I have always done the maintenance and repairs on my equipment. But newer tools – with all of their electronics – necessitate the calling the ‘repair guy.’

This guy usually shows up in a shiny van, carrying a briefcase and pulls out a computer. You know right away that this is going to cost come serious dough. More often than not, the guy wants a big check in advance. If you’re lucky, the problem gets fixed.

That's why I was so delighted with my last repair guy. He walked into the shop with a toolbox and confidently went to work. He had all of these high-tech measuring and calibrating tools, scopes and oscillators needed to work on electronics.

He got the job done in short order and handed me a bill for about a quarter of what I had figured it would cost. The most amazing thing was that he had everything necessary to make the repair onsite.

D.D.