Very inspiring. I disassembled a dead classroom tape recorder / pa for a friend today. Since he'd already written it off, I decided there was nothing to lose by attempting to repair it. I poked around with a plastic straw and discovered the fault was a dry joint on the main amplifier board. Power light came back on, and the audio burst back to life. Once I'd removed the power amp module and flipped it over I discover two dry joints which I resoldered. Mark, you're an inspiration. Thank you very much.
I love it when it turns out to be straightforward. The first time I ever took the lid off something was when my CD player stopped playing and made some alarming noises. When I got inside, I realised there was a lump of ferrous debris stuck to one side of the magnetic CD clamp so the disc was fluttering up and down as it rotated. Removed it. Sorted. It really helped my confidence.
Thanks to Mark I have fixed my Nakamichi 680zx. It wouldn’t play. So I took the covers off and found a big white plastic toothed cogwheel wasn’t fully rotating round to where it should go to. It was moved by a square section belt fed by a small pulley wheel. The pulley wheel would start to move, but there wasn’t enough grip/friction between the wheel and belt to work, and the pulley wheel would keep spinning. So I prised the belt off, hung it on a screw thread poking though a bulkhead, got some fine sandpaper, made the pulley wheel rotate and gave it a gentle clean. Put the belt back on and now it plays 😍 All thanks to Mark for showing how to go about diagnosing and investigating these electronic gizmos 👏👏
Argh, those mechanisms are so finicky! My Nakamichi BX300 has always had a tendency to eat tapes, and even with a new idler tyre I have to scuff up the surface nearly every time I want to use it otherwise it just won't grip. It's a nice unit when it works, though.
Its probably from his previous experience as a Factory.engineer, a smile to explain facts in a friendly way.. ".. Its costing us lots of cash this..!!!.". smile and reply. "Please do not disturb us as every second counts, thankyou..."
Mark, I feel that you undervalue what you bring to your videos and your repairs. You are an artist. We have watched you redo the windings of multiple motors, remake knobs, make pcb traces the OLD school way, etc.. I think your new venture will be HUGELY successful because you are a joy to watch and you have such a relaxing way of teaching/explaining.
It is the small 'inconveniences' in between he fixes in seconds that often would get me stuck for hours in the process to find a somewhat proper solution for it. Such a joy and sometimes even epiphany to be able to peek over his shoulders watching him do his 'simple' work.
I started my electronics technician apprenticeship 44 years ago and it is wonderful to see someone with your skills developing this new course. So much has been lost over the years on the way to a disposable electronics industry
I have just discovered this channel - most likely through the hits caused by the pre-amp that shall not be mentioned ! These videos take me back to my childhood when my father used to do similar repairs (but without the finesse of Mark). I remember I bought a broken guitar amp for GBP 10 and my dad found the broken resistor in 10 minutes and repaired it ! Then we were given a record deck which did not work and so on and so forth. it is an amazing skill to have and I think Mark is far too modest about his abilities ! The repairs undertaken Mark undertakes often have 5 or 6 separate faults and unless you find them all then you the device still does not work - incredible how Mark always have a solution unless there is a custom chip which is broken. The skills required are also really knowing how components should react with a multi meter to know if they are blown or not especially when there are in a circuit board and can react with other components which may be broken. You need to have a super logical mind, super steady hands and endless patience as well. Mark's equipment and knowing how to use it is also essential to make logical deductions. You have all of these skills and the method you have developed allows you to perform magic. I wish I could convince myself that I could do the same by following your method but I do doubt it. I do have one project which I need to revisit - I have a 1980s CD where the digital outputs work but the analogue outputs do not. Either the D/A converter is broken or some capacitors which are involved in the analogue circuit are blown. This does tempt me to open it up again to see if I can work out which it is so if it is the D/A I will leave well alone as I cannot solder like Mark and do not have the amazing soldering irons to remove chips but if it is the caps then why not give it a go ! I applaud Mark and his inspirational work. There are too many people who consign such devices to landfill because they are only worth peanuts and a repair is not economic (unless it is the Voldemort pre amp (ouch I mentioned the name)) and manufacturers these days don't build consumer electronics to last longer than 5 to 10 years.
I have been in the industry since the mid 1980's, seen many changes, and hired/worked with many, many, many, techs. I am completely, and dearly impressed with both your technique, and abilities. Much respect. Now you need to work on that accent so I don't have to use subtitles :)
I'm impressed by Mark's repairs, and as he mentions the key is having an understanding of the functional blocks and tracing down what is and what is not working. His real skill is being able to identify and isolate the different functional blocks.
Having recently retired after 53 years repairing consumer electronics at last i can pick and chose which jobs to accept and not having to worry about ensuring every one of them results in a profit takes away the stress that can make this line of work a bit daunting. I was lucky in that i attended tech college for the theory and worked full time learning the skills to find faults to component level without replacing every component on the board, only to find it it was only a hairline crack in the print. Good luck to anyone taking up this rewarding career even if only as hobby, it can earn you a nice level of income. Mark is one of the best you will find, stick with him as he shows that it is not a dark art.
You're the true ecologist, not only for the scrap you prevent at your repairman scale, but for awareness and satisfaction of repairing things at the world scale through this channel.
I don't know if you'll read this Mark but I've been right into electronics since i was 8, I'm now 46 and my obsession has never stopped, it does at times though get put aside. You're videos are absolutely brilliant in every way and thanks to you my obsession is now through the roof. I'm buying equipment, tools ect and I'm turning my garage into a electronic repair centre! haha thanks mate from a fan down under.
