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Most electrical/electronic items (radios, TVs, washing machines, ...) used to come with a schematic, or at least a block diagram, inside the device. Similarly,
by femto 2mo ago
Most electrical/electronic items (radios, TVs, washing machines, ...) used to come with a schematic, or at least a block diagram, inside the device. Similarly, published integrated circuit data sheets contained enough information to understand how the chip worked to a low-level. This changed around the 80s from memory? There wasn't a word for "open source" in electronics, as it was just the unnamed default. It was all paper based, as it predated wide-spread online distribution.
- EvanAnderson 2mo agoSome test instruments still come with "theory of operation" documentation. Those are tons of fun to read.
- tomwheeler 2mo agoMy parents bought a relatively inexpensive television in 1987 and it came with complete schematics, printed out as an addendum to the user manual. I was more excited about those than the TV itself because I had just learned to read schematics from one of the Forrest Mims books at Radio Shack a few months earlier. This was in the US and I am pretty sure it was made by Emerson.
- Waterluvian 2mo agoA dumb brand name dryer we got from Home Depot a few years back still has one of these. It was a breath of fresh air to unfold it and pretty quickly determine what part was bad with a multimeter and some high school electronics education.
- thaeli 2mo agoIt’s still the standard for “white goods” (larger home appliances) in general.
- nancyminusone 2mo agoMany of the simpler devices still do, at least mine do, though my washing machine just buzzes at the end of the cycle and doesn't play music or send me a text.
- jnpnj 2mo agoIn the early 80s, computers also came with technical informations. Even consumers oriented things like digital typewriters had programming and electronics booklets in the box. That didn't last :)
- RetroTechie 2mo ago> This changed around the 80s from memory? More like early 90's. In the late 80's it was still common & easy to order schematics, data sheets/books & the like from manufacturers. Usually @ cost, sometimes as a free service.
- pseudohadamard 2mo ago> The reasoning is pure Tsujimoto. “If you disclose all the information, customers can fix mistakes themselves.” This was actually the unofficial support policy for Cromemco Inc, "you've got the schematic, what's the problem?".