Comment by ChrisLomont
4 years ago
>Electronics used to come with full schematics as part of the documentation.
Nearly every electronic device I bought in the 1970s did not have included schematics. TI-55, Pong console, digital watches, Speak'n'Spell, transistor radios, Mattell football and baseball handhelds, Simon... and on and on.
Nearly everything then was also not easily repairable, and certainly not by an average consumer.
> Nearly everything then was also not easily repairable, and certainly not by an average consumer.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anyone's saying that "an average consumer" in the terms of "I can't tell the difference between a hammer and a soldering iron" should be able to repair their devices.
But I think that if the consumer can demonstrate some minimum level of interest (education, certification, or at least competence) then they absolutely should be able to repair devices they own.
And, further, that owning devices and software should be the default and normal thing. The trend today of renting/leasing things is clearly anti-consumer.
> Nearly everything then was also not easily repairable, and certainly not by an average consumer.
Sure, but repair shops could exist that would specialize in doing all sorts of repairs.
As they do now. I know a few people that repair most all modern phones and iPads and other gadgets for a living.
Open up that old transistor radio and you will usually find a tiny printed schematic diagram affixed to the inside of the removable cover.
Nope :) As a kid taking everything apart, and as an adult collecting some old gadgets I had as kid, there is generally no such thing. I just listed quite a few gadgets that definitely do not have schematics glued inside.