c/electronics-repairers

4

nina180•25d ago

Called in a favor from an old buddy to save a $600 TV board

Had a Samsung that kept shutting off after 10 minutes, thought it was the power supply but turned out to be a bad capacitor on the main board. A guy I used to work with at a shop in Austin soldered in a new one for a six pack, and it's been running perfect for three days now. Anyone else got a go-to person for those board-level fixes you just can't do yourself?

4

simon_wood72•25d ago

Appreciation post for the old timer who showed me I was desoldering backwards for a decade

I used to always heat the pin and then pull the solder out with my iron tip. Thought that was how everyone did it. Then this guy at a Hamfest in Portland watched me work on a board for maybe 30 seconds and handed me his desoldering gun. Said just heat the joint and let the vacuum do the work, don't wiggle the pin. First try with his method and the component came out clean. Felt pretty stupid but man it saves so much board damage. Has anyone else had a basic skill click way later than it should have?

24

mason_jackson•25d ago

Just learned most HDMI cables over 15 feet are actually fiber optic now

I was helping a buddy run cable for his home theater last weekend and his 25 foot cable felt way too light. I looked it up and found out any HDMI 2.1 cable longer than 15 feet uses fiber instead of copper wire. Blew my mind, I spent like $80 on a copper one 2 years ago that barely worked. Has anyone else run into this or know what brand holds up best for long runs?

26

karenw23•25d ago

Had to pick between two power supplies for an old CRT repair job

I was fixing up this Panasonic CRT from 1992 last week, and I needed a new power supply board. I had two options: a generic $15 replacement from Amazon or a used OEM one from a junkyard for $40. I went with the cheaper one because I'm on a tight budget right now. Big mistake - the voltage was all over the place and it started buzzing after 10 minutes. I ended up ordering the OEM one anyway and had to eat the cost of the first one. Has anyone else had bad luck with generic power supplies for vintage gear?

29

butler.brian•27d ago

Tried hot air rework on a board without preheating it first... big mistake

I was fixing a laptop motherboard last Tuesday, just a bad DC jack, nothing crazy. I thought I could just hit it with my hot air station at 400C and pop the old one off quick. But the board was cold from sitting in my garage all night, and I didn't think to warm it up slow. The pad lifted right off with the jack, took the trace with it. Spent 3 hours trying to bodge wire it back together and still ended up with a dead board. Learned the hard way that a cheap preheater plate or even a hot plate on low for a few minutes saves way more time than rushing. Has anyone else ruined a board skipping the preheat step, or is it just me?

21

wright.drew•27d ago

The $15 capacitor that taught me a $200 lesson

Ngl, I spent $15 on a pack of cheap capacitors from a random Amazon seller last month. Tried to use one to fix an old stereo receiver and it literally smoked after 5 minutes. Had to order the right brand from DigiKey for $8 and wait 3 days for shipping. The cheap ones were a total waste, has anyone else learned this the hard way?

18

rosew37•28d ago

Why I stopped trusting capacitors just because they look fine

Had a 10 year old TV come in with a no power issue last week, checked the caps visually and they looked perfect. No bulging, no leakage, nothing. Spent an hour chasing bad solder joints and a flaky power switch. Finally grabbed my ESR meter on a hunch and found three caps that read like resistors. Replaced them for about $4 and the thing fired right up. Has anyone else had caps test bad even when they look brand new?

10

uma306•28d ago

That old timer who told me to replace the caps before testing anything on a 70s receiver...

Back in 2019 I got a Marantz 2230 from a garage sale for $40. Plugged it in, got some sound but it was all scratchy. Brought it to a guy named Pete who ran a repair shop out of his basement in Akron. He said "replace all the electrolytic capacitors first, don't even bother testing it until that's done." I thought he was just trying to sell me parts. So I spent 3 weeks chasing bad transistors and cold joints. Finally gave in, replaced the caps, and the thing worked perfectly. Has anyone else had a mentor give advice that seemed like overkill but turned out to be exactly right?

23

matthewp52•1mo ago

The before and after on a capacitor job I did last month still bugs me

I worked on a 5 year old LG washing machine that wouldn't spin at all. Before I swapped the capacitor, the drum barely moved with a push from my hand. After putting in a new 50uF cap from DigiKey, it spun up smooth as new. But the thing is, the old cap measured fine on my meter within spec, so I almost didn't replace it. What changed my mind was a tiny bulge on top I almost missed. Anybody else run into caps that pass the meter test but still cause issues?

23

sethanderson•1mo ago

Hot take: stop using compressed air to clean circuit boards

Saw a guy at my bench last week blast a 2010 MacBook logic board with canned air. Just pushes corrosion deeper. Use 99% IPA and a soft brush instead. Am I the only one who sees this constantly?

5

schmidt.amy•1mo ago

The difference flux makes on old circuit boards is wild

I cleaned up a 2005 receiver last weekend that had this nasty brown crust on all the solder joints, looked totally dead. After a quick scrub with some rosin flux and a reflow on the power supply caps, it fired right up with zero issues. Has anyone else noticed how much gunk can hide under old flux residue?

0

sam_anderson•1mo ago

Got roasted by a retired TV repairman for using too much flux

Last month at a shop swap meet, this old guy watched me reball a GPU and just said 'son, you're drowning it.' He showed me his technique with barely any flux and a cheap hot air station from 1995. I tried his way on a dead Xbox motherboard and it worked first try. Has anyone else had to unlearn bad habits from watching too many YouTube tutorials?