Love watching your Online Electronic repairs show. You also show great knowledge with mechanical workings too. I did an apprenticeship as a radio/tv tradesman back in the early 1970's era, in Australia. I owned my own TV/White good sales repair service for 25 years. Started my own business around 1985 and did my apprenticeship starting in the black and white tv days, through to the colour tv days in 1976 in Australia and furthered my Technical achievements by doing night school when the CD player came into sales, to repair them too. Also, Microwave ovens and other electrical/electronic goods too. Yes, we even changed over a colour TV picture tube when a TV had lost the emission of one of the RGB guns and couldn't be boosted/rejuvenatedOH yes, I remember quite vividly getting Zapped as I forgot to discharge the tube from the Aqua-dag to the Ultor one day, nearly dropped it, but one mounting bolt saved the day!!!......Seen you get Zapped with a H/V capacitor too, not good. Thanks again for your great show and I love watching you perform your great and successful repairs. Regards, Chris.
For a very long time, I supplied folks like you with high precision and singularly tested components, with their parameters attached. If I ever have to start a new business again, this will be it!
The frustrating thing is when the item arrives and there's no fault. I call this the "magic aura effect", when something works within my presence but reverts to faulty as soon as it gets home.
There is a car repair channel where he gets cars that have already failed to be repaired by other garages. The very first thing he does is to verify the customers fault description.
"Mend it Mark", I really love your electronics repair channel. At 73 years old I still enjoy repairing electronics especially the older vintage radios and equipment and seeing how others fix things. Now that you pointed out the three step process for repairing any electronics device, I have learned years ago to find the fault and what's causing it and then replace or fix what is causing the fault. Simple. Thought it was a waste to replace a lot of parts needlessly. Only exception is replacing most all paper wax capacitors and electrolytics in very old radios.
Mark, i'am in on this! I'm a autodidact technician with diy audio building experience. Worked for a amplifier company here in my city. And worked for 20 years as a sound engineer. But first the money goos to vacation. Hope to join in later on!
Hi Mark, just repaired an old Garrard turn table, mainly because it’s mostly mechanical. The main issue was old grease that had gone sticky preventing free movement of some delicate parts, which I learnt about on your channel. Thanks for all the great tips and advice 👍👍👍
Preach on Sir. There are so many channels that try to “teach “ diagnostics and just make the process more difficult to grasp. I’m glad someone finally said something . I was actually just blocked from a channel for , respectfully, giving my opinion, backed with documentation and other references. It was the opposite of appreciated. My biggest gripe was , verify the complaint. Simple. Second, have all the components of the system to be repaired. If you have a battery charger that only charges a specific tool battery. Sure, you might be able to muddle through and get lucky. But you won’t really know how the battery charger has failed if you don’t have the battery it charges. I saw one that tore into the board because the LED didn’t illuminate. Having about 12 of those chargers, and had I not been blocked , I would’ve shared that the LEDs always fail so you have to start there before anything. Thanks for your video.
Electronic repair helped my shop survive COVID when live sound production shutdown. Mend it Mark has been added to my top channels among Mr Carlson’s Lab, W2AEW, Electronics for the Inquisitive Experimenter.
I had a good friend just like you mark and he lit my spark with electronics and you done the same for me so I don’t just watch you for entertainment but for Learning and in my book you are a good teacher so please carry on 😊
Very nicely explained. I have been into electronics all my life from as early as i can rember and over the years came to use exactly the process you described.
Here is a Man close to my Cold Heart lol. I started " Trying " to fix things when I was 14. Even then. I knew that this is what I wanted to do for a living. so when I was 18 I went to school to learn how. Today I am 59, and still repairing.
Mark is spot on with his process. I’ve been doing something similar for years . And not just for electronics. It works for ANYTHING! What’s the problem ? How does it work ? Find it , fix it . Done . I know it’s sounds to easy , but a little practice and you would be amazed at what you can accomplish.
great idea Mark, fixing stuff is good for the world and turns you into wizard status.... glad you are willing to share your skills... everyone interested should join.
Watching your videos has re-sparked my interest in electronics again. I used to do the whole deal; design the circuit, hand lay out the PCB with tape, get prototype boards made, populate and test them, and for the digital circuits, write the software to control them. I spent some time in the 1980s and 90s designing my own effects boxes, and mini-mixers for our band. Gradually, over the years, I move more and more over to a software role and rarely picked up a soldering iron. After watching some of your videos I've rummaged around in my old electronics draw and dug out some of my experimental effects units with a view to fixing and upgrading them. I may even revise my old RIAA pre-amp!
I can certainly diagnose like 75% of simple consumer products but mark has a much larger knowledge of how transistors and amplifiers work which most people won't. I think transistors will be the roadblock for many people like myself who struggle to pinpoint them as the problem, test them out of circuit and such. ICs as well
I've been fixing, then later designing electronics for about 55 years. I got a lot of my knowledge when young by reading Practical Wireless, Practical Electronics, and then the cream of magazines Elektor + various other mags. Your "Mend It Mark" youtube videos are a joy to watch. PS what make/model of electric vacuum pump de-soldering machine are you using, mine got nicked, and I need to replace it? Many thanks mate, your a star.
mark since watching you it has renewed my interest in Electronics but after my stroke i still can not remember everything but i am sure i will one day I still enjoy my amateur radio. and fixing small problems, thanks for the video
Good luck with your endeavor Mark. Anything that promotes self-repair and a structured approach to electronics problem solving is a good thing! Knowledge is power.
What i really like about your videos is that you don't do a ton of edits, if the picture is a bit wonky, So be it, you just go forward, I see you tackle stuff I used to work on 30 years ago , it a fun journey, Thanks for a great time.
Mark, Thank you so much for doing this - I am joining the platform as soon as I finish this post. Learning from you has been really fun and inspiring. Looking forward to what is coming down the road. I wish you nothing but success. With gratitude, D
Really enjoy the videos & I'm lucky to have served a technical apprenticeship in the military, which had some excellent training. 1st check is always to verify the power supply, then fault finding by the half-split methodology. Has done me well for the past 40+ yrs 😊. Product knowledge is a biggie too, knowing what should happen when a button is pressed; too many hrs spent chasing a 'fault' that was actually a 'design feature', yep we've all been there!
