A while back I had to repair my GE microwave oven. After moving the stove and getting the 50 pound beast off the wall I took it apart to find that it was a Samsung in disguise. Autopsy revealed a dead magnetron tube. The tube was a dead short from filament to plate which is unusual. I got a new Samsung tube for about $100 on Amazon. The oven has never been abused and doesn't see heavy use, so it was likely a cheaply made tube that shorted due to warpage or an internal capacitor short. The oven has worked fine since the tube was swapped.
Here is a picture of the last Samsung phone I bought. It is a Note 2 from over 10 years ago. It still works fine, and fulfills a suitable job for which it is well suited despite the cracked screen. It's the timer on my treadmill since I don't plug the treadmill into AC power. All new houses have arc fault interrupting breakers to prevent fires, and the 20 year old treadmill has a DC motor with brushes in it that trips the breaker. Ever run fast on a treadmill and have the power go off? it is a jolting experience when the belt stops and you don't.
I got tired of paying the "Samsung tax" at the phone stores, so I use cheap Motorolas that I get on Amazon for under $200. They will last me until my daughter breaks whatever I give her. I will then give her mine and get a newer one. I don't remember how much the Samsung cost back in 2012, but we were paying AT&T over $160 for monthly service on three phones after the fones were paid off. The Motorola looks better and works better than the Samsung, but cost me $179 from Amazon. We pay $15 per month for each phone on Mint mobile which is a reseller of T-Mobile service.
Here is a picture of the last Samsung phone I bought. It is a Note 2 from over 10 years ago. It still works fine, and fulfills a suitable job for which it is well suited despite the cracked screen. It's the timer on my treadmill since I don't plug the treadmill into AC power. All new houses have arc fault interrupting breakers to prevent fires, and the 20 year old treadmill has a DC motor with brushes in it that trips the breaker. Ever run fast on a treadmill and have the power go off? it is a jolting experience when the belt stops and you don't.
I got tired of paying the "Samsung tax" at the phone stores, so I use cheap Motorolas that I get on Amazon for under $200. They will last me until my daughter breaks whatever I give her. I will then give her mine and get a newer one. I don't remember how much the Samsung cost back in 2012, but we were paying AT&T over $160 for monthly service on three phones after the fones were paid off. The Motorola looks better and works better than the Samsung, but cost me $179 from Amazon. We pay $15 per month for each phone on Mint mobile which is a reseller of T-Mobile service.
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This has been my experience over the years as well. It all comes from the fact that tin-lead solder itself is structurally quite weak. Add to that poor electrical, thermal and mechanical engineering to end up with failure prone products.
Wiseoldtech, how many VCRs came in with cracked solder joints on the PCB mounted RCA connectors - hundreds, maybe thousands?
These would crack simply due to the cable weight, or from the VCR being shoved against the back wall of the entertainment center.
Still happens to lots of products that rely on "solder only" to mount connectors, switches, etc. to a PCB.
That reminds me of the very first home made PCB's I did on copper clad paxolin. Hand drawn and I tinned all the traces.
I've an old Benkson TR5 (runs on two AA's that last around 6 to 9 months) and I use it every morning having breakfast while listening to the news. All original. It must be 45+ years old and was bought in the most northerly Woolworths on the UK mainland for about £4 or £5 as I recall.
I've an old Benkson TR5 (runs on two AA's that last around 6 to 9 months) and I use it every morning having breakfast while listening to the news. All original. It must be 45+ years old and was bought in the most northerly Woolworths on the UK mainland for about £4 or £5 as I recall.
@Mooly
At home around the house, I'll carry an old Radio Shack AMFM pocket-sized transistor radio around to catch up on the news or talkshow stuff. (mainly all daily doom & gloom crap.)
Runs on a typical 9V battery for months.
At home around the house, I'll carry an old Radio Shack AMFM pocket-sized transistor radio around to catch up on the news or talkshow stuff. (mainly all daily doom & gloom crap.)
Runs on a typical 9V battery for months.
