The primary mission of iPod Sick Bay is to help keep as many iPods running as possible, on a cost effective basis so an iPod that merely needs surgery to extend its life finds itself in the hands of skilled and knowledgeable iPod surgeon.
I want to make sure all potentially useful iPods don't find themselves in a landfill or traded-in to Apple (so they can be trash compacted) sooner than they need to, and I don't want one extra iPod over-manufactured as a 'replacement' when an 'organ transplant' (LCD, drive, battery) will solve the problem for some time to come.
Read more about what I do here and ISB's mission
Would you believe I'm also an award winning wine maker and photographer? (I shoot with Canon gear, it's faster)
Read Here about Frank Wines and wine making
And here's my Curriculum Vitae page, (it might not be up to date). If you detected that I know more about iPods then most, it's because I studied Computer Science in University. I actually have training in 8 distinct hardware environments and about 17 operating systems. I recognize the iPod for what it actually is.
George the cat and my dear friend, returns after 13 1/2 years missing
I need to tell you something more... you may have heard about a cat coming home after being gone for 13 1/2 years. That is me. George was 3 1/2 when he disappeared, and has come back weighing 6 pounds 3 ounces from the 14 pounds he used to weigh. Right at this moment, because of the care George is under, I can't answer many or all phone calls as they come in but I respond to email within 4 or 5 minutes. Send me an email with your phone number in it and you can expect a call back from me in 5 to 10 minutes after I get done feeding him.
I know this is all quite strange but spend a moment reading the Scientific American article on his return here:
Other articles on George's return are here
Here
and here
and if you can read Hebrew, there is this
I'll try to answer calls, but if you can email me this would be better for me at this period, while I have to feed him each 4 hours. Thank you... really, I appreciate everybody's good wishes. - fw
Hours of Business(all days of the week)
I am here at iPod Sick Bay World Headquarters ;) almost all hours
Every Day of the Week
and I am generally happy to help anyone
from 8am to about... 8pm.
If you want to bring your iPod to me to repair, that's perfectly fine, I need you to call first ( toll free 1-877-iPod-Pro or 707-544-4400 ) before stopping by just to make sure that I'm not at the post office shipping iPods back to people or out running or at the gym. Those are about the only reasons I wouldn't be here.
If you are in the area and want your iPod/Digital Camera/Cell Phone/Gaming Systems fixed and I'm not available you are free to use my "Emergency Patient Admittance System". There are padded mailers and work forms at the front gate of the iPod Sick Bay. You can put your device in a mailer, put your
name and phone number on the work form, seal it and drop it in the Postal Mail Drop on the left.
I will then call you to discuss your device, its problem and it's solution.
If you are distant... I have people send me their iPods from as far away as Scotland, Korea, Greece, Sweden, Brazil, London/Britain, Canada and *all over* the US.
Here is the degree of intensity I exhibit at my work
http://www.ipodsickbay.com/recent_fixes_13.shtml
It should take 5 stamps on a padded envelope or a plastic bubble mailer to get it from there to here with a total "out of your hand and back into your hand again" experience of 4 maybe 5 days depending on where a Sunday falls.
If you want it sent back to you using Priority Mail add $5.
If you want your iPod sent back using Priority Mail and Insured add $11
BE CERTAIN TO INCLUDE, your name, address, phone number and email address
Send it along with a check for $40 (or you can PayPal in the funds once it arrives) to the address below.
If there is an unexpected discovery and somehow additional parts are required, I'll contact you by email and we will decide together if it's cost effective.
If you move forward with the repair you can PayPal in the money for the parts, I'll know more once it's "in the operating theatre".
Frank Walburg
2145 Service Court
Santa Rosa, CA 95403-3139
More on my fees is here. The $40 labor fee always includes return shipping (except international where it's $15 more and they are sent back Global; Priority Air) and you get a refund of $20 if somehow I can't or it's impractical to do the repair.
http://www.ipodsickbay.com/fee_structure.shtml
More on methods of payment is here:
http://www.ipodsickbay.com/payments.shtml
These are comments people have sent me after they received their iPod back fixed.
http://www.ipodsickbay.com/comments.shtml
And as you know, I am always available by phone (1-877-iPod-Pro) or email when you need me.
frank
Even when I can't fix their iPod, people appreciate what I do
This is a message that one of my customers sent. I wasn't able to fix his iPod. He lost it in a raging river after a big storm while bunny hopping rocks in the river on his Mountain Bike to get across. Three weeks later he found it at the bottom of the now subsided river.
"Hi,
I sent you my waterlogged Ipod back in October. It had been laying on the bottom of a river for three weeks, the result of a bike crash.
Even though you weren't able to salvage it (I think you said it had three or four fatal errors), I just wanted to say that the $40 that I spent to see if it was at all repairable was probably the best $40 I spent last year. It answered all of the questions of "What if it can be repaired or the data recovered" and the answers were provided by someone who knew what they were doing. It wasn't me fumbling around trying to pry open the ipod and figuring out what to do next. Getting the ipod pieces back with the $20 bill was just an added bonus.
I'm not sure how many people thank you when you can't repair an iPod, but I wanted to say that I was glad I found your website on the internet. Hopefully I don't need your services again, but if I do, I'll definately be a repeat customer.
Just an FYI...Over the holidays, my brother-in-law mentioned that his iPod has a cracked LCD screen, and I passed your contact information on to him with my endorsement.
Chad Krueger
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin"
I'm in Sonoma County... Northern California wine country.
If you live nearby, are traveling through or live in the San Francisco Bay Area bring your iPod to me and I can do the work while you wait or go wine tasting for a while. Send me an
email just to make sure I have on hand whatever parts your repair will require.
Call or email me
with questions or to set up a repair. You can also call, I am here most days from 8am to 8pm
Toll Free 1-877-iPod-Pro (1 - 877 - 476-3776)
Send the device to:
Frank Walburg
2145 Service Court
Santa Rosa, Ca 95403-3139
Methods of payment
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