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Whatever Happened too ?


Okiepan

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Television repairmen ,Home  Appliance repair stores ? 
stereo stores ?

VCR repair stores?

The Maytag repair man , 

you get the picture, Is everything these days disposable?

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There used to be a couple of really good electronics repair stores near me. Both went out of business about ten years ago. Nobody is going to pay hundreds of dollars to fix a stereo receiver when you can buy a new one for what the repair would cost.

 

There are still appliance repairmen out there, but they are ridiculously expensive as well. I saved myself the cost of a service call on my dryer by searching YouTube for videos on how to diagnose my problem. Sure enough, there was a video there that pinpointed my exact issue, and I bought a new circuit board off of eBay and installed it myself.

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Repairclinic.com for  appliances and mowers

 

Videos parts do it yourself.

 

1aauto.com same for cars

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Try finding something as simple as...

Someone to chisel the Day Of Death on a headstone, already on the plot.

I was lucky I got on a list 'just in time' for the fall...otherwise would have waited 6 mths.

One man...four states!!

Daddy told me NOT to write his DOD on the headstone with a Sharpie!!!

I almost had too!!!

Trades are all but gone.

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We had a VHS/VCR that cost about $450 new.  Our DVD player was part of a Bose stereo system that cost around $700.  Around 8 years ago, the VCR died.  I didn't think they even made VCR's any more.  We went to Walmart to see about getting a new one.  They had a VCR/DVD combination player and recorder for $60!

Repairs?  You must be kidding.

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They all went the same way as harness, watch, and typewriter repairmen.  

Life moves on.   Some things change or go away.  Other things never change or go away. 

Like politicians, lawyers, physicians, preachers, and plumbers.

And the need for a SASS approved Baptist Category!!

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Back in The Old Days, things were meant to be repaired. They were designed so parts could be easily replaced, (think vacuum tubes). Today, everything is printed circuits and microchips. 

But on the other hand, if things were made like they used to be, we couldn't afford a lot of them. When I was a kid, (mid 1960s) my grandparents had a COLOR TV!!! With a REMOTE, with a 27' screen, I think. I remember them saying it cost about $200. That's in 1960s money. That would be several thousand today. I wouldn't be able to afford one. But today, we can get a 72" screen smart TV for $500. The offset is that when it goes out, you just replace it with a newer, bigger one with even more features. For about the same money. 

The same can be said about cars. A new car today will go 100,000 miles with nothing more than a regular oil change. Most of us can remember buying a Tune Up Kit at a department store containing points, plugs, and condenser about every 10,000 miles. Not to mention adjusting the carb, timing, dwell, etc. 

I'm hardly a "techie", heck, I'm a borderline Luddite! But the way things are now, we don't have to do all those things we used to. We have plenty of time to watch our old time Cowboy shows and movies on our DVRs.:D

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4 hours ago, Singin' Sue 71615 said:

Try finding something as simple as...

Someone to chisel the Day Of Death on a headstone, already on the plot.

I was lucky I got on a list 'just in time' for the fall...otherwise would have waited 6 mths.

One man...four states!!

Daddy told me NOT to write his DOD on the headstone with a Sharpie!!!

I almost had too!!!

Trades are all but gone.

Headstones are done by CNC nowadays, not craftsmen. :(

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I remember a class I took years ago where a guest speaker from the World Future Society said things like TV sets and most appliances would become simply commodities. He was right.

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I'm the only person that I know that carries every day a pocket watch.  There are no watch repairmen.  So, I just buy another quartz watch for less than it would cost to have a mechanical watch repaired.

vTtHcP.jpg

 

My current pocket watch.

Hxv2cI.jpg

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Buy a good watch and it will out last you. I carried my Grandpa's Waltham every day for 35 years. I couldn't wear a wrist watch in my job. He won't admit it, but Silver Sam is a fair watch man.

