10 Jul
2001
10 Jul
'01
2:29 a.m.
The problem is, though, the definition of
'refurbishment'. It seems to
cover 'replacement of a component, for reasons other than failure of the
machine' or words to that effect. And thus it does cover 'preventive
maintenance'.
It is actually arguable if this law applies at all if you're not planning
on reselling the machine. I've certainly never heard of it being applied
to PM on a classic computer (whether used for business or owned by a
collector).
It makes me wonder if some nutcase will try to apply it to vintage
hobbiests....It's scary actually.
It is also illegal to sell electronic kits in the UK
unless you can state
that a correctly-assembled example of the kit meets all current
regulations (EMC, low voltage directive, and so on). Heck, the
appropriate bit of the government actually told me that I had to be sure
Ok, that's just silly. Do they publicly flog engineers too? :) For example, I recently built a custom power supply
for an friend. Before
I could legally sell it to him, I had to pay a Chartered Electrical
Engineer to do so safety tests on it. Needless to say it passed (and also
needless to say I'd done the tests myself before I had it officially
tested, just to be sure). Note that this was for a 1-off unit going to a
technically-minded friend.
And although I am quite capable of doing the tests myself, I am not a
'competant person' as the term is used in the laws. Which means that if
said PSU had ever caused an injury, the lawyers could have a field day
with me.
Great, isn't it :-(
Geeze. I thought we had our hands full here...my sympathies. Move here,
you can build power supplies to your hearts' content. :) [not to mention
tinkering without being hung out to dry for it].
g.