electronics repair for a living

[paulrevelcet]

Is it still possable to make a living out of repairing electronics, not vcrs or tvs, but things like computers, video games, maybe computer moniters? I am thinking about trying to make a go of it, and I am well aware of all the things one must consider, having owned and operated an hvac repair service. Is the day of the electronics repair service dead or maybe dying? Where I live, which is a small town, there is not a single place or person where you can get an electronic device repaired, again not including tvs, and for computer repair they charge 50 dollars and hour with out a free estimate, but say like an expensive auido amp, all they will do is offer to send it off at the toon of 50 or 60 dollars an hour + postage and a wait time of months. just wondering if I should have been a lawyer instead.

[Chris Smith]

IF...You can get parts? That is the main problem? <p>Computer Repair is pretty good money for the hours. <p>But its mainly soft ware and some hard ware.

[jollyrgr]

If you are thinking of a small strip mall store for fixing radios, TVs, monitors, etc. I'd say no. Think about the time you must invest, the insurance you will have to buy, and so on to get to the point that you can repair video games and what not. By the time you troubleshoot the problem and get the parts the item could have been replaced. A few exceptions are large items like projection TVs. Home appliances, furnaces, air conditioners, and so on are a different story. People will pay to have those fixed.<p>To be able to fix computers or do network installations/configurations you can make money. <p>If you become one of those guys that just restores a PC's OS and installs programs you will might make it but it is doubtful. I've seen three or four recyclers go out of business in less than a year's worth of operation. Why should someone buy a PIII at 1.5 GHz with a 10 GB drive referb. from you for $300 when I can get a state of the art computer (P4 2.66GHz, 256MB RAM, 40GB drvie, CD-R) with monitor from Dell WITH MONITOR AND PRINTER for $500. And Dell gives me two years on site service! <p>If you can install hardware or troubleshoot problems very quickly you might make it. When I started repairing computers many years ago parts were expensive enough for me to repair floppy drives and still be cost effective. Now the computers we buy have a three year warranty. By the time the warranty runs out we have a supply of idle machines for spare parts. Devices like monitors (under 19") are returned for warranty repairs or tossed if out of warranty. I used to repair monitors or send them off for repair when they cost several hundred dollars. Now I can get a monitor for about $100. A three or four year old monitor is simply not worth fixing; especially something that has been on 24/7 during that time.<p>But if you can actually FIX the software problems, remove Spyware and viruses, troubleshoot driver issues then you can make money. People hate losing their data and most users can run a restore disc. But sometimes this is their only option. To actually FIX the problem rather than make something work again is entirely two different processes. <p>I install computers and servers for a living. I also interface devices such as card access, security systems, inventory control, lab equipment, and even HVAC systems to servers and computer networks. In many of my systems reinstalling is not an option. I, along with most of my coworkers, have to fix the problem. We deal with systems connected to blood gas monitors, billing, and numerous other critical systems. If all we did was reinstall we would not have our jobs long. If you can troubleshoot then you have a chance.<p>There is a never ending request for us to work on people's home machines. They have experienced the guys down at "Best Buy" that try hard but don't have the experience. The vendors I deal with are mostly "reinstall it" or blame the network types. These people will soon sink.

[Externet]

Hi.
Repairs and lately testing has fed me over 30 years. Cannot say it has been $great, but could had been worse.<p>Consumer electronics repairs has a big problem : To do it efficiently, you must know about the constantly changing technology; have instrumental, the service manual, and access to parts. The cost of the last 2 alone often surpasses what the customer is willing to pay. Unless you work at an authorized service center on a narrow span of products.<p>Marine electronics, automotive troubleshooting, medical equipment, industrial electronics are the better choices.
Forget about video cassette recorders or televisions.<p>My job repair duties are the hardest in the field. Test-servicing boards out of the production line that do not work. The brutal range of potential problems is endless. Our list contains 184 ! different families of problems.<p>Misalignment, solder splashes, wrong value, reversed component are only 4 ! of them. Remember these boards have never worked before, just out of the oven. And there can be multiple problems in each board... ouch !<p>So yes, you can make a living repairing electronics, but you must choose what fits you. And do not confuse repairing computers as fixing electronics, that is not electronics. Those are other animals.
Miguel

[Dean Huster]

