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Suggestion...

I'd like to clarify my op. I'm not suggesting everybody can't come here for advice. I'm suggesting not replying to a question if you're just parroting what somebody else said. Or if you don't have real-world experience with the topic at hand. We don't know who's on the other end of the keyboard. It may be their first attempt at restoring a pawn-shop special. They shouldn't be giving advice to other rookies.

And with regard to how long I've been on AK, what does that have to do with anything? I'm not giving out advice about things I know nothing about. I graduated from a private tech school in '81. I hold an Amateur Extra fcc license. (You have to actually study and take a test to obtain all 3 amateur radio license classes).


73s
KI7QVR
 
RobRoy said:
I think there are sites dedicated to such posters. That's probably where you want to go to be limited to "just the experts" - and the particular site can enforce their exclusionary rules.
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I may be taking the OP wrong, but based on posts so far, I should not be on AK. I know nothing on fixing electronics. I enjoy quality gear and listening to music. So my expertise doesn’t fall into the OP’s idea of what should be. Maybe I’ve got this wrong, but it comes across that way to me.
 
trinhsman said:
I may be taking the OP wrong, but based on posts so far, I should not be on AK. I know nothing on fixing electronics. I enjoy quality gear and listening to music. So my expertise doesn’t fall into the OP’s idea of what should be. Maybe I’ve got this wrong, but it comes across that way to me.
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You're not alone. Unfortunately, there are a majority on AK who are only interested in old electronics that usually need work. It seems like some get more enjoyment out of working on the stuff than actually listening to it. I guess it's just another niche in this hobby. There seems to be increasingly less interest in new audio products on AK, which is a shame to me. Some of us have played the "vintage" game for a long time and while still having some interest in it, have moved on to more modern/new components that advance our listening pleasure. I enjoy reading opinions on both new and old stuff a lot more than the tech talk that focuses on how to repair or modify something old that doesn't perform well. I somewhat admire those who have the ability to do it, but usually don't agree with their analogy that the repaired old stuff always performs better than the new modern stuff.
 
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I understand what the OP is suggesting but I don't think a lot of guys want to be labeled as Techs or Experts and then pressured by members to provide info or responsible if someone causes damage or injury due to their posts. When I had my Mustang forum, I offered Tech Advisor badges to some members that were interested but there was no qualifying factors, I just offered the badge to members that consistantly offered help, tips and tricks to other members. In the end, you could already tell who was on top of the tech side of things but now they could have a profile badge to show it.
 
AZBiker said:
I'd like to clarify my op. I'm not suggesting everybody can't come here for advice. I'm suggesting not replying to a question if you're just parroting what somebody else said. Or if you don't have real-world experience with the topic at hand. We don't know who's on the other end of the keyboard. It may be their first attempt at restoring a pawn-shop special. They shouldn't be giving advice to other rookies.

And with regard to how long I've been on AK, what does that have to do with anything? I'm not giving out advice about things I know nothing about. I graduated from a private tech school in '81. I hold an Amateur Extra fcc license. (You have to actually study and take a test to obtain all 3 amateur radio license classes).


73s
KI7QVR
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Social media is what it is. People will want to put in their two cents if they feel it may help. How can AK ask people to not participate in an open forum?
People just have to work with the information provided and figure out for themselves whether or not it's reliable. That's where the length of time a user has on this site comes into play. The longer you're here, the more you read, the easier it is to know which posters to rely on.

And there is the ignore list you can use to filter out the ones you don't want to see.
 
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trinhsman said:
I may be taking the OP wrong, but based on posts so far, I should not be on AK. I know nothing on fixing electronics. I enjoy quality gear and listening to music. So my expertise doesn’t fall into the OP’s idea of what should be. Maybe I’ve got this wrong, but it comes across that way to me.
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I think he's saying he'd like to see a particular type of subforum within the forum, that's dedicated to what he's talking about. I consider forums like this to be sort of "subject matter specific shopping malls". Think of a shopping mall where all of the stores are dedicated to car stuff, but some focus on interior, others focus on tires, and others focus on engine mods or engine maintenance.

I think he's saying he'd like to see an "engine maintenance" store and keep the folks who just want to talk about tires out.
 
I've been here for almost 21 years. Anyone who knows me knows that I am no tech, and don't pretend to be. That said, I have had problems with a piece of gear that stumped some of AK's legendary techs. When jaymanaa, his memory for a blessing, finally solved the problem, he said he had never seen such a thing. A couple of years later, a poster described the same symptoms, that were leaving the techs befuddled. I repeated what jay told me, the owner found it, and made the necessary, simple, repairs. I wouldn't want people shut out of a thread, in the manner described by the OP.
Even a blind squirrel finds a peanut, every now and then.

I don't have a dog in this fight, anymore, but I don't think AK needs a flock of new subforums. That would be a moderation nightmare.
 
luvvinvinyl said:
I've been here for almost 21 years. Anyone who knows me knows that I am no tech, and don't pretend to be. That said, I have had problems with a piece of gear that stumped some of AK's legendary techs. When jaymanaa, his memory for a blessing, finally solved the problem, he said he had never seen such a thing. A couple of years later, a poster described the same symptoms, that were leaving the techs befuddled. I repeated what jay told me, the owner found it, and made the necessary, simple, repairs. I wouldn't want people shut out of a thread, in the manner described by the OP.
Even a blind squirrel finds a peanut, every now and then.

