Q's about getting started repairing stuff

[JohnWI]

20 years ago I wanted to go to tech school and learn to fix electronics. Well lo and behold the age of cheap and disposable electronics and they stopped offering classes/degrees in that area.

So my questions are:
1. What kind of meters and testers are needed to start off? And about what kind of financial investment are required? Other than that, I'm guessing an assortment of resisters, switches, power supplies, etc., and a soldering iron and screw drivers are pretty much are the only tools needed???

2. Assuming you have a service manual, how long does it take you guys to determine what the problem or failed component, etc. is? 15 minutes? An hour???

3. Once you get the 'jist' of components, do you guys rely on service manuals or do you just test this, that, the other and determine what the problem is?

Thanks Men!

[Iain McNeill]

If you're talking about discrete amplifiers then a lot of it is experience. There's a lot of similarity between the different topologies and the failure modes are common. My first amplifier repair took several weeks (which I could afford as a teenager) but now, if it fails in just the right way, I can fix them in an hour or two.

But usually, it takes much longer.

[sakis]

a repair man for almost 30 years .... ive been working with almost 1000 amplifiers either repaor or construction .....most of them class AB and power from 5 W to 1000W

i will have to declare once more that my theory background sucks

schematics .......yeah yeah if the device is too strange and if its too difficult ..... if its available .....( dont know how many times i have to thank JAN DUPONT for this he he )

otherwise yes .....its practice and expirience

also i am greek .... means that greek techs not always go by the book ....meaning that a strange failure will be easilly located by someone that doesnt go by the book

as about equipment the money you spent is never enough ...always you will want better testing equipment as long as you look for perfection i got my first scope when i was 12 years old ..... now days i have 6 scopes of various ranges ..... and still i will not second think of having another one if i think that will do something better than the other 6

imagine i only do audio which means that a 2-3 mhz scope will be more than enough .....


THE BOTTOM LINE

is that if you re looking to make money out of this, expirience is the thing you cannot get all the rest is easy ....there is absolutely no point to work with an AKAI amplifier 35+35W for a couple of days ..... if it ever comes for repair ..... the repair plus upgrading some capacitors and a few other things to upgrade one amp will have to take tops a couple of hours ...other wise its simply pointless


happy regards sakis