On Monday, 25 December, 2000 2:11 PM, W6YN Don Milbury [SMTP:w6yn@juno.com]
wrote:
> A word of caution:
> NEVER ever touch another persons equipment.
Don makes a good point here as does the ARRL in all of their RFI books. As
Hams we are only licensed to operate in the Amateur Radio Service and carry
on any experiments there on our own equipment. A ham license is not a
license to be an electronics technician although you may know more about
RFI than most electronic techs. There are other ways to obtain that
classification and be legal.
> You are not qualified to repair home electronic equipment. Many states
> license people to do that work.
This means know what your state's laws are before getting too involved in
helping out a neighbor. I may've eluded to some sneaky work that I had
done to a neighbor's lamp myself. I was taking a chance, but a calculated
one on my part. I have a BS degree in engineering and have worked as a EE
in Nuclear Plants and now in the Comm field so my experience level gives me
a level of comfort that others probably do not have when working on stuff.
Also, Nebraska is a "right-to-work" state so we have fewer of the labor
regulations that usually restrict people from performing various tasks.
Being aware of these facts I calculated the risks involved and what I
could gain.
Working on my neighbor's lamp was a judgement call based on how willing she
was to resolve what was essentially "my problem" with her noisey lamps. I
actually took the lamps into the shop where she bought them and purchased a
replacement controller for each one ($6 each). The installation was
something much less than I do on a daily basis at work, but there was still
some risk involved since we live in a litigous society (not as much though
in Nebraska!).
So be safe and know your own limits. Be a good neighbor and use education
as the best means of accomplishing your goal.
73,
de ed -K0iL
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