More dead electronics

[Bufford]

I have had two DVD recorders die in the past two weeks. The panasonic DVD recorder only lasted 2 and a half years before the laser would only read and not record. Cleaning didn't help so into the dumpster it went. I bought a replacement panasonic 25 and it lasted 2 weeks before I smelled it burning. Now it only playsback and doesn't record.

It seems like electronics today are inferior to electronics made 20 years ago, and those made just after vaccuum tubes died out. During that time electronics seemed tough and durable. Vaccuum tube technology was unreliable at best, and it seems that the new stuff made now is no better.

Are there any brands/modles that are better than others? If so which unit(s) should I look for? I am wondering about JVC. I have a top loader that is over 25 years old that is going strong. But I need a DVDr.

 

[gkruty]

Phillips. Bar None!!!

They were the first and still the best CD-r and DVD-r makers. Their r&d is well ahead of the curve, and their durability is exceptional compared to the rest of the "disposible" electronics manufactures.

 

[Gollnick]

It seems like electronics today are inferior to electronics made 20 years ago, and those made just after vaccuum tubes died out. During that time electronics seemed tough and durable.

Think back. There used to be a TV repair shop on every corner. Try finding one today. A big part of the reason for that is simply that the business just isn't there.

Laser diodes are items that are known to have a limited life. Unfortunately, alignment issues make it impractical to replace them in the field. And the new Blue laser diodes for the new video disk standards? Speaking of a product that's not quite ready for prime time...

In general, we are going through a bad time in the electronics industry. A handfull of environmentalist whackos in Europe decided a few years ago that we had to stop using lead in electrical solders. We've been using lead/tin solders for about 75 years now and we've got the process down pat. To force the industry to invent and switch to an entirely new soldering chemistry in just a few years is insane. But, that's what they did. Europe is a big market and nobody wants to run two different soldering processes. Furthermore, other environmentalist whackos throughout the world jumped on the bandwagon and a lot of countries and American states (spearheaded by the sovereign nation of California) have also adopted new laws.

There's little if any long-term reliability data on the new soldering processes. What we do know is that the new processes can form brittle intermetalic compounds that can crack causing premature joint failure. I call this electronic osteoporosis.

What I do know is that we're doing this wreckless change in soldering processes at the same time that we're also changing to HDTV and many consumers are buying new TV sets. Sony has already had major reliability issues in TV sets manufactured with lead-free solder. There's gonna be a lot more.

I, for one, am trying not to buy any big-ticket consumer electronics for the next few years.

I'm not a big fan of service agreements. They're usually not a good deal. But, if I was going to buy a big-ticket electronic item in the next few years, I would opt for the service agreement.

Oh, and by the way, the old solders were typically 63% lead and 37% tin. The most popular new solders are 93-97% tin (the balance is typically silver and copper though quite a number of forumualtions abound). Mining and refining tin is much more environmentally-damaging than mining and refining lead. The US EPA (not exactly a anti-environment group) had concluded that more environmental damage will be done by mining and refining the additional tin than would have ever been done by the lead it replaces. Oppsie! Furthermore, electronic soldering represented only a few percent of the lead used in the world.

 

[Bob W]

I also think that companies don't do the quality control at the level they did in the past.

Buying computer components this year there were two items I had to return. The speaker set had one bad satellite and the power supply was DOA, the type of problems that would have been obvious had someone tested the items before packing. They were both higher-end components from well known companies (Logitech and Antec).

Our Phillips home theatre had to be "upgraded" this year. It mysteriously wouldn't play any new DVDs, and we've only had it three or four years.

Still, we've had the same television for almost ten years. We have VCRs from 1994-ish that still work like new. Our microwave was bought in 1990. There was nothing mechanically wrong with our seven-year-old Dell computer. Fridge, eight years. Stove, 60+ years. etc., etc., etc.

So I guess you win some, you lose some.
-Bob

 

[huugh]

Oh my,

First there is price: how much did your old (power hungry, bulky, enviromentally unfriendly etc.) device cost compared to modern one?

And as Gollnick said: can you find a repair shop nowadays? No, because when it brokes down, cost of human work needed for repair is higher than price of brand new device.

It is the same with cars,
years ago one was repairing SOMETHING all the time, had few crates of spare parts and did about 1/10 of nowadays mileage (not to mention the car itself was more expensive (comparatively) than it is nowadays)

Now you run 100 000km on car and change only oil, tires and brake lining but the moment the button on dashboard falls off it is unreliable rubbish...

 

[Shann]

I think you make a fair point, but there are some considerations. First of all, nobody wants to get something repaired anyways. There seems to be a never ending supply of new stuff and no need to get something repaired. If you can even find somebody to repair it, it will probably cost a pretty fair % of how much you would pay for a new one.

Also, I bought a Toshiba VCR in 1985. It lasted 20 years. But when I bought it I paid like $400.00 for it. I can buy a brand new DVD|VCR for $50.00 (more or less) now. I also bought a 20" tv in 1985. That cost me about $450 back then. I can get a new 20" tv at WalMart for about $100.00. Doesn't seem worth it to get it repaired.

I may have forgotten my original point by now, sorry