Repair Today

Repair then and now.

I recall listening to a lecture by the great physicist Richard Feynman* where he talked about his teen-years, neighborhood repair business (1930’s) for radios and the like.  He said mostly he just looked for a loose wire or burned tube.  Presto, he fixed it.  He could repair because repair was easy and because he was real smart. 

I recall the (very) old Maytag washer/dryer commercials on TV featuring a repairman lamenting he never had any work, because Maytag’s never broke down.  Great add. Great reassurance in the beginning age of home machinery.  

I recall myself in the 60’s of stripping my TV of its tubes and taking them to the local drugstore where they had a tester.  Burned ones were replaced and the screen glowed again. Beyond that required an an actual TV repairman - expensive!

Today, note whenever you buy anything electronic or mechanical, the seller offers to sell you insurance policies against damage and breakage. Sooooo…

What do you want to know about every device or machine you buy? 

The assurance it is “easy to repair.”

Wind turbines – a modern challenge. I recall seeing dozens of wind turbines situated atop small mountains in rural Greece, most of which were turning, generating electricity. Up high, with lots of wind. My thought was, who's going to repair them when they fail?  And fail they will. With blades 30 feet long, these are delicate machines that need keen attention. Even getting to them is a serious business. The repairman must be electronically and mechanically trained, plus part mountain goat.

To me, it seems repair, replacement, and maintenance are usually ignored in these grand projects, created under the soft green glow of enlightened progress.

The newer the technology, the more difficult it is to repair and to repair will be a must.

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* Richard P. Feynman, an American physicist and veteran of the Manhattan (A-bomb) project in 1945, won the Nobel prize in 1965 for his work in quantum electrodynamics. Famous for quotes, he penned, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”