On May 5, 8:52*pm, "Eisboch" wrote:
wrote in message

...

On Tue, 5 May 2009 16:39:41 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

In the old days, real "skill" meant determining **what* component or
components needed to be replaced using a schematic, meter and/or an
o'scope.

Much of today's modern electronic circuitry has built in diagnostics that
scream "replace me" when they go bad.

We called it "the bad part falls out smoking on the floor".
I liked working on computers when a CPU was the size of a commercial
sub-zero fridge and had 1000 cards. Since then it is "cut open the box
and plug in a new one".

I've been out of the electronics field for over 30 years, but am absolutely
amazed at the advances made since I went to school. * I learned vacuum tube
theory, transistors and had a basic introduction to digital in the form of
TTL *(5v) logic devices, soon after replaced by 12v CMOS mainly because TTL
just wasn't reliable. * A digital display was a row of Nixie Tubes with the
proper internal elements illuminated for a display. * Electronics then was
all discrete components and a piece of gear designed with them mounted on a
single layer PC board was "High Tech".

Now, a complete FM receiver and 5.1 surround sound decoder is on a single
chip that costs about 53 cents to manufacture. * It's really an amazing
evolution. * Soon, PC boards will lose their copper conductors, replaced by
modulated LEDs and fiber optics. * The size of products will continue to
shrink and become even more powerful.

Eisboch

I am a bit younger but the first time I ever did a repair was taking
apart a tube CB radio and bringing the tubes to radio shack where they
had a tester.. It was a big box about the size of a video game.. You
plugged in the tube and hit the button.. I think I was about 8-10 at
the time.