SILICON CHIP
Publisher & Editor-In-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus.
Editor
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.)
Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Robert Flynn
Advertising Manager
Paul Buchtmann
Regular Contributors
Neville Williams, FIREE, VK2XV
Bryan Maher, M.E. B.Sc.
Jim Yalden, VK2YGY
Garry Cratt, VK2YBX
Jim Lawler, MTETIA
John Hill
David Whitby
,:Photography
Bob Donaldson
Editorial Advisory Panel
Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW
Norman Marks
Steve Payor, B.Sc., B.E.
SILICON CHIP is published 1 2 times
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ISSN 1030-2662
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2
SILICON CHIP
PUBUSHER'S LE'I-IER
Does the purchaser
have the right to
a circuit diagram?
This month I want to talk about a touchy subject but one which will
be dear to many readers' hearts. It concerns the provision of servicing
information for products you buy.
These days, if you purchase an item of test equipment such as an
oscilloscope, frequency counter or RF generator, you automatically
get a full circuit diagram which is included in the instruction manual.
This is a reassuring point for any purchaser, even though he or she fully expects to obtain a long and troublefree life from the new
acquisition.
Basically, my proposition comes down to this: if it is good enough for
test equipment suppliers to freely provide service information at the
time of purchase, why can't the same apply to suppliers of other electronic equipment. I'm thinking particularly of computers and computer peripherals such as video monitors and printers. Some companies do provide this information but most don't. Worse still, some
refuse point blank to even sell circuit diagrams or service manuals,
even for ordinary TTL monochrome monitors.
Now this is bad policy. For a start, it forces the purchaser to go back
to the distributor when any service is required, even for the most simple faults. Second, if the distributor goes out of business, the purchaser is left with an "orphan" product which will be virtually impossible to service, even for the most skilled technician. Never mind.
that a lot of electronic gear these days uses custom components, if you
have a circuit diagram, you have a better chance of having it serviced.
What to do about this situation? It's obvious, isn't it. When you are
purchasing any new equipment, ask your supplier to give you the relevant circuit diagram. If he refuses, or is unable to provide the circuit
because of the policies of the distributor, you should strongly consider
buying · another product. You may well have to balance a very competitive selling price now against the possibility that you may not be
able to have it serviced in the future.
Remember that even if the product runs reliably for years and
years, when it does fail it will be your problem and not the retailer's. If
you at least have the circuit diagram, you can often be assured of having the unit repaired and thereby keeping it in service for more years
to come. And if you can purchase a service manual as well, you will be
that much better off.
Leo Simpson
