no point
in carrying on this charade any longer - the business is dead and it's time
to bury it.
I also have to wonder what's going to happen within 10 or 20 years, when
the landfills are full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. People may once
again turn to the electronic tech, looking for repairs of their sets or to
buy something used. But by then, such businesses will all be long-gone.
People will be left with nothing, and those of us who tried to warn them
today will just say "I told you so".
I look forward to your input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast
majority of you guys are going through the same thing.

Chris F. wrote:

As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything
that ran on electricity. Whether it was a flashlight, a calculator,
or a tape recorder, I was always taking things apart to see how they
worked, and trying to repair them. I remember, when I was about 4,
spending a couple of hours trying to "repair" a disposable flashlight
that was getting dim. My parents wouldn't let me tinker with the
family TV; I'm not sure whether it was safety concerns, or the fact
that we couldn't afford to replace the 19" black-and-white set. I'd
have to wait until I was older to tinker with those.....
So not surprisingly, as I got older, I knew I'd want to go into
this line of work someday, repairing consumer electronics. At 19 I
began rounding up broken TV sets, and then VCRs and other appliances.
I began repairing things for customers before I had gained adequate
experience, but it was just as well; because by the time I became
properly experienced, there would be almost no demand for my skills.
For a while, business wasn't too bad. I kept fairly busy, with
customers coming and going on an almost daily business. Not bad
considering this was just a small shop, run in a small building next
to my house. At it's peak, I took in about $6k in one year - that may
not seem like much, but it kept bills paid and gave me some extra
spending money (I had little overhead so almost everything was clear
profit). But in the last 2 years or so, things have gone downhill
at an alarming rate of speed. At first, sales of used electronics
started to dwindle. Then more and more customers were turning down
repair estimates, saying "I'll just buy a new one".
So where do things stand now?
Earlier this year, the local corner store changed hands, and I set
up an agreement with the owner to let me sell electronics from a
corner of his store (the only store in the community). With deals
like 25" stereo TVs for $79.99, you'd think they'd sell fast wouldn't
you? Wrong. In the nearly two months I've had my display set up, not
a single television set has sold. A few other misc items did sell,
netting me a grand total of just over $100. In short, the results of
this venture have been very disappointing indeed. If the store owner
decides to give me the shaft to make way for something more
profitable, I won't blame him at all. And while sales have fallen
through, it seems repairs have taken a drastic drop as well. Fewer
and fewer items are coming into my shop for repairs, and those that
do are often left there when the owner decides to buy a new unit.
Either that, or replacement parts are no longer available - even for
sets less than 6 years old. I think the best indication of the
industries decline, would be the things I see in the trash each
spring. This spring I rounded up what seemed like a bounty, hoping it
would be stuff I could resell. The haul was unbelievable. More stuff
than I could list here. And the vast majority of the items were
untampered with - it appeared that the owners hadn't even bothered to
get an estimate of repairs, they just threw them in the trash and
bought new ones. Another indication would be the activity of this
very newsgroup. In the years I've been posting here, I've noticed a
big drop in activity. I'm guessing it's no coincidence. At
present, I have two buildings full of hundreds of appliances. Dozens
of nice, remote color TV's, dozens of nice VCRs, mini-systems, audio
equipment, and so forth. Ten years ago this stuff would have been
worth a fortune - now it appears that most of it will end up as
landfill. Nobody wants it anymore. Everyone just wants to buy
something new, even if it's just a piece of junk. Nobody appreciates
quality anymore. It seems that the world is rapidly going to hell in
a handbasket. So what do I do now? Part of me just wants to trash
the whole works of it, and try to find some other line of work. But
it breaks my heart to throw out so many nice appliances, which could
be easily repaired and provide years of useful service. But what's
the point in keeping it all? I can't sell it. I probably couldn't
even give most of it away. TV's and VCR's could be stripped for
aluminum and copper, though most sets yield less than $1 worth of
such metals. I could just throw it out, but like I say, I hate to do
that. But it appears that I'll have to do something, and soon.
There's no point in carrying on this charade any longer - the
business is dead and it's time to bury it. I also have to wonder
what's going to happen within 10 or 20 years, when the landfills are
full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. People may once again turn
to the electronic tech, looking for repairs of their sets or to buy
something used. But by then, such businesses will all be long-gone.
People will be left with nothing, and those of us who tried to warn
them today will just say "I told you so". I look forward to your
input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast majority of you guys are
going through the same thing.

judging by your news provider you are in new brunswick?

Chris F. wrote:

As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything
that ran on electricity. Whether it was a flashlight, a calculator,
or a tape recorder, I was always taking things apart to see how they
worked, and trying to repair them. I remember, when I was about 4,
spending a couple of hours trying to "repair" a disposable flashlight
that was getting dim. My parents wouldn't let me tinker with the
family TV; I'm not sure whether it was safety concerns, or the fact
that we couldn't afford to replace the 19" black-and-white set. I'd
have to wait until I was older to tinker with those.....
So not surprisingly, as I got older, I knew I'd want to go into
this line of work someday, repairing consumer electronics. At 19 I
began rounding up broken TV sets, and then VCRs and other appliances.
I began repairing things for customers before I had gained adequate
experience, but it was just as well; because by the time I became
properly experienced, there would be almost no demand for my skills.
For a while, business wasn't too bad. I kept fairly busy, with
customers coming and going on an almost daily business. Not bad
considering this was just a small shop, run in a small building next
to my house. At it's peak, I took in about $6k in one year - that may
not seem like much, but it kept bills paid and gave me some extra
spending money (I had little overhead so almost everything was clear
profit). But in the last 2 years or so, things have gone downhill
at an alarming rate of speed. At first, sales of used electronics
started to dwindle. Then more and more customers were turning down
repair estimates, saying "I'll just buy a new one".
So where do things stand now?
Earlier this year, the local corner store changed hands, and I set
up an agreement with the owner to let me sell electronics from a
corner of his store (the only store in the community). With deals
like 25" stereo TVs for $79.99, you'd think they'd sell fast wouldn't
you? Wrong. In the nearly two months I've had my display set up, not
a single television set has sold. A few other misc items did sell,
netting me a grand total of just over $100. In short, the results of
this venture have been very disappointing indeed. If the store owner
decides to give me the shaft to make way for something more
profitable, I won't blame him at all. And while sales have fallen
through, it seems repairs have taken a drastic drop as well. Fewer
and fewer items are coming into my shop for repairs, and those that
do are often left there when the owner decides to buy a new unit.
Either that, or replacement parts are no longer available - even for
sets less than 6 years old. I think the best indication of the
industries decline, would be the things I see in the trash each
spring. This spring I rounded up what seemed like a bounty, hoping it
would be stuff I could resell. The haul was unbelievable. More stuff
than I could list here. And the vast majority of the items were
untampered with - it appeared that the owners hadn't even bothered to
get an estimate of repairs, they just threw them in the trash and
bought new ones. Another indication would be the activity of this
very newsgroup. In the years I've been posting here, I've noticed a
big drop in activity. I'm guessing it's no coincidence. At
present, I have two buildings full of hundreds of appliances. Dozens
of nice, remote color TV's, dozens of nice VCRs, mini-systems, audio
equipment, and so forth. Ten years ago this stuff would have been
worth a fortune - now it appears that most of it will end up as
landfill. Nobody wants it anymore. Everyone just wants to buy
something new, even if it's just a piece of junk. Nobody appreciates
quality anymore. It seems that the world is rapidly going to hell in
a handbasket. So what do I do now? Part of me just wants to trash
the whole works of it, and try to find some other line of work. But
it breaks my heart to throw out so many nice appliances, which could
be easily repaired and provide years of useful service. But what's
the point in keeping it all? I can't sell it. I probably couldn't
even give most of it away. TV's and VCR's could be stripped for
aluminum and copper, though most sets yield less than $1 worth of
such metals. I could just throw it out, but like I say, I hate to do
that. But it appears that I'll have to do something, and soon.
There's no point in carrying on this charade any longer - the
business is dead and it's time to bury it. I also have to wonder
what's going to happen within 10 or 20 years, when the landfills are
full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. People may once again turn
to the electronic tech, looking for repairs of their sets or to buy
something used. But by then, such businesses will all be long-gone.
People will be left with nothing, and those of us who tried to warn
them today will just say "I told you so". I look forward to your
input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast majority of you guys are
going through the same thing.

