One of the reasons I get the impression that this was changed, was out of the many that took the class and passed the open book test, the feeling was that only a percentage were tech savy enough to actually retain the info, trouble shoot and repair the higher tech trains. Again there are quite a few folks here that could run circles around these courses, MartyF, GGG, and GRJ to name a few but a lot of the LHS Lionel Authorized techs that took the classes were not electronically inclined. I just got the feeling that as the locomotives advanced, many of the LHS techs were being left behind even with training.
It's a shame but in reality you used to be able to repair a lot of your vehicle too but now a lot of the folks who could do this work before have a hard time working on their cars even with training. I really wanted to take the course as well. I never had the chance given the LHS Authorized Lionel requirement and work schedule. I'll make the most of the on line videos.
Think about what you are saying Marty. The guys fixing this stuff now, under a Lionel Certification, have not been trained or refreshed in over 6 years. Last time school was given. Additionally for every person that doesn't want to deal with electronics, there are probably 10 that do. But, for those that do not want to work on their trains, how will posting video help them. They want to send to someone with experience that can rapidly repair their train.
Look how quickly folks jumped on the Wifi units. Do not underestimate the folks that are not afraid of technology. They do not need to know how to make it, they just need to know how it operates, what the typical faults are, have access to some basic wiring schematics and trouble shooting guides and access to the parts and tech support when necessary.
The car analogy that folks tend to use is so wrong in so many way. I can speak from experience as I keep cars on average about 20 years. My oldest is 46yo, I have cars 26, 14, 12, 4, 2 yo. Yesterdays cars need maintenance every 6 months and special tools to do it right. Timing gun, dwell meter, exhaust analyzer. How many people actually knew how to rebuild a carburetor, or cleaned it every six months as called for.
Today, you change oil once a year, filters every 3 years, plugs at 5 years plus . Brakes last 5 years, warranties run 3 to 10 years. No actual tuning required, though there are plenty of folks young to old, that plug computer into their performance cars and upload and download software to custom tune engine and transmission performance. Press a few buttons on your dash, and your car tells you exactly what is wrong and what sensor is required to be replaced, if you have a fault. Frankly, the reason less folks do maintenance is that there is less maintenance to do. Or their time is worth more to them than the cost of an oil and filter change at $19.99. Don't know how to do something, google it. You will find your specific car, year, and problem with a detailed video of how to fix it. Not just cars, computers, washer dryer, just about anything. BUT, if you do not feel comfortable in doing it, you have trained techs at dealers to do it for you.
Back to trains. IF you have a business model, where all repairs go back to the factory. You have a single point failure system. You have to find techs locally. I can speak on experience about MTH model. There are plenty of MTH service centers that support their customers easily and rapidly. But those customers that do not have tech or shops have to send back to MTH. That is quite a large amount and creates quite a backlog of work, when you have a small service organization, especially during the train season. Folk with LHS and qualified techs, and Folks on this forum who uses ASC tech via mail do not have those types of waits.
Lionel has already put restrictions on what you can send in and when. Time will tell his approach works. G
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