Dangers of sharing stuff online...

[kingkorg]

I've been warned before regarding over-sharing stuff here. What could be wrong about finding stuff out and sharing my findings? - I thought.

Well there's this guy who decided to play with other people's vintage mics and followed my M7 re-skin experiment. The worst thing is he runs a business, and when he fails, he just returns gear to the owners as irreparable. According to him this mic stopped working becouse of, in his own words, "shitty east German" ceramics that are crumbling, and can't be replaced with modern materials.

This vintage Gefell M7 is now after his repair attempt bathed in superglue, and has deep scratches from a sharp tool all over the backplate. He refused to return the mic to the owner for two years. Mic owner doesn't want this guru's name shared.

 

[EarthTone]

Wowzers!

 

[soliloqueen]

wtf

 

[vintagelove]

I don't feel the same.

I'm not a professional level tech like most here, but I am as a guitarist/musician and teacher. On other forums, I share as much as I can within reason, and try to help others as much as I can.

I get it, I see a lot of posts here asking you guys to do the leg work for them, or from people taking on projects that are over their head. I'm sure it gets annoying... I can't tell you how many times I've shared picking advice and exercises, which btw, have been used and praised by some of the best players there, only to have the person 2 years later still asking picking questions. Well, if you just spent the last 2 years practicing what I told you, your picking would be amazing... anyway...

Sharing knowledge is how humanity moves forward. I try to give folks a helping hand when I can.

 

[pmfalcman]

It is annoying, true. But there is over 7 billions people. Some of them must be dickheads. The Gaussian distribution is merciless. And there's sooo many to choose from. You can meet them in every trade, profession or hobby.
Guys designing things for print with colours from almost all available colour palettes (RGB, CMYK, RAL and PANTONE). In one job. And then you spend whole day converting 300+ items to CMYK. Knowing that the result will be unpredictable.
Or a guy who used red silicone sealant on high pressure hydraulic line (well over 200 Bar).
Cannot be avoided whatever you do.
The upside is that what you share helps many others or gives them just pure joy of reading the stuff you share & disscuss.
Like myself. My knowledge in electronics design is nil. Can't design a mic circuit (but I can build one) and I'm able to modify one only if I'm told: "unsolder this and solder in that". But I love reading you all and hoping that my understanding how my mics function will improve somehow...

 

[Migs 31]

@vintagelove « Sharing knowledge is how humanity moves forward.«

Yes it is true! But we humans had recourse to stealing land, ressources, ideas, enslaving, oppressing and some times exterminating fellow humans in order to build successful careers/companies/empires. With total disregard for our fellow men/woman.

I 100% agree with @kingkorg OP. I choose who I share info/ideas with, these days.

M

 

[bremusound]

That‘s terrible!

 

[cyrano]

Even the good ones can make mistakes...

Although this case isn't a mistake.

I've had the fan of my Citroën GS destroyed because the mechanic forgot a spanner under the hood. They replaced that without any cost for me.

A friend sent his Revox 780 tangential turntable to a good tech in Holland. Expensive, but I agreed that it was quite a job. The turntable came back, but didn't work. The turntable pivot was 90° out. Probably they tested and then reassembled in a hurry. Fortunately, it was an easy fix once I understood what was wrong.

Recently, another friend had trouble with his almost new Ford Transit. The display warned for an exhaust system problem. The codes told us that either the cat was bad, or the sensor. The dealer replaced both, under warranty. But the error came back. Further warranty was declined by Ford. He spent 1200€ in a few attempted repairs in other shops. In the end, there were two problems nobody was able to find: the wire feeding the sensor rubbed against the exhaust casting and produced an intermittent short to ground. And the heating element inside under the dash was blocked. It wasn't until he told me that the heating was very weak that I suspected that radiator. Inside was a rag, used for cleaning. I don't know how they missed that wire, as it was sparking when you moved it. Of course, if you don't move it around... This repair took us almost three days. Removing everything to get to the radiator was a one day job. Putting it back was even longer. I don't like modern cars...

All of these are kind of "nobody's fault". Just simple mistakes. And everyone makes mistakes, no?

Then again, in this case, super glue on the capsule is a clear sign of an idiot at work.

 

[terry setter]

I've been warned before regarding over-sharing stuff here....

Kingkorg: Don't lose heart. Your input on the forum is highly valued and very much appreciated. We know that you have done a great deal of the deep experimentation that only a few of us will ever have the opportunity, skills, and/or equipment to do for ourselves.

It seems there are always people who want to pass along their mistakes, poor judgement, and losses. If someone fails to successfully complete a procedure that you have described to us, it's not your fault. It's theirs.

 

[kingkorg]

Kingkorg: Don't lose heart. Your input on the forum is highly valued and very much appreciated. We know that you have done a great deal of the deep experimentation that only a few of us will ever have the opportunity, skills, and/or equipment to do for ourselves.

It seems there are always people who want to pass along their mistakes, poor judgement, and losses. If someone fails to successfully complete a procedure that you have described to us, it's not your fault. It's theirs.

