Pro tip: check the local library for old electronics manuals

I was at the downtown library yesterday looking for a book and wandered into their tech section. They had a whole shelf of old service manuals for stuff like VCRs and tube TVs, some from the 80s. I found a specific repair guide for a Zenith model that I've been trying to fix for a customer. It had the exact voltage test points I needed, which saved me hours of probing. Has anyone else found a good spot for old paper manuals like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

viola_cooper621mo ago

Man, the real goldmine is estate sales. When an old TV repair guy passes on, the family just wants the stuff gone. I bought a whole filing cabinet last fall for twenty bucks, stuffed with folders sorted by brand and year. It's sad in a way, but that knowledge shouldn't just get thrown out.

janaf911mo ago

Oh nice, that's a solid find. I've had luck at university surplus sales too, they sometimes have old binders full of schematics for lab equipment. Grabbed one last year that covered a whole line of oscilloscopes.