How To Start To Become A Gadget Fixer By @fixed1t

Question From Subscriber:

Hi Malcolm, Where did you learn to repair electronics like clocks and this Nintendo console? Did you go to a special school to learn repairs?

Answer From fixed1t:

No I was always interested in dismantling things and putting them back together as a child, I used to ask people for old broken watches and after buying myself watch makers screwdrivers, tweezers, rubber grommets, and oil I'd taken them apart clean them and rebuild them. Then in my early 20s I tried to fix our band 'CIRCUS' guitarist fuzz box and failed badly, so I decided to build myself an analogue synthesiser from scratch from articles I'd seen in magazines on the lines that by the time I had it working I'd know what I was doing.  

As I couldn't afford the PCB's I made my own, and couldn't afford components so I ripped apart people old junk and desolder the parts and only bought what I couldn't obtain and this process has continued on from there. All of the fixed1t video fixes were done out of necessity for myself or to help others and then posted to help others who might want to try things themselves.  the fixed1t name came from repairing toys for a friends disabled son who had a habit of breaking them, I was there one bay when he deliberately broke something and was being told off and he turned to me and said "Uncle Malcolm Will FIXEDIT" but when I tried to use the name I discovered there were a lot of variations but no "fixed1t" thus fixed1t was born.

I still try to work on cheap solutions that most people could do with infinite patience. You may have noticed complaints from people about a few of my slow ambient compositions I put on my early videos, but I wrote them to be calming background pieces that help me relax and maintain my patience doing delicate slow work and for those who watch the entire video they'll see its by me fixed1t and its called "Patience Pays" and it does. They also complain my videos are tooooo looooong, without realising they are paced so that others can literally follow along pause, work move on, pause work. Alas people want instant 30 sec fixes, and thats the way to create crap fixes or to screw it up so bad that you end up throwing it away.

If you want to start fixing things, I suggest you go to a charity shop and buy the cheapest Quartz clock they have, take it home a slowly (taking picture as you go) dismantle it like this: . 

Then leave it a day or so and slowly put it back together. If you can remember how to just reverse you video and copy it slowly, I recommend that you have a calming or ambient piece of music in the background which will relax you and help you concentrate, it seriously helps and slows you down as your respiration will fall in with the music pattern and your heart rate will drop.

I find the 70s 80s electronic music from Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno or fixed1t useful ;-)

Please Let me know how you get on.

Regards Malcolm aka #fixed1t @fixed1t