oops, I meant cheap imports!

"Chris F." wrote in message
...

....
I also have to wonder what's going to happen within 10 or 20 years, when
the landfills are full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. ...

Or when terrorists sneak a nuke into a shipping container bound for
Wal-Mart? What level of crap will that cause?

No attack by terrorists will ever damage the USA, however the present
economic trends may well do it. With a majority of people living below the
poverty line there will be no sales or income taxes to fund an army to
invade foreign countries to 'protect' the oil from the locals - and no need
of oil anyway.

But all I can suggest is that you look into industrial process control and
PLC servicing. That can't be outsourced, and the nature of these beasts is
that they need an expert to fault find on site. You have the skills and the
expertise with test gear needed to work on these, something many
electricians do not have.

I've also considered repairing automobile computers. You might want to check
around town and find out if car repair shops are having success getting that
done.

N

If you were to take the time to look at how advanced the new electronics are
these days, most people would not want an older set. The cost of the LCD
and Plasma TV sets have dropped considerably over the last 3 to 5 years.
These prices are still dropping, and the performance of the new technologies
is getting much better.

The days of servicing most low to medium end consumer electronics at a
reasonable price are long gone. The manufactures don't even supply parts any
more for their lower end models.

In the case of a standard TV set, it is possible to have a 20 inch CRT TV
today, for under $200, that comes with a 3 year warranty. I have seen some
descent new VHS / HiFi machines going for an average of $70. After about a
year, if it is not working, it is considered a throw-away. If it breaks down
before a year, there should be a warranty exchange for it.

Why would anyone want to service a 5 year old TV or VCR, and have to spend
more than 15% of the cost of a new one?

The cost of the LCD and Plasma screens are not at their bottom price yet. I
was informed that from a good authority, that within the next 2 years, the
Plasma and LCD sets should be at least 1/2 of today's prices.



--

JANA
_____


"Chris F." wrote in message
...
As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything that ran
on electricity. Whether it was a flashlight, a calculator, or a tape
recorder, I was always taking things apart to see how they worked, and
trying to repair them. I remember, when I was about 4, spending a couple of
hours trying to "repair" a disposable flashlight that was getting dim. My
parents wouldn't let me tinker with the family TV; I'm not sure whether it
was safety concerns, or the fact that we couldn't afford to replace the 19"
black-and-white set. I'd have to wait until I was older to tinker with
those.....
So not surprisingly, as I got older, I knew I'd want to go into this line
of work someday, repairing consumer electronics. At 19 I began rounding up
broken TV sets, and then VCRs and other appliances. I began repairing things
for customers before I had gained adequate experience, but it was just as
well; because by the time I became properly experienced, there would be
almost no demand for my skills.
For a while, business wasn't too bad. I kept fairly busy, with customers
coming and going on an almost daily business. Not bad considering this was
just a small shop, run in a small building next to my house. At it's peak, I
took in about $6k in one year - that may not seem like much, but it kept
bills paid and gave me some extra spending money (I had little overhead so
almost everything was clear profit).
But in the last 2 years or so, things have gone downhill at an alarming
rate of speed. At first, sales of used electronics started to dwindle. Then
more and more customers were turning down repair estimates, saying "I'll
just buy a new one".
So where do things stand now?
Earlier this year, the local corner store changed hands, and I set up an
agreement with the owner to let me sell electronics from a corner of his
store (the only store in the community). With deals like 25" stereo TVs for
$79.99, you'd think they'd sell fast wouldn't you? Wrong. In the nearly two
months I've had my display set up, not a single television set has sold. A
few other misc items did sell, netting me a grand total of just over $100.
In short, the results of this venture have been very disappointing indeed.
If the store owner decides to give me the shaft to make way for something
more profitable, I won't blame him at all.
And while sales have fallen through, it seems repairs have taken a drastic
drop as well. Fewer and fewer items are coming into my shop for repairs, and
those that do are often left there when the owner decides to buy a new unit.
Either that, or replacement parts are no longer available - even for sets
less than 6 years old.
I think the best indication of the industries decline, would be the things
I see in the trash each spring. This spring I rounded up what seemed like a
bounty, hoping it would be stuff I could resell. The haul was unbelievable.
More stuff than I could list here. And the vast majority of the items were
untampered with - it appeared that the owners hadn't even bothered to get an
estimate of repairs, they just threw them in the trash and bought new ones.
Another indication would be the activity of this very newsgroup. In the
years I've been posting here, I've noticed a big drop in activity. I'm
guessing it's no coincidence.
At present, I have two buildings full of hundreds of appliances. Dozens of
nice, remote color TV's, dozens of nice VCRs, mini-systems, audio equipment,
and so forth. Ten years ago this stuff would have been worth a fortune - now
it appears that most of it will end up as landfill. Nobody wants it anymore.
Everyone just wants to buy something new, even if it's just a piece of junk.
Nobody appreciates quality anymore. It seems that the world is rapidly going
to hell in a handbasket.
So what do I do now? Part of me just wants to trash the whole works of it,
and try to find some other line of work. But it breaks my heart to throw out
so many nice appliances, which could be easily repaired and provide years of
useful service. But what's the point in keeping it all? I can't sell it. I
probably couldn't even give most of it away. TV's and VCR's could be
stripped for aluminum and copper, though most sets yield less than $1 worth
of such metals. I could just throw it out, but like I say, I hate to do
that.
But it appears that I'll have to do something, and soon. There's no point
in carrying on this charade any longer - the business is dead and it's time
to bury it.
I also have to wonder what's going to happen within 10 or 20 years, when
the landfills are full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. People may once
again turn to the electronic tech, looking for repairs of their sets or to
buy something used. But by then, such businesses will all be long-gone.
People will be left with nothing, and those of us who tried to warn them
today will just say "I told you so".
I look forward to your input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast
majority of you guys are going through the same thing.

