Mechanical/Electronics repair as a survival skill

[majorhavoc]

I've posted elsewhere (http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=93&t=90276) that I personally believe some level of basic technical and mechanical aptitude is a valuable skill to cultivate now, before any signficiant disaster occurs. Even if it's just knowing how to patch a bicycle inner tube.

So I'm attracted to articles like this one, which discuss how some newer cellphone and tablet devices are being purposely engineered to be recyclable and repairable by the end user, rather than forcing the consumer to rely on expensive repair services (or worse, entice them to simply trade up to the newest, bleeding edge model).

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/business/cellphone-cases-can-imitate-their-makers-digital-domain.html?_r=1&ref=technology



Please ignore any real or imagined bias you might read into this article re: anti-Apple, pro-envronmentalism, etc. The nuggets here for me are:
1) basic repair of consumer electronics, appliance and cars are often within the grasp of ordinary consumers, affordably and with far less downtime, if you have the right instructions and sometimes, the right specialized tools.

2) iFixit (http://www.ifixit.com/ sounds like an amazing website, and probably deserves a place in your bookmarks page along with internet gems like http://www.instructables.com.

3) The idea that certain companies are discovering value in designing open-source, user-accessable devices and products means that the DIY/maker/fix- rather-than-discard-and-replace ethos is starting to go mainstream, which I think is a very, very good thing.

Naturally a lot of these web and celluar dependent devices could become useless in a SHTF scenario. But the skills you can develop learning to repair them are directly transferable to other items you may need to keep functioning if things ever get truly bad.

[Kutter_0311]

A handy enough handyman stands a chance of returning quite a lot of 'dead' tech to service.

Somebody has to pick things back up when the wheels fall off

Thanks for the info, I wasn't aware that the old 'replacement theory' was being... replaced. Happy, though.

[evil0rphan]

Well, I was trained as an electronics tech in the Navy back when they still believed in repairing equipment to the component level. Almost everything since has been of the 'pluck n chuck' mentality. I mention this b/c if you wanted to set up a repair kit for electronics/electromechanical items it's not that hard.

Hit up radio shack. First thing you want will be solder. 60/40 tends to me the workhorse there. Can get some flux as well, but a lot of solder comes with a flux core. Up to you on what you want to spend. You'll want a decent soldering iron (pencil size is fine for consumer electronics) and an assortment of tips. Straight tip, flanged, chisel... 1/8" or 1/16". helps to have the right size for the job but if you practice enough, you can get around not having the "perfect" tip. Oh, and stock up on some desoldering braid (unless you have a vacuum deslodering iron).

Parts... parts parts and more parts. By a few multi-packs of resistors, transistors, capacitors, fuses... In a pinch (and a bit of luck) you can harvest those from other equipment, but having clean spares is ideal.

Wire. Oh you want wire. 18-20 gauge wire will see you through just about anything. And a good pair of wire strippers are a boon.

You'll want tweezers, a flush cutter, duckbill pliers as hand tools. Not required, but oh they make things easier. And a magnifying glass/lamp is SOOOO nice.

Set of micro screwdrivers is good too (like what you would work on eyeglasses with).

And books. Books books books and more books. Get as many books on hobbyist electronics, theory, etc. Even some magazines have good stuff.

While my toolkit is NOWHERE what I had in the Navy, you can build a kit that will let you do 99% of the electronics repair you would ever need for probably less than $200 retail. Less if you can do with less, more if you got the cash to invest in some of the luxury stuff (vacuum desoldering iron... love those).

[evil0rphan]

Good idea on parts storage on one of the links you provided, btw...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Resisto ... ge-System/

[MarkW]

Apologies if this appears to be spam, if anyone thinks it is then mods please delete:

http://www.nd2d.com/handyman/

[Lt.Cdr.Tom]

On the subject of soldering irons; it might not be a bad idea to have a 12 volt soldering iron laying around. Most plug into a standard automotive cigarette lighter, or you can get one that attaches directly to a car battery via alligator clamps. They are not as powerful as soldering irons that plug into the wall, but they are very useful when making repairs in the field.

[eugene]

For parts storage I use a fishing tackle box, the kind where all the small divided boxes pull out.
Lots of things get a PCB break when dropped or knocked off the table. Those can usually be repaired with some jumper wires soldered over the crack.
Others are power input, MOV's blow from a surge, simple soldered in fuses, decoupling capacitors, reverse polarity diodes, etc.
RS used to sell a good cleaner but quit selling it a few years ago. You have to order from places like digikey or mouser. You can fix the knobs/switches that had a spill in them or gunk from cigarette smoke.

