Schematic diagrams are the go-to technical document when troubleshooting any appliance. Every professional technician should be fluent in reading schematics and using them to troubleshoot. But the reality is that most techs don’t use schematics, either because they can’t read them or they don’t understand how to apply them to the actual appliance they’re working on. Unless you’re using the schematic to formulate your troubleshooting strategy, you’re wasting time and incurring liability from moving an appliance when you might not need to. You’re also guaranteeing that you will be obsolete as an appliance tech in the very near future.

This video reveals the elegant power of having Schematic Magic work for you:

You can do this, too! Learn how in the Fundamentals of Appliance Repair training course.

The point of the Fundamentals course is to teach you troubleshooting skills, NOT disassembly and parts changing skills. The appliance repair trade is full of guys who know how to disassemble an appliance and change a part but have no idea how to actually troubleshoot and diagnose what’s going on with the appliance. This is especially true if it’s a complicated circuit or involves a computer control board.

This is exactly the knowledge gap that the Fundamentals course is meant to address.

You can get disassembly and parts changing information anywhere. There are lots of YouTube videos out there that show you how to take stuff apart and put it back together. The service manuals themselves have lots of disassembly information. No need to pay for a training course to show you what you can readily find for free! At the Samurai Tech Academy you are going to build the troubleshooting and diagnostic skills you need to stand out from the crowd.

Instead of acquiring a pre-loaded Kindle with technical documents that may or may not be what you need, create your own custom, searchable library on the tablet of your choice following these 4 easy steps!

I’m going to show you how to save lots of money and make sure you have what you need when you need it.

It all starts with Professional Appliantologist membership at our tech support site, Appliantology.org.

The following four, easy steps will show you how to find and download technical documents at Appliantology.org.

(If you’d rather watch a screencast showing this, check out this Blog Post.)

NOTE: All of the images below can be clicked for a larger view, opens in a new window.

1. Log into Appliantology.org from your computer or mobile device. NOTE: Your Appliantology.org login is NOT the same as your login here at MasterSamuraiTech.com. They are two different websites with two different logins.

– If you are on a mobile device, you need to be viewing the Full Version as shown above. If you are seeing the mobile version, simply scroll down to the bottom and click “Full Version.”

– Look in the upper right-hand corner to make sure you see your user name. If you don’t, click “Sign in” to log in. (If you are not yet a member at Appliantology, please see this page.)

2. Use the search box in that upper right-hand corner to find the document you need.

– Click the grey box to select the Downloads section.

– Enter the model number of the appliance you are wanting to find information for into the search box. (Note: an optional, but helpful, tool is to use the asterisk symbol, as shown, as a “wild card.” This means that the search results will include any model numbers that begin with the letters and numbers before the *.)

3. Download the document that you want.

– Look in the search results for the doc you need.

– Click the document title, then click the Download button. It will open up the file and you will see the document.

4. Save the document and/or send it to your device.

– If you are at your computer, then you can save the document there, but then also share it with your tablet using an application. Popular app choices among techs are GoodReader, Evernote, or, if you have a Kindle Fire, Send to Kindle.

– If you are already on your tablet, then “Open in” the application that you use to store your documents (such as GoodReader or Evernote). (On iPads you double-tap the screen to get the “Open in” option.)

What if the search results don’t include the manual or tech sheet you are looking for? Simple! Go to the Appliance Service Manual Requests Forum at Appliantology and state your need, and your Brethren in the Craft will assist you by locating and uploading the manual you need to the Downloads section. Please follow the posting guidelines carefully to expedite your request.

Would you like to see a video that goes into more detail about how to do all of this? No problem – check out this Blog Post.

Having the right technical document with you on a service call and knowing how to use it are the two key ingredients to getting an appliance properly diagnosed and repaired.

Does that mean that you should try to find a mobile device that is already pre-loaded with appliance repair technical documents? There are several downsides to this approach, including the fact that you don’t know how current or relevant the pre-loaded docs are.

Instead, you can easily create your own information arsenal using a tablet of your choice and the powerful resource we describe in this video. It’s easy, cost-efficient, and effective.

This video has a lot of helpful details, but if you want a quick written tutorial instead, try this Blog post!

If you have a Kindle Fire, you can follow the procedures shown in the video to download your documents at your desktop computer, then use this application to send the document easily to your Kindle.

Then go forth and conquer!

Just got back from an excellent United Servicers Association (USA) regional training session (RSTI) in Boston, MA. If you’re not taking advantage of the RSTI near you, you might as well give yourself a lobotomy. Whirlpool Corporation was one of the manufacturers participating in the training conference. Dave Shertzer, from Whirlpool Corporation, was the instructor and presented a first-class training session on the new Whirlpool Alpha platform steam dryers and front-load washers.

If you can’t make it to the RSTI near you, you can benefit from my personal training notes from Dave’s session in Boston. Just download the PDF, copy and paste the password from the September 2014 USA e-newsletter (also at the USA blog) and you’ll be able to read my training notes just like you were there!