[Two-weeks-old mail...I was away and am still getting caught up.]
And I still fail to see how supplying information
means I'll do a
worse repair.
It doesn't. (Well, usually. Part of the cost of supplying such
information is making sure it matches the product. You might well do a
worse job if supplied with information about a different rev from what
you have, but not clearly detectable as such.)
Hmm.. I've had countless service manuals that have subtle differnces from
the actual device in front of me...
So I've learnt not to treat such information as gospel, but to regard it
as another input to my brain, if you see what I mean. I check it against
the actual device I am working on. That said, it's rare for a revision to
mean a total redesign, so such information is very useful at pointing me
in the right direction.
-tony