Merit of low-skill v's default?

[AstralRunner]

Originally Posted by Lord Carnifex

The example I'm thinking of is someone with Electronics Repair (Computer) asked to repair an aircraft search radar that lost more than half of it's HP. By RAW, there's nothing wrong with defaulting Electronics Repair (Sensors) to Electronics Repair (Computer) -3 (IDHMBWM, but I think that's right). Add Extra Time and Unfamiliarity. But I figure if the radar is half destroyed, and the repair tech has never seen the internals of a radar before, let alone the radar he's looking at, then there's no way he can roll.

I don't think this is correct. I'm not in the fleet yet myself, but several of my instructors have said that naval electricians and electronics technicians are routinely called upon to repair badly damaged equipment with which they have no prior familiarity or training, particularly on submarines, and they succeed more often than not with nothing more than their in-rate knowledge, experience, and the little circuit diagram on the inside of the equipment's enclosure.