Once fault symptoms identified, Half split method was what I applied when I did this for a living...especially when diagrams aren't around. consider anything that works hard, or fast, or hot....as likely culprits, I.e. PSU, oscillators, high voltage components, and mechanical...so I wholeheartedly agree, good advice Mark 👍
I started dabbling in electronics when I was 15, from tube to current surface mount repairs. Now! at the tender age of 72 I still enjoy the challenge, especially vintage equipment. Like you I a massed a lot of test equipment over the years as technology advanced. Mark! your video's are most informative and educational, (I love your sense of humour).
Love watching some of your repairs Mark. I trained in avionics many years ago and did 3rd line repair for a couple of years. I developed some reasobale skills but the job was going nowhere. I then got a job doing field service for a company that gave us a massive kit of parts to swap out, sadly these kits were usually missing the parts required as they were the ones that failed all the time. I ended up using my box of hobby components to do component level repair in the field once I knew the regular common faults. My frustrations with the compnay sending me out 2 weeks late for a next day call with no spares meant I didn't stick at it and moved into IT which was very rewarding but I still miss working on equipment and understanding how it works.
Great idea, mate. You've helped me on specific items which was huge. We learned The 6 Step Troubleshooting Method in the military. I think the step that should be in your 3 step method is "Half Splitting" Instead of say, signal tracing end to end, spilt it in half and see if it's there. That will point you in the right direction, cutting down diagnosis time.
I think you should be a minister on directive towards all those teenagers that didn't do so well academically but have the interest. They are not inspiring the youth. I did okay in the end but I would of got here 20 years sooner if you were my teacher. Thank you for the sharing the skills that were hard won for myself x
So glad to hear that Dave Jones from EEVBlog inspired him. Even happier to hear he chose to share his experience with others. Best of luck to you and all that learn from you!
Well done Mark. I think the proper college training died out in the 1990's. I did City and Guilds 224 Electronic Servicing and college although I did the measurement and control leg of the course instead of TV & Radio. One thing I will say with repairing vintage kit is if it arrived in the post always take the lid off and have a good butchers to make sure there's no internal damage prior to applying power. We were taught at college to split diagnosis in three 1 look at the output, 2 look at the input then 3 look in the middle. You can narrow down your search for the fault to the first part of the circuit or the last part. My first repair was called poke 'n' hope by one of my colleagues.
It took me a while to derive what you just layed out in this video. When I was 25 I found myself responsible for all of the automation for a large wastewater treatment plant. One lesson that I learned is to read the manuals, where available. I sounded brilliant at times where I was just the only one aware of what the manuals said. I won't be joining as my controls servicing career started in 1973. But I wonder, how do yoou keep track of all of the screws? Thanks, Mark. ;-)
There is also another group of people who enjoy watching your vids. That is retired techs who enjoy watching other people work. I, myself, am pleased you still use a CRT 'scope. We also understand the great sense of satisfaction in effecting a repair, particularly if it has been passed on from someone who wasn't so successful with it.
Ok, I'm sold. I find old tech fascinating, not really sure why, and I don't really know what I'm doing half the time but managed to get quite a few things back to life! Look forward to learning!
I ran a small tv rental and repair shop wich ment if it fad a mains plug or ran on batteries we repaired it . for the tvs on rental most repairs where done in peoples house so no nicetys like isolation transformers . i think your chanel is one of the best electronics chanel there is keep up the good work.
Tu es un passionné qui partage sa passion au autres et tes vidéos nous aide à analyser, tu es une référence pour nous , merci de nous partager ta passion tu es vraiment minutieux dans tes réparation et analyse de problème, merci de nous partager tous c’est beaux moment .
"Excellent diagnostic skills" Glad to have been an early discoverer of such a great engineer! Interesting idea. I do repair my own vintage gear, but I'm not at your level! I wish you great success with your new venture!
Funny, I hadn't thought of your channel as being a "vintage" repair channel, but maybe that's just because I'm getting to be a bit vintage too! Reminds me of Mitch Hedberg's joke about seeing a photo of someone when they were younger: "every photo of you is from when you were younger"!
"and then COVID struck....and my repair business boomed!" 🤣🤣 Good on ya, Mark! 👌You seem to be a good man, my friend. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
This is the same exact approach that I take when diagnosing vehicles. Whether it's the electrical or the electronic side, or the mechanical side. Step number one is always always always, verify customer concern. Within those three words also includes gathering as much information and being able to understand and interpret what the customer or owner is trying to tell you. Learning to speak with and understand your customer and their concern / complaint is a skill unto itself. Step number one: verify customers concern. Thank you so much for what you're offering. Not quite sure I got the quid but I'm glad that there are people out there offering this. Mr Carlson offers something similar however I imagined that like two different teachers face to face, one could gather a multitude of skills and knowledge from several sources. I absolutely love your videos, love your demeanor, and love that you share with us something that excites you.
Dirt, grease, rust in your eyes, dirty tools if ya can even get in to work on those sardine cans. Is the point. Like Mark ya gotta have tools, investment capital to move and forge ahead. It comes with a cost but if ya like it, do it. You could just make preamps at only eight per year and make 250 grand but what the hay. You'll understand that one if you watch the latest repair on that preamp.
@whatcher8151 trust me, after 20 years I would go back and tell myself after washing the evolution of the automotive business to not go near it. In fact even at 40 and looking for a change of scenery in terms of career
Mark is inspiring many of us out here to start learning and doing this type of work ourselves. He deserves our support and many thanks for what he does for this community. Thanks Mark for what you do for so many of us. cheers!
Hi Mark. Can I first say that I have been an electronics repair man all my working life, 45 years plus, and you are quite possibly the best all round technician I have ever seen. However, please don't bother with any more videos like this, your normal content is what we all keep subscribed for. It's worth mentioning for anyone thinking of taking it up that the £200 per repair has got to depend on where you are. I am in West Yorkshire, and many people here live in some sort of time warp where they still expect an amplifier to get repaired for £50 or less. This is why I don't really bother doing the job any more apart from a few bits of vintage valve equipment of my own that are destined to sell on Ebay, or valve guitar amplifiers that belong to musicians I have known for years.
