Skype for tech work?

[SquashyTundra6]

Hello everyone, I'm currently learning to work on different kinds of gearbox etc so I can start doing some tech work for people who can't do it themselves and I'm just wondering if skype was an option for doing it?

So the person I'm helping has a webcam pointed at their gun, or whatever they want fixed, and if it's a gearbox I'll have a camera pointed at my own gearbox of a similar version so I can talk them through verbally and visually what exactly to do at each stage. I'm thinking this could be done to replace gearbox components, find flaws or the causes of issues within the gun, or if possible help them shim and grease the guns. I could also do it to help eplace triggers and hammer assemblies and all that in pistols. It just means that it can give the person the confidence to open up their guns in a controlled environment of sorts, and allow anyone to learn from the experience to fix their own problems, instead of giving it to a tech and having no clue how they fixed or upgraded or even what they fixed.

What I want to know from all of you is would this be feasible? Is there any major issues that jump out at you straight away? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Daniel

 

[Samurai]

It's not better than watching a youtube video IMO.

But of course if there is demand for it, then do it.

 

[Sitting Duck]

it is do-able and could work if somebody was really really stuck......

BUT the main component with many things is common sense

you can watch the best videos & even have a 2-way radio headset when learning to ride a bike

but in the end you have to just get on the saddle and give it go - there is no safety net after removing stabilisers

a simple picture says a thousand words if something is broken or worn badly

often that picture may throw up alarm bells of something else caused that part to fail

The main problem is both you and the other person being online at the same time

yes they or you could take pics or short video even upload to youtube or somewhere to demonstrate problem

There are loads of vids/pics already out there - some good & some not so good if the owner does a little research

it is not rocket science but you can watch all the vids in the world but at some point we all have to remove them stabilisers

and get our hands dirty so to speak.......

The worst case scenario - they screw it up and learn from mistakes like many of us do everyday

they can take a step back seek some clarification & help - perhaps then the pics/vid of their mistakes would be a good thing

then try, try again - its just a gearbox and if it goes total pear shape a new box can be bought in most cases....

My own personal opinion is to start with half decent run of the mill v2 or v3 boxes - M4's AK's or G36's etc......

easy to find tutorials/info and cheap to replace if things really go pear shape and owner breaks it whilst fixing it

By all means look into it - but owners should research stuff a little and above all ensure they have good old common sense

eg: - never opened this before - open box in bag so bits don't explode everywhere losing springs etc.....

take photo's of where this n that was before I dived in and now not got a clue where it all goes etc....

there is a guide or tips section that says all this and a lot lot more -most of it is there already

it is up to gun owner if they can be bothered to read up a bit or expect spoonfeeding or just send it to a shop and pay

 

[Baz JJ]

Yes its feasible.

Im sure there are people who dont have the confidence and could repair it themself with remote help, so I suspect there is a denand.

It's not the same as the You Tube self help videos as they aren't interactive, where as this, would be.

However, I presume you want to be paid for this so you have to devise a way of charging, both fairly and in a way that people can't take your advice and then just close the Skype link without paying.

You also need to establish credibility and have a way of dealing with complaints if you advise wrongly and they break their gun or they break it due to a misunderstanding in communications.

Try to explain to somebody how to do up a neck tie to see how easy it is to misunderstand commands. You need to be very good at communicating and being concise.

Some of the people fix their own guns because they cant afford to pay for tech help and as we all know, there are scammers out there.

 

[SquashyTundra6]

Okay guys thanks for the responses, you've given me some stuff to think about!

I'll take all this on board and try work something out, and then if there actually is no demand for it then no harm done I guess! However communications is a key aspect, might be worth finding a friend with zero experience and see if I can talk them through it in this format... Thanks Baz for bringing that up, I hadn't even considered miscommunication

 

[Gman1707]

i'd be interested in something like that as I can see myself trying to copy something from a video and end up screwing it up, whereas over skype someone could correct me and say what i've done wrong etc

 

[SquashyTundra6]

Yeah gman, that's how I was with my L85 at first, so it made me think this was a decent thing to try

 

[Rock-climby-Dave]

Starting this off by saying you are currently learning yourself is a worry.