[LBB]

Now I wanted to show how my tools come together.
I have all these handy tools as everybody for all these normal jobs, but for electronic I have to different sets.
One started with this:
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?c ... &sku=27371

I also brought some different screwdrivers with me, as I don't like the ones you find here in general.
http://issuu.com/wihatools/docs/wiha_in ... mode=embed
They are all high quality insulated tools, so I can stick them on 1000 volts and won't get hurt.
These ones are kind of expensive, but I use them for a long time, I destroyed a couple of cheaper ones in the meantime while these ones still look good.

All my spare parts are in air tied boxes that are in heavy duty air tied boxes so I can store them wherever and they will be fine anytime in the future.

Make sure that you keep the electronic plastic backs computer parts come in, so you can store other parts in them. And if you want to be sure, just drop these little dry packs in the box.

If you never used a solering iron, do some exercises with them.
I got some silver wire, made sure its straight and soldered a cube out of it.
Not mine but this is a great exercise:
http://cdn.instructables.com/FJN/F0KM/F ... .LARGE.jpg

Make sure you know what all tools do you own. Some people buy a set and don't open it until it's too late.

[burnsb]

The best way to learn to repair things is to be broke. When the car/clothes washer/stove dies and you can't afford to replace it or have someone else fix it- you have to do it yourself or do without.

I learned to fix things by taking broke things apart. There's all kinds of nifty motors and magnets and stuff inside of stuff. My grandfather was very patient with me and would let me dissect various machines/electronics when I was a kid.

Hand your kid screwdrivers, pliers, nutdrivers and an old rc car, broke radio, or something. Say: "Here. Go nuts, clean up the mess when you're done."

[emclean]

one thing to add to evil0rphan's list.
i third hand (little base with a few spring clamps on it that hold your work for you), or some small medical clamps.

[BOFH]

I rarely pay anyone to fix anything for me, if I can't fix it myself then it's economically unviable to fix it at all. I service my own car, repair & service my motorbike, (a log makes a good ghetto repair stand if you don't have a centre stand), do all repairs & builds of my bicycles from the frame up to fork servicing. I fix my own computers, washing machine, mobile phone, TV, kid's toys etc.

Before tackling a job I haven't done before I'll research it first, make sure I can get all the parts and tools needed before starting and print out instructions if I need to. There are so many instructional videos on Youtube on how to repair stuff it's worth spending some time watching them, even if you just pick up bits and pieces of info it's all useful.

I'm a sys admin with a background in electronic engineering but I think the attitude is mostly due to my Dad who rarely bought anything he could make himself & rarely paid for anyone to fix anything he could figure out how to fix himself. I give my kids old computers & screwdrivers & tell them to go nuts, they love it. It was an old radio or power socket in my childhood but the attitude is the same.

[ProstheticWeasel]

I'm a sys admin with a background in electronic engineering but I think the attitude is mostly due to my Dad who rarely bought anything he could make himself & rarely paid for anyone to fix anything he could figure out how to fix himself. I give my kids old computers & screwdrivers & tell them to go nuts, they love it. It was an old radio or power socket in my childhood but the attitude is the same.

Good handle for a sysadmin.

I have the same thought about having some repair skills. If you have a garage you can do a lot of things yourself looking at videos on youtube. So far I have replaced the ball joints in my jeep as well as the radiator. The biggest problem I have had usually involves bolts that are broken or rusted and won't come out or twist off. Replacing the radiator one of the hoses for the transmission blew off and made a big mess.

I am in an apt so it is VERY difficult to do a lot of these jobs since you have to be very careful about making a mess or too much noise. But if you have a garage you can pick up a cheap vehicle and start going nuts on fixing things. If the vehicle is cheap enough you don't have to feel too bad about just having it hauled away. It will only take a job or two and you will have most of the tools you need. The experience you get will be very handy with nearly anything mechanical and even some electrical.

[Dawgboy]

My girlfriend told me it was true love the day I showed up at her place with a pair of wiper blades in my hand and put them on her car. See, her ex ( a PO1 Sonar-man in the navy) didn't know how to change the oil...

I think it's a hallmark of being prepared to be able to take care of your own problem, it's a great money saver(and maker) too, if you have a skill. And apparently, girls like it too.

[PrepperThyAngus]

I think the mechanical/electrical guys will have a serious edge when it comes to post-SHTF. Being able to repair electronics, repair vehicles, create simple electronic circuits, traverse through unknown urban areas where live circuits might be residing, among many other skills would be very valuable.

These types are the ones who have the capability to build water filtration systems, distribution systems for power, water, heating, plumbing, etc. Also desalinization system, etc. just to name a few.

Yes, I confirm girls do love it too. My girlfriend tells me her ex's knew jack about repairing vehicles. Whereas I can breakdown and rebuild engines and repair component level electronics, among other things. (Work as engineering technician for 10+ years, I build particle accelerators now.)

Much like medics, engineers, weapon/explosive guys, military guys will be integral part of a survival group, mechanical/electrical guys will be on that list too.