3

the_rose•1mo ago

Fixed a dead power supply thanks to a guy on here

Someone in this group told me to check the caps first. I was chasing a bad transistor on this old Dell monitor for 2 days. Pulled the board and saw 3 swollen caps right away. Replaced them for $4.50 and it fired right up. That one tip saved me from tossing a perfectly good monitor. Anyone else forget to check the obvious stuff first?

12

pat_hall87•1mo ago

Rant: Heard a customer say their 'friend can fix it cheaper' after I quoted them $85 for a solder joint

I mean, I get it, times are tight, but that same friend probably doesn't have a hot air station or know how to trace a cracked trace on a motherboard so has anyone else had to bite their tongue when someone undervalues what we actually do?

4

rosew37•1mo ago

Spent 4 hours chasing a capacitor issue that was actually a bad solder joint

I was working on this old Pioneer receiver from the 70s and the left channel kept cutting out. Checked all the caps with my ESR meter and they tested fine. Turned out one of the previous repair guys had a cold solder joint on the ground pin. Has anyone else wasted forever on a simple solder problem?

18

skylerg17•1mo ago

I used to swear by flux pens until I tried paste on a stubborn HDMI port

I fought with a PS4 HDMI port for like 2 hours last week, no luck with my normal flux pen. Switched to some tacky flux paste and it flowed perfectly on the first try. Anyone else find certain jobs just need different flux types?

27

jessicaw11•1mo ago

Spent 45 minutes scratching my head over a dead TV before I realized the power strip was switched off

I was pulling my hair out checking fuses and boards on this 55-inch LG when my buddy walked over and flipped the switch on the strip, has anyone else had a dumb moment like that make you feel like a total rookie?

12

jade271•1mo ago

Watch out for counterfeit capacitors on Amazon - caught 3 bad batches last week

I was restocking my shop and ordered 50 100uF caps from a seller with 4.5 stars. Got them in and three of them were reading at like 30uF on my meter. I dug into the reviews more carefully and found a guy who posted actual ESR test results showing failure rates around 25 percent. This was on a bulk listing for Nichicon clones. I thought I was saving about 15 bucks over my usual Mouser order but now I am out the money and the time. Has anyone else had luck calling Amazon out on this or do you just eat the loss?

23

christopher_west1•1mo ago

Pro tip: That one Tuesday where I fixed three PS4s in a row gave me a weird superpower

Honestly, last Tuesday was the weirdest day I've had in years. I had three PS4s come in all with the same HDMI port issue, like someone hit copy and paste on the same problem. First one took me about an hour with the hot air station and some flux, but the solder pads were lifting and I had to run jumper wires. Second one was a different revision with a tiny capacitor shorted near the port that I almost missed. Third one was a straight swap with zero drama, which felt like a gift from the repair gods. By the end of the day my eyes were crossing and my hands were shaking from the coffee, but I cleared the whole backlog. Has anyone else had a day where one specific fault just keeps rolling in? I swear I dreamt about HDMI pins that night.

17

robinc66•1mo ago

Had a customer tell me my solder joints were 'too pretty' for 2 years and then a repair failed

I've been repairing vintage audio gear for about 5 years in Portland and always took pride in making my solder joints look clean and shiny. A customer pointed out that my joints looked like jewelry and said they were probably cold joints from too much heat. I brushed it off because I thought they were just being picky. After a receiver I fixed died 6 months later I pulled it open and saw a hairline crack in one of those pretty joints. Turns out I was overheating the pad to get that perfect shine. Now I use a lower temp iron and focus on flow time instead of looks. Anyone else get feedback that went against what they thought was the right way to do things?

6

simonp40•1mo ago

That guy who asked me to fix his toaster by putting it in the oven

Last month in Denver, a customer brought in a toaster that kept tripping his breaker and insisted I could "bake the short out" at 350 degrees. I spent 20 minutes explaining that heat would melt the plastic housing and fry the wires worse, not fix them. Has anyone else gotten a repair request that was based on complete nonsense logic?

24

maxm50•1mo ago

Serious question about thermal paste application methods

I had a guy bring in a laptop last month that kept overheating, and when I opened it up someone had put thermal paste on like it was peanut butter on a sandwich. Huge glob in the middle, none on the edges. I see tutorials online where people do the pea method or the spread method, but I swear half the time it comes out wrong. How do you guys actually apply it without making a mess or leaving gaps?

16

troy439•1mo ago

That old timer who said flux is the secret was right

Last month I was chasing a cold solder joint on a Yamaha receiver for like 3 hours. A guy at the local parts shop named Gene told me to use more flux before complaining about the iron. I brushed a little rosin flux on every pad before touching it and the joint flowed perfect on the first try. Saved me from ripping out the whole board. Anyone else get humbled by a simple fix like this?

29

simontorres•1mo ago

Had a talk with an old TV repair guy that changed my approach to troubleshooting

Met this guy named Frank at a shop in Austin last Tuesday while picking up parts. He told me he never uses a multimeter until he's looked at the board with just his eyes for five minutes first. Said most of us jump to testing too quick and miss cracked solder joints or bulging caps that are obvious if you look close. Been trying it for a week now and caught two issues on a power supply that I would have missed with the meter. Anyone else slow down and just look at things before testing?

23

christopher385•1mo ago

Chose hot air over soldering iron for that micro USB port swap

I figured hot air would save time on that tablet connector but I ended up melting the nearby plastic housing. Has anyone else had better luck just using a fine tip iron for those tight spots?