Had a customer bring in a 1980s radio that finally made me understand why people hate working on old gear

It was a Zenith Trans-Oceanic, a real boat anchor. The guy said he just wanted it to power on. I opened it up and the entire chassis was one giant, brittle, crumbling mess of old wax capacitors and crumbling rubber wire. Every single solder joint was a cold, cracked mess. I spent maybe six hours just replacing the wiring before I even got to the caps. I used to think folks were just being picky, but now I get it. The repair cost more than the thing is worth, but he was happy. Do you guys have a cutoff point for 'vintage' repairs, or do you just charge by the hour and go for it?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby1897d ago

Oh man, that Trans-Oceanic story hits home (saw a video once where a guy just poked one and a wire turned to dust). Honestly, my cutoff is when the customer knows the score going in. If they understand it's a labor of love and not a value repair, and they're okay with the hourly rate, then I'll go for it. Some stuff just deserves to live again, even if the math doesn't add up. But if someone expects a twenty dollar fix on a museum piece, that's where I have to tap out.

vera_lewis7d ago

Totally get that. The dust wire thing is real, I had a similar Zenith where the cloth just crumbled if you looked at it wrong. It's all about setting that expectation upfront, like you said. Once they know it's a money pit for the sake of history, it's a fun project.