Mark, I watch out of nostalgia. It takes me back to when I was doing it years ago. Tube cameras, VTRs, VCRs, CD players, tape decks, amps, and finally vintage musical equipment. Largely, I am happy to be away from it now but there were some good times here and there.
I have always worked to the principle that once you have a good knowledge of an engineering discipline then you can transfer that skill set from one item to another. It is definitely easier if you have an analytical and logical mindset. Having a wall of useful (and quite pricey) test equipment definitely helps too.
Many items that come in to me would have been simple jobs originally, but having to sort through the mess after they tried to fix themselves adds time and money to the repair. Other times it's due to people replacing a blown fuse and trying again multiple times, usually with much higher rated fuses! I can only hope that people who take Mark's course learn the valuable lesson of not blindly charging in without understanding what the real issue is. Not everyone has the right mindset for troubleshooting.
I think most people watch channels like yours because they want to learn something. Not just to repair appliance x. There are many videos targeted at that audience and they are short and to the point, not much explanation, just a "colour by numbers" set of instructions in a five minute video. That is not what your audience is here for. Channels like yours capture people like me, who have no formal education in electronics but want to learn. Long videos are not a problem for us (on the contrary). Theory is not a problem (on the contrary). I would like to see more of that. There are some channels like that too, (see professor Fiore for instance, and Mr Carlson of course) but not always attacking things in a cohesive and consistent manner. There is a lot to learn and I myself feel I have made significant progress, watching and doing, but there is some way to go. One suggestion for others like me, perhaps if you start from scratch, start with vacuum tubes, even if only theoretically. I find those much more intuitive than semiconductors. Once the basic topologies are understood, it will make your life easier to follow a solid state diagram (start with simple things, of course). Good luck with your course and hope to see more of you around here. You are fun to watch (and that is an important part of your channel's success).
Your channel is inspiring. But I can tell your accomplishments really need a mastermind of some sort. Thats the single most important reason why electronic repair seems so "easy" to you. I got a grade in mechanical engineering and repairing things is my everyday job even some electronics in our cnc machines and some more simple ones. And even following your insights is an eye opener that requires a lot of base knowledge just to recognise the things you have done. For most others its like speaking an alien language. Just reading schematics needs a lot of base knowledge most people will never get . We praise the master.
Hey Mark, I am in the states. Washington DC watch your videos on repairing vintage equipment all the time. You are very good very very good. I like the way you solve any problems that you come across in repairing if you have the time I will like to know what is 200 pounds is that $200 in the states we use dollars thanks so much for your smile your gentleness and your profession thank you
Someone in here (Turkiye) makes similar educational videos and sells them online. I was disappointed that you did not make it before. But, the price is too high for Turkish followers. Anyway, good luck Mark. Please go on what you are doing. Best wishes.
Hi Mark. Yes! All steps very important, but perhaps step 1 the most. I was taught re-produce the fault( to make sure it’s not just user error), and it will help you narrow down where the fault is. The thing to remember about vintage gear is it is generally easier to repair as the technology is older, meaning it’s more like to be repairable,generally one doesn’t need sophisticated test equipment and there’s often service information available. Quite often someone else will have repaired an identical item which can help. The best way of all to learn though is to do it. Practice on stuff that doesn’t matter. Old stuff that people have thrown away. Get stuff cheap at car boot sales. If you don’t fix it it doesn’t matter, you will have still learned( and you can break the item for parts. Gradually you will fix stuff, and your confidence and experience will grow. It’s also amazing how many faults are really simple.
Want to Master the art of electronic repair?
Check out MendItLikeMark: www.menditmark.com/menditlikemark
Hey Mark the link isn't working
@@EnchantedRhythms try again!
@@MendItMarkstill not working. Clickfunnel start Page...
Link doesn't seem to work, at least not from here. It redirects to a clickfunnels page
there we go!
It's easy: 1. Package in in a box, 2. Send box to Mark, 3. Pay for repair
4. Enjoy
Rinse and repeat
@darrylr - You seem to have missed the whole point of his video which was "Anyone can do it themselves and save some money"
It was a joke good sir. He was having fun
@@1974UTuberit's a joke🙄
Step 1 : Cut a hole the box
Never thought that repairing electronics can make you so happy, until I found this channel.
This is one of the best electronics channel on Internet period!! Easy to follow and some great tips about the process.
Very inspiring. I disassembled a dead classroom tape recorder / pa for a friend today. Since he'd already written it off, I decided there was nothing to lose by attempting to repair it. I poked around with a plastic straw and discovered the fault was a dry joint on the main amplifier board. Power light came back on, and the audio burst back to life. Once I'd removed the power amp module and flipped it over I discover two dry joints which I resoldered. Mark, you're an inspiration. Thank you very much.
I love it when it turns out to be straightforward. The first time I ever took the lid off something was when my CD player stopped playing and made some alarming noises. When I got inside, I realised there was a lump of ferrous debris stuck to one side of the magnetic CD clamp so the disc was fluttering up and down as it rotated.
Removed it. Sorted. It really helped my confidence.
Thanks to Mark I have fixed my Nakamichi 680zx. It wouldn’t play. So I took the covers off and found a big white plastic toothed cogwheel wasn’t fully rotating round to where it should go to. It was moved by a square section belt fed by a small pulley wheel. The pulley wheel would start to move, but there wasn’t enough grip/friction between the wheel and belt to work, and the pulley wheel would keep spinning. So I prised the belt off, hung it on a screw thread poking though a bulkhead, got some fine sandpaper, made the pulley wheel rotate and gave it a gentle clean. Put the belt back on and now it plays 😍 All thanks to Mark for showing how to go about diagnosing and investigating these electronic gizmos 👏👏
Argh, those mechanisms are so finicky! My Nakamichi BX300 has always had a tendency to eat tapes, and even with a new idler tyre I have to scuff up the surface nearly every time I want to use it otherwise it just won't grip. It's a nice unit when it works, though.
I think we have the new king of youtue in electronics, for me the number 1 channel in the world!
