Last of the TV repairmen

Between hundreds of old television sets, dusty computer monitors and disassembled stereos, a path leads to Joe Lorberg's work station in the back of his shop at 215 S. Sprigg St. in Cape Girardeau. He's been there repairing electronics since the early 1950s.

Lorberg Home Electronics is one of few authentic electronics repair shops left in Southeast Missouri. Often, it's more practical to purchase a new television or radio than to pay for it to be fixed these days, Lorberg said. Customers typically take a more expensive piece of equipment like a PC or a flat-screen TV back to the store to be sent back to the company that made it.

"Newer stuff is made in such a fashion that there's not much to do for maintenance," Lorberg said.

Lorberg has tinkered with a lot of electronic devices in his shop over the years, including musical instruments, medical equipment and transistor radios. He also has worked on some modern devices, though for the most part, he deals with older electronics.

"It's not unusual when I'm working on a CB, for instance, and the customer will get a call on his mobile phone while he's waiting," Lorberg said.

When the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act goes into effect Feb. 17, 2009, broadcasters will end analog transmissions and switch to the digital technology that's taken over during recent years. Lorberg is not worried about losing his clientele because many of his regular customers get things repaired for sentimental reasons.

Lorberg recently fixed an antique Magnavox television set from the 1950s. He had to repair some of the tubes in the TV and happened to have some of the replacement parts in the shop.

The owner of the TV, Michael Ballou of Cape Girardeau, bought the set in a resale shop in Delta, Mo., for $20.

"I thought, gee, if I ever sell my house in Cape and move out to the country, I'll want to have a nice collection of old electronics," Ballou said.

As more electronic repair shops close, Lorberg's customers are traveling from greater distances. Some come from as far away as St. Louis to have equipment repaired. Common problems are wires chewed by pets or people forgetting to unhook the cable from the wall when they move a television set.

"Some days you have a day that nobody at all shows up, and then sometimes from the time I open up until the time I close there's people," Lorberg said.

Monday he was working on an organ for a piano teacher in Bloomfield, Mo. The piano teacher, Buddy Heaton, collects old organs. He said he's been doing business with Lorberg for years because he is the best repairman in the area.

Ballou used to work for the KGMO radio in Cape Girardeau and KJAS in Jackson, and met Lorberg more than 20 years ago when the electronics whiz worked on the radio equipment. "He was always the most trusted radio engineer," Ballou said.

Lorberg got into the business after his grandfather, Martin Lorberg, started a family company, Haarig Furniture & Undertaking in Cape Girardeau, in 1910. The business split into two different companies when Lorberg's father, Carlton Lorberg, became involved. Then electronics were incorporated into the furniture store as they became permanent fixtures in people's homes.

Joe Lorberg became interested in television sets and radios in high school. When he graduated in 1957, he began working full-time at the shop, eventually taking over the business.

Lorberg has some antique electronic devices in the shop, including a jukebox, a postage machine and a piano that plays music on its own when a coin is inserted. Over the years, the shop has developed a collection of abandoned equipment. Lorberg doesn't mind, he said. He strips the machines for salvageable parts or resells them after awhile.

"As long as I'm able to work, I don't plan to retire," said Lorberg, who is 68. "I'd be lost without anything to do."

Although Lorberg has worked on televisions most of his life, he said he doesn't watch much TV anymore.

tkrakowiak@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137