Pulled a 90s VCR from a closet and remembered when repair meant more than swapping boards

I was clearing out a closet and found an old VCR from the 90s. Back then, fixing something meant following a paper schematic and testing each part. Now, half the time you just order a new board and swap it out. I had to reflow a solder joint on the loading mechanism to get it working. It felt good to actually fix the problem instead of replacing everything. The new gadgets don't even have service manuals sometimes. I guess progress means less messing around with tiny screws.

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan_jenkins51mo ago

Totally get what you mean about progress meaning less tiny screws! I was listening to a podcast about right to repair and they said the exact same thing. Modern stuff is designed to be thrown away, not fixed. It's frustrating because it creates so much waste. Even when you want to fix something, companies hide the manuals or glue everything shut. Your story with the solder joint is the perfect example of real fixing. That's a skill that feels like it's disappearing.

jade_baker901mo ago

Even fixing a VCR feels like jailbreaking a tractor now.

joseph_torres1mo ago

I read about farmers in Nebraska jailbreaking their tractors because the software locks out repairs. That whole right to repair fight is exactly this problem.