Mr carlsons lab too, both good🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
This man has such a friendly disposition.
Its probably from his previous experience as a Factory.engineer, a smile to explain facts in a friendly way.. ".. Its costing us lots of cash this..!!!.". smile and reply. "Please do not disturb us as every second counts, thankyou..."
And he's very funny 🤣 love this channel. Extremely refreshing after all of the people who boohoo and complain the whole time.
Mark, I feel that you undervalue what you bring to your videos and your repairs. You are an artist. We have watched you redo the windings of multiple motors, remake knobs, make pcb traces the OLD school way, etc.. I think your new venture will be HUGELY successful because you are a joy to watch and you have such a relaxing way of teaching/explaining.
Shut up. 😅
It is the small 'inconveniences' in between he fixes in seconds that often would get me stuck for hours in the process to find a somewhat proper solution for it. Such a joy and sometimes even epiphany to be able to peek over his shoulders watching him do his 'simple' work.
I started my electronics technician apprenticeship 44 years ago and it is wonderful to see someone with your skills developing this new course. So much has been lost over the years on the way to a disposable electronics industry
I've only just stumbled on your videos and it HAS reignited my interest in this stuff. I'm 68 so it's never too late.
You are one of the nicest people on TH-cam, thanks for your effort 😊
I have just discovered this channel - most likely through the hits caused by the pre-amp that shall not be mentioned ! These videos take me back to my childhood when my father used to do similar repairs (but without the finesse of Mark). I remember I bought a broken guitar amp for GBP 10 and my dad found the broken resistor in 10 minutes and repaired it ! Then we were given a record deck which did not work and so on and so forth. it is an amazing skill to have and I think Mark is far too modest about his abilities ! The repairs undertaken Mark undertakes often have 5 or 6 separate faults and unless you find them all then you the device still does not work - incredible how Mark always have a solution unless there is a custom chip which is broken. The skills required are also really knowing how components should react with a multi meter to know if they are blown or not especially when there are in a circuit board and can react with other components which may be broken. You need to have a super logical mind, super steady hands and endless patience as well. Mark's equipment and knowing how to use it is also essential to make logical deductions. You have all of these skills and the method you have developed allows you to perform magic. I wish I could convince myself that I could do the same by following your method but I do doubt it. I do have one project which I need to revisit - I have a 1980s CD where the digital outputs work but the analogue outputs do not. Either the D/A converter is broken or some capacitors which are involved in the analogue circuit are blown. This does tempt me to open it up again to see if I can work out which it is so if it is the D/A I will leave well alone as I cannot solder like Mark and do not have the amazing soldering irons to remove chips but if it is the caps then why not give it a go ! I applaud Mark and his inspirational work. There are too many people who consign such devices to landfill because they are only worth peanuts and a repair is not economic (unless it is the Voldemort pre amp (ouch I mentioned the name)) and manufacturers these days don't build consumer electronics to last longer than 5 to 10 years.
I have been in the industry since the mid 1980's, seen many changes, and hired/worked with many, many, many, techs.
I am completely, and dearly impressed with both your technique, and abilities. Much respect. Now you need to work on that accent so I don't have to use subtitles :)
Great Video Mark ! I have been repairing equipment for over 30 years and I still am learning !
Glad I kept all my brocken gear over the years,I have managed to fix a disk player and a 100wpc pioneer amplifier. Thanks Mark
I'm impressed by Mark's repairs, and as he mentions the key is having an understanding of the functional blocks and tracing down what is and what is not working. His real skill is being able to identify and isolate the different functional blocks.
Very jealous of this guys shop. His equipment is quite impressive.
Not just te equipment, but the space; but most of all: the TIME!
I watch channels like yours for the fun, having myself all the skills to repairs, but absolutely no joy doing them 😉
Having recently retired after 53 years repairing consumer electronics at last i can pick and chose
which jobs to accept and not having to worry about ensuring every one of them results in a profit
takes away the stress that can make this line of work a bit daunting.
I was lucky in that i attended tech college for the theory and worked full time learning the skills
to find faults to component level without replacing every component on the board, only to find it
it was only a hairline crack in the print.
Good luck to anyone taking up this rewarding career even if only as hobby, it can earn you a nice level of income.
Mark is one of the best you will find, stick with him as he shows that it is not a dark art.
I will!
This fellow is a treasure-Thanks
You're the true ecologist, not only for the scrap you prevent at your repairman scale, but for awareness and satisfaction of repairing things at the world scale through this channel.
I don't know if you'll read this Mark but I've been right into electronics since i was 8, I'm now 46 and my obsession has never stopped, it does at times though get put aside. You're videos are absolutely brilliant in every way and thanks to you my obsession is now through the roof. I'm buying equipment, tools ect and I'm turning my garage into a electronic repair centre! haha thanks mate from a fan down under.
Hi whereabouts are you down under ?
@@steveosshenanigans Tasmania
Love watching your Online Electronic repairs show. You also show great knowledge with mechanical workings too. I did an apprenticeship as a radio/tv tradesman back in the early 1970's era, in Australia. I owned my own TV/White good sales repair service for 25 years. Started my own business around 1985 and did my apprenticeship starting in the black and white tv days, through to the colour tv days in 1976 in Australia and furthered my Technical achievements by doing night school when the CD player came into sales, to repair them too. Also, Microwave ovens and other electrical/electronic goods too. Yes, we even changed over a colour TV picture tube when a TV had lost the emission of one of the RGB guns and couldn't be boosted/rejuvenatedOH yes, I remember quite vividly getting Zapped as I forgot to discharge the tube from the Aqua-dag to the Ultor one day, nearly dropped it, but one mounting bolt saved the day!!!......Seen you get Zapped with a H/V capacitor too, not good. Thanks again for your great show and I love watching you perform your great and successful repairs. Regards, Chris.
For a very long time, I supplied folks like you with high precision and singularly tested components, with their parameters attached. If I ever have to start a new business again, this will be it!
