Why are people afraid to fix things

d-ray657

d-ray657

Ain't this boogie a mess
Maybe it's just the way I was raised, but I don't understand why some people would just pitch something because it wasn't working right, at least without trying to fix it.

This weekend a friend asked me to look at his Denon multiple disk DVD player, because he couldn't get it to open. He told me I could have it, he just wanted the DVDs out of it. I turned it on, and there was absolutely no movement of the turntable or the door. That looked like it could be a fuse. I couldn't in good conscience take the player, knowing that it was likely to be a minor repair. After opening it and giving him the DVDs, I found what looked like it could be the offending fuse. It was ceramic, so I had to test it with the meter - it was dead. A quick run to Rat Shack resulted in replacement fuses, which also resulted in a completely operational DVD player. (Although I had second thoughts about fixing it when the only test CD he could come up with was Taylor Swift.)

What puzzled me is that he was ready to pitch the whole thing, a Denon no less, with no thought of taking a look inside. I suppose that if people were not averse to DIY repairs, there wouldn't be nearly as many cool finds at the thrift shops or garage sales. Nevertheless, I shudder to think how much metal, wire and plastic ends up in the landfill, when a fuse or a spritz with Deoxit, or maybe a belt would have given the owners fully operational gear.

God bless all you AK folks for the information you have shared about repairing electronics. You have helped me make a tiny corner of the planet a little bit greener.

Regards,

D-Ray
 
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For some in Audio its an excuse to get something new, I just doint like to piss with things so I buy something new.
I gave StantonESS a PS Audio 5.0 preamp that I never hooked up instead of throwing it out, he said it sounds great. Some are not technical, dont have time, are lazy or a combination of all, usually if its not a Hi-Fi item it goes to the dump, if its a quality item I give it somebody who may be able to fix and use it.
 
I have a Sony 5 disc CD changer that I trash picked a few years ago. The main issue was that there was a disc kind of stuck in the mechanism. I think a lot of people try to move these players with the discs inside, and there is nothing supporting the discs in the tray. So they fall into the mechanism and jam it up, at least this is the case with Sonys.
 
most mass market common folks are too intimedated by the hi tek that lurks inside things today. usually cheeper to buy a new one than pay to have it fixed which will be substantial
 
Why are people so afraid...

Hi d-ray

I couldn't agree with you more. I was raised the same way. We weren't rich (or poor) but we were taught and shown how to fix things. From cars to sewing machines. Not because we HAD to, but we were educated not to waste things. I'm over 60 now and over the years, there must have been thousands of things I repaired or used parts from to turn them into useful objects again.

Two recent examples: From a ditched r/c helicopter's landing gear, I made a very nice armwand for one of my turntables. A 4" diameter metal disk I picked up in the street the other day has been turned into a precision highspeed sanding disk. The list goes on and on. Years ago, we had a small dachshund pup around the house which we confined to the kitchen during the first few weeks to prevent 'accidents'.

The little mite used to always hang around directly behind the closed kitchen door and was at risk of having its paws hurt when the door was opened.

I looked around and found two of those papermache wine bottle things. I took three and cut slits in them and after assembling them to make the same width as the door, I attached the ungainly contraption at dachshund pup height to the kitchen side of the door, preventing the dog to get too close to get hurt.

This sounds rather silly but a few days later, my wife sent this 'tip' to the local paper's pet column without telling me they were running a competition for best tips on how to prevent injuries to small pets.

She won the competition and her prize was one 10m aluminium extension ladder and two other smaller aluminium ladders. That was more than 30 years ago and we still have the ladders.

So, waste not, want not...

tripod
 
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d-ray657 said:
Maybe it's just the way I was raised, but I don't understand why some people would just pitch something because it wasn't working right, at least without trying to fix it.

This weekend a friend asked me to look at his Denon multiple disk DVD player, because he couldn't get it to open. He told me I could have it, he just wanted the DVDs out of it. I turned it on, and there was absolutely no movement of the turntable or the door. That looked like it could be a fuse. I couldn't in good conscience take the player, knowing that it was likely to be a minor repair. After opening it and giving him the DVDs, I found what looked like it could be the offending fuse. It was ceramic, so I had to test it with the meter - it was dead. A quick run to Rat Shack resulted in replacement fuses, which also resulted in a completely operational DVD player. (Although I had second thoughts about fixing it when the only test CD he could come up with was Taylor Swift.)

