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Revitalizing AK

malden said:
same here, need to check myself once in awhile

there are also seasoned members who will give a short answer without considering the OP's experience, knowledge or skill level.

A typical response from those who should know better is " just recap it", which is pretty lazy in my opinion
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I'm working on an integrated amp right now that was recapped. Of course it didn't cure the problem. There seems to be a myth flooting around that a recap cures all.
 
analogwisdom said:
I'm young(ish), and I just joined this past November. I also just got into learning about repair/restoration in January. I am doing everything I can to learn all of the knowledge contained within the posts and minds here. I'm also reading EE/circuitry books in my free time to learn. I'm also extremely computer literate, and I am pretty skilled at digging quickly through posts or Google searches to find and learn things. I try best I can to be the type to not ask a question unless I've done everything I can to figure it out on my own.

I really like this forum and have already made friendships with a lot of very nice people.

My hope is to help keep AK alive, and to one day go from being the person asking for help on repairs/etc. to the one answering them. It'll be a long learning journey, but I am determined, eager, and willing to listen and learn. AK has rightfully earned its legendary status and I hope that one day I'll be able to carry the torch in whatever way I'm able to.
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Thanks for subscribing and helping keep AK "on-the-air." :thumbsup:
 
analogwisdom said:
I'm young(ish), and I just joined this past November. I also just got into learning about repair/restoration in January. I am doing everything I can to learn all of the knowledge contained within the posts and minds here. I'm also reading EE/circuitry books in my free time to learn. I'm also extremely computer literate, and I am pretty skilled at digging quickly through posts or Google searches to find and learn things. I try best I can to be the type to not ask a question unless I've done everything I can to figure it out on my own.

I really like this forum and have already made friendships with a lot of very nice people.

My hope is to help keep AK alive, and to one day go from being the person asking for help on repairs/etc. to the one answering them. It'll be a long learning journey, but I am determined, eager, and willing to listen and learn. AK has rightfully earned its legendary status and I hope that one day I'll be able to carry the torch in whatever way I'm able to.
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Hi analogwisdom,

I too am trying to learn more about restoring and servicing vintage audio equipment.

So far I have managed to re-cap a few pairs of vintage speaker crossovers with good results. I have also managed to repair a NAD 7140 with a faulty tuner with the help of other Ak members. My next step will be to fully re-cap and service the NAD 7140 to bring up the SQ to be as good as it can be.

I think the NAD is a good candidate for me to learn as it wasn't expensive when I purchased it and I don't think it is too overly complicated. As I progress I will continue to find other worthwhile candidates for restoration to further my skills and that also will help me to be able to expand my experience with different equipment.

Hope to chat with you more in the future!
 
Lavane said:
Its more about just getting the feeling of being rebuffed right out of the gate I think.
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I don't think that anything has changed in this regard. I recall being rebuffed by a highly regarded member (and AK member of the year) during my early learning stage (about a simple question).

Participation has definitely decreased, from my perspective (gained through participation since 2008). I think that the do-it-yourself era is generally passing – on all things – including analogue electronics.

Generally, when products / services are revitalized the interests / needs of future customers / users are envisioned. At some point, then, the opportunities / threats of new technology are considered.

So, what do new users want today, and in 2025?

AK has an extensive, disorganized knowledge base ... is there anything that can help make this more accessible? (hint ... is there a role for AI here? How does gptchat respond to typical early stage audio questions?)
 
rmeade said:
(hint ... is there a role for AI here? How does gptchat respond to typical early stage audio questions?)
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I actually downloaded the ChatGPT app last night and tried out the new voice chat feature. It (correctly) suggested KSA992 and KSC1845 as transistor replacements in a conversation I was having with it about vintage amp repair. It's pretty much guaranteed that at least some of AK was a part of the data it was trained on - we know for certain from OpenAI that internet forums were a big part of its training data.
 
analogwisdom said:
I actually downloaded the ChatGPT app last night and tried out the new voice chat feature. It (correctly) suggested KSA992 and KSC1845 as transistor replacements in a conversation I was having with it about vintage amp repair. It's pretty much guaranteed that at least some of AK was a part of the data it was trained on - we know for certain from OpenAI that internet forums were a big part of its training data.
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Internet forums part of its training is kind if scary.
 
Oh man, for fun I just checked out what Bing AI (based on the more advanced GPT-4) would say, and this is what it came up with...

1711128969226.png

@dlucy you're apart of the AI data, LOL

1711129166638.png

This one even cites its sources, with direct links to AK threads.

I guess even if AK dies one day, it'll live on forever in the "mind" of AI? :rflmao:
 
If only all learning occurred within 1 universalized mode and effective communication was realized and axiomatic in all cases...wait...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo.... :eek: :biggrin:
 
I miss the AI thread.

Interesting that it seems the fine tuning of AI chat responses is making them sound like politicians.
In the above example, it can appear very neutral, and a presentation of information, as a data repository should be...
...unless you perceive terms like "expectation bias" and "placebo effect" as shots at those who claim expensive cables affect sound quality.
 
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I like that Copilot footnoting. This undercuts AI developers' claims that LLMs are too complex to have traceability.

Alas I fear this thread may have been hijacked by both AI and meta-AI (and probably Meta AI).
 
I'll try to keep it on topic, I just thought it was interesting that in a certain way AK will "live on forever", even though I believe that a forum dies when the human participation dies.

As a newbie, I can tell it's not as nearly as active here as it was in AK's heyday. But to me, there are still plenty of good people and good discussion to be had.
 
I'm waaay off topic.....a lot.

...but even then it's nice to know the members you're off topic with are kindred spirits to the general theme that brought us here.


That is something you don't get with the big, general social media platforms.
 
I think that it is extremely encouraging that some newer, younger members have taken the time to respond to this thread, sharing their positive experience here and expressing the will to learn.

Contrary to some people’s opinion, there are many, many great young people out there.

When I worked at a museum in my late 50’s, I had the opportunity to work with and befriend young college students who worked on the floor staff to help put themselves through school.

It was a very positive experience and helped keep me from becoming a grumpy old man (for the most part…)

I’m really happy that younger members are helping to keep our hobby alive.
 
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