16 Feb
2019
16 Feb
'19
4:58 p.m.
> On Fri, 2019-02-15 at 12:00 -0600,
cctalk-request at classiccmp.org wrote:> > as
These hardware wizard stories
remind me of a legendary repair wizard,
non-computer industrial devices I think. He was
called in to fix a
tricky problem at the customer site. Studied it for a while, took
out a small hammer, whacked the device at some spot, and reported
"fixed". He then sent in a bill for $500
That has been my line any time I've needed to know if a machine had a
'flaky'. Sometimes, on the phone, ask a customer to give the machine a
kick. They always balk, but I tell them "Shock and vibration are
legitimate diagnostic tools", and that usually convinces them. In
situations I suspect the problem is a flaky, it often results in a
'working' system and the customer says "oh wow! you Fixed it!". To
which I say NO NO NO. It is not Fixed, only the problem is now
revealed. I'll be over shortly to actually bolt down what needs
bolting or otherwise make the machine immune to shock and
vibration.....
Best,
Jeff