During Mark's intro I was waiting and hoping he would say the No.1 step was to 'replicate the customers fault'........and he did. Soooo important!
The frustrating thing is when the item arrives and there's no fault. I call this the "magic aura effect", when something works within my presence but reverts to faulty as soon as it gets home.
We use a pre burn bench for that purpose.
There is a car repair channel where he gets cars that have already failed to be repaired by other garages. The very first thing he does is to verify the customers fault description.
"Mend it Mark", I really love your electronics repair channel. At 73 years old I still enjoy repairing electronics especially the older vintage radios and equipment and seeing how others fix things. Now that you pointed out the three step process for repairing any electronics device, I have learned years ago to find the fault and what's causing it and then replace or fix what is causing the fault. Simple. Thought it was a waste to replace a lot of parts needlessly. Only exception is replacing most all paper wax capacitors and electrolytics in very old radios.
Mark, i'am in on this! I'm a autodidact technician with diy audio building experience. Worked for a amplifier company here in my city. And worked for 20 years as a sound engineer. But first the money goos to vacation. Hope to join in later on!
Hi Mark, just repaired an old Garrard turn table, mainly because it’s mostly mechanical. The main issue was old grease that had gone sticky preventing free movement of some delicate parts, which I learnt about on your channel. Thanks for all the great tips and advice 👍👍👍
Thx to Louis Rossman for sharing this link, loving this.
You're a right ol' chap, Mark! 🙏
Thanks Mark, appreciate your commitment to sustainability and taking the initiative to repair rather than replace your electronics.
Preach on Sir. There are so many channels that try to “teach “ diagnostics and just make the process more difficult to grasp. I’m glad someone finally said something . I was actually just blocked from a channel for , respectfully, giving my opinion, backed with documentation and other references. It was the opposite of appreciated. My biggest gripe was , verify the complaint. Simple.
Second, have all the components of the system to be repaired. If you have a battery charger that only charges a specific tool battery. Sure, you might be able to muddle through and get lucky. But you won’t really know how the battery charger has failed if you don’t have the battery it charges. I saw one that tore into the board because the LED didn’t illuminate. Having about 12 of those chargers, and had I not been blocked , I would’ve shared that the LEDs always fail so you have to start there before anything.
Thanks for your video.
A 3 hour long video, yes please 👍
Came to post myself :)
I'd love to watch it but definitely wouldn't like to have to edit it!
The current video length is probably a huge undertaking and we forget that bit.
Three hours is actually six hours because he talks as fast as a Mexican in Spanish after 4 Redbulls.
Electronic repair helped my shop survive COVID when live sound production shutdown. Mend it Mark has been added to my top channels among Mr Carlson’s Lab, W2AEW, Electronics for the Inquisitive Experimenter.
I had a good friend just like you mark and he lit my spark with electronics and you done the same for me so I don’t just watch you for entertainment but for Learning and in my book you are a good teacher so please carry on 😊
From Sicily: Grazie Mark!!!
Very nicely explained. I have been into electronics all my life from as early as i can rember and over the years came to use exactly the process you described.
Well done Mark I have been in the repair business for over 40 years and still love it and still learning keep up the great videos 👍👍
I really and genuinely appreciate the efforts you put into making these videos to teach us. Thank you very much Mark
Here is a Man close to my Cold Heart lol. I started " Trying " to fix things when I was 14. Even then. I knew that this is what I wanted to do for a living. so when I was 18 I went to school to learn how. Today I am 59, and still repairing.
Keep up with your spark and sparkle
Mark is spot on with his process. I’ve been doing something similar for years . And not just for electronics. It works for ANYTHING! What’s the problem ? How does it work ? Find it , fix it . Done . I know it’s sounds to easy , but a little practice and you would be amazed at what you can accomplish.
yeah! Phill collins a famous repairman! lovely!
great idea Mark, fixing stuff is good for the world and turns you into wizard status.... glad you are willing to share your skills... everyone interested should join.
Watching your videos has re-sparked my interest in electronics again.
I used to do the whole deal; design the circuit, hand lay out the PCB with tape, get prototype boards made, populate and test them, and for the digital circuits, write the software to control them. I spent some time in the 1980s and 90s designing my own effects boxes, and mini-mixers for our band.
Gradually, over the years, I move more and more over to a software role and rarely picked up a soldering iron.
After watching some of your videos I've rummaged around in my old electronics draw and dug out some of my experimental effects units with a view to fixing and upgrading them. I may even revise my old RIAA pre-amp!
I can certainly diagnose like 75% of simple consumer products but mark has a much larger knowledge of how transistors and amplifiers work which most people won't. I think transistors will be the roadblock for many people like myself who struggle to pinpoint them as the problem, test them out of circuit and such. ICs as well
Definitely ICs because of all the pins. At least transistors only have three.
these steps are what i use i watch your videos to get better and its fun the watch you repair electronics best channel on TH-cam
Protect this man at all costs
I will be forever grateful to Tom Evans for bringing me to this channel. 😂😂😂
You’re an inspiration - I absolutely love your videos and your content 😌 I love repairing and religiously watch you on TH-cam
I've been fixing, then later designing electronics for about 55 years. I got a lot of my knowledge when young by reading Practical Wireless, Practical Electronics, and then the cream of magazines Elektor + various other mags. Your "Mend It Mark" youtube videos are a joy to watch. PS what make/model of electric vacuum pump de-soldering machine are you using, mine got nicked, and I need to replace it? Many thanks mate, your a star.
Wonderful seeing you expand your business! Expect you will do very well and your business model is well thought of, like your work.
mark since watching you it has renewed my interest in Electronics but after my stroke i still can not remember everything but i am sure i will one day I still enjoy my amateur radio. and fixing small problems, thanks for the video
This is brilliant! Your a true 💎
I repair old tech but when I watch you I feel like I want to improve!
Good luck with your endeavor Mark. Anything that promotes self-repair and a structured approach to electronics problem solving is a good thing!
