BBC Two: The Repair Shop

[spuorgelgoog]

Starts on Monday, 6.30, BBC2. 15 progs.

Owain

[Andrew Gabriel]

For those of you who enjoy diagnosing and repairing things, you might want to look and see if there are any repair events near to you. I've done these for many years and find them very enjoyable and satisfying. Most people turn up thinking we will repair their appliances, but the idea is very much to show them how to do it themselves, giving them a level of confidence to open and fix something which they didn't have before, provide the tools, and making sure they do it safely. Of course, there are many occasions when we end up doing it with them watching, but it's still rewarding for them to see it being done. For me, I like the challenge of diagnosing and fixing something, and the reaction of the owner when you get it working again.

The two organisations coordinating the events in the UK are: The Restart Project - mainly in London, but also some other countries.

Repair Cafe - mainly outside London, and also worldwide. The Restart Project, Repair Cafe, and iFixit organisations all work closely together.

Pretty well all events do electrical and electronic repairs, and these are normally the most in demand. Depending on local skills and local demand, you can also find coverage for laptops, tablets, phones (these can be popular where the repair skills are available), bikes, mechanical, furniture, clothes, jewelry, and more.

In addition to repairers, each event also needs organisers, so even if you don't think you are up to helping people diagnosing and repairing their things, you can still be very useful at an event. Some events also pride themselves on the homemade cakes and other refreshments, and the people who go to the trouble to make those for the events are also much appreciated.

And of course, if you have something broken which needs fixing and you don't have the skills or the tools, you can take it along. Whilst I'm normally a repairer, I have taken a shirt along to be repaired when it caught on something and ripped a button-hole.

[tabbypurr]

why do they have a thing about microwaves?

NT

[Adrian Caspersz]

Deadly repaired wrongly?

"We approached our new microwave oven with the trepidation of two people returning to a reactor station after a leak."

Fanny Cradock (Daily Telegraph 1979)

[spuorgelgoog]

The oven didn't glow green as brightly as her coloured mashed potato?

Owain

[Johnny B Good]

If it's a repeat of the original or a 2nd series, you may be in for a disappointment. The original series was more in the genre of "Lifestyle" programming aimed at a BBC1 audience rather than an honest to goodness DIY "Howto" for a BBC2/4 audience. :-(

[Bob Eager]

It's a second series - 15 episodes.

[tabbypurr]

so are many appliances

NT

[Adrian Caspersz]

Someone should wave a camera in a real repair cafe, and do a continuously updated youtube channel or video podcast?

That might fly? ...

[Steve Walker]

The only time I repaired a microwave, I removed the casing, made an electrical repair and replaced the casing - with no effect on shielding or seals, so no worries.

SteveW

[Brian Gaff]

Often its getting over concepts to people. I think many have been led to believe that its a black art, but its really logic once one understands the concepts of what happens inside stuff.

I used to do videos and cd players which in the main were down to broken bits of naff plastic or dodgy cables, a bit like computers of the desktop variety. Sadly with greater integration and might I say poorer design and cheap components, one finds that in order to fix something it requires a whole module even if one tiny thing is the problem. The person who invented surface mount has a lot to answer for. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

A thing? Well microwaves are very dangerous things. Two reasons. the very high voltages inside them for the magnetron, and also the safety aspect of running them with the covers off, ie leakage of the RF potentially frying ones bits.

In the old days CRT TVs were also frowned upon for non skilled people, since the same problems existed, in this case the radiation could be x Rays.

There is also an my view, a significant, but lesser danger with anything with a lithium/Ion battery inside it. These can catch fire or blow up if bad replacements are performed or indeed poor repairs that might short out the battery. Brian

[tabbypurr]

Other problem areas are charge stored in the HT capacitor, which can kill a whole queue of people, and the interlock shorting resistor, which if faile d leaves the user with an ineffective and sometimes faulty interlock. Faile d stirrer mechanisms can create risk of food poisoning, and rust can (seldo m) create a leakage problem. The wrong type of fuse can also be double bad news for microwaves. An uncommon issue is asbestos flock, presumably applie d for sound damping.

NT

[tabbypurr]

Running them without the outer cover does not cause leakage, and microwave oven leakage does not fry anyone's bits.

NT

[spuorgelgoog]

Naked Appliance Fixers Does Cat Cafe might make it to E4.

Owain

[Dave W]

They never show the interesting difficult bits. Always a big jump between original mess to almost finished.

[Max Demian]

Yeah I was disappointed by the first series. Some of the repairs were rather weird or done for sentimental reasons of items that really weren't worth repairing. There was a longcase clock where they added a sort of strike mechanism that made a ting once an hour. They didn't explain why it didn't have a proper strike mechanism which, I think, they nearly all have - or why there was a hole in the dial for the strike winder. Perhaps none of the mechanism was original.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Some events won't handle them, others will. Generally the Restart Project events won't handle them.

There are a number of pitfalls for the repairer which many won't know about, specifically the HV capacitor charge, and the requirement not to operate them with the cover off. Very few people will understand the destructive interlock failure most microwave ovens use, and that fuse replacement is not an adequate repair for interlock failures. There's also the safety of the visitors, usually including children who in particular are amazed to see appliances opened up, and there's a danger they'll stick fingers in. (I do take the opportunity to explain how something works if the owners are the slightest bit interested, and children always are.) Microwaves have special requirements for PAT testing which even many people who do know generally how to PAT test will not be familiar with. Yesterday, I failed a microwave for a rusted cavity, an issue which another PAT tester was not aware of. None of the events carry microwave leakage testers for checking the case and door have been reassembled correctly.

Quite simply, the unknown unknowns are too many for most repairers to work safely on Microwaves.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I watched a few before becoming bored, for exactly that reason.

We've been on the telly a few times, but several hours of filming is condensed into about 15 seconds, the maximum time the presenter thinks the audience will stick with anything technical before changing channel. It's in stark contrast to the interest shown by often completely non-technical visitors who turn up at the events, and are fascinated by the diagnosis and repair of both their appliances, and those brought along by others.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Not usually the presenter in charge. Some just out of uni researcher - sorry producer - just filling in time till he gets to work on 'proper' telly, or even better, films.