WSM Fix

On a mission to 'Reduce, Re-Use, Repair' electronic items in Weston-Super-Mare and surrounding areas.

I don't provide a call-out service or work on large domestic items, but you can drop your circuit board or device to me in central Weston-Super-Mare, BS23.

Laptops and Games Consoles

I work on all kinds of consumer electronics including power on / boot issues with consoles, laptops or desktops. I do common fixes such as HDMI port replacements and repairing liquid damaged circuit boards but also am able to diagnose and repair complex problems such as motherboard or power faults.

Xbox and Playstation HDMI replacement is done with a fast turnaround, drop off and pick up again in BS23 - no sending your console away to be fixed.

I regularly service and repair games consoles such as Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation, and Nintendo Switch.

Some repairs include:

• Xbox or Playstation HDMI replacement.
• Nintendo Switch charging problems.
• No screen image output from games console.
• Controller and Joycon stick drift repair.
• Console Hard Drive replacement / upgrade.
• Clean and service games console - the best preventative maintenance.

Note: I don't provide IT support such as data recovery, software or driver issues, or installing operation systems. However, your computer has a hardware problem, I'm happy to get it up and running again. I don't work on tablets and phones. Many of the common issues for these devices are screen or battery replacements and there are a lot of places that do this in Weston-Super-Mare, often while you wait.

Unfortunately, I do not offer console modifcations or to use my skills for the fitting of mod kits.

Home Entertainment

Repairing home entertainment equipment including component level repairs of power supplies and other PCBs. There are a number of common faults that occur in screens, tuners, and amplifiers - many of these are fixable. These include power problems, audio faults, and some screen issues. Smashed screens are generally not economically fixable as it is difficult to source, transport, and fit the panels which are also very expensive - and often not even available. If your screen is larger than 42", it will be better to contact a dedicated TV repair service as I do not have workshop space for large items or offer call-outs.

I also repair hi-fi and other home entertainment products including CD players, amplifiers, and speaker systems.

Some faults include:

• Device won't turn on or stay powered up.
• Audio equipment has no sound, sound on only one channel, or buzz/hum.
• Record turntable does not rotate or has speed problems.

Musical and Audio Equipment

I play several instruments including guitar and bass and also repair electrical and electronic musical items like this, including guitar amps, effects units and vintage pedals. This can be anything from straightforward pickup or jack sockets, all the way up to some really quite weird and wonderful vintage instruments. I recently repaired several Elka 77 Electronic Accordian tone generators from the '70s, rare instruments from the origins of 'electronica' music!

Some example repairs:

• Guitar and Bass pickup, controls, or jack problems.
• Amplifier buzzes, crackles or power supply issues.
• Mixer faults.
• Effects, tuners, or pedals that don't work.
• Powered speakers (including bluetooth) that just won't turn on.

Other Electrical Items

There is very little in the world of home electronic or electrical items I have not fixed, so I won't list them all here. Computers and laptops, through to toasters and Hoovers, have all been on the bench. However, I am unable to look at small kitchen and home electrical appliances at the moment as I have a lot of complex repairs in my queue - these items are best taken to a local repair cafe.

PCB Repair and Soldering

I enjoy fixing anything, but my real specialism is at Printed Circuit Board (PCB) component level diagnosis and repair. Being able to quickly identify the tiny cause that is stopping a whole PCB from working correctly is beyond the training of many repair techs these days. In some cases I assess and diagnose the PCB in-situ as part of the wider system, but in others clients will send me the PCB on its own to work on. The important factors for successfully repairing single PCBs are:

• The PCB has been properly verified as the cause of the system fault, and not that other parts of the system are making the PCB appear faulty.
• There are obvious signs of the main problem area of the PCB e.g burned components or liquid damage/corrosion.
• I am given information on how the PCB is supposed to function and the symptoms of the system.

If that all sounds a bit complex, I just mention it because I am sometimes sent a 'faulty' board that works fine and also I get asked about repairing boiler control or appliance PCBs. I can and do repair them, but not without further information from whoever diagnosed the PCB as the cause. Otherwise, you don't need to worry about all this if you just give me, for example, a whole device that won't turn on. In this case, I still do component level diagnosis and repair - you just don't have to hear about it!

I have strong skills in bench soldering techniques, both through-hole and SMD components using hot air rework. This allows me to restore faulty PCBs back to health.

I also take on those small electrical soldering jobs that are all that is needed to get your item working again. This includes the repair of electronic car key fobs which often need a small bit of work on them, instead of having the expense of getting a new key through the main dealer.

About

I have nearly 40 years of experience in electronics and electrical engineering. When not working on domestic items, I work in the entertainment industry maintaining and repairing specialist lighting and sound equipment for concerts and other shows. I specialise in fixing things at component level, meaning diagnosis and replacement of individual faulty parts on a printed cicuit board (PCB). Often working without schematics, I trace faults using a range of diagnostic techniques and use soldering and rework methods to replace all kinds of electronic components.

My main goal is to promote a repair and re-use culture and give people the opportunity to have their electronic and electrical items repaired rather than having to throw good things away. Because of this, I also volunteer as a repairer at a local Repair Cafe in Weston-Super-Mare.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much will my [thing] cost to fix?

Short answer: Contact me. For a lot of electrical and electronic problems that are not stock repairs, it is difficult to say without testing it BUT I can tell you quite a lot if you send me as much detail of the item and its history as you can. I may also get you to test the item further and be able to give you an idea of the likelihood of a successful fix and an estimated cost. If we have exhausted triage via message and I think there is a good chance of a successful fix that you will be happy with, I'll get you to bring it in. This system works very well, as it means that you can have information about the potential repair without having to bring the item first and means I can fix more stuff more cost effectively. Diagnostics start at £20.

I have a broken [thing], do you want it?

I don't deal in items or have storage for stuff. I don't take donated items or buy faulty equipment for spares or repair but if you want something working again then I can help. The only items that I may buy are genuine games console controllers that I fix and provide to my local customers.

I have a 30+ year old [thing] and I wonder if it might be useable again?

One common situation is when a potential customer hopes that the lovely old bit of kit they were given or picked up at a car boot sale will be working once again with a few tweaks. Chances are that there are a whole bunch of things that need tweaking/replacing on an item of this age and that the job is not a cheap fix. Anything several decades old and reasonably complex is not going to give you much change from £100 at minimum - we are into 'restoration' at this point.