Hi to all, if I can be of any help to anyone, ask away !

[Cobber57]

Hi all, my name is Chris I am an Electrical Repair Engineer 30yrs Experience. I am not here to sell anyone anything, but if you check out my little video snippet on youtube, it might give you something to consider. As far as joining the forum is concerned, I'm here to offer free advice. I am mentioning the video purely for anyone who wants to know what it is I do.

Here's the link:

Thanks,
Chris.

 

[Silentrunning]

Welcome to the forum Chris. I’m sure there will be people asking you questions.

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum from me too Chris.

I couldn't agree more regarding re-use and repair but unfortunately these days people are encouraged to be idle and just dump faulty items to buy new. How many kids these days are taught hand skills other than to press buttons on a mobile phone or computer?

Manufacturers don't help either being forced by customers to make goods down to such poor standard the goods only last until the warranty expires then they cost too much to repair in a home workshop? Take a basic washing machine which is a decent sized bit of kit; when the flimsy circuit board fails it involves a call out fee then a return visit with a circuit board which can easily cost £100 just for the board so add on the call out fee and the time to fit the board why bother repairing when a new washing machine with full warranty can be bought for under £200?

Those of us who have bothered to learn skills can carry out repairs on most things at very little cost but are let down by cost of spares; of course a supplier wants to make a profit but I think it's just a downright rip off charging £100 for a basic printed circuit board when a brand new machine can be bought for under £200; so we carry on throwing away items that have years of use still in them because they cost too much to repair. The governments are always banging on about saving the planet but encourage such vast amounts of waste.

Apart from electrical repairs do you have other interesting hobbies Chris?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[WengerTodd]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum from me too Chris.

I couldn't agree more regarding re-use and repair but unfortunately these days people are encouraged to be idle and just dump faulty items to buy new. How many kids these days are taught hand skills other than to press buttons on a mobile phone or computer?

Manufacturers don't help either being forced by customers to make goods down to such poor standard the goods only last until the warranty expires then they cost too much to repair in a home workshop? Take a basic washing machine which is a decent sized bit of kit; when the flimsy circuit board fails it involves a call out fee then a return visit with a circuit board which can easily cost £100 just for the board so add on the call out fee and the time to fit the board why bother repairing when a new washing machine with full warranty can be bought for under £200?

Those of us who have bothered to learn skills can carry out repairs on most things at very little cost but are let down by cost of spares; of course a supplier wants to make a profit but I think it's just a downright rip off charging £100 for a basic printed circuit board when a brand new machine can be bought for under £200; so we carry on throwing away items that have years of use still in them because they cost too much to repair. The governments are always banging on about saving the planet but encourage such vast amounts of waste.

Apart from electrical repairs do you have other interesting hobbies Chris?

Kind regards, Colin.

I totally agree with this. I wish more people would work with their hands, rather than being a throw-away culture. I always try to fix things first, and almost always, it's something silly and I'm able to fix it. If I absolutely cannot fix it, or I just have no use for it (whatever it is), I'll let my daughter take it apart. I disassembled an old Compaq 486 computer cleaned the parts, and then had her re-assemble it with minimal supervision on my part. She was completely engaged, and really enjoyed doing it. She felt really accomplished when she turned it on and it worked.