What helps you better with your DIY repair projects: repair reports or tutorials?

[Andreas Thaler]

Repair reports and tutorials can inspire and support DIY activities.

In addition, they can help you decide whether to try a repair yourself or to hire someone else to do it.

What will help me more with my DIY repair project: a report or a tutorial?


Serious repair reports and tutorials

provide information openly and transparently, i.e. the author provides information about his approach to tackling a repair, names the work of others and the sources of information he has accessed so that the reader can form his own opinion. Also he provides honest information about risks, success and failure, problems and solutions.

A repair report means information about the most important things and the progress of a repair project, while a tutorial is a step-by-step guide to follow.

I wonder what is needed here in the repair forum.

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Repair report versus tutorial

In my opinion, a repair report is suitable for larger and more complex projects for which there are several approaches.

Here the reader has to decide which way to go and also deal with the available sources of information.

An example is the restoration of the power supply of an SLR:

Two Canon EFs not working: Damage to the power supply caused by battery electrolyte [repaired both]

I have had two two beautiful Canon EFs for many years. They have been working, but the battery control LED on one of them wouldn't come on. I didn't think anything of it, and when I started repairing, I wanted to take a look at the problem. Today I fitted both with 1.35 volt Weincell batteries...

www.photrio.com

A tutorial, on the other hand, is good for smaller, clear repair projects where the solution is distinct, such as replacing a defective mechanical unit:

Minolta X-700 tutorial: Winding lever issue - replacement of Winding base plate B

With intensively used Minolta X-700 it can happen that the winding lever no longer can be locked in the unfolded position. It always folds back into its original position. The winding lever keeps folding back. Not a serious problem, but an annoying one, especially when you want to cock the...

www.photrio.com

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I would like to conduct this survey to help me decide how to present my repair projects here so that the readers get the best possible benefit.

Thank you for your participation and comments!

 

[koraks]

Speaking personally, it depends. I sometimes use (video) tutorials especially if I want to know how to get inside a device and I can't figure it out by myself. But for actual troubleshooting, diagnosis etc. I'm generally relying more on systematic descriptions (written, schematics, photographic etc.) rather than 'how to' guides. The latter is more often found in the context of repair reports, although service manuals etc. can be just as useful (or even more so).

I think taken at face value, the key difference between a repair report and a tutorial is that the latter is normative and gives direction, while the former is purely descriptive. Both focus on the process as opposed to the product, although it's evidently inevitable that details on the product are provided in the context of discussing the process.

Based on this reflection, I'd propose to add a third option to the list: that of the systematic description, as this is purely product-oriented and is therefore process-agnostic, and as such it can serve as a more efficient and effective source of information regardless of the use case.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Based on this reflection, I'd propose to add a third option to the list: that of the systematic description, as this is purely product-oriented and is therefore process-agnostic, and as such it can serve as a more efficient and effective source of information regardless of the use case.

Thanks, could you give a short repair related example for this form?

 

[koraks]

from here.

Essentially, any exploded view diagram, mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, software specification/listing, verbal description of a system or video exploring the elements of a system and interactions between them, or any combination of these.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

from here.

Essentially, any exploded view diagram, mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, software specification/listing, verbal description of a system or video exploring the elements of a system and interactions between them, or any combination of these.

Thanks, can we show screenshots from repair manuals here in the forum?

I always think about copyright and the use of other parties intellectual property.

 

[koraks]

That's always iffy business, to be honest. I think we'll have to navigate that on a case-by-case basis, depending on e.g. the age of the manual and the question whether copyright applies, and also the question whether the content is already present in the public domain, and where it's hosted if it's being posted here. So I can't give a simple yes/no answer.