"Chris F." wrote in message
...
As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything that ran
on electricity. Whether it was a flashlight, a calculator, or a tape
recorder, I was always taking things apart to see how they worked, and
trying to repair them. I remember, when I was about 4, spending a couple
of
hours trying to "repair" a disposable flashlight that was getting dim. My
parents wouldn't let me tinker with the family TV; I'm not sure whether it
was safety concerns, or the fact that we couldn't afford to replace the
19"
black-and-white set. I'd have to wait until I was older to tinker with
those.....
So not surprisingly, as I got older, I knew I'd want to go into this line
of work someday, repairing consumer electronics. At 19 I began rounding up
broken TV sets, and then VCRs and other appliances. I began repairing
things
for customers before I had gained adequate experience, but it was just as
well; because by the time I became properly experienced, there would be
almost no demand for my skills.
For a while, business wasn't too bad. I kept fairly busy, with customers
coming and going on an almost daily business. Not bad considering this was
just a small shop, run in a small building next to my house. At it's peak,
I
took in about $6k in one year - that may not seem like much, but it kept
bills paid and gave me some extra spending money (I had little overhead so
almost everything was clear profit).
But in the last 2 years or so, things have gone downhill at an alarming
rate of speed. At first, sales of used electronics started to dwindle.
Then
more and more customers were turning down repair estimates, saying "I'll
just buy a new one".
So where do things stand now?
Earlier this year, the local corner store changed hands, and I set up an
agreement with the owner to let me sell electronics from a corner of his
store (the only store in the community). With deals like 25" stereo TVs
for
$79.99, you'd think they'd sell fast wouldn't you? Wrong. In the nearly
two
months I've had my display set up, not a single television set has sold. A
few other misc items did sell, netting me a grand total of just over $100.
In short, the results of this venture have been very disappointing indeed.
If the store owner decides to give me the shaft to make way for something
more profitable, I won't blame him at all.
And while sales have fallen through, it seems repairs have taken a
drastic
drop as well. Fewer and fewer items are coming into my shop for repairs,
and
those that do are often left there when the owner decides to buy a new
unit.
Either that, or replacement parts are no longer available - even for sets
less than 6 years old.
I think the best indication of the industries decline, would be the
things
I see in the trash each spring. This spring I rounded up what seemed like
a
bounty, hoping it would be stuff I could resell. The haul was
unbelievable.
More stuff than I could list here. And the vast majority of the items were
untampered with - it appeared that the owners hadn't even bothered to get
an
estimate of repairs, they just threw them in the trash and bought new
ones.
Another indication would be the activity of this very newsgroup. In the
years I've been posting here, I've noticed a big drop in activity. I'm
guessing it's no coincidence.
At present, I have two buildings full of hundreds of appliances. Dozens
of
nice, remote color TV's, dozens of nice VCRs, mini-systems, audio
equipment,
and so forth. Ten years ago this stuff would have been worth a fortune -
now
it appears that most of it will end up as landfill. Nobody wants it
anymore.
Everyone just wants to buy something new, even if it's just a piece of
junk.
Nobody appreciates quality anymore. It seems that the world is rapidly
going
to hell in a handbasket.
So what do I do now? Part of me just wants to trash the whole works of
it,
and try to find some other line of work. But it breaks my heart to throw
out
so many nice appliances, which could be easily repaired and provide years
of
useful service. But what's the point in keeping it all? I can't sell it. I
probably couldn't even give most of it away. TV's and VCR's could be
stripped for aluminum and copper, though most sets yield less than $1
worth
of such metals. I could just throw it out, but like I say, I hate to do
that.
But it appears that I'll have to do something, and soon. There's no point
in carrying on this charade any longer - the business is dead and it's
time
to bury it.
I also have to wonder what's going to happen within 10 or 20 years, when
the landfills are full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. People may
once
again turn to the electronic tech, looking for repairs of their sets or to
buy something used. But by then, such businesses will all be long-gone.
People will be left with nothing, and those of us who tried to warn them
today will just say "I told you so".
I look forward to your input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast
majority of you guys are going through the same thing.



Here in Australia I can now buy at a supermarket a TV, DVD player, microwave
oven and other appliances for less than the cost of a basic repair job for
such an appliance. I can buy an electric drill or sander anywhere for less
than I would have spent many years ago on a replacement armature. I can buy
a battery drill for less than the cost of replacement batteries. The
electronic service industry has, in my opinion, already been doomed, but, as
we rush to buy these things (myself included) I fear for our economy in
general. The appliances and tools are generally very well made, but
cheaper - made in countries by people who probably get paid less per week
than I get per hour. Yes, it's nice buying these things we could not
possibly afford otherwise, but it is inevitable that our wages, work and
living standards may have to be reduced so as to "compete" with such
manufacturing countries - countries who have no regard for worker's
conditions.

Henry.

Well, for myself, business is doing well. Considering we are a small
shop, we keep busy!!

We also specialize in projection tv's and high priced
items.....Plasma, LCD, DLP are new technology but they do break down
and clients HAVE TO dish out $ for the 2000-3000$ item that was
purchased a few years ago.

Obviously, small items like 19' tv and vcr's are not coming for
repair that often but when they do, it's better to make a few bucks
than nothing!!

Also, keep up with the newe technology...DLP are easy to
service/repair with the right training material(I can probably email
you some good material)....LCD and Plasma as well...consider that
these units mostly are repaired by repalcing boards/modules and then
configuring them to the units, almost like computers

Sadly but true we need to follow the market.........Out with the
old IN with the new. AND when the client asks why his unit broke down
after 2 years when his old set lasted 15-20 years with no
problem...tell them they asked for it!!!

Good Luck!!!!!

As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything that
ran
on electricity.
Also, keep up with the newe technology...DLP are easy to
service/repair with the right training material(I can probably email
you some good material)....LCD and Plasma as well...consider that
these units mostly are repaired by repalcing boards/modules and then
configuring them to the units, almost like computers


You're not alone Chris ,i could'nt have expressed the woes of this
trade better.
I stopped accepting tv's , dvd's and any other cheap electronic
appliances for repair. My blood boils when someone tells me they got a
great deal on a cheap chinese appliance. Hah , damn thing just looks
like its supposed to work , they conk within 3 months , open it and
you'll see ic and transistor no.s erased. Do they offer to replace or
provide tech support? no !
So i thought i'd focus on dlp's and higher end stuff. Problem is
they're so tough to repair especially when there's no support available
from the manufacturers. Any technical querries sent to them are either
ignored or simply responded to with "take the unit to an authorised XXX
service centre. Try finding out which 3 buttons to press to reset the
lamp timer of a dlp and u could spend an entire day datamining with no
result. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to press three buttons , but
they insist that thier authorised service centres do it better.
I'm in india , and we're facing the same problems here too especially
since the government killed import duty rates. One thing good about
this place is that i can buy single components cheap as compared to the
MOQ orders and dollar values other people in the world have to put up
with. Though not everything is easily available.
Well thanks to forums like these we can support and help each other out
with schematics and discuss more than just equipment faults here.
tvmirage i sure could use some help with projectors, i get mostly
infocus, sharp, panasonic units here. Have a couple of service manuals
too in pdf format.
Take care !

Chris F. wrote:
As a child in the 1980's,

snipped for brevity

I look forward to your input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast
majority of you guys are going through the same thing.


