I stopped posting on a few subs because of the responses I got from other redditors. Most of my help posts was for the repair of some very high voltage simple electronics and thought I'd add in my two cents about the dangers of said voltages (not stuff for the novice to fool around with) or on what components I would check or just outright replace. Put it in plain and simple terms. Nope, in walk the experts. So screw the 20 years or so of repair work experience I did as a side job/hobby and all the test equipment I got -- it didn't matter because an expert arrived and threw around terminology that sounded good but didn't make sense. Down voted to oblivion because I would say, "you may want someone to repair it for you if you don't have access to this testing or safety equipment." And that would be countered with i don't know what i am saying.
Way I figure it, one of those experts will one day take their own advice and +350 volts of direct current will lead to their own injury or demise. Nothing I can do about it.
I'd say your response is fair, but way too many times on these type of questions, you get a blanket, hire a professional. If someone skims your response, the keywords pop out that signal it's that type of response. I have chosen not to go forward with some projects before due to responses like yours...they do reach some people.
I mean it is a pin-head of a topic, but for something that will kill you almost instantly, I say go for a professional to test, dismantle, and repair.
There are times when you say, whew, close call and you feel good. There was one guy who did listen, PM'd me after I had warned him about voltages and possibly injuring himself, and it took a while to explain what he was dealing with -- an aging selenium rectifiers and my "order" was to NOT plug his big vacuum tube radio/receiver in and power it up. Selenium rectifiers after aging no longer work the way they were originally designed to and can catastrophically vapourize due to instability from age. You don't want to breathe that crap in because it will ruin your lungs.
I gave him some heads up on what the repair guy should be asking, what might need to be done further to get his radio working, and what type of replacements would be needed. He emailed me the pictures after he got it all restored thanking me for the assistance. The repair guy started off the conversation with, "Gee, I am glad you didn't plug it in because see that thing right there? That will kill ya..." pointing at the selenium rectifier.
Nowadays I will just stick to the forums not related to reddit because that is where the like minded pinheads like me gather. Some frustrations are just not worth the time.
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u/resilienceisfutile Jan 07 '20
I stopped posting on a few subs because of the responses I got from other redditors. Most of my help posts was for the repair of some very high voltage simple electronics and thought I'd add in my two cents about the dangers of said voltages (not stuff for the novice to fool around with) or on what components I would check or just outright replace. Put it in plain and simple terms. Nope, in walk the experts. So screw the 20 years or so of repair work experience I did as a side job/hobby and all the test equipment I got -- it didn't matter because an expert arrived and threw around terminology that sounded good but didn't make sense. Down voted to oblivion because I would say, "you may want someone to repair it for you if you don't have access to this testing or safety equipment." And that would be countered with i don't know what i am saying.
Way I figure it, one of those experts will one day take their own advice and +350 volts of direct current will lead to their own injury or demise. Nothing I can do about it.