A biomedical electronics tech may have a few problems getting into the market because most hospitals or companies (e.g., Servicemaster) want lots of experience on things like infusion pumps and cardiac monitors. Some may want you to have a BMET degree of some kind and certification now if not later.<p>As most on this forum, we're scaring you away from consumer product repair. Just thinking of all the service literature required is staggering and waiting for a special order on an as-needed basis may invoke a delay that'll kill off your customer base. Stereos aren't stereos anymore. They're highly-integrated boxes that can use proprietary chips or hard-to-find chips. You may think you've found the problem, order in a chip and spend lots of time replacing that dense footprint item to find that something else was the problem or something else is still not working right. Pretty disappointing, eh?<p>You won't make any money working for someone else.<p>Back around 1978, a friend of mine began frequenting the Texax Instruments salvage sales in Dallas. He'd buy an entire pallet of equipment for just one item, sell off the rest and/or repair broken stuff and sell it, paying for his overall purchase and then more. The one item he wanted was a piece of calibration equipment. Pretty soon, he had a complete meter and scope cal lab using '60s era but working and traceable equipment. He kept up with the salvage sales, buying more so that he could widen his cal lab abilities or replace an older existing item with a new one. Dale ended up with the finest DC cal lab in the D/FW metroplex and an AC lab that was equal to anyone, to the point that his business drew customers away from all the other labs in town including Tek, hp, Tucker, etc. And he did it all with virtually no monetary investment. Had the entire lab burned down, he'd have lost nothing as far as material items were concerned.<p>So, there are ways.<p>Dean

[Mike]

The computer business is flooded. There are just way too many people working than there is the demand.<p>i don't know how many times I have gone past a small computer store having their grand opening and the next time i go past it, their going out of business sign is up.<p>i really would stay away from the repair business.<p>most people make such a small mistake that (suprisingly) a tech at Best Buy can fix it. And, since most people buy their computer from best buy, thats where most bring it for repair.

[Chris Smith]

I like my income thanks! <p>Its all about how good you are, when people come back and ignore the others. <p>I cover three counties and have to turn them away.

[Geoff]

My 2 cents worth:<p>I've made a living for the last 20 years repairing home electronic equipment in a small town. My place of business is built on the same 1.5 acre lot as my home. I figure this saves me about $7500 a year in rent alone, as well as providing other, harder to define advantages. Even so, my income has been slipping since about 1997. <p>I have mostly repaired things like VCR's TV, home stereo equipment, dabbled a little with computers, ham radio stuff, and the occasional oddball projects that people dream up just to make me sweat. <p>If I were to start a business like that now, I'd end up living in a cardboard box. Most people will just walk away if you tell them $40.00 to fix the VCR they paid $500 for (and you can't make a living charging those prices anyway). Most DVD players cost more to repair than to replace (assuming you can ever get the parts you need.) Same problems with TV sets. Anything under 27 inch and many people will throw it away before spending $40 or $50 on it. I had one customer who trashed a 5 year Sony TV rather than let me fix a loose connection for $40 + tax.
Cameras and Camcorders are so complex and compact that even factory repair centers have trouble with them. And, I've seen a few camcorders that are rivited together. Not intended to be repaired.
Stereos? You can make a few dollars on the side cleaning dirty CD lasers, and occasionally fix a power amp that got blown because the speaker wires were shorted, but most of the new stuff isn't worth fixing. And the companies that make the stuff don't want to help you, because if you fix something, they wont be able to sell a new one, so good luck getting parts.
Computer monitors? $79.99 at Staples, Office Max, etc. Very little market left for repair.
Computer repair? 10% hardware, 90% software. Some guys are doing well around here with that, but I hate software. Someone mentioned system/network repair and installation. A friend of mine does that, and is doing OK. But getting your foot in the door is difficult.

You CAN make money fixing projection TVs. They still cost too much to just throw away, so a lot of people will still fix them. But with the digital TV revolution in progress, a lot of people will probably start tossing out the old projo sets because they can't display high definition. I'm still waiting to see what happens there.

Home theater is another place where you might make some money. Installing those systems can be a lot of work, because to really do it right, you need to be in the picture from the time the customers home is being framed, until after the furniture is placed. Of course you can add a theatre to an existing home, but running the cables for rear speakers, projectors, etc. is a lot harder that way. Also, you may need a contractors license to do that kind of work. Here in Washington, you can't run a speaker wire without a license from Labor & Industries. <p>I don't have experience with the commercial, medical or industrial side of repair, but I would guess that you could make it there. When the X-ray machine breaks, the doctor can't go to Costco and get another one, so if you get the required training for that kind of stuff, I would say your chances are good.<p>I'm starting to ramble here, but let me say this. The only reason I'm still making it in repair is because I've spent the last 20 years building a customer base. I wouldn't have a chance starting out now. I recently read that in 1985 there were about 48,000 service shops in the USA (for consumer electronics). Last year that dropped to less than 10,000, and is expected to continue falling. The cost of doing repairs is constantly rising. Service, data, special cables and software, tools and test equipment for repair of this stuff costs a lot of money, and you may never make enough to pay for it. Consumer electronics repair is dead. <p>Good luck with whatever you decide to do.<p>Geoff

[paulrevelcet]

You know Geoff, the sad truth is, we have become a disposable society, I guess thats the price we pay for prosperity or is it just stupidity? no just economics, oh well, I think I will pick up pop cans for a living, there seems to be more potential for an expanding career.

[Dean Huster]

Actually, one place you might make some bucks is if you get into the home audio business where you install intercoms, whole-house stereo and stuff like that. Along those same lines are high-end home phone systems and alarm systems. You can own your own business and not have to have a lot of expensive inventory; you order the high-buck stuff as you need it. If you stick with new construction, the installation is a piece of pie -- or is that easy as cake? -- providing that you do it right the first time.<p>I'm doing the finish work on a house right now that has stereo speakers in each room with volume control near the door in each; plasma screen in the living room, mounted to the wall; computer video jack on one wall so the laptop can be connected to the plasma screen; stereo receiver, VCR, DVD, etc. all in a back closet with a remote receiver that controls it all (I'd rather have all my electronics in the living room myself); full house alarm system; high-end telephone system with multi-line phones, intercom from room to room, link to doorbell, etc.; video camera at front door linked to plasma screen; cable TV to all rooms; and all that extends to an unattached shop building as well. There's money to be made there.<p>Dean

[Ron H]

Dean, I can vouch for that. I'm building a new house. After doing the structured wiring in the house I'm living in now, I decided I didn't want to do it again. I got a quote from a guy named Yuri, who is apparently very good at what he does, because he lives in a very nice house. His quote for security system, surround sound wiring plus 13 in-wall speakers, CAT-5 to all rooms, and satellite/cable TV wiring (including a distribution amp) was over $6k! I decided that I actually did want to do my own wiring.
I spent a weekend, with some help from a friend, and got the home run box, the wiring, and all the wall boxes in. I think I've spent about $450 so far, and my total expenditures will probably be less than $1500.<p>[ May 15, 2004: Message edited by: RonH ]</p>

[Mike]

yes, thats a good idea Dean, you can really make some money that way, as long as you know what you are doing and do an honest job.<p>And you get both cake AND pie???!!!

[jollyrgr]

paulrevelcet makes a very interesting comment about economics. I took a refrigeration class one time as a "fun" class. This class was mostly hands on and meant for guys working in the HVAC and refrigeration trades. When the teacher was discussing hermetically sealed compressors he explained how to check the data plate and determine a suitable replacement based on the part number etc. (Hermetically sealed compressors are what 99% of home refrigerators, air conditioner, etc. use.) The teacher explained that these could not be repaired. One of the students in the class was an immigrant from India. He explained that they COULD be repaired as he used to do this for a living in India. In the USA it is simply not worth the cost of a bench tech to cut open a blown compressor, fix the problem, then weld it back together. Here we replace the entire unit. In India it was cheaper to pay someone to fix it rather than scrap it. I guess it is all from your point of view.

[Timothy Rasch]

Hi I am a electronic service technician for consumer products such as tvs ,radios,cds, tape recorders,dvds,vcrs but not computers. I am working in a three man shop in Green Bay,Wis. since 1974:Video Electronics. This service busisness is pretty dead;about 2 or three jobs come in per week at this time but we are still holding on maybe about two more years. Do not go into computer servicing. It's not cost effective. If you can do a side busisness of the same like I do more power to you. Good luck!!!!

[dacflyer]

i think i am bout out of the radio buisness (
i haven;t had a VCR / TV in months
and forget bout CD and DVD repairs..
i still do some appliance repairs but they are getting slow as hell too... i think i will go back into small engine / lawn equipment repair...<p>disposable societys SUCK<p>only electronics stuff i been doing is hobby stuff
* sigh *