Cheap and fast repair project suggestions

[theycallmevirgo]

TL;DR

What kind of repair projects would make the most sense in the $200-$400 dollar range?

As I mentioned elsewhere, I'm going to be completing my bench at some point in the not too distant future and I'd like to look at some repair projects that will a) show some net profit and b) make me look like someone worth hiring. Obviously I can do PCs and smartphones (and I will do some of that, of course) but I'd also really like to try some more advanced tht/smt stuff. My main interest is audio, but that's fairly broad in and of itself and I'm not even that picky, as long as I can make some money and practice my soldering. My current monthly budget gives me about $200-$400 to play with, so any suggestions in terms of broken items I could pick up on ebay or what have you and resell would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance for any help

Joe

 

[berkeman]

b) make me look like someone worth hiring.

Hiring for what kinds of positions? SMT Rework Technician? Engineering Technician? Junior Engineer?

Your Profile page says that you are in undergrad -- what is your major and which year are you (sorry if you've already mentioned it in a different thread). What is your ultimate career after you graduate?

 

[theycallmevirgo]

Hiring for what kinds of positions? SMT Rework Technician? Engineering Technician? Junior Engineer?

Your Profile page says that you are in undergrad -- what is your major and which year are you (sorry if you've already mentioned it in a different thread). What is your ultimate career after you graduate?

That's complicated. I'm going through some health issues right now, and it looks like the insurer isn't going to cover the treatments I need. So, I need to put some cash together a little more quickly. I'm in a community college electrical engineering technology program, and I hope that in 3 years at most I'll be working in the field at least part time. So, to answer your question more specifically, I hope to get some practical experience as an SMT/engineering tech before possibly returning to school full time for EE.

 

[theycallmevirgo]

Hiring for what kinds of positions? SMT Rework Technician? Engineering Technician? Junior Engineer?

Your Profile page says that you are in undergrad -- what is your major and which year are you (sorry if you've already mentioned it in a different thread). What is your ultimate career after you graduate?

But, thanks for reminding me to straighten out my profile. I'll get to that shortly.

 

[Twigg]

I'm sorry to hear about your insurance situation. Been there.

Unfortunately, repair work won't make you the money you need in the time frame you need it. The market for small scale electronics repair has evaporated as the costs of manufacturing have plummeted.

Phone and computer repair/maintenance is probably your best bet if you insist on using your electronics skills. Most importantly, you can network and bring in jobs very quickly when anyone can become your customer. The most important thing is getting your name out.

Does your university have a large experimental physics / electrical engineering presence? If so, they might have a professional electronics shop. Try to get a job there. That's the best way to engage your interests and get paid. They may put you on inventory duty, but the projects they undertake are mind-boggling.

 

[Jody]

If you're trying to do EE technician-like jobs you might get lucky with layout and you could work on small projects with things like CircuitMaker (it's basically Altium-lite). If you can get your hands on Cadence Allegro that would be golden and you might be able to get access to it with a .edu e-mail. You can do several layout projects for free to pad the resume/CV, then have 1 or 2 of the projects fabbed and assembled. See what you can find about IPC standards (IPC 2221B is one of the main documents) and companies like Analog Devices and Texas Instrument they have app notes about layout and grounding; I also find some of the articles on signal integrity journal to be interesting although some of the topics might be advanced.

 

[theycallmevirgo]

Thanks for the suggestions. I need less cash than you might imagine (for instance, quite a few of my problems could be solved with a replacement mattress) so I wasn't really looking to buy a maserati. My point was simply, isn't there something I could reliably buy on ebay in some state of disrepair, fix up, and resell?

 

[Jody]

Do you want to become EE or EE technician, or are you aiming to become a technician like a computer repair center or something?

 

[theycallmevirgo]

Definitely EE tech. My father did 30 years in corporate IT, and it... didn't end well.

That aside, I can fieldstrip any desktop or laptop blindfolded.