I was much the same as you, repairing vcr`s, satellite receivers and hi
fi, whilst wifey repaired microwave ovens. Business dropped from being
pretty busy to just twiddling our thumbs within a few months as the
supermarkets started selling white and brown goods at knock down prices.
Microwave oven for £29.50 (around $50 I thnk) - VRC for £40. I had to
do a major rethink of my business plan!

Luckily I also repair musicians sound equipment so that keeps me going,
Most musicians will hang on to their treasured amplifiers etc, and
there`s always a market for reconditioned equipment. Having said that,
with all the new incredibly low cost Chinese sound equipment coming onto
the market, I can see that business going the same way, but to a lesser
degree than the TV and vcr repair business.

Ron (UK)



--
Lune Valley Audio
Public address system
Hire, Sales, Repairs
www.lunevalleyaudio.com

Dribble Dribble!!

Go Bail Out Then

In article YdjCe.136031$tt5.130662@edtnps90,
NSM wrote:
I've also considered repairing automobile computers. You might want to
check around town and find out if car repair shops are having success
getting that done.

Maybe ok with older ones. But modern multi-layer surface mount? Forget it.
;-)

--
*I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Yup, NB. And in a small village, which probably hasn't helped.

ryan wiehle wrote in message ...
Chris F. wrote:

As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything
that ran on electricity. Whether it was a flashlight, a calculator,
or a tape recorder, I was always taking things apart to see how they
worked, and trying to repair them. I remember, when I was about 4,
spending a couple of hours trying to "repair" a disposable flashlight
that was getting dim. My parents wouldn't let me tinker with the
family TV; I'm not sure whether it was safety concerns, or the fact
that we couldn't afford to replace the 19" black-and-white set. I'd
have to wait until I was older to tinker with those.....
So not surprisingly, as I got older, I knew I'd want to go into
this line of work someday, repairing consumer electronics. At 19 I
began rounding up broken TV sets, and then VCRs and other appliances.
I began repairing things for customers before I had gained adequate
experience, but it was just as well; because by the time I became
properly experienced, there would be almost no demand for my skills.
For a while, business wasn't too bad. I kept fairly busy, with
customers coming and going on an almost daily business. Not bad
considering this was just a small shop, run in a small building next
to my house. At it's peak, I took in about $6k in one year - that may
not seem like much, but it kept bills paid and gave me some extra
spending money (I had little overhead so almost everything was clear
profit). But in the last 2 years or so, things have gone downhill
at an alarming rate of speed. At first, sales of used electronics
started to dwindle. Then more and more customers were turning down
repair estimates, saying "I'll just buy a new one".
So where do things stand now?
Earlier this year, the local corner store changed hands, and I set
up an agreement with the owner to let me sell electronics from a
corner of his store (the only store in the community). With deals
like 25" stereo TVs for $79.99, you'd think they'd sell fast wouldn't
you? Wrong. In the nearly two months I've had my display set up, not
a single television set has sold. A few other misc items did sell,
netting me a grand total of just over $100. In short, the results of
this venture have been very disappointing indeed. If the store owner
decides to give me the shaft to make way for something more
profitable, I won't blame him at all. And while sales have fallen
through, it seems repairs have taken a drastic drop as well. Fewer
and fewer items are coming into my shop for repairs, and those that
do are often left there when the owner decides to buy a new unit.
Either that, or replacement parts are no longer available - even for
sets less than 6 years old. I think the best indication of the
industries decline, would be the things I see in the trash each
spring. This spring I rounded up what seemed like a bounty, hoping it
would be stuff I could resell. The haul was unbelievable. More stuff
than I could list here. And the vast majority of the items were
untampered with - it appeared that the owners hadn't even bothered to
get an estimate of repairs, they just threw them in the trash and
bought new ones. Another indication would be the activity of this
very newsgroup. In the years I've been posting here, I've noticed a
big drop in activity. I'm guessing it's no coincidence. At
present, I have two buildings full of hundreds of appliances. Dozens
of nice, remote color TV's, dozens of nice VCRs, mini-systems, audio
equipment, and so forth. Ten years ago this stuff would have been
worth a fortune - now it appears that most of it will end up as
landfill. Nobody wants it anymore. Everyone just wants to buy
something new, even if it's just a piece of junk. Nobody appreciates
quality anymore. It seems that the world is rapidly going to hell in
a handbasket. So what do I do now? Part of me just wants to trash
the whole works of it, and try to find some other line of work. But
it breaks my heart to throw out so many nice appliances, which could
be easily repaired and provide years of useful service. But what's
the point in keeping it all? I can't sell it. I probably couldn't
even give most of it away. TV's and VCR's could be stripped for
aluminum and copper, though most sets yield less than $1 worth of
such metals. I could just throw it out, but like I say, I hate to do
that. But it appears that I'll have to do something, and soon.
There's no point in carrying on this charade any longer - the
business is dead and it's time to bury it. I also have to wonder
what's going to happen within 10 or 20 years, when the landfills are
full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. People may once again turn
to the electronic tech, looking for repairs of their sets or to buy
something used. But by then, such businesses will all be long-gone.
People will be left with nothing, and those of us who tried to warn
them today will just say "I told you so". I look forward to your
input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast majority of you guys are
going through the same thing.

judging by your news provider you are in new brunswick?

Hi Chris

I grew up with the same curiosity in all things electronic and electric. As
a little child ( maybe 5 or 6), I also took apart anything that ran on
electric to see how it worked and somtimes I fixed a few of those things.

I then went all the way to a full college degree in Electrical Engineering.
Today I see the Consumer Industry moving away from the old technology to
quickly designed, more disposable items. I do like the feel and quality of
my cheap VCR for $56. If it breaks I would toss it at that price. I could
replace the Mode switches in all the Old VCR's I have held on to but my time
and effort doesnt warrant it anymore. My time is worth more then the few
dollars I could sell the items for.
I really dont think a philosophical arguement applies here about the world
going the way of the cheap- throw- away society. The Electronic Industry is
just one more thing that got caught up in the "toss-it, its broke" way of
thinking. You like me just hate to throw good things out. I would suggest
donating them to some church or society and they can sell them at their next
rummage sale or fair. You would have done a great service for that group and
possibly a Tax write-off

Good luck and I suggest like someone else stated here, that maybe you could
venture into the higher priced items, whereas the people arent so easy to
toss out a $2000 Projection TV or a well made Tube Guitar Amp.

