Deck Repairs not to mention use

[SkywaveTDR]

Hi fellow tape users,
I am sometimes amazed at how individuals dive into tape decks to fix them and do not even know what some of the parts are that they will be working with nor how to read a schematics. Does this signal to anybody a disaster waiting to happen?
I help a lot of people but also end up writing paragraphs explaining the function of a power regulator circuit. I do not want to stop anyone from repairing their own decks and I have plenty of work here. Does it seem logical to first learn what these parts are called as in a little study of basic DC Electronics before you go changing things out. It is likely that a lot of parts are changed out when they are perfectly fine if the person would just learn how to use a meter to measure voltage drops.
I get another laugh as people change entire boards to fix a simple problem. This is not what a Technician would do. A person will get a lot more enjoyment from repairing a deck correctly and also a sense of accomplishment when he is a winner rather than just replacing a whole section. Replacing a board also brings with it additional calibration and the chance that a series of wires can be placed wrong. In 45 years I do not remember replacing a board.

 

[obZen]

I've appreciated reading your sage advice throughout these forums and I can see how it would be frustrating seeing so many un-knowledgeable people attempting the sorts of repairs you specialize in. I think a lot of us don't have the cash to pay for a repair and genuinely want to learn how to fix these things despite not having a basis in electrical engineering.

I would love to feel that sense of accomplishment for repairing my currently broken deck (488 MKII) but it feels completely overwhelming and difficult to isolate the problem. I would love to use a meter or any other specialized tool but I simply have no one to teach me in person (though I have used my multi-meter to determine resistors when building EQ / compressor kits). It's no excuse but in-person, rather than youtube, is definitely the best way to learn.

Are there any books you would recommend? Either on introductory electrical engineering or tape machine repair? Or any other relevant topic?

 

[SkywaveTDR]

As I had to get through to a trainee I once had that this repair stuff is NOT Electrical Engineering, it is only Technical work requiring at best a two year degree or the equivalent of what you can learn on the Internet or books one could obtain. Engineering concerns itself with making this stuff while technical work concerns itself with the fixing of what is already made. The 488 deck seems to those not familiar with such a deck complicated, but when you look at things one thing at a time focus on that one thing, fix it then move on. Some power supply issue cause all the other problems to go away. There are things to know if you are working on these kinds of things. How to use a DVM and a scope and how to apply a sine wave signal at -10dBV, After that, it is just fixing the problem you find.

 

[obZen]

I see what you mean. Electrical engineering may have been a strong word for it. However I do want to eventually understand what every piece of the machine does, including the signal flow and how it's affected by each piece.

By scope, do you mean oscilloscope?