Guide to Repairing Everything Electronic

prostoalex writes "Silicon Sam's Technology Resource is a collection of detailed guides on repairing pretty much anything that has an electronic component in it: household appliances, audio equipment, AC adapters, CD players, CD-ROM drives, other optical drives, microwave ovens, PC monitors, TV sets, VCRs, remote controls, strobe lights, small engines, lawn mowers, printers and photocopiers. Each guide is not just a collection of FAQ, but a detailed document the size of your average book."

Old site, new name

[unitron]

Apparently this is just a new name for Sam Goldwasser's (bow down and mention your unworthiness) site or another way of getting to it but that's quite alright, it's a great resource no matter what they call it.

Maybe in the past, but...

[marevan]

Nowdays there are microprocessors in many places, and optimization, integration and componentsize make fixing harder, namely in household appliances, audio equipment, AC adapters, CD players, CD-ROM drives, other optical drives, microwave ovens, PC monitors, TV sets, VCRs.. etc. Of course if it's a mechanical problem, wiring problem or some analog component, then it's doable, but chances of that are getting smaller in every generation of those machines.

Re:Maybe in the past, but...

[grusome]

plenty of people still live in the past....

Re:. . .but also in the present.

[munpfazy]

That's true, but the chances that it is mechanical, wiring, or a simple stand alone component are *still* pretty damn good.

Sure, when you fry some custom IC (no doubt unlabeled, potted in epoxy, and impossible to order from the manufacturer, just to make repair more difficult than it needs to be), you're hosed.

But as often as not the parts that die first are the easiest to replace: mechanical bits that wear down, discrete capacitors and voltage regulators that fry, solder joints on connectors that get wig

Re:. . .but also in the present.

[Doctor Memory]

Sure, when you fry some custom IC ... you're hosed.

As those of us who collect Tek scopes know too well... (you have an equal chance of getting a working all-tube (e.g., 545/547/647) model than a later 5000- or 7000-series, despite the fact that the former are some twenty years older than the latter).

That said, I just this past weekend saved the in-law's 15-year-old microwave. It was totally dead (no display, no interior light) and had no external breaker, but pop the case and there's a 125V 15W fuse on