Larry

On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 14:59:49 GMT, "Larry P"
wrote:

I would suggest
donating them to some church or society and they can sell them at their next
rummage sale or fair. You would have done a great service for that group and
possibly a Tax write-off


Even that is becoming a thing of the past. Church rummage sales are
quickly disappearing. I asked one local church why they stopped
having the huge rummage sale every year and they said it just wasn't
worth the effort any more. They make a lot more money for less work
selling crafts, pies and raffling things off instead of having the
rummage sale. Apparently people just don't buy used things any more
and they got stuck having to dispose of a lot of stuff. Most thrift
stores around me won't take broken electronics any more. They also
won't take console TVs, console stereos, or computers even if they
work. Instead of selling broken electronics they just dumpster it.
Andy Cuffe

-- Use this address until 12/31/2005

-- Use this address after 12/31/2005

What I can't understand is, why people junk well-built appliances in favor
of new cheapies. They just don't seem to realize, or care, that they're
buying a piece of junk. And at the same time, they're also putting good
hard-working folks like us out of business. Not to mention filling up the
landfills, and hurting the economy. I believe that man is one of the most
foolish creatures on earth, and that this is just another in a long list of
examples.
I have a 1983 Panasonic console TV sitting behind me, and it's built
better than anything on the market today. The chassis has only had minor
repairs and the CRT is still like new - good luck getting performance like
that from a $79 Durabrand!
People just simply don't appreciate quality anymore. Really, people don't
appreciate much anything these days. We live in a society filled with
spoiled, ungrateful, and gullible morons who simply don't know what's good
for them.
I plan to stuff most of my old sets into a corner of a storage building
and wait a few more months before pulling the plug. If people continue to
trash quality items to make way for junk, then they will only get what they
deserve, and I won't be a bit sympathetic.
I just wish I'd been born 50 years ago, when I could have made a nice
living in this profession.

"Larry P" wrote in message
...
Hi Chris

I grew up with the same curiosity in all things electronic and electric.
As
a little child ( maybe 5 or 6), I also took apart anything that ran on
electric to see how it worked and somtimes I fixed a few of those things.

I then went all the way to a full college degree in Electrical
Engineering.
Today I see the Consumer Industry moving away from the old technology to
quickly designed, more disposable items. I do like the feel and quality of
my cheap VCR for $56. If it breaks I would toss it at that price. I could
replace the Mode switches in all the Old VCR's I have held on to but my
time
and effort doesnt warrant it anymore. My time is worth more then the few
dollars I could sell the items for.
I really dont think a philosophical arguement applies here about the
world
going the way of the cheap- throw- away society. The Electronic Industry
is
just one more thing that got caught up in the "toss-it, its broke" way of
thinking. You like me just hate to throw good things out. I would suggest
donating them to some church or society and they can sell them at their
next
rummage sale or fair. You would have done a great service for that group
and
possibly a Tax write-off

Good luck and I suggest like someone else stated here, that maybe you
could
venture into the higher priced items, whereas the people arent so easy to
toss out a $2000 Projection TV or a well made Tube Guitar Amp.

Larry

In article ,
Andy Cuffe wrote:
Even that is becoming a thing of the past. Church rummage sales are
quickly disappearing. I asked one local church why they stopped
having the huge rummage sale every year and they said it just wasn't
worth the effort any more. They make a lot more money for less work
selling crafts, pies and raffling things off instead of having the
rummage sale. Apparently people just don't buy used things any more
and they got stuck having to dispose of a lot of stuff. Most thrift
stores around me won't take broken electronics any more. They also
won't take console TVs, console stereos, or computers even if they
work. Instead of selling broken electronics they just dumpster it.

In the UK, any secondhand electrical goods have to be safety tested by a
qualified person with the approved equipment before being put on sale -
even at a charity stall. And to get this done may cost more than the item
will fetch. It's called PAT 'testing' and part of H&S regulations.
A clever charity shop finds a helpful qualified volunteer and cleans up.
;-)

--
*Income tax service - We‘ve got what it takes to take what you've got.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Chris F." wrote in message
...

Yup, NB. And in a small village, which probably hasn't helped.

Unless there are enough people who will pay for help with setting up
audio/video systems etc. that's the definition of screwed.

N

"hemyd" wrote in message
u...

Here in Australia I can now buy at a supermarket a TV, DVD player,
microwave
oven and other appliances for less than the cost of a basic repair job for
such an appliance. I can buy an electric drill or sander anywhere for less
than I would have spent many years ago on a replacement armature.

I used to be able to get a small fan heater motor (for the wonderful
Silenta) rewound for 67/6 ($6.75) and I'd strip and rebuild the thing for an
additional 15/- ($1.50). That was in the 1960's. Doesn't that make you laugh
now?

N

"Chris F." wrote in message
...

People just simply don't appreciate quality anymore. Really, people
don't
appreciate much anything these days. We live in a society filled with
spoiled, ungrateful, and gullible morons who simply don't know what's good
for them.

I'm hard pressed to get up much sympathy for loggers or fishermen who
complain about the lack of employment for themselves or their children after
the source of their wealth has been strip mined. If all VCR's and TV's were
designed to be run 100% only on tubes I'd never get to sleep, but that won't
happen either.

N

"Chris F." wrote in
:

As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything that
ran
on electricity. Whether it was a flashlight, a calculator, or a tape
recorder, I was always taking things apart to see how they worked, and
trying to repair them. I
.....
the landfills are full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. People may
once again turn to the electronic tech, looking for repairs of their
sets or to buy something used. But by then, such businesses will all be
long-gone. People will be left with nothing, and those of us who tried
to warn them today will just say "I told you so".
I look forward to your input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast
majority of you guys are going through the same thing.

I had a consumer electronics shop in the early 1970's and ran into the same
kinds of problem back then. I finally decided that I couldn't make a decent
living at it honestly and was unwilling to do it any other way and closed
the shop.

Strangely, many people have made a living at the business since then.
Perhaps they didn't have the same overhead problems I had. Or they didn't
have problems getting decent help. Or they didn't have problems with people
leaving fixed sets or giving bad checks.

If you do close, I have a suggestion as to what to do with the stuff you
have warehoused:

Donate it to charity. You might even work out a deal with them to let you
fix the stuff for them.

Good luck.

By the way, I need a bit of help:

I need the schematic [and other service information, if available] for a
1993 Zenith TV. model number SL3585BT, Serial Number 381-34431174

Sams Photofacts does not carry the model. Zenith does not have the
information. The supply house they refered me to does not have the
schematic. Perhaps someone knows of a similar chassis that would be
available and help me fix the set.

It is blowing a small, solder in fuse, that feeds the Horizontal and high
voltage sections. The fuse blows as soon as the set is turned on.

Willing to pay.

If you have information please email bz+tvinfo -at sign- chem.lsu.edu
in addition to posting here.

Oh. Since I closed the shop I have done many things, taught electronics,
fixed radars on ships on the river, fixed computers and instruments, and
since 1981, I have been the computer guru for our department.



--
bz

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

remove ch100-5 to avoid spam trap

"Chris F." wrote in
message ...

And at the same time, they're also putting good
hard-working folks like us out of business.

There never was any loyalty in the general market place. People have
been bombarded to near death with 'new is better' and so they must
keep up with the latest goodies their neighbors have. Governments
just love those ideas - for every new purchase is another tax grab.

Not to mention filling up the landfills, and hurting the economy.

Obviously, it will take many studies and multiple university degrees to
finally conclude that for every dollar spend only about 25 cents is good
for our own economy. The other 75 cents feed the needy and greedy in
China, etc.. and will never return. In this manner we are slowly bleeding
our own economy to death. This while our Earth atmosphere is being
seriously abused in China, etc.. with huge amounts of pollution... which
can cause all sorts of illnesses, in China, etc.. as well as anywhere else.

Maybe it is time that the true dreamers for a just society wake
up and correct the course we seem to be so hell bent set on.

