I was inclined to reflect on the recent repair of my neighbors battery charger, that only turned up on my doorstep after someone else told him it wasn't worth fixing.
It turns out the repair cost (me) only pennies worth of parts (one 1/4W resistor, and replacing some missing hardware to secure the SCRs to the heat sink). Luckily I am a pack-rat so I was able to find some to-220 shoulder washers that were sitting around in my parts bins untouched for a few decades. So actually it cost me nothing out of pocket, just my time.
I would never consider making such repairs as a serious business activity because frankly nobody would pay me, what I think my time is worth. Once again I asked my neighbor not to tell anyone about my ability to fix stuff. 8)
Since the trend for skilled labor capable of repairing gear without schematics or manufacturer support seems if anything to be getting more pricey, and replacement cost for appliances continues to get cheaper there will probably be more such equipment discarded.
Somebody who has time on their hands and basic understanding of electronics, could probably collect all kinds of discarded treasures... and with the investment of some sweat capital (do brains sweat?) turn these back into serviceable product.
While this battery charger is not my idea of treasure, I'm glad I was able to help my neighbor avoid the expense of replacing it. This is what good neighbors do.
Happy new year all....
JR
PS: Don't make any resolutions that you don't plan to keep, with very high certainty. That just programs you for more similar failures of will in the future. Instead pick one easy to keep resolution from you list, and make it... Then after a few months of keeping it when it has become a good habit, pick the next easiest from your list and start it. Program yourself for success with incrementally harder "easy" resolutions that you actually succeed with.
It turns out the repair cost (me) only pennies worth of parts (one 1/4W resistor, and replacing some missing hardware to secure the SCRs to the heat sink). Luckily I am a pack-rat so I was able to find some to-220 shoulder washers that were sitting around in my parts bins untouched for a few decades. So actually it cost me nothing out of pocket, just my time.
I would never consider making such repairs as a serious business activity because frankly nobody would pay me, what I think my time is worth. Once again I asked my neighbor not to tell anyone about my ability to fix stuff. 8)
Since the trend for skilled labor capable of repairing gear without schematics or manufacturer support seems if anything to be getting more pricey, and replacement cost for appliances continues to get cheaper there will probably be more such equipment discarded.
Somebody who has time on their hands and basic understanding of electronics, could probably collect all kinds of discarded treasures... and with the investment of some sweat capital (do brains sweat?) turn these back into serviceable product.
While this battery charger is not my idea of treasure, I'm glad I was able to help my neighbor avoid the expense of replacing it. This is what good neighbors do.
Happy new year all....
JR
PS: Don't make any resolutions that you don't plan to keep, with very high certainty. That just programs you for more similar failures of will in the future. Instead pick one easy to keep resolution from you list, and make it... Then after a few months of keeping it when it has become a good habit, pick the next easiest from your list and start it. Program yourself for success with incrementally harder "easy" resolutions that you actually succeed with.