 

[OneRoomStudio]

Worth noting for anyone reading:

We’re all learning. Just because you saw someone online do something, it doesn’t mean you can do it. If you want to try it (like skinning an M7), buy a cheap Chinese M7 backplate or a dead capsule and give it a go! Nothing to lose. DO NOT attempt to repair a vintage and/or valuable capsule without proper practice and knowledge though.

This goes beyond capsules. If you’re not familiar with soldering/wiring, don’t try to wire up a high-voltage tube circuit as your first project. If you’ve never built anything before, don’t spend a ton of money on high-end parts only to kludge it all together.

Start small, practice, learn, grow. Also, don’t represent yourself as an expert tech if you’re not. That’s not only dishonest, but verging on criminal.


All that said, I’m strongly in favor of sharing information. I’ve seen too many old masters (in various topics) die without sharing their knowledge, only to have that information lost to the world. Audio electronics is already esoteric enough - there are probably only a few dozen people in the world that know as much about microphones as @kingkorg and some of the other folks here. I’d hate for all that knowledge to be hoarded and lost.

 

[Wordsushi]

Damn, that is so messed up. Thank you @kingkorg for letting us know, but honestly it would be good to know who this so-called guru is so that no one else in this community suffers the same avoidable fate. I don't think we should strive to protect the integrity of charlatans.

 

[kingkorg]

Damn, that is so messed up. Thank you @kingkorg for letting us know, but honestly it would be good to know who this so-called guru is so that no one else in this community suffers the same avoidable fate. I don't think we should strive to protect the integrity of charlatans.

A Brit located in Norway. Can't share more than that.

 

[MicMaven]

I’m strongly in favor of sharing information. I’ve seen too many old masters (in various topics) die without sharing their knowledge,

A Related Observation - I enjoy amateur radio, especially building my own accessories. Many older, experienced hams and I discern an unfortunate trend among newer operators. Instead of reading the user manual, searching the Internet, or, reading archived forum messages, they simply post questions on an online forum expecting well informed, experienced operators will explain everything in short, Tweet-length (280 character) replies, no matter how simple or complicated it might be. Doing one's homework is anathema. Apparently, they believe EVERYTHING is plug-n-play simple, as if connecting a few cables and pressing the talk button is all there is to it. They expect savvy, experienced operators to instantly answer all questions and just give away their hard earned expertise.

Fortunately, we do not see much of that on this fourm. James

 

[capacitorless]

+1. Early on in figuring out how to use forums, I realized this was something I was doing, and corrected my behavior to be respectful of other, way more experienced people.

IMVHO, a cool side effect of doing so is discovering other stuff that one comes across, while in the process of searching for answers to the original question.

 

[living sounds]

I've learned so much from the good folks here over the years and it surely has actually prevented me from doing stupid things more than once. The benefits of sharing must easily outshine its negative effects.

Things might be different for a forum of nuclear technicians, but audio technology is pretty benign... ;-)

 

[zamproject]

Things might be different for a forum of nuclear technicians

Honestly...it's just plumbers and steam machine...the issue being the scale...and the safety

More seriously, in some industry the sharing experience is mandatory, usually because of high safety standards.
I think about aviation, where basically you don't have enough room in your life time to do all mistake and learn from them...
Especially from a fatal one.

 

[SparkleBear]

YIKES! Its desecrated! ;( Its less about you sharing and more about this person being an incompetent, disrespectful and dishonest person. If it wasn't your post it would be some other redditor or blog about whatever else that he will try to profit off of at the dismay of others. its too bad. Im sorry that this bad behavior has brought you to feel any sense of responsibility.

But I agree with the others KK, I've been so inspired and motivated by your discourse and sharing on these forums. Its really inspired me to grow and learn to be a better engineer and critical thinker. Its so important to me that we are able to collaborate in a culture of mutual encouragement and education. These arts are so fascinating and niche... arcane even. We have to keep the art alive and moving forward. Thanks for all you share. It would be a tragedy to lose your contributions in this community. <3

 

[MicMaven]

in some industry the sharing experience is mandatory, usually because of high safety standards.

Yes. An additional, related reason is to minimize liability for injury and loss arising out of dangerous products and activities. Compliance with industry safety standards is a potential defense in legal actions. Cooperating with others in the industry facilitates developing standards which may 1) minimize the risk of loss, and 2) minimize or avoid liability for causing injury and loss. While this may not always constitute an absolute defense, it may be a mitigating factor measuring compensatory damages.

You know ... everybody is doing it, so it must be OK ... um ... right? James

 

[poctop]

I've been warned before regarding over-sharing stuff here. What could be wrong about finding stuff out and sharing my findings? - I thought.

Well there's this guy who decided to play with other people's vintage mics and followed my M7 re-skin experiment. The worst thing is he runs a business, and when he fails, he just returns gear to the owners as irreparable. According to him this mic stopped working becouse of, in his own words, "shitty east German" ceramics that are crumbling, and can't be replaced with modern materials.

This vintage Gefell M7 is now after his repair attempt bathed in superglue, and has deep scratches from a sharp tool all over the backplate. He refused to return the mic to the owner for two years. Mic owner doesn't want this guru's name shared.

Ouch............................