Michael Kursbatt’s introduction to electronics pre-dates the era of solid state. In his early teens, the Haliburton retiree built a vacuum tube stereo and enjoyed music played on vinyl records.

After studying electronics in college, he kept up with the rapid evolution of the field in his professional life. At the Bell Computer Communication Group, he worked with teams who installed data transmission systems and modernized communication networks.

Michael now brings his systems savvy to volunteer roles. Today, he joins about a dozen volunteers at Haliburton’s SIRCH Repair Café to fix a variety of items ranging from electronics to clothing and jewelry. We caught up with Michael when he was disassembling a broken heating pad.

What’s the lowdown on this heating pad you’ve taken apart today? It looks like you are doing detective work.

I started by checking the condition of the plug and power cord, then checked the fuse and circuit continuity. The tests point to a problem inside the pad. There may be a broken connection or a burned-out element.

I’ve seen you here fixing everything from bikes to electronics and even a bedside clock. What is your approach as a fixer?

Part of it is your physical skills with your hands and tools. The main element is using your knowledge and experience to discover the source of a problem. That’s the fun part.

Finally, it requires intuition. There are some cases where an item can be repaired and used for many more years. In other cases, you may need to think about the quality of the item, the time and cost to repair it, and even factors like safety. Is this item worth repairing? I enjoy working through those questions and meeting many great people who visit our Repair Café.

Can you tell us about another recent repair and how it went?

One of our recent guests brought in her mom’s broken Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner. We got it apart. In this case, the good news was the discovery of a replaceable worn shaft and drive belt. Our guest was well-informed and prepared to order and install the replacement parts herself, and I was happy to lend a hand.

Manufacturers don’t always make it easy to disassemble their products, but we’re persistent and often succeed in restoring unusable items back into service.   

Michael uses a pair of scissors to cut open a portion of the heating pad’s fabric. Sure enough, inside the pad his excision reveals a broken wire connecting to the heating element. That’s a safety code issue, so Michael recommends retiring and replacing this heating pad. He explains the situation to the pad’s owner, who agrees it is time for a new one.

No bell tolls for this particular repair opportunity, but by the end of the day, Michael and his fellow volunteers will have repaired over 50 items — some of them functional, others sentimental, all of them given a new lease on life. Every time an item is repaired, a bell rings and folks pause to applaud.

Toss it? No way!

For more information on SIRCH Community Services, please visit: sirch.on.ca