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40 minutes ago, Snakebite said:

Buy a good watch and it will out last you. I carried my Grandpa's Waltham every day for 35 years. I couldn't wear a wrist watch in my job. He won't admit it, but Silver Sam is a fair watch man.

Snakebite, do you still carry a pocket watch?

 

I have a classic Howard railroad watch (circa 1912) that is still going strong next to my bed.  Wind it every day and use as a night stand watch.  In a glass covered stand hanging from a small shepherd's hook.  

 

For many years at work I could only carry a pocket watch.  Had a couple of nice mechanical watches I carried, but careless me, I'd drop and bust them.  Finally, I just started carrying inexpensive quartz watches and I have kept the Howard railroad watch safe.  Still carry a quartz pocket watch every day.

 

Had a guy at work ask, "If you carry four quartz watches, does that make a one gallon watch?"

 

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I stopped carrying one on a daily basis a few years ago. I have several. One VERY nice 6 way adjustable waltham RR that was appraised 10 years ago at 6K. Don't know if it is more or less now. My every day Waltham is a 5 way adjustable. I carried it for most of my 37 yr career as a RADAR Specialist. Every few years I would use a metal pick, dip it in some whale oil and to lube it.

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Awe, don’t worry. The enlightened idiots are going to ban all petroleum products so all these things that are cheaply made now won’t be around so craftsmen will make a comeback because everything will be make of wood, metal and textiles. Tube electronics will come back. But video tapes and discs won’t exist so we’ll have to put antennas back on our roofs and we’ll be stuck with local programming. 
It’ll be glorious! All this old plastic crap will just go away eventually...

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Here’s another example I find an average of 2 bicycles a week that people throw out. Usually that’s all that’s wrong is flat tires, a lil rust and maybe a good cleaning. As a kid I tore apart my bikes ,changed sprockets , berrings ,even repainted them. But today it’s easier to just go buy a new one. 

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5 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

...All this old plastic crap will just go away eventually...

 

I sure hope you don't mean Glocks. :o

 

:D

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I've spent the major part of my life repairing "Things". All things, from kitchen appliances to lawn equipment, cars, motorcycles, tractors, installed many solar panels, learned to be a fair "Shade Tree" Gunsmith and worked on ANYTHING electronic (my trained profession)  Even use to resole shoes with the glue on rubber sole kits they use to sell. I've built untold wood projects and welding projects. Made olives and a drop or two or whiskey. Fact is there were very few jobs that I was afraid to tackle. Over the years it has saved me Tens of thousands of dollars. I'm not alone, there are a lot of us "Old Folks" still around that know how to do a lot of things.  My family was poor when they came out of Arkansans to the central valley of California. We had not money to pay to have things done for us. It's been almost 3 yrs now since we moved out of the mountains and into town. I no longer have my large shop, just a small out building... but I still try to do what I can. I am finding out that most of my Young Neighbors are completely unable to turn a screw driver. They have no idea how to take on even the simplest of jobs... i.e. change out a light switch etc. I'll be long dead and gone before things change back but I think that time is coming.  I'm glad that my son and grandsons were raised in an environment that they got to learn how to use their hands and work with tools of all kinds.  

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12 hours ago, Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 said:

I'm the only person that I know that carries every day a pocket watch.  There are no watch repairmen.  So, I just buy another quartz watch for less than it would cost to have a mechanical watch repaired.

vTtHcP.jpg

 

My current pocket watch.

Hxv2cI.jpg

I have nine pocket watches that I rotate and three more that don't work, but I keep them for sentimental reasons.

 

I also have four very nice wrist watches that I keep for special occasions.  I seem to recall wearing one of them back in January or February.

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3 hours ago, Dantankerous said:

 

I sure hope you don't mean Glocks. :o

 

:D

Nope! Those are immune. 
 

