Electronic Circuit Repair

The art of being able to carry out electronic circuit repair at home yourself is a great skill since circuits tend to go wrong somewhere or the other and professional help can get potentially expensive. The first thing that any homeowner should know about is electrical safety, especially when they are attempting repairs. The world has evolved from twenty years ago and now there is a device for everything which actually increases the likelihood of house fires and electrical hazards if units are not maintained and repaired the right way.

Electrician\Technician

If you lack the expertise to take on complex circuits yourself then your first choice should ideally be a qualified and registered technician. You can check with local authorities by dropping an email if there have been any complaints registered against certain electricians just so you can tick a mental box if you know nothing about them prior to hiring them. Most local newspapers have a section with various experts listed under utility requirements.

If you choose to fix or at least understand electronic circuits yourself the following starting points will come in useful:-

• The main switch is where you can turn off all appliances in your house and this is also the power supply which reaches every working circuit. Some devices have separates fuse boxes but most houses operate on one. Before you start working on a major circuit such as the one for a water heater and so on, it is advisable to shut off the main fuse.

• Circuit breakers are the next thing you need to know about as they are a newer invention which enable automatic shutdown of the entire fuse if there is an electrical fault of some kind that might escalate.

• The other important element you need to be concerned about is the wiring. Depending on the age of the house you are living in they could be well past their expiry date. For example cables and wires have not been covered with fabric or lead since the 1960s.

• If the circuit of any device around the house has stopped working you should first check the power supply which means the socket and the wiring leading up to it. If there is a strange smell or smoke emanating you would want to shut off your fuse box to prevent a fire. If the socket looks otherwise fine but slightly damaged then you will need to replace it by unscrewing it out and buying a new one.

• Damaged cables will usually look really rough and tarnished and should be replaced at the earliest opportunity as any minor electrical fluctuation and they can become a hazard.

• Try to understand the concept of an overloaded circuit as well and this is indicated by bulbs blowing out and smaller devices short circuiting. This is indicative of a larger problem with your electrical supply. If you are overusing the capacity of your electrical meter, these occurrences will become more and more common.