competent repair people ?

Tool suggestions, soldering tips, general useful electronics knowhow.
User avatar
exxos
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 23496
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:19 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

competent repair people ?

Post by exxos »

There must be more than me in the world who can repair and upgrade machines ?

Machines are arriving twice as fast as I have time to repair them. I get stuff sent to me from all corners of the world. Its one thing to help people out, though I've done around 20 RTC updates and repairs in the past couple of years alone, its turning into a full time job in its own right :roll: As people know my fingers are hurting a lot these days, and doing lots of fiddly stuff all the time isn't helping :( Soldering is pretty much agony for me these days and I get stuff shipped elsewhere to do the work for me now.

I want to spend time on developing new hardware and its just getting impossible to keep up with anything anymore. I've got enough machines to fix to keep me going until likely xmas time, so could really do with finding people who are reliable and who can do good work for people...


EDIT

Current know repair persons listed below..

https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/forum/viewt ... =20#p16805
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
User avatar
PhilC
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 6016
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2018 8:22 pm

Re: competent repair people ?

Post by PhilC »

It's a similar situation for myself with work I'm 48 and the average age of engineers in the steam industry now is about 60, so we are struggling to get new blood into the industry.

I guess you are a victim of your own success. The trouble is that anyone can fix a modern pc by changing a graphics card or the Ram but not many repair shops will do component level repairs at all. I can't remember the last time I saw a scope in a computer shop, probably be back in the 80s.

Anyway, as much as I would like to help, my pile of hobby repairs is getting larger and the time to do it is getting shorter.

Will let you know if I find anyone who can help.
If it ain't broke, test it to Destruction.
User avatar
rubber_jonnie
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 10472
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:40 pm
Location: Essex
Contact:

Re: competent repair people ?

Post by rubber_jonnie »

If I wasn't in full time work, I would offer, as I feel like my skills have come along sufficiently to be able to make many ST repairs and upgrades with no problems. Being based in the UK would make it easy too.

But right now, I'm working 09:00 to 17:30 weekdays, and spend most Saturdays and Sundays catching up on maintanance about the house, and only when that is done can I look at my other stuff of a weekend, and as a result my own rather small pool of projects (Well compared to yours Chris!) is going way slower than I'd like them to.

Add in the fact that I have Karate training twice a week after work, and I just don't have the time for more :(

Perhaps when I retire I can help out!!
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
User avatar
exxos
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 23496
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:19 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: competent repair people ?

Post by exxos »

The term "electronics engineer" these last years seems to be "board swappers" . Some people think they are electronics engineers just swapping PCI cards about in PCs :roll:

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind doing such things, but I can't do repairs and work on upgrades at the same time.. I mean look at the progress on the STFM 50MHz booster.. no work for ages because I am always distracted with peoples machines.. mix in 100's of emails each day and my whole days is gone.
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
User avatar
DrF
Posts: 640
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:18 pm

Re: competent repair people ?

Post by DrF »

exxos wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:38 pm The term "electronics engineer" these last years seems to be "board swappers" . Some people think they are electronics engineers just swapping PCI cards about in PCs :roll:
I noticed that, I think because its cheaper to just swap bits and hope they work together or at all. I used to do all that board level stuff checking caps, voltages, PSUs, temperatures, bad solder joints etc. no one was willing to pay for that with a PC, when a new motherboard was £30... now a ST/Amiga/Sega/SNES/CPC whatever you just cant get so you stuck. So now we have a generation of parts swappers on the lose.

Same with cars just swap what the computer says, no one takes the computer as a guide its normally wrong anyhow :lol: or they don't realise its something else that caused the fault like a broke bit of pipe.
exxos wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:38 pm mix in 100's of emails each day and my whole days is gone.
Ok, ok I'll cut down :lol:
exxos wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 1:53 pm There must be more than me in the world who can repair and upgrade machines ?

Machines are arriving twice as fast as I have time to repair them. I get stuff sent to me from all corners of the world.
It's more amazing people are actually bothered and there's that many actual users/machines left and people willing to spend on them, maybe the people spending on them are all the people who had these things as kids but now they have money and can go wild, nostalgia is a powerful thing :D
Atarian Computing
Posts: 444
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 4:27 am

Re: competent repair people ?

Post by Atarian Computing »

I have to actually scale down. After 13 years of trying, my wife and I are finally having a baby girl. IVF was what it took. 1.1.2019 should be the day. So full time IT work at a huge insurance company doesn't leave much free time for anything else so something has to give, at least in the beginning.
User avatar
exxos
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 23496
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:19 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: competent repair people ?

Post by exxos »

Congrats!

No room for kids in my life, Our cat is enough for me, still half wanna kick it out of the door at times! :lol:

Will probably just have to start saying "no" to more people, probably keep it to one repair every 6 months or something. Soldering is hard going for me these days (fingers again), been doing it for like 30 years and really just rather avoid soldering as much as possible as really don't enjoy it anymore,
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
User avatar
exxos
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 23496
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:19 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: competent repair people ?

Post by exxos »

DrF wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:51 pm It's more amazing people are actually bothered and there's that many actual users/machines left and people willing to spend on them, maybe the people spending on them are all the people who had these things as kids but now they have money and can go wild, nostalgia is a powerful thing :D
Most if it is Falcon stuff, not exactly cheap , so worth spending time fixing.. Everyone's changing the RTC for example.. half send machine to me to do all the work, others try themselves and break loads of crap, then send it to me to repair it which takes twices as long :roll:
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
Atarian Computing
Posts: 444
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 4:27 am

Re: competent repair people ?

Post by Atarian Computing »

exxos wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 3:06 pm Congrats!

No room for kids in my life, Our cat is enough for me, still half wanna kick it out of the door at times! :lol:

Will probably just have to start saying "no" to more people, probably keep it to one repair every 6 months or something. Soldering is hard going for me these days (fingers again), been doing it for like 30 years and really just rather avoid soldering as much as possible as really don't enjoy it anymore,
Thank you very much! Don't worry, I'll teach the little one to solder so we'll be back in business in no time :D
SolderGirl
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 4:03 pm

Re: competent repair people ?

Post by SolderGirl »

Atarian Computing wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 5:14 pm
exxos wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 3:06 pm Congrats!

No room for kids in my life, Our cat is enough for me, still half wanna kick it out of the door at times! :lol:

Will probably just have to start saying "no" to more people, probably keep it to one repair every 6 months or something. Soldering is hard going for me these days (fingers again), been doing it for like 30 years and really just rather avoid soldering as much as possible as really don't enjoy it anymore,
Thank you very much! Don't worry, I'll teach the little one to solder so we'll be back in business in no time :D
So, you will raise her to be a SolderGirl?
;-)
Post Reply

Return to “ELECTRONICS”