On Sat, 16 Jul 2005 22:31:14 GMT, "Chris F."
wrote:

So what do I do now? Part of me just wants to trash the whole works of it,
and try to find some other line of work. But it breaks my heart to throw out
so many nice appliances, which could be easily repaired and provide years of
useful service. But what's the point in keeping it all? I can't sell it. I
probably couldn't even give most of it away. TV's and VCR's could be
stripped for aluminum and copper, though most sets yield less than $1 worth
of such metals. I could just throw it out, but like I say, I hate to do
that.

What you posted is pretty much the story of my life. I'm retired now.
Not much money to spend but no debts either.

Lifelines: There is still a demand for service technicians in
photocopiers and machines that have a electro-mechanical component.
My other idea is to restore-repair very old machines (prior 1970s) and
"heirlooms" that have some nostalgia value. Old clocks, hand crank
record players, mechanical clocks. The caveat will be that they don't
require replacement parts, just clean-ups, alignments, small-shop
repairs with a bit of soldering or brazing and perhaps non precision
parts I can fabricate with a saw and file. Restore non mechanical
parts such as broken corners on a bezel, touch up colors and
scratches. The customers base will be to put up my notice in the
community notice boards at the supermarket, library and community
papers. I have yet to get around this.

bz wrote:


I need the schematic [and other service information, if available] for a
1993 Zenith TV. model number SL3585BT, Serial Number 381-34431174

Sams Photofacts does not carry the model. Zenith does not have the
information. The supply house they refered me to does not have the
schematic. Perhaps someone knows of a similar chassis that would be
available and help me fix the set.

It is blowing a small, solder in fuse, that feeds the Horizontal and high
voltage sections. The fuse blows as soon as the set is turned on.

Hi bz...

http://www.euras.com/repair_tips_1/Z...5BT_Zenith.htm

This may be helpful...

Ken

On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 19:43:49 +0000 (UTC), bz
wrote:

I had a consumer electronics shop in the early 1970's and ran into the same
kinds of problem back then. I finally decided that I couldn't make a decent
living at it honestly and was unwilling to do it any other way and closed
the shop.


"Honestly" is the operative word. The VCR problem I had was quite
simply to replace the rubber drive rings and then align the timing.
At $75 an hour the job could have been done in less time but $75 was
acceptable. I didn't care to save the $75 as I didn't want to spend
the time and effort to look up the fixes on this VCR. To the labor
charge the shop tagged on another $50 for cleaning and shop supplies
(standard charge item he said), something I had already done and with
far more care than anyone else. I understand the shop's desperation
to pad charges to make up for dwindling servicing business. But it
leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I certainly will never go to a shop
to get anything fixed again. If I can't fix it its tossed. The $100
or so bucks saved on not using the shop is a sizeable chunk of money
towards a new appliance.

"Do Little2" wrote in message
...

Obviously, it will take many studies and multiple university degrees to
finally conclude that for every dollar spend only about 25 cents is good
for our own economy. The other 75 cents feed the needy and greedy in
China, etc.. and will never return.

Actually it is now and will continue to be used to buy up US corporations
and property.

N

PaPaPeng wrote in
:

On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 19:43:49 +0000 (UTC), bz
wrote:

I had a consumer electronics shop in the early 1970's and ran into the
same kinds of problem back then. I finally decided that I couldn't make
a decent living at it honestly and was unwilling to do it any other way
and closed the shop.


"Honestly" is the operative word.

Most of the other shop owners I got to know in the three years I had my
shop were honest and hard working people.

I went to work managing a shop and didn't realize that I was getting a long
sales talk. Never buy a shop for 20k that has 3k in assets, 3k in debt and
17k in 'good-will'.

It took a couple of years to learn about fixed costs and variable costs and
realize that the fixed costs didn't tell the whole story. Just because
'break even is $100/day, doesn't mean that $120 per day gives $20 profit.
It might only give $1.

The VCR problem I had was quite
simply to replace the rubber drive rings and then align the timing.
At $75 an hour the job could have been done in less time but $75 was
acceptable. I didn't care to save the $75 as I didn't want to spend
the time and effort to look up the fixes on this VCR. To the labor
charge the shop tagged on another $50 for cleaning and shop supplies
(standard charge item he said), something I had already done and with
far more care than anyone else. I understand the shop's desperation
to pad charges to make up for dwindling servicing business.

An honest shop will give you an estimate [they may charge for the estimate]
and will not stick on extra charges without first notifying you.

We almost always had to FIX the set in order to be able to estimate what it
would cost. In these days of 'replace the module', estimates should be
easier.

But it
leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I certainly will never go to a shop
to get anything fixed again. If I can't fix it its tossed. The $100
or so bucks saved on not using the shop is a sizeable chunk of money
towards a new appliance.

The 'rule of thumb' that I learned the hard way was:

If repair costs over 1/3 the price of a new unit, the customer will buy a
new unit rather than repairing the old one.

From the number of good electronic items I find sitting by the trash cans,
it looks like an upgrade of the equipment means the old stuff gets thrown
out even if it is working.




--
bz

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

remove ch100-5 to avoid spam trap

On Sat, 16 Jul 2005 22:31:14 GMT, "Chris F."
wrote:

As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything that ran
on electricity. Whether it was a flashlight, a calculator, or a tape
recorder, I was always taking things apart to see how they worked, and
trying to repair them. I remember, when I was about 4, spending a couple of
hours trying to "repair" a disposable flashlight that was getting dim. My
parents wouldn't let me tinker with the family TV; I'm not sure whether it
was safety concerns, or the fact that we couldn't afford to replace the 19"
black-and-white set. I'd have to wait until I was older to tinker with
those.....
So not surprisingly, as I got older, I knew I'd want to go into this line
of work someday, repairing consumer electronics. At 19 I began rounding up
broken TV sets, and then VCRs and other appliances. I began repairing things
for customers before I had gained adequate experience, but it was just as
well; because by the time I became properly experienced, there would be
almost no demand for my skills.
For a while, business wasn't too bad. I kept fairly busy, with customers
coming and going on an almost daily business. Not bad considering this was
just a small shop, run in a small building next to my house. At it's peak, I
took in about $6k in one year - that may not seem like much, but it kept
bills paid and gave me some extra spending money (I had little overhead so
almost everything was clear profit).
But in the last 2 years or so, things have gone downhill at an alarming
rate of speed. At first, sales of used electronics started to dwindle. Then
more and more customers were turning down repair estimates, saying "I'll
just buy a new one".
So where do things stand now?
Earlier this year, the local corner store changed hands, and I set up an
agreement with the owner to let me sell electronics from a corner of his
store (the only store in the community). With deals like 25" stereo TVs for
$79.99, you'd think they'd sell fast wouldn't you? Wrong. In the nearly two
months I've had my display set up, not a single television set has sold. A
few other misc items did sell, netting me a grand total of just over $100.
In short, the results of this venture have been very disappointing indeed.
If the store owner decides to give me the shaft to make way for something
more profitable, I won't blame him at all.
And while sales have fallen through, it seems repairs have taken a drastic
drop as well. Fewer and fewer items are coming into my shop for repairs, and
those that do are often left there when the owner decides to buy a new unit.
Either that, or replacement parts are no longer available - even for sets
less than 6 years old.
I think the best indication of the industries decline, would be the things
I see in the trash each spring. This spring I rounded up what seemed like a
bounty, hoping it would be stuff I could resell. The haul was unbelievable.
More stuff than I could list here. And the vast majority of the items were
untampered with - it appeared that the owners hadn't even bothered to get an
estimate of repairs, they just threw them in the trash and bought new ones.
Another indication would be the activity of this very newsgroup. In the
years I've been posting here, I've noticed a big drop in activity. I'm
guessing it's no coincidence.
At present, I have two buildings full of hundreds of appliances. Dozens of
nice, remote color TV's, dozens of nice VCRs, mini-systems, audio equipment,
and so forth. Ten years ago this stuff would have been worth a fortune - now
it appears that most of it will end up as landfill. Nobody wants it anymore.
Everyone just wants to buy something new, even if it's just a piece of junk.
Nobody appreciates quality anymore. It seems that the world is rapidly going
to hell in a handbasket.
So what do I do now? Part of me just wants to trash the whole works of it,
and try to find some other line of work. But it breaks my heart to throw out
so many nice appliances, which could be easily repaired and provide years of
useful service. But what's the point in keeping it all? I can't sell it. I
probably couldn't even give most of it away. TV's and VCR's could be
stripped for aluminum and copper, though most sets yield less than $1 worth
of such metals. I could just throw it out, but like I say, I hate to do
that.
But it appears that I'll have to do something, and soon. There's no point
in carrying on this charade any longer - the business is dead and it's time
to bury it.
I also have to wonder what's going to happen within 10 or 20 years, when
the landfills are full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. People may once
again turn to the electronic tech, looking for repairs of their sets or to
buy something used. But by then, such businesses will all be long-gone.
People will be left with nothing, and those of us who tried to warn them
today will just say "I told you so".
I look forward to your input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast
majority of you guys are going through the same thing.


