Real men don’t read manuals do they?

[Nostrodamus]

When we bought the boat I had three folders of manuals for everything that was on the boat right down to those rubber stretchy things you have on mooring lines.

I have had the folders out on numerous occasions and have every intention of reading and digesting everything. I now estimate I have read about 10% and mainly because I tried to do it without the manual, failed and had to look at it.

Come on, I am a man, I don’t need manuals, I can sit with a piece of equipment for hours playing with it and it still won’t do what I wanted it to do. I am sure if I got the manual out it would take me 3 minutes to do it but that’s cheating, isn’t it?

I am sure there are wimps out there who buy something and read every part of the manual before taking the item out the box but real men don’t need manuals. I know this from the amount of questions people ask about DSC or chart plotters. Playing with them is far more fun than reading.

 

[marklucas]

Manuals?

Only by fully dis-assembling a device can the Zen like feeling of total understanding of form and function be achieved - as Robert Persig would say.

Except when either:

- the crucial little grub screw that holds it all together dives into the bilges
- on the path to Zen serenity, an unnoticed clip is broken off during disassembly necessitating the use of duct tape during reassambly

As an example, a friend had a Ford Escort and its heater fan stopped working. He went to the garage and was told "It's a sealed unit mate - that'll be £100." My MGB heater stopped working shortly afterwards. I simply took it apart, turned the graphite brushes around and extended the springs that held them in place.

Job done and - HHHmmmmmmmmmm!

 

[mjcoon]

... right down to those rubber stretchy things you have on mooring lines.

Snubbers? Much easier to look a thing up in the manual's index if you know the name for it...

Come on, I am a man, I don’t need manuals, I can sit with a piece of equipment for hours playing with it and it still won’t do what I wanted it to do. I am sure if I got the manual out it would take me 3 minutes to do it but that’s cheating, isn’t it?

Funnily enough my sister, who was trained as a secretary, claims not to read manuals either. But on the other hand I don't think she relishes "playing" as a way of learning e.g. how her satnav works. (That's the landlubber's chartplotter!)

I am sure there are wimps out there who buy something and read every part of the manual before taking the item out the box but real men don’t need manuals. I know this from the amount of questions people ask about DSC or chart plotters. Playing with them is far more fun than reading.

That's partly because people think that trying things out will not render their kit useless. Perhaps the one part of the manual they may have to look up is the "reset" sequence to cancel the unwarranted settings they made during "play"...

Mike.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Oh I love the reset button. Everything should have one.

 

[mjcoon]

Only by fully dis-assembling a device can the Zen like feeling of total understanding of form and function be achieved - as Robert Persig would say.

Except when either:

- the crucial little grub screw that holds it all together dives into the bilges
- on the path to Zen serenity, an unnoticed clip is broken off during disassembly necessitating the use of duct tape during reassambly

As an example, a friend had a Ford Escort and its heater fan stopped working. He went to the garage and was told "It's a sealed unit mate - that'll be £100." My MGB heater stopped working shortly afterwards. I simply took it apart, turned the graphite brushes around and extended the springs that held them in place.

Job done and - HHHmmmmmmmmmm!

As Google says: "Did you mean: Robert Pirsig". But I recognised the name as the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance notwithstanding. I have a copy somewhere and must finish reading it sometime...

A couple of reminiscences (since I am in my anecdotage). As a student I was using a Creed teleprinter as a paper tape punch when it broke down. I found that I could keep it working by replacing a broken spring with an elastic band, but called the service engineer anyway. When he came I heard him muttering that he had been called out for no fault. It was satisfying to point out that it needed a more permanent fix than mine!

On the other hand I took my Psion 3mx PDA apart and fixed a minor fault. But when putting it back together I broke two tiny surface-mount switches without which the unit would not work. Fortunately the part number printed on them enabled me to track down the manufacturer who took pity on me and sent me replacements as "samples". The real catalogue item would have been a reel of a thousand switches for an automatic assembly machine.

"Dis-assembly" is even the term used in IT for reverse-engineering a computer program. But it is a very difficult approach, as it is for all sorts of discrete or integrated electronics...

Mike.

 

[macd]

Oh I love the reset button. Everything should have one.

...especially weather forecasts.

 

[guernseyman]

Manuals are invaluable for two things:
(i) informing you whether the device will work on your power supply, and
(ii) informing you of the location of the On/Off device and how to operate it.

 

[sigmasailor]

'If everything else fails, read the manual' is my motto...
Just kidding, I do read manuals but also try to figure it out without manuals.

 

[A1Sailor]

Oh I love the reset button. Everything should have one.

Including Beneteau's new First 40.7 computer game. If, part way through, things aren't going well you press the reset button and you get to start again...

 

[te2070]

A saying I first heard as a trainee comp tech comes to mind

RTFM - Read The F******g Manual

Issued to problematic customers - usually men

 

[Sandy]

Come on, I am a man, I don’t need manuals, I can sit with a piece of equipment for hours playing with it and it still won’t do what I wanted it to do. I am sure if I got the manual out it would take me 3 minutes to do it but that’s cheating, isn’t it?

Us engineers are a hundred times worse! Still, I say I learn more from hands on than reading it in a book.

 

[HinewaisMan]

But, after putting everything back together, why is there always one bit left over?

 

[sigmasailor]

But, after putting everything back together, why is there always one bit left over?

I guess you're not counting nut rings?

 

[timbartlett]

I must be really weird, 'cos I'm the other way about: it pi55es me off that so many products nowadays do not come with proper manuals -- just a "quick start guide" that tells you how to switch the damn thing on and then leaves you stranded. If I have bought something to use as a tool, I don't want to waste time "playing" with it to find out how to use it.

Even worse are the sales leaflets disguised as manuals that tell me that this device can do something or other but doesn't tell me how to make it do it. If I've already bought the f'ing thing and fought my way into the packaging, it's a fair bet that I know what I bought it for: I just want to get on with doing it!

 

[Sandyman]

But, after putting everything back together, why is there always one bit left over?

Murphys Law. Its designed such that you have to take everything apart again to find out where that left over screw was supposed to go. This has two benefits. Firstly that the gadget
is repaired properly, and secondly, to teach you a lesson in doing the job properly in the first place

Then again, if you can't find where the screw goes you might ask why was it needed in the first place

Manuals are for reference when you can't work it out for yourself.

 

[mjcoon]

I guess you're not counting nut rings?

Is that a sex toy? (Haven't heard it in an engineering connection...)

Mike.

 

[Blue5]

Not reading the manual is a sure sign you rich or have too much money, just call out the repair man...........

 

[sigmasailor]

Is that a sex toy? (Haven't heard it in an engineering connection...)

Mike.

So, looked it up (sorry Dutch is my first language); thought washer was inappropriate...but guess that's the correct term.

 

[A1Sailor]

Is that a sex toy? (Haven't heard it in an engineering connection...)

Mike.

How did you know Mike was Dutch?

 

[mjcoon]

So, looked it up (sorry Dutch is my first language); thought washer was inappropriate...but guess that's the correct term.

I have to admit I had guessed (but not about the Dutch).

Hence the story about the mad sex-obsessive who escaped from a laundry: "Nut screws washers, and bolts"!

Time for a cold shower, perhaps...

Mike.