There are SOOOO many problems that can cause knock on effects for various other issues in a gearbox and you need to know ALL of them.

Some of which take myself and a combination of other techies (with thousands of hours and hundreds of gearboxes between us) many hours to solve, trying different parts, theories etc.

On top of this, despite working on gearboxes day in day out in a clean, well lit workshop and being used to handling small parts under tension we still REGULARLY drop and loose little bits (we joke that the fix takes 20 minutes and finding the part on the floor takes 2 hours) Now, rather than a skilled set of technicians doing the work, how about some chump with no manual dexterity, potentially no one else around to help close a tricky gearbox lid and no actual experience doing the work?

The other thing I'd be annoyed about is when you suggest the wrong part. Sure, a broken piston is a broken piston, dead easy (but anyone capable of opening a box can work out the issue) it's when things get tricky enough to warrant a techy:

You are told that 'the gun misfeeds the first bbs in a mag'
1. Nozzle spring returns it fine, maybe the tappet plate, so you open it and sure, there's a little wear. You say 'buy a new tappet and call me back once it's there'

3 days go by and they call again

They fit it and nothing changes.

bizarre, maybe the nozzle is the wrong one, or worn out slightly?

Buy a new nozzle

again, 3 days go by and they get the nozzle fitted.

Still nothing.

maybe delay the tappet

again, parts ordered, 3 days yadayadayada

Still no improvement

and now it's a week and a half later, they're out 3 parts that weren't needed + postage, you'd be at £30-50 easily PLUS your fee (charge hourly or you might aswell not bother) AND they're frustrated AND the gun doesn't work.

had the gun been brought to me in store:

quick assessment, range for the techy to have a try of the issue - simple, the tappet return spring is worn out. Fit a new one.

When you pay the tech fee (certainly at Patrol Base) you aren'y just paying for the time taken, you're paying for every previous job where the tech has learnt something, worked something out to make your gun better, faster.

I can tell you (with a quick shoot on the range and chat with the owner) almost any issue with most gun types, I know foibles of different gearboxes and brands.

EG. KA V2 tend to have shit cut off levers, easily fixed with an ASG UU lever filed to fit (something that took me 13 minutes last time I did it from out of the gunbag, to tested and back on the rack)

 

[SquashyTundra6]

Dave that's a very good response and I see perfeclty what you mean. You've made a very good point thank you!

Just to clarify I don't intend on doing this anytime soon, only once I am much more confident in my own ability to do it, currently yeah I am fairly competent with a few pistols, aegs and gbbrs but definitely don't know everything, I'm still learning to do it all. I think starting on the ICS L85 was a great start if I'm honest, currently I'm applying my knowledge of that into other guns as I work through them.

But of course the only reason why I know my ICS L85 so well is because all three techs I took it to didn't fix my issues, one even made it worse and charged me £40 for doing so... I then had to rely on airsoft eds videos and a lot of frustration to carefully disassemble it to work out what the techs couldn't (with some messages from ed also). Now please don't think I'm arguing with you, it's just stuff like that is going to happen anywhere, y'know? So I ended up paying for two techs (the first of the three pulled my trigger and said he had no clue what was wrong and didn't have the time to look inside, so didn't charge me which is fair enough), several unneeded parts and also money for time, and then I still had to go elsewhere and buy parts to fix the problems that they should have fixed

Of course writing that out helps me realise what you are putting across, if the professionals can't fix everything in person then how could I manage it over camera? Honestly, I don't know, but I'm going to keep toying with the idea, it might work out in the end, once I am fully confident and know the various origins of majority of issues (willingness to learn will also help even if it does go ahead!)

Well, Dave you've given me more to think about, so thank you very much again, I really appreciate it

Perhaps it would work just to help change out some parts, make upgrades etc? Something more serious then I could reccomened a decent tech to actually let them get their hands on it, or even if they could I would have a look in person. I don't know, so many variables, but I'll work them out and see if it's worth going ahead.

ALSO, I was only intending on taking donations? If that soudns appropriate, I'm more doing it to help, not really interested in making a massiv worofit from it, it's a hobby at the end of the day, something I enjoy and would be more than happy sharing

 

[Rock-climby-Dave]

I'm not saying I don't like the idea, but people often can't see my sincerity online. It wouldn't work very well.