Knowledge is power.
been doing electronics since i was 10 (now 55). And the interest goes in waves, but you inspire me to take up that Metcal again :). Thanks !
What i really like about your videos is that you don't do a ton of edits, if the picture is a bit wonky, So be it, you just go forward, I see you tackle stuff I used to work on 30 years ago , it a fun journey, Thanks for a great time.
Mark,
Thank you so much for doing this - I am joining the platform as soon as I finish this post.
Learning from you has been really fun and inspiring.
Looking forward to what is coming down the road.
I wish you nothing but success.
With gratitude, D
Awesome channel Mark. Thank you for being positive and for sharing your knowledge. Great workshop!
Really enjoy the videos & I'm lucky to have served a technical apprenticeship in the military, which had some excellent training. 1st check is always to verify the power supply, then fault finding by the half-split methodology. Has done me well for the past 40+ yrs 😊. Product knowledge is a biggie too, knowing what should happen when a button is pressed; too many hrs spent chasing a 'fault' that was actually a 'design feature', yep we've all been there!
Enjoy your channel, Mark. Keep up the good work.
Once fault symptoms identified, Half split method was what I applied when I did this for a living...especially when diagrams aren't around. consider anything that works hard, or fast, or hot....as likely culprits, I.e. PSU, oscillators, high voltage components, and mechanical...so I wholeheartedly agree, good advice Mark 👍
I started dabbling in electronics when I was 15, from tube to current surface mount repairs. Now! at the tender age of 72 I still enjoy the challenge, especially vintage equipment. Like you I a massed a lot of test equipment over the years as technology advanced. Mark! your video's are most informative and educational, (I love your sense of humour).
I had no idea you were on the telly! I found your channel by chance last year, truly one of the best channels on here - informative and entertaining.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and positive influence. Love your videos and hope to learn the process my self. Best, Jan
Love watching some of your repairs Mark. I trained in avionics many years ago and did 3rd line repair for a couple of years. I developed some reasobale skills but the job was going nowhere. I then got a job doing field service for a company that gave us a massive kit of parts to swap out, sadly these kits were usually missing the parts required as they were the ones that failed all the time. I ended up using my box of hobby components to do component level repair in the field once I knew the regular common faults. My frustrations with the compnay sending me out 2 weeks late for a next day call with no spares meant I didn't stick at it and moved into IT which was very rewarding but I still miss working on equipment and understanding how it works.
Great idea, mate. You've helped me on specific items which was huge. We learned The 6 Step Troubleshooting Method in the military. I think the step that should be in your 3 step method is "Half Splitting" Instead of say, signal tracing end to end, spilt it in half and see if it's there. That will point you in the right direction, cutting down diagnosis time.
Yes. The military taught me the half-split method too; it's a great system.
As well as the one-hand-in-your-pocket when probing HT supplies!
I think you should be a minister on directive towards all those teenagers that didn't do so well academically but have the interest. They are not inspiring the youth. I did okay in the end but I would of got here 20 years sooner if you were my teacher. Thank you for the sharing the skills that were hard won for myself x
Hi Mark - thanks for the tip about downloading service manuals, it had never occured to me. You are a legend! Now to fix my old Technics Amp :)
Go get it my friend. Thanks for doing the work you do!
So glad to hear that Dave Jones from EEVBlog inspired him. Even happier to hear he chose to share his experience with others. Best of luck to you and all that learn from you!
Well done Mark. I think the proper college training died out in the 1990's. I did City and Guilds 224 Electronic Servicing and college although I did the measurement and control leg of the course instead of TV & Radio.
One thing I will say with repairing vintage kit is if it arrived in the post always take the lid off and have a good butchers to make sure there's no internal damage prior to applying power. We were taught at college to split diagnosis in three 1 look at the output, 2 look at the input then 3 look in the middle. You can narrow down your search for the fault to the first part of the circuit or the last part. My first repair was called poke 'n' hope by one of my colleagues.
I did the 224 and rteeb back in the 90s as well 👍🏻
Yes Mark! I love learning more about electronics and ur a great teacher, thanks, Al
It took me a while to derive what you just layed out in this video. When I was 25 I found myself responsible for all of the automation for a large wastewater treatment plant. One lesson that I learned is to read the manuals, where available. I sounded brilliant at times where I was just the only one aware of what the manuals said. I won't be joining as my controls servicing career started in 1973.
But I wonder, how do yoou keep track of all of the screws? Thanks, Mark. ;-)
There is also another group of people who enjoy watching your vids. That is retired techs who enjoy watching other people work. I, myself, am pleased you still use a CRT 'scope. We also understand the great sense of satisfaction in effecting a repair, particularly if it has been passed on from someone who wasn't so successful with it.
Ok, I'm sold. I find old tech fascinating, not really sure why, and I don't really know what I'm doing half the time but managed to get quite a few things back to life! Look forward to learning!
I ran a small tv rental and repair shop wich ment if it fad a mains plug or ran on batteries we repaired it . for the tvs on rental most repairs where done in peoples house so no nicetys like isolation transformers .
i think your chanel is one of the best electronics chanel there is keep up the good work.
Tu es un passionné qui partage sa passion au autres et tes vidéos nous aide à analyser, tu es une référence pour nous , merci de nous partager ta passion tu es vraiment minutieux dans tes réparation et analyse de problème, merci de nous partager tous c’est beaux moment .
I will see you in three months or so I think. I have a fair amount of rehab to do but my god this is my JAM!
I’m always excited when I see a new video from you. Thanks for the entertainment
This a really cool video. Enjoyed it a lot. Your repair videos are one of the very best here on TH-cam. Keep up the good work!
Hello, well said, thanks to you I have already repaired several Marshall amplifiers. Thanks for everything Pavel Czech Republic
"Excellent diagnostic skills" Glad to have been an early discoverer of such a great engineer! Interesting idea. I do repair my own vintage gear, but I'm not at your level! I wish you great success with your new venture!
