Yes, times have changed and that is what the OP lamented. Until around 1990, it was still economical to have an in-house repair department that could find a bad IC or transistor. Almost everyone shopped first at HP and Tek because the equipment was very well made and serviceable. The lack of documentation is probably the main reason I never bought any R&S or Anritsu equipment even though both made some nice products over the years.
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I suspect that if there is a competitive advantage to publishing detailed documentation while charging the required amount to stay in business, someone would do that. Yet, nobody is stepping forward. Also, keep in mind that the number of skilled repair technicians is diminishing. Production lines are mostly using operators to make adjustments via software. There aren't many people left who are willing/able to find an open 5 mil trace somewhere inside a 16 layer circuit board with FPGAs. Tinkering with modern cars and electronics isn't much fun any more. I have a mix of old and new equipment. I like them both, but for very different reasons.
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Vladan
