Explanation of some terms that your technician may have used that you did not quite understand:

• OPEN CIRCUIT
• SHORT
• FAULTY SOLDER CONNECTIONS
• CIRCUIT BOARD
• FOILS
• RIBBON CABLE
• SURFACE MOUNT
• SYSTEM CONTROLLER
• SERVICE MANUAL
• LASER ASSEMBLY
• NOT COST EFFECTIVE TO REPAIR

“SHORT”
Opposite of “open”.  Many customers think a short is a bad thing however, it can be good when it refers to fuses and light bulbs and switches.  If a fuse isn't shorted, it's open or blown.  Light bulbs are the same way.  When it comes to many other components, a short is a problem.  Occasionally, the technician will encounter problems with components when they are “leaky” which means they're almost shorted and to the circuit that they are used in – might as well be.

“FAULTY SOLDER CONNECTION”
Solder is an alloy made of tin and lead and is melted onto the junction of component leads and the foil of the circuit board to establish an electrical connection. With age, these connections can become faulty. The connections can "crystallize" due to the age of the unit and the type of solder used. If the unit has been dropped or received some kind of shock, a solder connection can "pop" (the components leads can pull away from the solder).  The most common reason the solder connection becomes faulty is due to the repeated cycle of heating and cooling of the solder joint.  As this cycle continues, the connection worsens and actually gets hot enough to melt the solder thus causing the solder joint to crack or crystallize. A unit may run fine while cold, however when it heats up the cracks will expand in the faulty solder connection and the electrical connection is lost, therefore causing your problem.

THE FIX:
Re-heating and applying new solder to the joint often fixes the faulty connection. At times the old solder needs to be removed, the connection and lead cleaned and new solder applied. There can be hundreds if not thousands of solder connections in a unit. It just takes one bad connection to cause problems. Often these solder connections are quite small. This requires that the unit be closely inspected under magnification to find and repair the bad connection.  At times this can be very time consuming, and of course the connection that needs the repair often requires that the entire unit be disassembled to gain access to it.

“CIRCUIT BOARD”
A circuit board starts out as a piece of fiberglass or composite material with one side covered with copper. The layout of the circuit is traced onto the copper by various means and the trace is coated with an anti etch compound. The board is put into an acid bath that eats away all the copper that is exposed and not covered by the anti etch material.  This process leaves thin traces of copper on the board called foils. A foil serves the purpose of a wire to connect various components together that are required to make a circuit.  Holes are then drilled through the board to accept the various components needed for the circuit.

“FOILS”
As stated above foils are thin traces of copper on the circuit board that act as wires. Foils connect various components together that are required to make a circuit.  Foils can be very thin. This can make them rather fragile.  If the unit is dropped the circuit board may crack and break numerous foils. A foil can develop what is called a hairline crack, which will break the continuity of the foil causing an “open”.  Depending on the quality of the circuit board, foils can be easily “lifted” off the board by the heat required for a repair.  Lightning or an over voltage condition can “blow” foils right off the board.

THE FIX:
Circuit boards and foils often can be repaired. Limiting factors are how big the crack is, how many foils are broken and most important is the size of the foil. In today's electronics foil size can approach the thickness of human hair.  

“RIBBON CABLE”
A ribbon cable or a “flex circuit” is basically a number of foils that are encased into a flexible piece of plastic.  A ribbon cable is often used between moving parts in a unit, for example; between a fixed circuit board and a moving CD tray.  At times, the constant flexing of a ribbon cable will cause the foils to break inside the plastic.  This can also lead to intermittent operation of a unit as the circuit opens and closes.

“SURFACE MOUNT”
There is basically two ways that components are attached to a circuit board. The older method is called “Through-hole”. With through-hole, a hole is drilled through the circuit board and the leads of the components are passed thought the hole and soldered on the opposite side of the circuit board. The other newer way is called “surface mount”. With surface mount the components are soldered to the same side of the board that the components are located.  One advantage of surface mount is that both sides of the circuit board may be used. The advents of newer and smaller surface mount components means that more complex circuits can be created in a smaller area.

