RadioBanter - View Single Post

April 20th 05, 05:18 PM

wrote:

Maybe it's happened but personally I've never heard of an instance of
anyone with a broken mainstream radio not being able to fix it or get
it fixed because the manuals and/or the schematics couldn't be located.
Parts are another story but that's SOP.

It was a constant battle to find parts to manufacture several models
at Microdyne. Manufacturers would drop parts, whole product lines or
merge with another company and disappear. We had to stop building
several models because to cost to completely redesign the radio was more
than the expected sales. As a stopgap a few boards were converted to a
SMD and through hole mix, but that only bough a couple years.

All commodity widgets have design lifetimes particularly when they are
based in the fast-moving field of electronics Japanese and otherwise.
But there are tens of thousands of 20-year-old pieces of complex ham
gear still regularly on the air. I can't imagine why you would expect
any more than that for the service life of chunks of entertainment
electronics.

I don't run out and buy the latest and greatest toy of the week.
Most of the electronics i have are ten years old, or older. This
computer is over five years old but it still allows me to to do what I
have time for.

I have no idea but a buddy of mine has an IC-781 xcvr which cost him
over $6k 18 years ago and it's color LCD display still works as well as
it did out-of-the-box. Boeing is replacing the conventional instruments
in it's airliner panels with color LCD panels which better last 20
years and more or Boeing is gonna get spanked plenty.

They would just replace it and the driver with newer designs. On the
other hand Avionics has to meet strict standards so it is in a state of
constant change. No airline will ground a plane because they need
$20,000 worth of new electronics. I saw a news release a while back that
some of the early 747s were being retrofitted with the latest control
systems. On the other hand, there is a limited number of years the
airframe can be used and there is a thriving business in used parts.

Then they told me
to "stuff" my offer of free electronic components to help them with
repairs.

Are you kidding? That's nuts. With all due respect I'd like to hear the
other side of that one.

They told me they only used parts they could trust and never used any
old stock. What do they think they get on small orders from small
distributors? The parts have been on the shelf, somewhere. Sure you
can get oxidation on leads if improperly stored, but its not like they
are in damp cardboard boxes in my back yard. I think the real issue was
that they retired from Lockheed-Martin, and I had worked for Microdyne.
There was a rivalry, even though Lockheed-Martin was one of our
customers.

As far as weapons, I have
used a bow but I prefer an M-72. ;-)

Yeah, RIGHT . . ! Whoosh: Thud. So re-up, Rumsfeld is offering bonuses.

I'm over 50 and I'm disabled.

I charged him $10 and he hurried
home to get back on the air. Helping someone like that is better
than spending hours on the air to me.

Nice job. Could not agree more.

In a contorted way it appears that thee and me are basically the same
basic breed of radio alley cat. Bear with me here. It's a tale. I got
into ham radio over a half century because I wanted to move up from
SWLing and just reading National Geographic as a kid to get on the air
and communicate with others in foreign places. I'm still at it and in
my mind the magic of DXing the HF airwaves hasn't diminished a bit.

Here's part of the convergence: For the most part I simply can't stand
most neighborhood radio clubs for all the reasons you've cited recently
here and there in this NG. The poltics, the general clulessness, the
rambling disorganization, the lack of interest in my particular hot
buttons, etc. So I don't bother with 'em.

Different strokes?

You bet. I found my "cure" for the local radio clubs many years ago.
I'm a member of a wide-area regional ham club which is tightly focused
of HF DXing and DX contesting, a bunch who have the same narrow
interests I have. Works for me, maybe the format would work for you.

There's some huge number of electronics hobbyists across the country
including hams who get their jollies from tube electronics. Since
you're in what amounts to "geezer alley" in central Florida I expect
that there is a higher concentration of "tube huggers"there than one
would find elsewhere in the country. If I had your interests and lived
where you do I'd seriously consider poking around the area for others
of your ilk to clump with and form some sort of club centered on tube
radio, etc.

Most of the old timers around here have the attitude that they
stopped fixing anything the day they retired. There is a HUGE
retirement community near here that has spread into three counties. It
is full of retirees who think any manual labor is beneath them. They all
hire lawn services, they aren't allowed to change their car's oil on
their deed restricted property and no antennas so the hams there all use
handhelds. They are the most self centered people I have ever met.
They also have the highest rate of STDs in senior citizens in the
country. Not many electronics people around here. Its the "I built a
computer" crowd who wouldn't know which end of a soldering iron to pick
up till they smell burning flesh.

I was on the advisory board for the Lake County Vo-Tech Electronics
program. It was the highest rated in the state but the school board
shut it down. I haven't found anything here in Marion County. One high
school had a similar program, but shut it down as well. its no wonder
the few technology businesses are down sizing locally and shipping the
jobs to other parts of the country.

--
Former professional electron wrangler.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida