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A tale from the trenches fixing an NES

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Re: A tale from the trenches fixing an NES

#21
While I'm all for right to repair, repairability is a tradeoff.

Everybody seems to want a razor thin phone/laptop/whatever, which makes easy repairs impossible, and treats them as expendable anyway. If it's out of warranty it's obsolete.

The amount of labor to diagnose and replace a chip on a tightly packed motherboard sometimes exceeds the price to replace an entire motherboard.

Re: A tale from the trenches fixing an NES

#24
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there — as Julian Baumgartner would say — an “archival-grade reversible isolation-layer varnish” that could be applied in place of poly sealant? Silicone, maybe?

Would shellac work or traditional lacquer[0] work? They both cure by drying, not polymerizing, and can be removed decades later with the original solvent: alcohol in the case of shellac, or lacquer thinner in the case of lacquer. I haven't had any experience with lacquer because traditional lacquers almost have to be sprayed, which I am not equipped to do. I have plenty of experience with shellac because you can brus…

Mind you, in this case, we're talking about something that 1. doesn't have to dry clear (and in fact can dry entirely opaque), and where 2. it'd be much better if you could remove it by peeling it up, rather than by using a solvent, because many of the components have plastic housings that don't take kindly to, well, any strong solvent really. The goal isn't an art piece — it's to create a barrier to moisture/corrosion for a board within an unlit box. If you want to do a repair, you'd entirely remove this layer before doing it; and entirely reapply it afterward.

Re: A tale from the trenches fixing an NES

#26
post #21

While I'm all for right to repair, repairability is a tradeoff. Everybody seems to want a razor thin phone/laptop/whatever, which makes easy repairs impossible, and treats them as expendable anyway. If it's out of warranty it's obsolete. The amount of labor to diagnose and replace a chip on a tightly packed motherboard sometimes exceeds the price to replace an entire motherboard.

It is all a matter of degree.

Consider what people want to repair. It is doubtful that many people would want to do chip level repairs due to the expense. People may want to replace things like keyboards and screens, which are easier to work with since they are independent modules. If people started using their devices for longer periods of times, the battery would likely be a candidate.

Similarly with design. People may desire thin and light, but what is the point where no one will care or notice (short of bragging rights based upon advertising literature rather than utility)?

It is also worth noting that thin and light does not imply that easy repairs are impossible. Companies may try to convince people that the interiors of our devices are bursting at the seams with sophisticated electronics, but the reality is that the screen often dictates the size while the internal PCB uses a fraction of that space. (I have seen thin phones that are screwed together, have user accessible batteries and microSD slots, and even had a snap on panel to hide all of that. Laptops aren't all that different in this respect.)

Sure, they may be able to trim half a millimetre here and there by throwing repairability out the window. On the other hand, it is a high price and less of a trade-off than many will suggest.

Re: A tale from the trenches fixing an NES

#27

> I polished the filthy pins that connect the game cartridge to the mainboard Does this work? I thought you might have a chance of success with bending the pins, but most of the time, replacement is the only viable option. I did always wonder if you could electroplated the pins again in the right solution and voltage.

There is a tool designed to mechanically clean contacts called an electrical contact burnisher that its design makes it hard to use enough force to bend pins.

Re: A tale from the trenches fixing an NES

#28
post #21

While I'm all for right to repair, repairability is a tradeoff. Everybody seems to want a razor thin phone/laptop/whatever, which makes easy repairs impossible, and treats them as expendable anyway. If it's out of warranty it's obsolete. The amount of labor to diagnose and replace a chip on a tightly packed motherboard sometimes exceeds the price to replace an entire motherboard.

This is such a red herring. I've got a Galaxy S4 here that is bricked with a bootloop, due a software error on the emmc chip. I know this is the case, because someone has done the painstaking work of investigating the bug on the S3, and hacking up a reverse engineered fix. I'm guessing it would take a week to retrace their steps on my model. Meanwhile if these devices were well documented by the manufacturers, it would be an easy no-solder repair.

Given both the complexity and the shoddy engineering of modern software/firmware, I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of "hardware" problems are similar.

Re: A tale from the trenches fixing an NES

#29
post #26
post #21

While I'm all for right to repair, repairability is a tradeoff. Everybody seems to want a razor thin phone/laptop/whatever, which makes easy repairs impossible, and treats them as expendable anyway. If it's out of warranty it's obsolete. The amount of labor to diagnose and replace a chip on a tightly packed motherboard sometimes exceeds the price to replace an entire motherboard.

It is all a matter of degree. Consider what people want to repair. It is doubtful that many people would want to do chip level repairs due to the expense. People may want to replace things like keyboards and screens, which are easier to work with since they are independent modules. If people started using their devices for longer periods of times, the battery would likely be a candidate. Similarly with design. People…

That's all valid, but that's not what your typical consumer cares about.

Even with cars, manufacturers get away with things like removing an engine to replace glow plugs. With phones and laptops, very few people care if it's repairable. That's unfortunate but it's true.

Re: A tale from the trenches fixing an NES

#30
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It just depends on how you say the initialism. If you say "ness" then you'd use "a". If you say "en ee ess" then you'd use "an".

The "ness" pronunciation is chiefly used by Brits (who also tend to pronounce SNES as "snezz").

Canadian here... ness all the way.
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