Tackling a busted VCR transport mechanism took me right back to my apprentice days

Found a client's old VCR with a worn belt and sticky gears. I had to dig out my analog multimeter and adjust the tension by hand. Modern players don't even have moving parts to fix. Makes you wonder where all the hands-on skills went, doesn't it?

3 comments

3 Comments

karen_wilson3mo ago

Watch a kid try to fix a smartphone with a screwdriver and you'll see where those skills went. Everything's sealed shut or needs a special tool you can't buy. My nephew thought a VCR was a kind of coffee maker. We're doomed if the internet goes down and no one can rewind a tape. But hey, at least we have more time to binge watch shows we can't repair.

leotaylor3mo ago

True story: my own kid asked why the "save icon" looks like a weird little metal Lego. Felt my hair turn gray right then. Guess I can't talk, I still call every streaming box a VCR.

schmidt.amy2mo ago

Took my niece to a thrift store and she pointed at a floppy disk asking if it was a 3D printed save button. I just laughed and explained it was real storage, like a tiny, stiff CD. She couldn't believe you could only fit one song on it. Now she calls my old external hard drive a "big floppy". Makes you realize how fast the normal stuff from our past turns into mystery objects.