I don't have a dog in this fight, anymore, but I don't think AK needs a flock of new subforums. That would be a moderation nightmare.
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Good old Jay. I found a cruddy Magnavox console with a 175 6v6GT tube amp in it and that old HVAC technician/pipefitter coaxed me along with a few other enablers helped me to realize that this old nailpounder didn't have to dump many thousands that I didn't have into the best of MacIntosh(s/k) or ARC. Not that I don't dig those big blue meters and the gold leaf on glass faceplates..

Now I'm listening to a pair of those old pedestrian Magnavox amp150 biamped monoblocks circa 1957 refurbed by moi with the help of a few generous forum members like Jay. 30 watts never sounded so good through a pair of JBL L80t3s.

Hymns of the 49th Parallel by KD Lang is raising some goosebumps at the moment. Think I'll spin up Thanks I'll Eat It Here by Lowell George next...
 
RocketFoot said:
I understand what the OP is suggesting but I don't think a lot of guys want to be labeled as Techs or Experts and then pressured by members to provide info or responsible if someone causes damage or injury due to their posts. When I had my Mustang forum, I offered Tech Advisor badges to some members that were interested but there was no qualifying factors, I just offered the badge to members that consistantly offered help, tips and tricks to other members. In the end, you could already tell who was on top of the tech side of things but now they could have a profile badge to show it.
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I like what you're saying!
 
luvvinvinyl said:
I've been here for almost 21 years. Anyone who knows me knows that I am no tech, and don't pretend to be. That said, I have had problems with a piece of gear that stumped some of AK's legendary techs. When jaymanaa, his memory for a blessing, finally solved the problem, he said he had never seen such a thing. A couple of years later, a poster described the same symptoms, that were leaving the techs befuddled. I repeated what jay told me, the owner found it, and made the necessary, simple, repairs. I wouldn't want people shut out of a thread, in the manner described by the OP.
Even a blind squirrel finds a peanut, every now and then.

I don't have a dog in this fight, anymore, but I don't think AK needs a flock of new subforums. That would be a moderation nightmare.
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I doubt if it would be a moderation nightmare. Same amount of posts, just in a different forum that actually fits them.
 
I am but lowly chaff regarding audio tech, would never pretend to be an authority for repair information/instruction, and have always appreciated the opportunity to learn from the folks on AK who are willing to share their knowledge. I initially came to AK looking for information on reel-to-reels and stuck around. I value the information I get regarding trouble-shooting, valuation, and opinions on various gear - old and new. Heck, there's even a couple forums dedicated to new gear. I find the AK waters pretty easy to navigate and, usually through discussions in a thread or other research, can tell the level of expertise of the folks participating in the thread. As always, YMMV.
 
AZBiker said:
I'm suggesting not replying to a question if you're just parroting what somebody else said. Or if you don't have real-world experience with the topic at hand. We don't know who's on the other end of the keyboard. It may be their first attempt at restoring a pawn-shop special. They shouldn't be giving advice to other rookies.
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Well it is a open forum, and that ''parroting" that you mention is always been present everywhere, just use your brain, grab any info given with a big grain of salt and do your homework.

It's amazing how people are entitled on these days... 'I want a sub forum, where only experts and seasoned techs take time of their schedules and life, share their knowledge and give curated information about particular topics, with zero cost and moderated by people that take time time of their life to make sure that internet people behave correctly" Oh, and shall be not open to people that might want to help, even when their advice is off the mark.

How extraordinary!
 
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AZBiker said:
I'm suggesting not replying to a question if you're just parroting what somebody else said. Or if you don't have real-world experience with the topic at hand.
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This has been brought up before. It may have helped the op of other threads who didn't want any responses that weren't from folks that have actual experience with the topic. It is kinda hard to keep folks that have read about the repair to not want to offer some help if they can.
 
Doing repair work, after a while it becomes the case that you've already seen almost anything which is likely to come in before.

It's going to be a bad capacitor, or a shorted diode, or an intermittent relay. Maybe it needs new tubes, or there's a bad connection. Perhaps the entire output stage has been damaged. There's little incentive for a tech who knows what he is doing to post about routine repair work at all, because he won't learn a lot, and helping others is more or less doing his job for free. And yet, this routine work is exactly what most hobbyists need help with. So why not learn together?
 
highvoltage_ said:
A lot of techs started out as weekend warriors, and through patience and perseverance got better. As kwayde said, spend some time here, you'll figure out who's who.
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This is why this thread fascinates me. Whatever someone's knowledge is (or isn't) in any forum, will be demonstrated eventually over time. We know who is who around here. If the OP ventures over to the Music Forums, he might discover I'm reputable when it comes to discussing Humble Pie albums. :thumbsup:
 
Shtig99 said:
I'm reputable when it comes to discussing Humble Pie albums. :thumbsup:
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If I was reputable with anything I post, I would not have my initials as my avatar.

Looks like the OP has left the building. Sorry to see him go but since there are only a couple folks that want only people that have exact experience with what is being discussed and I can't remember who they are, I post when I want. And folks have learned how to separate the wheat from the chaff with those comments for sure.
 
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