Whilst trying not to play my own horn, I'm not short of experience:

I've worked on M4s, AKs, G36s UMPs, FALs, SLRs, SCARS, M14s, UZIs, AEPs, M249s, P90s, EVERYTHING Plus loads of GBBRs PLUS pistols, PLUS mags, bodywork, custom machining parts, fitting parts that SHOULD work but don't. I can solder well, can make MOSFET units

and I still find it tricky to explain exactly what is wrong over the phone sometimes.

Not to mention, airsofters don't like to listen and always know better - I correct peoples pistol shooting technique when demo-ing pistols on the range, some like the pointers, some argue thats 'how they've always done it'. I point out only one of us is a nationally ranked pistol shooter and they STILL do their own thing.

You'd be better off learning cookery and doing that over skype, at least your market is bigger

 

[Sitting Duck]

I'm still a humble f*ckwit noob breaking and trying to fix 'em

but so much of what you say makes sense - I'm learning more $hit with every gun I break

(except how not to break them)

love the bit about parts SHOULD work but don't - yeah I'm finding that out too from time to time

usually after nearly throwing the gun down the garden I make small progress which makes it worthwhile

but to offer help is a cautious one

especially when the owner might not describe the fault correctly in the first place

and in other area's or pastimes/forums it often transpires that the problem isn't quite as first described

and the possible solutions are totally different when you realise the actual real fault in the end

(yeah those situations you just think I shouldn't have bothered to answer a call for help)

 

[SquashyTundra6]

don't worry about it, you do have a lot of experience, and it is something you should play up to a degree in a situation like this, makes you seem like a more reliable source than say some 12 year old with zero experience claiming to be a god with tech work, so yeah don't worry about it

Yeah I know what you mean about people not listening, I suppose with some airsofters they just don't care as long as it shoots and have no interest in doing anything themselves. Or I could just picture someone decide they know better over the skype call and pull something out and then the anti-reversal latch goes flying off never to be seen again

It's a shame, earlier today I was really enjoying my idea, now I've been brought back to reality a bit! It would need to have a set up before the call even starts, things like trays to keep small parts or other wee things to make life easier, I can't really see anyone putting any effort in before the session starts if I'm honest...

Regardless, thanks to everyone who has replied so far!

 

[GingerBreadMan]

In concept I think it's a good idea, but you would need to have a large arsenal to demonstrate the repairs etc. at the very least you would want a few different versions of gearboxes as well as more parts to go with it. This could mean that the cost could run high unless you limit it to just the weapons/gearbox types you own Like as you mentioned the l85

 

[Colonel Kurtz]

Seems like a good idea, until you get a dude sitting with an open AEG gearbox on his hairy naked lap.

And if you're guiding people through repairs, you'll encounter many people who it's beyond their ability, not in knowledge, but in co-ordination. When they snap something in half with their fat fingers while your guiding them, it'll be you they blame and you'll suffer a tantrum in some manner, on the spot or in review.

Perhaps you-tube videos created/tailored to request would be a good way to start and gauge how much demand there is and good practice for you, so if you ever get as far as guiding people live, you wont be stumbling/stuttering.

 

[Samurai]

But said fat hairy dudes breaking gearboxes, suffering minor injuries and swearing excessively in a youtube video would be hilarious.

 

[SquashyTundra6]

Kurt the idea of the tailored yourube videos is a pretty good idea, but it would require them to inform me in detail of everything that's wrong, and if they're good enough to tell me that in detail then do they need me to make a video for them? Although it coukd work for minor things like "How do I change the hammer unit in my we g17?" I could definitely do stuff like that even now on a tailored video, so perhaps you idea is much better than I first thought... Thank you!

And damn I just got a mental image of that... I never wanted to see a fat hairy bloke with his gearbox out!

Okay gingerbreadman... With regards to the different gearboxes I have that sorted, I have 4 at the moment which I ise however for custom parts I could maybe use a cheap 3D print model of the custom part they want and install it? I mean I won't use the part myself so it does need to be the genuine piece, however that opens a whole other can of worms!