The Home Machinist!

Here is an interesting article on tractor repair.

It deserves comment.

Do we already have such a situation with automobles?

I used to be a "Shade Tree Mechanic", but got too old to "get out and get under"!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features ... nd=premium

OH Boy...I could write a couple of pages on the subject matter pertaining to this article but I won't......what I will say is technology IS great when it works properly, unfortunately when it doesn't ( which happens all to often), you have to answer to the corporations that OWN this technology......that means reaching deep into your wallet, again and again and...
This is no different than the machine tool and software companies now. Forgot to make a lease payment on that new HAAS VMC in your shop? They shut you off. Machine crap out on you in the middle of a job and your up against a deadline? Good luck trying to fix it yourself, or even get the parts without calling in the service department, and you better pray your still in warranty. How about that CAD/Cam software you just bought....that you have to pay for every year, or you can't use it.
As for the auto industry...they were forced to make their technology available to the small repair shops/individuals....but every year they update/ change that technology forcing the small guys to continually have to pay to keep up to date. It's all about making money. Don't like it???? Just keep running your outdated tractor, car, computer, machining center , phone……..as long as you possibly can.

Nyle

My tractor is 35 years old; good.
Boat motors, one is 50 years old the other 35. Good.
Car 21 years old, packed with processors + electronic controls.
Not so good.

I've been in a JD shop where the repair team [yes, team] was gathered around a laptop connected to the tractor.
Nuts.
But everyone says John Deere is the good kind.

liveaboard wrote: ↑Thu Mar 05, 2020 6:09 pm My tractor is 35 years old; good.
Boat motors, one is 50 years old the other 35. Good.
Car 21 years old, packed with processors + electronic controls.
Not so good.

I've been in a JD shop where the repair team [yes, team] was gathered around a laptop connected to the tractor.
Nuts.
But everyone says John Deere is the good kind.

Around here they used to say "John Deere: twice as good, three times as expensive." Now they just say "John Deere: three times as expensive".

I've owned a JD, a Ford, and several Internationals. All pretty good, all about equally reliable. Also all over fifty years old, though.

I have a 1985 SAME Mercury 85; it has huge hours and when I got it every joint and bushing was worn to the extreme. Axle pivot had 4mm of movement.
Bit by bit, I've repaired it all. Bored and made bushings for the FEL, rebuilt the steering, etc. new clutches, brakes, rebuilt the alternator + starter.
It's burning oil and I still need to get into the motor, maybe I'll do that next.

I wouldn't do any of that for one of those electronic tractors.

What those articles said about the electronics being used by the farmers for information gathering is misleading; the gripe is not about soil information gathering sensors, but the engine controls that strip the owner of control over his machinery.

The bottom line is; if you paid for it, do you own it?

They are working this same tech into your hand tools.

I know Milwaukee has, or had, a line of rechargeable tools, that are bluetooth connected, to some big-brother Milwaukee app.
Great, except a contractor at the Nevada Test Site bought a bunch of them from Grainger's a few years ago, and they couldn't activate them. Dead in the water.
There are no cells phones allowed at either Test Site, so back to Grainger's they all went.

Smart TV's, smart refrigerators, smart washers and dryers.....and now..... smart tools?
Why? Doesn't seem very smart to me.

But wait, there's more! A smart grill!

I recently bought a new grill and apparently there is an option for a bluetooth device to tell you via your phone when your food is cooked...

GlennW wrote: ↑Mon Mar 09, 2020 12:10 pm But wait, there's more! A smart grill!

I recently bought a new grill and apparently there is an option for a bluetooth device to tell you via your phone when your food is cooked...

Better keep it disabled, cause if you don't emit too many green houses gases when you are cookin' up some steaks, the barbecue police, watching in the cloud, will shut the propane off!