What do service technicians expect from service manuals for DVD Players
these days??

In article . com,
(known to some as Myauk) scribed...

What do service technicians expect from service manuals for DVD Players
these days??

I will freely admit to being biased because I've been spoiled by
the excellent service manuals put out by Matsu****a (Panasonic and
Technics names), the 'old' Tektronix, and others.

With that said, I expect the following from ANY electrical or
electronic equipment service manual, no matter if it's for consumer
electronics or high-end industrial test gear.

--A FULL set of detailed schematics, PC board layouts, and parts
lists, including cross-references to generic components for any house-
numbered parts.

--A WELL-WRITTEN section for 'Theory of Operation,' and at least a
set of troubleshooting flowcharts if not detailed troubleshooting
guides.

--Readily available at a fair price (as in you don't have to be a
super-service center for a specific manufacturer to buy the thing). A
truly high-quality service manual can run anywhere from $35 to $250, and
it had bloody well better be a literary work of art at the higher price
tiers.

Unfortunately, with the current attitudes of "instant
gratification" and "don't-repair-it-throw-it-out" that are infecting the
entire electronics industry, I doubt we'll ever see high-quality service
documentation again outside of military hardware.

Keep the peace(es).



--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
http://www.bluefeathertech.com -- kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t calm
"Salvadore Dali's computer has surreal ports..."

Thank you for your comments Dr. Anton

Anybody else??

Regards

Dr. Anton T. Squeegee wrote:
In article . com,
(known to some as Myauk) scribed...

What do service technicians expect from service manuals for DVD Players
these days??

I will freely admit to being biased because I've been spoiled by
the excellent service manuals put out by Matsu****a (Panasonic and
Technics names), the 'old' Tektronix, and others.

With that said, I expect the following from ANY electrical or
electronic equipment service manual, no matter if it's for consumer
electronics or high-end industrial test gear.

--A FULL set of detailed schematics, PC board layouts, and parts
lists, including cross-references to generic components for any house-
numbered parts.

--A WELL-WRITTEN section for 'Theory of Operation,' and at least a
set of troubleshooting flowcharts if not detailed troubleshooting
guides.

--Readily available at a fair price (as in you don't have to be a
super-service center for a specific manufacturer to buy the thing). A
truly high-quality service manual can run anywhere from $35 to $250, and
it had bloody well better be a literary work of art at the higher price
tiers.

Unfortunately, with the current attitudes of "instant
gratification" and "don't-repair-it-throw-it-out" that are infecting the
entire electronics industry, I doubt we'll ever see high-quality service
documentation again outside of military hardware.

Keep the peace(es).



--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
http://www.bluefeathertech.com -- kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t calm
"Salvadore Dali's computer has surreal ports..."

"Myauk" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thank you for your comments Dr. Anton

Anybody else??

Regards

Dr. Anton T. Squeegee wrote:
In article . com,
(known to some as Myauk) scribed...

What do service technicians expect from service manuals for DVD Players
these days??

I will freely admit to being biased because I've been spoiled by
the excellent service manuals put out by Matsu****a (Panasonic and
Technics names), the 'old' Tektronix, and others.

With that said, I expect the following from ANY electrical or
electronic equipment service manual, no matter if it's for consumer
electronics or high-end industrial test gear.

--A FULL set of detailed schematics, PC board layouts, and parts
lists, including cross-references to generic components for any house-
numbered parts.

--A WELL-WRITTEN section for 'Theory of Operation,' and at least a
set of troubleshooting flowcharts if not detailed troubleshooting
guides.

--Readily available at a fair price (as in you don't have to be a
super-service center for a specific manufacturer to buy the thing). A
truly high-quality service manual can run anywhere from $35 to $250, and
it had bloody well better be a literary work of art at the higher price
tiers.

Unfortunately, with the current attitudes of "instant
gratification" and "don't-repair-it-throw-it-out" that are infecting the
entire electronics industry, I doubt we'll ever see high-quality service
documentation again outside of military hardware.

Keep the peace(es).


It depends a lot on the manufacturer. Many modern service manuals for DVD
players, have little more than a block diagram, and some virtually
unreadable schematics. Others, such as Sony and even Daewoo, have good
schematics, layout diagrams, IC internals and pinouts, and use of internal
diagnostics notes. The days of " theory of operation " notes are long gone,
except perhaps with the likes of Bose, whose audio equipment manuals still
contain detailed descriptions of how the circuitry works. From a commercial
point of view, I tend to find these days that unless a problem on a DVD
player is a known one, or an obvious 10 minute fix like a power supply cap,
or a laser that's actually worth changing for its cost, then the things are
not worth fixing, so what's in the service manual is largely immaterial.

Can I ask that when you reply to replies, that you don't top post please ?
It works ok with e-mails where it's one on one, and each of you knows what
the other is replying to, but not so well on usenet, where a thread needs to
be followed in a logical order by many individuals. In this case, it's much
better that the new comments follow the last ones. A reply can always be
shortened by removing all of the replies above about say 3 up. Thanks.

Arfa

"Dr. Anton T. Squeegee" wrote in message
.. .

With that said, I expect the following from ANY electrical or
electronic equipment service manual, no matter if it's for consumer
electronics or high-end industrial test gear.

I expect they'll be cut down to just the simplest fixes in future.

















....

Can I ask that when you reply to replies, that you don't top post please ?
It works ok with e-mails where it's one on one, and each of you knows what
the other is replying to, but not so well on usenet, where a thread needs to
be followed in a logical order by many individuals. In this case, it's much
better that the new comments follow the last ones. A reply can always be
shortened by removing all of the replies above about say 3 up. Thanks.

Arfa

I do not understand what you are saying.

Can you explain more??

"Myauk" wrote in message
oups.com...

Can I ask that when you reply to replies, that you don't top post please
?
It works ok with e-mails where it's one on one, and each of you knows
what
the other is replying to, but not so well on usenet, where a thread needs
to
be followed in a logical order by many individuals. In this case, it's
much
better that the new comments follow the last ones. A reply can always be
shortened by removing all of the replies above about say 3 up. Thanks.

Arfa

I do not understand what you are saying.

Can you explain more??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-posting

"Homer J Simpson" wrote in message
news:0EEZg.20142$P7.10199@edtnps90...

"Myauk" wrote in message
oups.com...

Can I ask that when you reply to replies, that you don't top post please
?
It works ok with e-mails where it's one on one, and each of you knows
what
the other is replying to, but not so well on usenet, where a thread
needs to
be followed in a logical order by many individuals. In this case, it's
much
better that the new comments follow the last ones. A reply can always be
shortened by removing all of the replies above about say 3 up. Thanks.

Arfa

I do not understand what you are saying.

Can you explain more??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-posting


Excellent Homy, thanks ! That's a perfect description. Does that help you
Myauk ? It's not that you are doing anything "wrong" by top posting - it's
just that it's against the common convention, and can make for difficult
following of a thread. If a thread starts getting unmanageably long, and
nothing more than say three posts back has got any relevance to what you
want to comment on, you can just cut them off the top of your reply. If
anyone really wants to know what was said prior to that, they can always
move back up the thread, and pick a post, knowing that as they scroll down
it, the entries to that post will be getting newer. Does that make sense ?

Arfa