This advantage can also be a disadvantage if the circuit needs repair. The size of the new parts make them very difficult if not near impossible to handle. The solder connections are so small and numerous that often the circuit board is damaged while attempting a repair. The parts are often not numbered or identifiable. Obtaining a service manual is a MUST and even with a manual the unit may not be repairable unless the entire assembly, or board is replaced. This can be very expensive and often makes the unit not cost effective to repair.

“SERVICE MANUAL”
Every piece of electronic equipment has a drawing of the circuits that are used for that unit. These drawing are called circuit diagrams or schematics.   A complex electronic unit may have many schematics of the various circuits used. A grouping of these schematics along with other information such as a parts list and testing instructions comprise a service manual. These manuals are not free.  Cost of $15.00 to $45.00 is not uncommon. The most I have paid for a service manual is $90.00.  For older equipment the service manuals are no longer available.  Manuals are required to help in the diagnosis of a unit, and are required to obtain part numbers in order to acquire parts.
   

“LASER ASSEMBLY”
The laser assembly is that part of the CD or DVD player that “reads” or extracts information off the disc.  It is often the most expensive part of your CD or DVD player or recorder. Due to the  high cost of this assembly, it often means that the unit is not cost effective to repair if the laser becomes faulty.

Lasers can become weak. This will cause skipping, interment reading of a disc or non-operation. A weak laser can also cause the unit to be very sensitive to vibration or cause the video to pixilate in a DVD player.  Weak lasers can cause the laser not to read discs that may be slightly dirty or scratched.  Depending on the CD/DVD players circuitry, laser adjustments may or may not be possible.  Sometimes the CD/DVD player may not provide adjustment controls for the technician, or the adjustments are done automatically by a surface mounted processor. If this is the case, not much can be done.  Whereas adjustments may bring “life” back to the player, it should be understood that if the laser requires adjustments, the laser is showing its’ age. You may get a couple more years of use from your player, then again the laser may go down completely in just weeks or  months. There is really no way to tell. 

DVD lasers emit two different wavelengths of light (two different colors) One wavelength is used to extract information off of a CD. The other wavelength is used to extract information off of a DVD. As most DVD players are used to view DVD's, that part of the laser is used most often and will be the first part of the laser to fail.  Often when a DVD player fails and will no longer read DVD's, it will read a CD. Your DVD player just became a CD player.

Sad estate of affairs.... The laser assemblies being supplied today are cheaply made, with little quality control, and have a high failure rate. Yet the cost of a replacement laser assembly will approach or exceed the cost that you paid  for your CD or DVD player or recorder!!  If you get a year or a year and a half out of  your new CD/DVD player or recorder... count your blessings.

I don't sell DVD players. Even if I sold you a new one, it may not  last the 90 day warranty that I provide.  Yet I have no qualms in selling a CD player that may be 10 years old as it will most likely outlast anything that you can buy today.  Yes, sometimes "older" is better when it comes to quality.

“NOT COST EFFECTIVE TO REPAIR”
Whereas, this statement may seem self explanatory, many customers just do not understand why the technician may be telling them that.  Who likes to be told that their TV or Stereo is just not worth repairing?? After all they may have spent several hundred , or a couple thousand dollars for it and it may not be that old.

Manufacturers of many newer items being sold today provide little or no support.  First problem, you may not be able to find the manufacturer of the item that you just bought. Look high and low and you just find no information. You can't buy a replacement part from a company you can't find. Second if you do find the manufacturer, they may not sell  parts or provide technical information needed for the repair. No support. Many have a replacement and a "no repair" policy. Read the fine print on replacement and your blood pressure will go up and the vein on your forehead will start to throb!!  If you do find a manufacture that provides parts and technical information, often what they want for parts is unreasonable. Example, you just paid $800.00 for a new LCD panel TV. Little Johnny just threw a remote and cracked the screen. Replacement cost for the LCD panel is $1600.00 and guess what.... it's not available.

That said, many items can be repaired at a reasonable cost. However, when the cost of parts, service manuals, labor, postage, etc. are totaled up, the repair cost may approach or exceed the cost of the unit.  When this happens the unit is not cost effective to repair.

Just  to add fuel to the fire. Many new items supplied today are cheaply made, with little quality control, and have a high failure rate. Many items have a user life of less than two years. It may make more sense to purchase a replacement unit that may cost less and have a better warranty.