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Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956
Over the last year, we've noted the surge in so-called "right to repair" laws, which would make it easier for consumers to repair their electronics and find replacement parts and tools. It's a direct response to the rising attempts by companies like John Deere, Apple, Microsoft and Sony to monopolize repair, hamstringing consumer rights over products consumers think they own, while driving up the cost of said product ownership. John Deere's draconian lockdown on its tractor firmware is a large part of the reason these efforts have gained steam over the last few months in states like Nebraska.
In New York, one of the first attempts at such a law (the "Fair Repair Act") has finally been making progress. But according to New York State's Joint Commission on Public Ethics, Apple, Verizon, Toyota, Lexmark, Caterpillar, Asurion, and Medtronic have all been busy lobbying to kill the law for various, but ultimately similar, reasons. And they're out-spending the consumer advocates and repair shops pushing for this legislation by a rather wide margin:
"The records show that companies and organizations lobbying against right to repair legislation spent $366,634 to retain lobbyists in the state between January and April of this year. Thus far, the Digital Right to Repair Coalition—which is generally made up of independent repair shops with several employees—is the only organization publicly lobbying for the legislation. It has spent $5,042 on the effort, according to the records."
Source: techdirt.com
(Score: 1) by anubi on Friday May 26 2017, @12:08PM (1 child)
That's exactly the thing I have helped a few local businesses with around here using these little Arduino-compatible boards I design. I build an industrial version, where I have more noise immunity, and isolated inputs/outputs.
I'd love to go into business and sell these things, but frankly, I have not figured out how to make mine nearly as cheap as one can get one from Fry's.
I am reticent to place devices without sufficient isolation into industrial equipment. I like to see things completely galvanically isolated. If something fries, the extent of the damage is limited.
Last one I helped was a pizza restaurant with a 50 year old Hobart dough kneading machine. It would cost about $15,000 to replace it. The mechanical stuff was in perfect condition... that old thing is made like a tank, but the electrical stuff was pretty dated. It now has new solid-state relays and timer. Optical control switches.
And it all fit where the old mechanical timer used to be. However, I did have to make a new aluminum panel.
It took me a little time. I got free pizza from then on. ( I could not take the man's money.. he was a friend of mine and had just bought the restaurant, and was already having a serious cash flow problem. He made me an offer that if I fixed the thing, he would treat me right for pizza. )
My current project is building a powertrain controller for my diesel van. There has been all sorts of talk on the web about problems people are having, and I am convinced the E4OD transmission is a really well built device. I just need to control it carefully, and it should last me the rest of my life. Just don't burn it up letting it slip! There are just so many things I want the computer to help me with, that I finally decided it best to make a project out of it, and make my dream come true.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday May 26 2017, @10:44PM
Interesting regarding the dough kneading machine. Any photos? maybe that could be a thing. Salvage old machinery can give them a new controller card? Old fridges worked for decades so that may be worthwhile to refurbish.
Do your solid-state relays give galvanic isolation? and no leakage current that matters?
As for Arduino. Maybe it's worthwhile to go for 32-bit ARM? the price difference is small these days.
Regarding cars, have a look at this DIY electric car [triplepundit.com] for 12 900 US$. That outperforms the 20 times more expensive high end model S P100D. The key seems to be recycling of batteries.