It’s my dark fantasy...I call the shots. :lol:

 

 

Funny story, when I lived in Oregon a bunch of protesters were suspending themselves from the bridge over the Columbia River to protest oil company ships coming into and out of Portland. 
They wanted to ban all oil production and research. 
I called a local radio talk show and spoke with the host and asked a hypothetical question. 
How do these protesters feel about the ropes, slings and harnesses they use becoming non-existent? They are made with petroleum products as are all the electronic media they use to communicate and get their message out to the public and their followers. 
I guess they’ll be hanging naked from hemp ropes the next time they protest, right?

He laughed and complimented me on an excellent point then moved on to other callers. 

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I carried a pocket watch at work for years when I had trouble with carpal tunnel. All were modern quartz type,also wore a vest,too. Still have them here someplace. About seven years ago I started wearing the wrist type again. Have three, one is an award for years of service, the other is just a clean up watch. The third is an every day cheapie that is for work.  I'm on my third one of those, no frills, keeps time, and when broke after about two years or so, replaced with another $10 cheapie from Wally. :rolleyes::blush:

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12 hours ago, Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 said:

"If you carry four quartz watches, does that make a one gallon watch?"

What is the gal on watch watching?

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U.S. Labor costs, government over regulation, inflation and importing throw away products killed off the repairpersons.

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I can't stand wrist watches, I carried pocket watches for a while, gave away my last one about a year ago to a friend on the occasion of his wedding, been meaning to replace it but I've been picky as to what I want.  I still carry a fountain pen every day, at least I was until last week when I misplaced it, I think it's here on my desk somewhere under all these papers..

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I am more than happy to take some of the computers that folks discard.
Many of these are easily upgraded with a solid state disk, and a bit of memory.
Win7 and newer machines are easily upgraded to a Win10 digital license for free.
Then I give 'em away to folks that need a better computer.

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I remember the tube testers at the local drug store. Did a lot of points and condenser, rotor changes in my early years,too. Once I acquired a timing light, I did that as well. That was back in my "motor heading" days.About the extent today is oil changes during the warmer months, or an air filter as far as cars go. Do do some mower/snow blower stuff,too:blush:

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I'd like to know where all the good gunsmiths have gone. You know, the ones who could make you a new set of sights from scratch or do a professional polish and reblue. Everybody nowadays only knows how to slap together an AR or spray Cerakote on everything. <_<

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Up here in Canada The Liberal Government, and Insurance companies are trying to legislate us out and the cost of insurance ( Government Mandated ) is trying to finish the Job ...

 

Jabez Cowboy

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22 hours ago, Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 said:

Snakebite, do you still carry a pocket watch?

 

I have a classic Howard railroad watch (circa 1912) that is still going strong next to my bed.  Wind it every day and use as a night stand watch.  In a glass covered stand hanging from a small shepherd's hook.  

 

For many years at work I could only carry a pocket watch.  Had a couple of nice mechanical watches I carried, but careless me, I'd drop and bust them.  Finally, I just started carrying inexpensive quartz watches and I have kept the Howard railroad watch safe.  Still carry a quartz pocket watch every day.

 

Had a guy at work ask, "If you carry four quartz watches, does that make a one gallon watch?"

 

You might ask him if can tell time with them...Some have trouble understanding what a quarter after the hour means....

 

Texas Lizard

 

Who still has an analog clock hanging on the wall...And does teach granddaughter to read it....

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20 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Awe, don’t worry. The enlightened idiots are going to ban all petroleum products so all these things that are cheaply made now won’t be around so craftsmen will make a comeback because everything will be make of wood, metal and textiles. Tube electronics will come back. But video tapes and discs won’t exist so we’ll have to put antennas back on our roofs and we’ll be stuck with local programming. 
It’ll be glorious! All this old plastic crap will just go away eventually...

You are starting to sound like Al Gore...

 

Texas Lizard

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And whatever happened
To Tuesday and so slow?
Going down the old mine with a
Transistor radio
Standing in the sunlight laughing
Hiding 'hind a rainbow's wall
Slipping and sliding
All along the waterfall with you
My brown-eyed girl
You, my brown-eyed girl
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