Funny, I hadn't thought of your channel as being a "vintage" repair channel, but maybe that's just because I'm getting to be a bit vintage too! Reminds me of Mitch Hedberg's joke about seeing a photo of someone when they were younger: "every photo of you is from when you were younger"!
"and then COVID struck....and my repair business boomed!"
🤣🤣 Good on ya, Mark! 👌You seem to be a good man, my friend. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
This is the same exact approach that I take when diagnosing vehicles. Whether it's the electrical or the electronic side, or the mechanical side. Step number one is always always always, verify customer concern. Within those three words also includes gathering as much information and being able to understand and interpret what the customer or owner is trying to tell you. Learning to speak with and understand your customer and their concern / complaint is a skill unto itself.
Step number one: verify customers concern.
Thank you so much for what you're offering. Not quite sure I got the quid but I'm glad that there are people out there offering this. Mr Carlson offers something similar however I imagined that like two different teachers face to face, one could gather a multitude of skills and knowledge from several sources.
I absolutely love your videos, love your demeanor, and love that you share with us something that excites you.
Dirt, grease, rust in your eyes, dirty tools if ya can even get in to work on those sardine cans. Is the point. Like Mark ya gotta have tools, investment capital to move and forge ahead. It comes with a cost but if ya like it, do it. You could just make preamps at only eight per year and make 250 grand but what the hay. You'll understand that one if you watch the latest repair on that preamp.
@whatcher8151 trust me, after 20 years I would go back and tell myself after washing the evolution of the automotive business to not go near it. In fact even at 40 and looking for a change of scenery in terms of career
Thànkyou Mark. Excellent knowledge again. Your channel has ignited my interest in learning electronics even further. Marvellous..
Mark is inspiring many of us out here to start learning and doing this type of work ourselves. He deserves our support and many thanks for what he does for this community. Thanks Mark for what you do for so many of us. cheers!
Hi Mark. Can I first say that I have been an electronics repair man all my working life, 45 years plus, and you are quite possibly the best all round technician I have ever seen. However, please don't bother with any more videos like this, your normal content is what we all keep subscribed for. It's worth mentioning for anyone thinking of taking it up that the £200 per repair has got to depend on where you are. I am in West Yorkshire, and many people here live in some sort of time warp where they still expect an amplifier to get repaired for £50 or less. This is why I don't really bother doing the job any more apart from a few bits of vintage valve equipment of my own that are destined to sell on Ebay, or valve guitar amplifiers that belong to musicians I have known for years.
I really enjoy watching your repairs, great work
Mark, I watch out of nostalgia. It takes me back to when I was doing it years ago. Tube cameras, VTRs, VCRs, CD players, tape decks, amps, and finally vintage musical equipment. Largely, I am happy to be away from it now but there were some good times here and there.
I have always worked to the principle that once you have a good knowledge of an engineering discipline then you can transfer that skill set from one item to another. It is definitely easier if you have an analytical and logical mindset. Having a wall of useful (and quite pricey) test equipment definitely helps too.
Many items that come in to me would have been simple jobs originally, but having to sort through the mess after they tried to fix themselves adds time and money to the repair. Other times it's due to people replacing a blown fuse and trying again multiple times, usually with much higher rated fuses! I can only hope that people who take Mark's course learn the valuable lesson of not blindly charging in without understanding what the real issue is. Not everyone has the right mindset for troubleshooting.
I think most people watch channels like yours because they want to learn something. Not just to repair appliance x. There are many videos targeted at that audience and they are short and to the point, not much explanation, just a "colour by numbers" set of instructions in a five minute video. That is not what your audience is here for. Channels like yours capture people like me, who have no formal education in electronics but want to learn. Long videos are not a problem for us (on the contrary). Theory is not a problem (on the contrary). I would like to see more of that. There are some channels like that too, (see professor Fiore for instance, and Mr Carlson of course) but not always attacking things in a cohesive and consistent manner. There is a lot to learn and I myself feel I have made significant progress, watching and doing, but there is some way to go.
One suggestion for others like me, perhaps if you start from scratch, start with vacuum tubes, even if only theoretically. I find those much more intuitive than semiconductors. Once the basic topologies are understood, it will make your life easier to follow a solid state diagram (start with simple things, of course).
Good luck with your course and hope to see more of you around here. You are fun to watch (and that is an important part of your channel's success).
This is really good stuff to know for a guy working as volunteer at a local Repair Café.
Your channel is inspiring. But I can tell your accomplishments really need a mastermind of some sort. Thats the single most important reason why electronic repair seems so "easy" to you. I got a grade in mechanical engineering and repairing things is my everyday job
even some electronics in our cnc machines and some more simple ones. And even following your insights is an eye opener that requires a lot of base knowledge just to recognise the things you have done. For most others its like speaking an alien language. Just reading schematics needs a lot of base knowledge most people will never get . We praise the master.
Hey Mark, I am in the states. Washington DC watch your videos on repairing vintage equipment all the time. You are very good very very good. I like the way you solve any problems that you come across in repairing if you have the time I will like to know what is 200 pounds is that $200 in the states we use dollars thanks so much for your smile your gentleness and your profession thank you
Someone in here (Turkiye) makes similar educational videos and sells them online. I was disappointed that you did not make it before. But, the price is too high for Turkish followers. Anyway, good luck Mark. Please go on what you are doing. Best wishes.
Hi Mark. Yes! All steps very important, but perhaps step 1 the most. I was taught re-produce the fault( to make sure it’s not just user error), and it will help you narrow down where the fault is.
The thing to remember about vintage gear is it is generally easier to repair as the technology is older, meaning it’s more like to be repairable,generally one doesn’t need sophisticated test equipment and there’s often service information available. Quite often someone else will have repaired an identical item which can help.
The best way of all to learn though is to do it. Practice on stuff that doesn’t matter. Old stuff that people have thrown away. Get stuff cheap at car boot sales. If you don’t fix it it doesn’t matter, you will have still learned( and you can break the item for parts. Gradually you will fix stuff, and your confidence and experience will grow.
It’s also amazing how many faults are really simple.