I grew up in the 50's working in my father's TV repair shop so have a
bit longer view on the market trend than you. That said I(and many
others) saw this trend start long ago.
While many here will probably hiss and boo the repair industry itself
is much to blame for the consumer's desire for lower cost electronic
appliances.
If our industry hadn't filled up with so many unscrupulous, greedy
crooks most consumers would probably still be of the mindset to have
it fixed instead of buying new.
Whilst many shops always liked to charge a premium price, often one
just below the cost of replacing a broken appliance with a new one, My
dad's market strategy was to keep all repairs charges to a minumim.
This was accomplished by either hiring well trained repair techs or
making sure that all the young hirees were extensively trained on job.
Also standardizing all repair jobs for efficient and fast work
flow.(no more than 30 minutes on any tV set etc...)
Being nearly all ex-military staffed in his shop we used much the same
system as the service did, using PM style cards that detailed most of
the common ailments for each particular model of set.
By this streamlining of his operations and keeping repair rates low he
was able to keep his repair shop open long after most of the others in
town had closed and made a decent living out of it to boot.


Still in today's economic market place the situation is probably broke
beyond repair.
One one side you have a much dwarfed repair industry that refuses to
change with the times.( Things like charging absurd amounts just to
LOOK at an broken appliance as well as taking hours to fix it and
charging more that the local garage for labor etc...)
On the other consumers who've been burned one time to many by repair
shops and many being unable to afford yesterday's price's for an
appliance if they wanted to.(after all everone in today's society
wants to charge top dollar for their labor/services yet insists on
devaluing everyone else's to minimum wage or worse.)
All this fueled by a corporate structure who's driven by the bottom
line, all at any cost or tactic, who're all to happy to cater to the
least cost mentality of the consumer.

Like so many I have several walls racks full of test gear collecting
dust, except when I fire it up to fix something of mine or a friends.
(Like you I managed to collect broken toss offs and fix them for low
cost resale. But that dried up four or five years ago for me as well.
I now only pick up appliances off the street only when I need a
replacement. I have several 27 inch stereo TV's, all good name brands,
sitting around as backup's/spares as well as around 20 or so top
quality stereo vcr's. All in perfect working order.

I've adjusted my economic's to where I NEVER spend my hard earned
money in stores buying new electronics, rather piick them up off the
street and fix 'em for my own use. Then take the money saved to
compensate for the lost income from selling second hand electronics.

I've moved back into small engine repair for my extra income.
Repairing lawnmowers and other lawn care equipment. People seem more
inclined to spend money on lawnmower repairs than they do
electronics.(In part I suppose because the cost of new mowers seem to
be going up and up rather than down.)
I do a brisk trade in selling old repaired mowers as well, and I get
fair money for it.(Yes, it's a bit harder and dirtier work but it
beats going broke sitting around waiting for someone to bring in their
tv set to be fixed.)

"NSM" wrote in message
news:%pzCe.158235$on1.21509@clgrps13...

"Do Little2" wrote in message
news:GDyCe.8034$EP2.36087@newscontent-01

Obviously, it will take many studies and multiple university degrees to
finally conclude that for every dollar spend only about 25 cents is good
for our own economy. The other 75 cents feed the needy and greedy in
China, etc.. and will never return.

Actually it is now and will continue to be used to buy up US corporations
and property.

And there in lies a greater danger... as in the early 1920, Germany
was heavily invested in (in order to get the German industry started)
with big bucks from the USA and elsewhere. After reading the book
"Who financed Hitler?" one can only hope that history doesn't repeat
itself. Will China or India be satisfied with only tons of money or will
they demand a much more dominating role (as the USA does now)
in other parts of the world? Only time will tell!

Ken Weitzel wrote in
news:98zCe.1975716$6l.624389@pd7tw2no:



bz wrote:


I need the schematic [and other service information, if available] for
a 1993 Zenith TV. model number SL3585BT, Serial Number 381-34431174

Sams Photofacts does not carry the model. Zenith does not have the
information. The supply house they refered me to does not have the
schematic. Perhaps someone knows of a similar chassis that would be
available and help me fix the set.

It is blowing a small, solder in fuse, that feeds the Horizontal and
high voltage sections. The fuse blows as soon as the set is turned on.

Hi bz...

http://www.euras.com/repair_tips_1/Z...5BT_Zenith.htm

This may be helpful...

Thanks, Ken,

It very well may be. The registration process seems to take a while.




