FEATURED STORY FROM THE BEST OF BG 2019 ISSUE
Inspect UR Gadget
Fixing Things Has Always Come Easy To Inspect Ur Gadget Owner Tony Lonsway
For Tony Lonsway, owning and running an electronics repair business was not exactly what he thought he would be doing in life, although being knee deep in fixing things has always been a natural for him. Lonsway, a 31-year-old Findlay native, owns Inspect Ur Gadget, but originally was trained as a diesel mechanic.
“I grew up . . . around heavy equipment like tractors, bulldozers and stuff like that needs constant maintenance” Lonsway said. Living on a farm, he worked on, and maintained much of the equipment, explaining that it helped give him technical skills for later on in life.
From his early training on the farm, it was a natural extension to seek formal mechanical training while in high school. Lonsway attended the vocational school serving Findlay High School and Hancock County and calling it “probably the best part of high school, and learning automotive stuff. I was like okay; I want to keep going at this.”
“It is completely different than a gas engine, in a gas engine you light the fuel by sending a spark in the cylinder, as where a diesel engine you compress it and you get combustion.” Lonsway said.
“It fell into my lap,” says Lonsway, describing the events leading to the purchase. He originally started working in the store as an assistant repairing computers. But after a few months, the owner was facing some difficulties and offered Lonsway the opportunity to buy the store. Repairing things has always come naturally to Tony Lonsway and that skill has served him well.
“The smallest thing that you would not even think of can take them out, like a static shock,” Longsway says. “We have to wear anti-static wrist bands that are grounded to prevent static building up on us, so we don’t fry a circuit board without even knowing it.”
“I think I am done with the mechanical side, I’ve gotten to the point where my skills in electronics are more than the mechanical. I can fully understand the mechanical side, but that’s not changing; it is not interesting to me anymore,” he said. “The electronics always change, are being upgraded, it keeps me going, I am always fascinated by new tech.”
Inspect Ur Gadget is conveniently located close to campus near the intersection of East Wooster and Thurstin streets. Lonsway’s shop is equipped to handle most common personal computer, phone and television repairs.
To help bring in customers and ease their fears of a sudden repair bill, Lonsway offers free diagnostics and estimates for his customers. He not only repairs computers, smartphones and televisions, but he also sells them as well, including console entertainment systems. He tries to keep customer wait times at a minimum, with phone screen repairs being done on the same day when the part is one hand.