How Not to Repair a TV

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Shortly after VCRs first came out there was a story in the local Electronics magazine from a TV repair shop about a customer who brought in a VCR to be fixed.

Now anyone who knows about helical scan heads knows what they look like in a VHS recorder. Just look at the link if you don't.

The customer in this case said to the technician "I had a look inside to see if I could fix it, and I tried straightening the heads, but that didn't work."

Evidently he got a pair of multigrip pliers onto the head drum and bent the shaft until it was vertical. The technician could see the marks on the head drum where he had gripped it with the pliers.

Having worked in a video store, and having had to open up and clean a few machines... I'm just stunned.

[underemployeed]

This is why, "It seemed like a good idea at the time" usually follows the worst ideas in human history.

[gerund]

Having worked in a video store, and having had to open up and clean a few machines... I'm just stunned.

I haven't seen that smiley before. I am impressed.

As I said, this was very early days in VCR technology, but it was still stunningly stupid then, something like cutting a hole in the back of a TV to fix the power supply.

[Racket_Man]

OK I admit to taking stuff apart before, like VCRs (daughter got a tape stuck inside no no sandwich feeding involved and doing massive manual cleaning) and DVD players (HMMMM how did my daughter manage to get a DISK all the way off the tray of a 5-disk changer and into the guts of the box without touching the player???) and Stereo amps, cassette decks, computer and their internal "guts" (Floppy drives HDD, power supplies, internal boards) etc. BUT I always at the very least have a GOOD idea of where the screws are that release/hold the casing, component railing, hold downs, etc.

If I actually HAD to physically break the casing I would never take it to be "fixed" as at thant point it would be unfixable

the only time I will tear apart with something with force is if it is dead and I no longer care what happens.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

This is why, "It seemed like a good idea at the time" usually follows the worst ideas in human history.

Ranks right down there with "Ya'll watch this" or in this case, thinking I could actually put my old Toshiba Satellite laptop back together again.

Went online to check on a couple of laptop forums, then googled instructions for taking apart a laptop . . . got the parts out of the box (including the brand new motherboard I had bought but the guy who had the laptop NEVER installed and kept everything for almost a year) and proceeded to reassemble the computer.

Had it running for a short time and was restoring everything from the CD set. Was on Disc 2 when everything went black and I couldn't get the laptop to come back on.

I put the laptop back into its briefcase and it stayed in the closet until last summer when it went to be recycled along with the 2 old desktop PC's.

Lesson learned: I am not cut out for rebuilding computers at all.

[Amadan]

In the same vein
http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f6/nvi...nt-work-63893/
Although a lot of folks thought it was a hoax.



amazing what some people will do, I used to think we got the most stupid customers. Now I just think the human race is doomed.

[Jay 2K Winger]

F$%kin'- What the f%$kin'. F$%k. Who the f^%k f$%ked this f$%king... How did you two f%$king f%$ks... think this was gonna repair the tv?????

Well, certainly demonstrates the diversity of the word.

[Shalom]

I just remembered something.

For those of you who are old enough to remember Sesame Street pre-Elmo, here's a video of Ernie almost fixing Bert's television set.

Sesame Street was so awesome back before that furry little red verminoid came and took over.