Rose is Rose by Don Wimmer and Pat Brady for October 26, 2023

I remember playing around with old transistor radios. I figured out how to get the station I wanted tuned in really well; the problem was that I could not tune in any other stations after doing that.

So did you then patent the Shopping Carts that always wobble and pull to the left?

He said he used to take them apart but he didn’t say he put them back together.

I took my Granny’s laughbox apart and everyone was horrified. Put it back together and nobody says anything……

You used to be able to fix things yourself, but nowadays, it’s almost impossible.

In the past, things were made to be repaired and fixed. Nowadays, everything is made to be thrown away, and buy a new one.

You can fix that problem with taking toys apart with LEGO.

I was born and raised in the family business, a TV repair shop. We handled all consumer electronics. All the early stuff (a technical term) used vacuum tubes, which started degrade from day one. Talking about planned obsolescence. Most repair shops could only test and replace tubes.

Around 1960, when I was ten, things transitioned to transistors. My dad went around to the other repair shops and gave them a discount. Then he dropped them off at my workbench. where I repaired them. He delivered the repairs the next day.

Today, circuit boards are made using surface mount devices – on both sides of the board. It takes expensive specialized equipment to heat a module just enough to melt the solder so you can lift it off and reattach a new device. Now only entire circuit board assemblies are replaced and “technicians” have completely lost the ability to diagnose a faulty circuit board. Replacement parts are no longer available; the inventory costs are prohibitive.

It’s cheaper to buy a new one than repair the old one. And yes, I became an engineer in 1972. I’m now a modulation and coding specialist… a Galois Field is a finite field that folds back on itself.

So much for your gadget there, Pasquale!

Call Dr. Susan Calvin.

For sure so many things were simpler when I was a kid. Kinda miss the days when we just roamed the neighbourhood waiting for friends to finish breakfast/lunch/dinner in the summer and come out to play. In those days, the neighbours were different, too. The whole neighbourhood took care of the whole neighbourhood. Parents would kibbitz on what Christmas toys to buy since all the kids played at all the homes. Because of that, we kids had one of EVERYthing!

You know by experience? lol

Oh look, it’s a Transdeformer.

Call MeeMaw.

See “Right to Repair” they are gaining ground. Even Apple has jumped on the bandwagon. Of course it will still be a while.

My latest evening entertainment is 3D wood puzzles. From flat sheets of thin plywood to working models. Just the thing for someone curious about how something works. (Plugola and unsolicited ad. Try UGears. A Ukraine manufacturer that’s been around for a while. Other companies make a living copying their stuff)

My son-in-law, but his consulting fees are quite high.

Jim will figure out a way to get it fixed!