--
bz 73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

remove ch100-5 to avoid spam trap

It seems to me that it is time for you to find a niche market, either for
repairs or gear

David

ryan wiehle wrote:

Chris F. wrote:

As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything
that ran on electricity. Whether it was a flashlight, a calculator,
or a tape recorder, I was always taking things apart to see how they
worked, and trying to repair them. I remember, when I was about 4,
spending a couple of hours trying to "repair" a disposable flashlight
that was getting dim. My parents wouldn't let me tinker with the
family TV; I'm not sure whether it was safety concerns, or the fact
that we couldn't afford to replace the 19" black-and-white set. I'd
have to wait until I was older to tinker with those.....
So not surprisingly, as I got older, I knew I'd want to go into
this line of work someday, repairing consumer electronics. At 19 I
began rounding up broken TV sets, and then VCRs and other appliances.
I began repairing things for customers before I had gained adequate
experience, but it was just as well; because by the time I became
properly experienced, there would be almost no demand for my skills.
For a while, business wasn't too bad. I kept fairly busy, with
customers coming and going on an almost daily business. Not bad
considering this was just a small shop, run in a small building next
to my house. At it's peak, I took in about $6k in one year - that may
not seem like much, but it kept bills paid and gave me some extra
spending money (I had little overhead so almost everything was clear
profit). But in the last 2 years or so, things have gone downhill
at an alarming rate of speed. At first, sales of used electronics
started to dwindle. Then more and more customers were turning down
repair estimates, saying "I'll just buy a new one".
So where do things stand now?
Earlier this year, the local corner store changed hands, and I set
up an agreement with the owner to let me sell electronics from a
corner of his store (the only store in the community). With deals
like 25" stereo TVs for $79.99, you'd think they'd sell fast wouldn't
you? Wrong. In the nearly two months I've had my display set up, not
a single television set has sold. A few other misc items did sell,
netting me a grand total of just over $100. In short, the results of
this venture have been very disappointing indeed. If the store owner
decides to give me the shaft to make way for something more
profitable, I won't blame him at all. And while sales have fallen
through, it seems repairs have taken a drastic drop as well. Fewer
and fewer items are coming into my shop for repairs, and those that
do are often left there when the owner decides to buy a new unit.
Either that, or replacement parts are no longer available - even for
sets less than 6 years old. I think the best indication of the
industries decline, would be the things I see in the trash each
spring. This spring I rounded up what seemed like a bounty, hoping it
would be stuff I could resell. The haul was unbelievable. More stuff
than I could list here. And the vast majority of the items were
untampered with - it appeared that the owners hadn't even bothered to
get an estimate of repairs, they just threw them in the trash and
bought new ones. Another indication would be the activity of this
very newsgroup. In the years I've been posting here, I've noticed a
big drop in activity. I'm guessing it's no coincidence. At
present, I have two buildings full of hundreds of appliances. Dozens
of nice, remote color TV's, dozens of nice VCRs, mini-systems, audio
equipment, and so forth. Ten years ago this stuff would have been
worth a fortune - now it appears that most of it will end up as
landfill. Nobody wants it anymore. Everyone just wants to buy
something new, even if it's just a piece of junk. Nobody appreciates
quality anymore. It seems that the world is rapidly going to hell in
a handbasket. So what do I do now? Part of me just wants to trash
the whole works of it, and try to find some other line of work. But
it breaks my heart to throw out so many nice appliances, which could
be easily repaired and provide years of useful service. But what's
the point in keeping it all? I can't sell it. I probably couldn't
even give most of it away. TV's and VCR's could be stripped for
aluminum and copper, though most sets yield less than $1 worth of
such metals. I could just throw it out, but like I say, I hate to do
that. But it appears that I'll have to do something, and soon.
There's no point in carrying on this charade any longer - the
business is dead and it's time to bury it. I also have to wonder
what's going to happen within 10 or 20 years, when the landfills are
full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. People may once again turn
to the electronic tech, looking for repairs of their sets or to buy
something used. But by then, such businesses will all be long-gone.
People will be left with nothing, and those of us who tried to warn
them today will just say "I told you so". I look forward to your
input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast majority of you guys are
going through the same thing.

judging by your news provider you are in new brunswick?

"Andy Cuffe" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 14:59:49 GMT, "Larry P"
wrote:

I would suggest
donating them to some church or society and they can sell them at their
next
rummage sale or fair. You would have done a great service for that group
and
possibly a Tax write-off


Even that is becoming a thing of the past. Church rummage sales are
quickly disappearing. I asked one local church why they stopped
having the huge rummage sale every year and they said it just wasn't
worth the effort any more. They make a lot more money for less work
selling crafts, pies and raffling things off instead of having the
rummage sale. Apparently people just don't buy used things any more
and they got stuck having to dispose of a lot of stuff.

I was to a church rummage sale a few weeks ago, it was the second week and
when I got there they were giving the stuff away for free, just to get rid
of it. And they still couldn't get rid of the stuff, including some nice
manual-tuned color TV's. Like I said, people have become so spoiled and
ungrateful that it's appalling. Someday we're going to be sorry!

On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 13:07:22 -0400, Andy Cuffe
wrote:

Even that is becoming a thing of the past. Church rummage sales are
quickly disappearing. I asked one local church why they stopped
having the huge rummage sale every year and they said it just wasn't
worth the effort any more. They make a lot more money for less work
selling crafts, pies and raffling things off instead of having the
rummage sale. Apparently people just don't buy used things any more
and they got stuck having to dispose of a lot of stuff. Most thrift
stores around me won't take broken electronics any more. They also
won't take console TVs, console stereos, or computers even if they
work. Instead of selling broken electronics they just dumpster it.
Andy Cuffe


I used to love going through Goodwill for bargains, for interesting
articles not available in the stores, though very rarely for
electronics stuff. But even Goodwill has gone downhill. This is
because they raised their prices until much of their stuff cost as
much if not more than the new items. The rationale for the price
raise was because their HQ executive voted themselves million dollar
salaries "because they are executives running a multi million dollar
business." And I thought Goodwill is a non-profit organization. The
other problem is that their workers have first pick at the good stuff
that they go on to resell on eBay! Goodwill will deteriorate into a
used clothing store or go out of busineess too.

On Mon, 18 Jul 2005 19:14:00 GMT, PaPaPeng wrote:

On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 13:07:22 -0400, Andy Cuffe
wrote:

Even that is becoming a thing of the past. Church rummage sales are
quickly disappearing. I asked one local church why they stopped
having the huge rummage sale every year and they said it just wasn't
worth the effort any more. They make a lot more money for less work
selling crafts, pies and raffling things off instead of having the
rummage sale. Apparently people just don't buy used things any more
and they got stuck having to dispose of a lot of stuff. Most thrift
stores around me won't take broken electronics any more. They also
won't take console TVs, console stereos, or computers even if they
work. Instead of selling broken electronics they just dumpster it.
Andy Cuffe


I used to love going through Goodwill for bargains, for interesting
articles not available in the stores, though very rarely for
electronics stuff. But even Goodwill has gone downhill. This is
because they raised their prices until much of their stuff cost as
much if not more than the new items. The rationale for the price
raise was because their HQ executive voted themselves million dollar
salaries "because they are executives running a multi million dollar
business." And I thought Goodwill is a non-profit organization. The
other problem is that their workers have first pick at the good stuff
that they go on to resell on eBay! Goodwill will deteriorate into a
used clothing store or go out of busineess too.

Yeah, we had a Goodwill open up in our locale back about 5 years ago
or so and it went downhill in no time as well.
You'd see the store staff loading up all the good stuff in the trunks
of their cars in the side parking lot at all hours, then fending all
the broken crap electronics off on the customers at high prices.
It got so bad that the regional office had to send in a "watchdog" to
run the store. Someone from management level to oversee the deliveries
and price all the donations and ensure they get out on the sales
floor.
Since then it's not been to bad a place to pick up a bargain.(I just
picked up a Dell PIII 500mghz tower for 9.99 and a brand new set of
Koss TD/60 reference headphones for 1.99.)

One clue that they're not a real non-profit organization is that
they're required to collect sales tax. Something most religious
non-profit organizations aren't required to do.