Aloha timmy1234s:
I'll pass on some tips, since I had a repair shop fixing electronics for 5 years (TVs, VCRs, music keyboards, guitar amplifiers etc.) and have been a bench technician and service manager for 20 plus.
So far as Apple products, realize they are very much oriented to module exchanges not component level repairs, much like PC systems, (i.e. you typically replace a bad motherboard, instead of removing failed components on it).
That being said, get some dead machines from computer recycling places, thrift shops or similar. Work on G3 hardware and newer because vintage Macs are too esoteric for a beginner to justify his time.
Unique tools needed are not too critical so long as you have a place to put customer data (external hard drives) and means to fire up a dead system (live OS X and Linux distributions are handy). Get a decent set of screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, an accurate digital meter and similar electronics-oriented service devices.
When I got into Mac repairs, my experience with PCs spanned over a decade so general understanding of what goes wrong and why was well founded. As you are a beginner, the big concept to understand is a typical computer holds tens of thousands of files that a user more than likely has not backed up. So whatever you do, when repairing computers for customers, keep in mind a mistake or oversight on your part can result in loss of valuable data (family pictures, financial data, business records, etc.). Best to start out helping operators with things like installing new applications, troubleshooting those which do not work correctly and obtaining perspective about the interactions of owners and their system hardware. There are millions of perfectly good used systems in both PC and Mac variants waiting to have new life breathed into them, so lots of opportunities exist. My common scenario involves helping a customer with a newer rig and he / she giving me the older system which is no longer needed. I trade my geek efforts for hardware and everybody wins: no issue with recycling the older unit and customer gets hands-on education from me during servicing. This type of one-on-one interaction also leads to great word-of-mouth advertising assuring future work.
Of all the things I'll pass on, this is most important: customers don't know really what their computers do, or really care. They just want them to work reliably and are willing to pay fair prices to assure consistent performance. Nobody wants to hear about all the great upgrades and features a technician can add, but instead want to get back to using the machine and "having a life".
Ask any other questions and if I have more insight to offer it will be posted in a timely manner.
Good luck with your endeavors.
CD
[quote|analogcd]Aloha timmy1234s:
I'll pass on some tips, since I had a repair shop fixing electronics for 5 years (TVs, VCRs, music keyboards, guitar amplifiers etc.) and have been a bench technician and service manager for 20 plus.
So far as Apple products, realize they are very much oriented to module exchanges not component level repairs, much like PC systems, (i.e. you typically replace a bad motherboard, instead of removing failed components on it).
That being said, get some dead machines from computer recycling places, thrift shops or similar. Work on G3 hardware and newer because vintage Macs are too esoteric for a beginner to justify his time.
Unique tools needed are not too critical so long as you have a place to put customer data (external hard drives) and means to fire up a dead system (live OS X and Linux distributions are handy). Get a decent set of screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, an accurate digital meter and similar electronics-oriented service devices.
When I got into Mac repairs, my experience with PCs spanned over a decade so general understanding of what goes wrong and why was well founded. As you are a beginner, the big concept to understand is a typical computer holds tens of thousands of files that a user more than likely has not backed up. So whatever you do, when repairing computers for customers, keep in mind a mistake or oversight on your part can result in loss of valuable data (family pictures, financial data, business records, etc.). Best to start out helping operators with things like installing new applications, troubleshooting those which do not work correctly and obtaining perspective about the interactions of owners and their system hardware. There are millions of perfectly good used systems in both PC and Mac variants waiting to have new life breathed into them, so lots of opportunities exist. My common scenario involves helping a customer with a newer rig and he / she giving me the older system which is no longer needed. I trade my geek efforts for hardware and everybody wins: no issue with recycling the older unit and customer gets hands-on education from me during servicing. This type of one-on-one interaction also leads to great word-of-mouth advertising assuring future work.
Of all the things I'll pass on, this is most important: customers don't know really what their computers do, or really care. They just want them to work reliably and are willing to pay fair prices to assure consistent performance. Nobody wants to hear about all the great upgrades and features a technician can add, but instead want to get back to using the machine and "having a life".
Ask any other questions and if I have more insight to offer it will be posted in a timely manner.
Good luck with your endeavors.
CD[/quote]
