Topic: MST Radio

Master Samurai Tech Radio Episode 13

Posted on December 21, 2015 by - Academy Talk, MST Radio

In this year-end vodcast, Samurai Appliance Repair Man and the Mrs. Samurai do some reminiscing about all the great students we’ve worked with during 2015, the new features we’ve added to the Samurai Tech Academy's state-of-the-art online appliance repair training courses and we describe even more improvements coming in 2016!

 

New features already in place:

- Midterm exam with open answers in Fundamentals: challenging, enlightening, empowering.
- Weekly live webinar “Office Hours” with the Samurai for students: powerful presentations and illuminating Q&A.

Exciting announcement: even though we’ve increased the features and benefits of the Academy, the tuition is NOT increasing! Instead, we have changed to a continuing access fee model. When you enroll in a course, you receive full access for 1 year (2 years if you purchase a bundle), then you can opt to continue paying a very small monthly fee for access after that time period. (Note: this does not affect students who have already enrolled.)

More flexibility in 2016: we are changing the nature of the quizzes - they will no longer be “blocking” - leaving it up to each student to personalize their learning experience.

Oh, one more thing… In our enthusiasm to describe all the exciting goings-on at Master Samurai Tech, we forgot to mention our year-end tuition special! D’OH! Use coupon code SUPERTECH2016 at get a 10% tuition discount off any Samurai Tech Academy course or course bundle! This coupon is good through January 6, 2016.

Merry Christmas!

You can listen to just the audio portion of the vodcast in the player below or subscribe on iTunes/Android:

Master Samurai Tech Radio, Episode 12 [Special Video Edition]

Posted on October 30, 2015 by - MST Radio

 

podcast1 200Industry Talk:
- BSH- what's the "H" stand for?
- Charge your smart phone from your refrigerator *wirelessly* with WattUp technology.

Master Samurai Tech news:
- New post on how loose electrical connections, like splices and terminals, can produce enough heat to burn wires and insulation. http://mrappliance.mastersamuraitech.com/loose-electrical-connections-and-heat/
- Recapping the dismal and outdated state of appliance repair training today. YouTube makes hands-on disassembly training obsolete. What we need today is BRAINS-ON training! Learning the theory of operation and the underlying technology in modern appliances today so you can figure out weird problems without relying pattern recognition (if this problem, replace that part). Real technicians today are skilled in the lost art of troubleshooting: following a cause and effect chain of reasoning to its logical conclusion and identifying the defective component that is no longer operating within specifications.

Business Talk:
- How to handle those tricky service calls where there was no problem found.

Tech Talk:
- Troubleshooting scenario: electric dryer element not getting hot. Good power supply. Known good element. Element connected: have 120vac from each end (L1 and L2) to N, but 0vac across the element terminals. What conclusion can you draw? Voltage vs. voltage drop; 120/240 single phase-split phase household electrical power supplies; loads in series.

Master Samurai Tech Radio, Episode 11

Posted on October 17, 2015 by - MST Radio

podcast1 200- Upcoming webinar on Schematic-foo: ancient Samurai art using tech sheets as deadly weapons in appliance repair. Get the details here!
- Appliance product training today: we don't need hands-on, we need brains-on. The future is here NOW!
- Bidness Talk: Pricing your services; fixed and variable costs; how much should you be charging for repairs? Strategic customer selection and when to fire your customer; Property managers: the scourge of the appliance repair industry?; Getting paid for your service.
- Troubleshooting: what it is and what it is not. Recognizing when you don't have enough information to make an analytical diagnosis.
- De-bunking another electric circuit myth... this time promulgated by a manufacturer. Using Ohm's Law to analyze the effects of high resistance/loose connections on a circuit using an electric oven bake circuit as an example.

Master Samurai Tech Radio, Episode 10

Posted on October 9, 2015 by - MST Radio

podcast1 200- We're back from our bidness trip last week but Mrs. Samurai has a cold so this episode is mostly Tech Talk.
- Visit to American Appliance in Golden, CO, one of Sub-Zero's premiere partners.
- Recap of Dacor training in their Android-controlled ranges
- GFCIs and AFCIs. What they are, what they do, how they're different, and current NEC requirements.
- Voltage and current in series and parallel circuits.

Master Samurai Tech Radio, Episode 9

Posted on September 21, 2015 by - MST Radio

podcast1 200- Samurai and Son of Samurai are off to Dacor training.
- Manufacturers focusing on producing higher-profit upscale major appliances and what this means for your service business
- Sub-Zero doing a huge expansion in Wisconsin to crank out upscale dishwashers and ranges. What are these manufacturers seeing that you should also be seeing as an appliance repair company?
- A recent Samsung warranty debacle shows how there’s a greater need for skilled appliance technicians but the trade is still “ate-up” with parts changing monkeys.
- Voltage sag re-visited.
- 120/240 VAC, three-wire, single-phase electric service vs. 120/208 VAC, four-wire, three-phase electric service. Samurai explains the difference between these two common types of electric service and gives some examples of how some appliances are equipped and labelled to work with either service. Link to a Samurai video that explains 120/240 VAC split-phase household service: https://youtu.be/zs4HjHhf0x8
- Customer selection: Do you pick and choose your customers? Why or why not? We talk about a recent topic at the tech-only forums at Appliantology where this subject came up. [Link to forum topic, must be logged in and a tech member at Appliantology to read it: http://appliantology.org/topic/55055-general-question-for-stovetop-wiring/]