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Post by 321 treeclimber on Oct 16, 2019 21:20:12 GMT -5
All good and valid points gentlemen. But in each case it doesnt sound like there was a lack of incoming work. Actually the opposite. But also it seems you were doing this in your spare time and that gets old pretty quick. I know this cause i still do it. I climb trees all day then all the rest of the daylight hours then weekends...all year. Lets look at it from a full time, this is your livelihood perspective.9 to 5 set your own rules and do what you say your going to do. Happy you, happy customers. I'd be the first in line.
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Post by bobcat4109 on Oct 17, 2019 9:11:34 GMT -5
I had similar experiences when I was repairing radios for the locals. The workload grew quicker than I could keep up with, for the limited free time I had to do it. When people started giving me grief over lengthening turn around time, and with the birth of my daughter, I just threw in the towel and walked away. I had also changed in my opinion of "peaking" radios, and refused to "clip and peak" and turn radios into splatter boxes. If I ever decide to get back into it, I will stick to repairs and restorations only. To be honest... that is the way I would RATHER be. Not JUST from watching mikesradiorepair.... but with my understanding of radio technology... the radios were MEANT to hit a certain power point. If you try to push it.. you can get a BIT more.... not a LOT more.... and you have to watch for distortion, non-linearity and splatter. If you see those, you have gone too far and are not doing ANY GOOD in the band you WISH to use!!!!! Clipping modulation control... never makes sense... when you see what the splatter does in terms of "unwanted harmonic energy"!!!!! So, to that end, I would probably never be popular as a repair tech....because I probably would want to put back in proper working condition and, if they want more power.... go buy an amp. The difference between 4 watts and 5.2 watts is not distinguishable in your outbound signal anyway....
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Post by cbrown on Oct 23, 2019 14:52:20 GMT -5
I will stick to repairs and restorations only. This is basically what I do now, just work on repairs and restorations for friends. Less hassle in the end.
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Post by 321 treeclimber on Oct 27, 2019 7:00:34 GMT -5
This is why you cant walk in to a local shop. There are none.no one wants the hassle. But at some point a guy needs to say "I charge a fair price, i only do back to stock repairs or restorations" and thats it. Then from a customer perspective, that guy needs to have what it takes to do the job right and back to the customer like any other repair business. I personally send repairs out and get mixed outcomes. CB and HAM radio,especially vintage repair, should be a booming small business for the same reasons this forum and many others exsist.
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
Posts: 6,245
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Post by Sandbagger on Oct 27, 2019 9:35:52 GMT -5
This is why you cant walk in to a local shop. There are none.no one wants the hassle. But at some point a guy needs to say "I charge a fair price, i only do back to stock repairs or restorations" and thats it. Then from a customer perspective, that guy needs to have what it takes to do the job right and back to the customer like any other repair business. I personally send repairs out and get mixed outcomes. CB and HAM radio,especially vintage repair, should be a booming small business for the same reasons this forum and many others exsist. A lot has changed since the glory days of CB radio. Right now, as much as I hate to say it, CB radio as a hobby, is on the decline. So it's not the ideal business environment for someone to invest in a brick & mortar shop to service a local area, unless it's in an area of the country that still sees a fair amount of radio activity. Right now, the internet is the best way to solicit business. But there is one problem, and that is the cost and unreliability of shipping work to and from the shop. Many radios (especially older tube rigs) do not survive the ride, especially if it's not packed extremely well. And no shop tech wants to deal with an irate customer who just received his radio back from the shop only to find that it still doesn't work, a new problem has surfaced, and now has to determine if that problem was just a latent failure about to happen, or something that was caused by shipping. I know guys like Greg Barkett do a pretty brisk business taking in work via the internet/phone. But I'd be curious to know how many horror stories he's had to deal with as a result of shipping or other issues that would not occur on a walk-in, walk-out basis, and how he covers the costs of those issues.
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Post by 2600 on Oct 27, 2019 16:00:59 GMT -5
Now there's a YouTube channel idea for you!
"Mailed-in repair horror stories".
Doesn't sound like it would monetize, though. Not a lot of drama in cracked/seized ferrite tuning cores, lifted foil traces or crumbling solder connections and loose electrical tape.
Then again, someone with the right genius for creativity might do something with it. After all, who would think that smashing stuff with a hydraulic press on camera could become a full-time job? Those guys have become local celebrities in Finland.
73
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Post by 321 treeclimber on Oct 27, 2019 20:18:40 GMT -5
Hahaha well you both have good points but if a company like galaxy, cobra,uniden and rci,not to mention all the tube and ham brands out there including amps, That are manufacturing brand new equipment...there is good reason to believe a neighborhood electronic shop, or at least regional shops could flourish. 2600 you cant tell me your not busy.we need a shop with guys of your caliber in our area of new york, plenty of us looking for repairs yet no where to go.
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Post by BBB on Oct 28, 2019 16:50:40 GMT -5
I might start repairing radios again, assuming there is any sort of demand left by then..... Hey we've waited a few years to see ya at the HAM fest so we can wait a few more to get a real radio repairman in the area again #sandbaggerradios
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Sandbagger
Administrator/The Boss
Posts: 6,245
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Post by Sandbagger on Oct 29, 2019 10:57:30 GMT -5
I might start repairing radios again, assuming there is any sort of demand left by then..... Hey we've waited a few years to see ya at the HAM fest so we can wait a few more to get a real radio repairman in the area again #sandbaggerradios Of course, when I retire, I may not be "in the area" anymore. A whole lot of variables are in play so I won't make any promises.
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Post by 321 treeclimber on Oct 29, 2019 18:21:48 GMT -5
We're hoping for the best sandy. 321
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Post by sfi355 aka Billy Bob on Nov 2, 2019 18:53:22 GMT -5
I have gotten CB Radios off of eBay that we’re sold as is for parts and what I found out is that most sellers don’t have a clue of they are selling. And what I do is I look at the other stuff that they have listed of their other Auction’s. I always look at the pictures and I always ask them for more pictures or better pictures and pictures of what they didn’t include like the back and sides etc, of what they are selling, and most of them will either post or send the pictures I ask for. And the biggest is when the seller has a price on the radio and at the same time they have the make an offer on it, well if I am happy with the pictures and if they have a make an offer, most of them will accept your offer, and that is in part of because they don’t know what they have!. I once bought 4 CB radios as a lot and when they came in 3 of the 4 worked after cleaning them up and the The one that didn’t work had the prize of a Turner JM+2U Mic, the others CB’s which were 40 channels AM units, I moded them with extra channels, new power cords and they did come with Stock mic’s and sold them all back on eBay for almost $100 profit. Plus today I still use the Turner JM +2u Mic. Other CB like SSB units I had picked up again they said as is or parts radios. Well again some cleaning up on them. Fix their golden screwdrivers peaking removing their poor butcher job of voice lock and unbelievable channel mods for cheap like $30 Shipped and I have many proud working units. Are they mint condition? Nope they are not, but they are not channel splatter and they receive and talk as they should! And I am proud to have them on the shelf and my buddy’s come over they always want to look at the Radios that I on the shelf. I will keep looking at eBay and if something grabs me I will not hesitate for a second and buy it. I do look at Craigslist and have picked up some unbelievable units and was able to be fortunate enough to be the first to pick them up.
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