What puzzled me is that he was ready to pitch the whole thing, a Denon no less, with no thought of taking a look inside. I suppose that if people were not averse to DIY repairs, there wouldn't be nearly as many cool finds at the thrift shops or garage sales. Nevertheless, I shudder to think how much metal, wire and plastic ends up in the landfill, when a fuse or a spritz with Deoxit, or maybe a belt would have given the owners fully operational gear.

God bless all you AK folks for the information you have shared about repairing electronics. You have helped me make a tiny corner of the planet a little bit greener.

Regards,

D-Ray
Click to expand...

Nice of you to fix it but in the future impress them by saying you replaced some of the electronic parts that aren't working. Sounds much smarter right? I mean a fuse is an electronic part. :D
 
Great points. I think people have been taught that things are not worth fixing because repairs cost so much and "better" new things can be had so cheaply. Of course the new stuff is often crap that will break quickly, but it has become self fulfilling becuase there are now few people around who you can bring things to in order to have them fixed.
 
Some people don't know what end of the screwdriver to hold, or what pliers do...

Amazing, but some people have no idea about how to even begin to understand about how to repair something...

I'm thankful of that though, it's kept me fed and clothed over all these years repairing things for those that can't..
 
That would be me! Unfortunately I do not possess any mechanical abilities however thanks to help from this forum I just did my first refoam job and am now ready to start my 2nd! Thank goodness I didn't throw away my Baby Advents or AR 610's 10 yrs ago. Since joining this Forum I realized what I had, what I was missing and was determined to bring them back to life. With your help I was able to achieve(by my standards) a major accomplishment!

Repairs are very intimidating for someone like myself and I'd never be able to diagnose anything electrical but in the meantime, I'll keep reading and trying to learn.

I just found out about DeOxit and am getting ready soon to use this on my scratchy right channel on my Marantz amp. Just the thought of removing the faceplate is making me sweat:D
 
for me personally, fixing electrical things can be a daunting area as many things are colour coded and I'm colourblind. With more mechanical type of repairs I'm ok.
 
I think it is perfectly fine for people to get rid of perfectly good equipment in order to get some nice new shiny stuff. In fact if anybody out there has some space filling, crusty Marantz, Pioneer and the like I encourage you to get with the times and get something new. Just for this free advice I will gladly take any of this gear off your hands no questions asks.
 
NewKidInTown said:
I just found out about DeOxit and am getting ready soon to use this on my scratchy right channel on my Marantz amp. Just the thought of removing the faceplate is making me sweat:D
Click to expand...

That should not be too bad, at least you don't have one of the upper end Pioneer receivers from the mid-70's. I have been putting off giving my SX-950 a cleaning after seeing the procedure on some site.
 
Some people should not try to repair anything! I don't know how many times when I was an appliance tech, that the wife would say to me, my husband tried to fix it. All that did was make my job harder, as I would have to reassemble the appliance to see what the problem was in the 1st place. Some wives told me they wouldn't let their husbands touch anything. :no:
 
I worked in a small engine shop, and put a sign up on the wall...

If you tried to fix it first there will be an additional $50 charge. If you stay here and try to help me fix it there will be an additional $500 charge.
 
Well.....it just isn't a case of opening a unit up.....then jamming a screwdriver inside?
You have to.....at least.....have an idea where to start.....then formulate a "game plan".
That's a scary proposition to many people?

Steve
 
The thing is that a consumer today has low cost of entry to purchase a decent piece of gear that works pretty much right out of the box, doesn't fail frequently and is easily replaced with a low-cost update.

Next, the whole electronics industry is geared for 'new and improved' in each successive generation of gear. Complete rollover of product lines is measured in months rather than years. For instance, the McIntosh MX-110 tuner/pre of the '60s was produced for almost 8 years with continual improvements made along the way, in typical Mac style. Today, that would be a complete series of products, possibly split into two product lines along the way, with fluctuating price points based on competitive pricing and store placement. Its a different world.

I can see why someone would use the "Timex" mentality: If its broke, replace it.

Cheers,

David
 
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