From: charlesandmilly@gmail.com   
      
   On Friday, July 22, 2022 at 7:35:24 PM UTC-5, Jeff Liebermann wrote:   
   > On Thu, 21 Jul 2022 19:50:26 -0700 (PDT), Charles Lucas   
   >  wrote:   
   > >A frequent responder here asked me about my motives for coming on here and   
   posting my remarks on a use net post.   
   > (...)   
   > >The intent of these responses is to help others, enjoy these posts, and   
   have the people have working, safe equipment. The intent is to do good and no   
   intent to cause harm. I do this on my own time.   
   > I'm more selfish. I used to like reading mystery and detective   
   > novels. It was fun trying to organize the clues and determine a   
   > likely culprit. Same with troubleshooting electronics. Usually,   
   > people who ask questions omit important information, like the model   
   > number, paraphrase error messages, inject their own pet theories, and   
   > generally make it difficult to analyze. When that happens, I suggest   
   > that they reorganize their question into a few simple questions:   
   >   
   > 1. What problem are you trying to solve? One sentence is sufficient.   
   > 2. What do you have to work with? (Maker, model, version number,   
   > options, documentation, and general condition).   
   > 3. What have you done so far and what happened? (Error messages,   
   > fire, smoke, explosion, etc).   
   > 4. What is your technical ability level and what test equipment is   
   > available?   
   >   
   > The difficult part is getting accurate information and error messages.   
   > For reasons unknown, entering a model number from the back of a TV, or   
   > errors from a display, into a computer keyboard without errors is   
   > difficult. I frequently resort to interrogating people to get answers   
   > to simple questions. Some people will waltz around the obvious   
   > culprit, ignore the obvious and confuse descriptions by adding   
   > irrelevant drivel. It sometimes seems like I'm trying to fix the   
   > owner instead of the device. Prying information out of owners can be   
   > frustrating at times, but the results are usually worth the effort.   
      
       You heat the nail on the head right there, in regards to "fixing" the   
   owner.   
   Many customers come to me with an it does not work symptom. When I document   
   these repairs (as I have over many years), the original symptom was "does not   
   work",   
   whether it be a TV, Stereo, computer, etc... So I had to have the owner be   
   more descriptive   
   about what it does and more specific about the problem. I also had to let the   
   owner know   
   from a tech. point of view so we have a basis in which to begin diagnosing a   
   problem to   
   arrive on a conclusion for a repair process to take place that we can feel   
   relatively confident   
   in. I like that approach to problem solving too.   
      
   This is why I say that being a tech involves being part mechanic, part   
   detective, and part   
   psychologist.   
      
   As far as the obvious, that gets overlooked a lot. I had come up with a   
   checklist of the obvious   
   to check for during the process of diagnosing to avoid missing something. Of   
   course, it is easier   
   to catch when we are well rested and first come into work. By the end of a 14   
   or 16 hour day, that   
   tiredness can affect one's performance- and admittedly we can miss something   
   as we get towards   
   the end of the work day. So, we not only have to stay healthy physically, but   
   stay alert, and keep our   
   minds sharp, as these are in our "tool kit" too.   
   >   
   > Hint: If you know HOW things work, you can fix anything.   
   >   
   >   
   > --   
   > Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com   
   > PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com   
   > Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272   
   > Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558   
      
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