Commodore Free 16/Commodore_Free_Issue_16_2008_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/t.iv ray 1

Text File | 2023-02-26 | 9KB | 265 lines

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Interview with Ray Carlson
Repair engineer still supporting
Commodore Machines
http://personalpages.tds.net/rcarlsen/

  Part 1 of 2

Nigel,
      This interview was tougher than
it seemed at the start. I wrote and
rewrote it many times, and I'm still
not sure it's what you wanted. But,
here goes...

     Add one more name to the
endangered species list: the
Electronic Service Technician. Due to
the way electronic devices are built
nowadays, lack of support from the
manufacturers with regards parts and
service information, and the initial
low cost of complex devices such as
DVD Players and Computers, the
independent service facility has
become a thing of the past. I've
worked in and out of repair shops all
my adult life.

         Presently, I'm in the A/V
department of the University of
Washington in Seattle, Northwest
Washington State, USA. As of this
writing, I expect to retire in about
three years. I install, maintain and
repair all the equipment in their
electronic classrooms, from control
systems to data projectors. Most of
that stuff is not considered
Repairable, but I tackle it anyway.
Working without schematics or a parts
stock, I can still manage to salvage
some that would otherwise goto State
Surplus or the garbage can.

     Repair technicians were the
buffers between the consumer and the
manufacturer. The tech had to know how
the device worked, what mistakes were
likely to be made in its' use and, of
course, how to fix it when it failed.
The ever-increasing knowledge
necessary to do the job took a
tremendous investment. In the tube
days, a technician could make a living
repairing TV sets alone. Later, just
to survive, servicers had to learn to
repair (dare I say it... at a profit)
just about anything the designers
dreamed up. Repair techs must have a
working knowledge of electricity,
electronics, optics, physics,
chemistry and mechanics. Their tasks
are as mundane as wiping the dust off
a repaired TV or as  important as
servicing that electronic
defibrillator so the doctor can work
his "magic".

     The first consumer VCRs sold for
more than $1500. Repairs amounting to
several hundred dollars were
acceptable. Now the customer can and
does buy new product for less than the
cost of repairs! Even new technology
is obsolete in just a few years and it
is cheaper for the manufacturers, now
mostly based in China, to produce
products that are not repairable.
Glass picture tubes in TV sets and
computer monitors are being replaced
by LCD and other displays. The world
is shifting from analog to digital.
Fewer after-market parts vendors, and
more specialized and proprietary parts
add to the "repair not possible"
problem for older equipment. Generic
parts are virtually unknown for new
electronic devices.

     Many times, I didn't see that
electronic gizmo until a broken one
showed up on my repair bench. Repair
technicians are detectives searching
for clues and we actually enjoy
zeroing in on the bad part(s). It's
rarely a matter of just seeing "where
the smoke came from". A good tech will
not only find the bad part but will
find out what caused the problem in
the first place. If a resistor is
overheating, there is a reason. When a
transistor fails, it often times points
to another fault.

         Just to replace that part is
not enough. To do our job right, we
don't just treat the symptoms; we must
"cure the disease". Re-work on a
repair angers the customer and costs
us time and money. Although the work
is often frustrating, there is a
pleasure in seeing that gadget work
again, no matter what it is or who
owns it. We enjoy sharing our
knowledge, too. It's part of the fun.

      We hate waste. It hurts to have
to give up on a job because it's
uneconomical to repair or we can't get
the parts, and then see the equipment
go in the trash. Therefore, many of us
end up as "packrats". We salvage and
store anything which we think may be
useful later because we see a time
when repair parts will be impossible
to obtain. Even though the
manufacturers do not support our
efforts, we still try to repair down
to the component level, rather than
replacing a whole PC board, or the
whole unit.

      We take pride in a job well
done. It is often times our only
"thanks". Our motivation comes from
within. No one but another tech knows
what we do and why. You might say we
have an image problem. We are
Misunderstood and, for the most part,
invisible. In all my life, I have seen
exactly ONE Television Commercial
featuring a TV repair tech. When we do
our jobs right, no one knows or cares.
We are "video janitors". It is only
when we goof that it shows. As with
all professions, there are those who
shouldn't be in the business. Some are
sloppy... they may be Competent but
are careless and/or don't follow up on
details. That drives me crazy...
especially if I have to do their
re-work. A few can't solder. No
excuse! Dishonest shop owners reflect
badly on all of us but are,
fortunately, in the minority. The
"last gasp" of independent service
turned some saints into sinners. Most
techs I've met are middle-aged men.
This profession didn't draw many young
people. I have Only known two female
techs. They were professional,
intelligent, fearless in attacking
problems, and a joy to work with.
I miss them.

      A repair shop was usually a
Management afterthought... support for
a Sales facility. It was the grubby
little room in the back, cluttered
with equipment waiting to be looked at
and repaired sets as well as mountains
of debris of every description... and
an overworked tech. It was rare indeed
to find a clean, quiet, well lit area
free of clutter. I worked in two of
them, so I know they existed. The need
has always been there but the overhead
costs are enormous. Management (and the
general public) sees us as a necessary
evil and we look the part. Most of the
shops I worked in were similar: the
uninsulated back corner of the
warehouse, someones garage, basement,
back room, etc.

         I have always fought for more
space, more schooling (new product
update classes, at least) and better
test equipment. Since the "bean
counters" never really understood what
it was we did, how could we hope to
get them to spend more money on
service. With those handicaps, we
technicians laboured along the best we
could. We knew the customer would come
out on the short end and we would take
the blame! The only worse thing would
be no techs at all. With a fixed
salary, we got only a fraction of the
labour charged to the customer and
nothing for the parts. We knew we
would never be rich no matter how hard
we worked. It was not the kind of club
that attracted new members.

      I didn't choose this profession.
At the beginning it was a hobby. Like
most kids I was curious about how
things worked. I took apart toys and
watches and radios. I fixed bicycles
and roller skates. If anyone deserves
credit for getting me started in
electronics, it was my father.  He
provided the fertile ground for my
education and he bought the first
tools and test instruments I owned. I
remember working on a table radio
salvaged from the neighbours trash
back in the early 1950s. I spent
months trying to make it work again.
That one never did.

      No one around could answer my
questions, so I learned to read
technical manuals. I progressed to
black and white TV sets and would
spend most of my spare time trying to
figure out how the various circuits
worked to produce that magical
picture. Try discussing stuff like
that with your grade-school and
high-school classmates. I was
literally an outcast. I spent months
building and rebuilding sections of a
TV set to see if I could make it
better. All of this was play to me. I
loved it! My first job (early 1960s)
was fixing tube and (then new)
transistor radios and reel-to-reel
tape recorders at a "wage" of a few
dollars per item repaired. I always
liked "piecework" (getting paid by the
job rather than a fixed salary) with
personal initiative as the motive for
better pay.

      I'll never forget the first time
I saw a color TV in a department
store. I was 18 years old in 1962. I
sat on the floor in front of the set
for half an hour in total amazement.
"How do they do that?" A year later, I
paid $50 for a color TV no one could
fix and spent several months learning
about color circuits. The first
program I watched in color on my set
was "Bonanza". By then, the Disney TV
shows were in color too. Real Magic! I
later talked the guy who sold me the
set into hiring me part time for $50 a
week. My "career" was flying!

         CONTINUED IN PART 2