We had an early flat screen TV/Display from them -- power supply died and since it was "keyed" via a microcontroller to the display you couldn't just swap-in a linear supply. The display was under warranty (thankfully) but was no longer manufactured so they built a new supply from scratch.
In a few years, the display went into the recycling bin and we got a Sony.
First PCB I did was for the front end of a ham receiver in one of the 1960's ARRL Handbooks. Never finished the project as I went off to college!
I just fixed an industrial steam oven, the company who sold the oven were unable to fix it, because they were unable to find a new pcb board, however they were willing to sell a new one with discount, for only 6000 dollars.
Spend two hours, and a few parts, it's working fine again
Spend two hours, and a few parts, it's working fine again
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😎 I remember those kind of little radios (we had Radio Shack or Tandy here).
Here's the little Benkson. The dial comes up well in a picture, in reality it is a little faded and you can see a + (cross) from the window that has shielded dial from UV light.
This was the first transistor radio I had -- image is from one for sale on EBay. It was a promotional gift by General Electric to some of their suppliers. (The GE light bulb plant, Nela Park, was a client of my dad.) The batteries corroded and I was unable to fix it. Prior to getting this one around 1957, I had two Remco crystal sets:
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Speaking of "growing up" with a transistor radio, in my pre-teen years my mom gave me a Bulova "All Transistor" AM radio which I carried around like it was gold.
Listening to WIBG "Power 99" and WFIL 56 AM for the oldies.
Listening to WIBG "Power 99" and WFIL 56 AM for the oldies.
"I could repair and restore my (could be) beautiful stand up Crosley radio. I also know there is likely no AM radio content that I would want to listen to with it."
WSM -- home of "The Grand Ole Opry" 650kHz -- been on the air continuously since 1925!
WMTR, Morristown NJ -- 1250kHz -- oldies -- it's only 5kW
WSM -- home of "The Grand Ole Opry" 650kHz -- been on the air continuously since 1925!
WMTR, Morristown NJ -- 1250kHz -- oldies -- it's only 5kW
I fixed a model railway DCC controller.
It had a failed microcontroller and shift register.
They run off different supplies so maybe latched up ?
Replaced them and it works fine now.
Fixed another where display was corrupting.
Turned out I fitted a 74HC164 when it should have been TTL compatible 74HCT164.
It had a failed microcontroller and shift register.
They run off different supplies so maybe latched up ?
Replaced them and it works fine now.
Fixed another where display was corrupting.
Turned out I fitted a 74HC164 when it should have been TTL compatible 74HCT164.
So a little more investigating and I found that the SMPS wasn't actually bad, the clock was pulling more current so I reduced the voltage to the nixies to reduce the current draw. So far so good.
In these times, a work-around would be to get an AM broadcaster-transmitter, they're also in kit form.
Not terribly expensive, but useful.
Hi,
at the moment I'm irn the process of repairing a HP6140A 'Precision Current Source'.
See https://calvins-audio-page.jimdofree.com/test-lab/lab-supplies/hp-6140a-current-source/
Those old SOTA devices are so much more HighEnd than todays HiFi's highend, that increasingly becomes just a pile of snakeoil parts bunched into a few app note circuits and housed in overweighted casings.
jauu
Calvin
at the moment I'm irn the process of repairing a HP6140A 'Precision Current Source'.
See https://calvins-audio-page.jimdofree.com/test-lab/lab-supplies/hp-6140a-current-source/
Those old SOTA devices are so much more HighEnd than todays HiFi's highend, that increasingly becomes just a pile of snakeoil parts bunched into a few app note circuits and housed in overweighted casings.
jauu
Calvin
Anyone for improvements on the driver stage / transformer coupling / power output? ;')
One time in the mid 80s I got this old breadboard radio with the a,b,c batteries at a flea market in Chelmsford Ma. I somehow got it operational on the kitchen table; there was a headphone-level speaker also, either came with it or I had. As I tuned it - 3 dials, two of which turned these strange tunable transformer coupling devices - I found a spot playing period music from the time of that radio!
I thought, is this thing a time machine as well? Not only is it from that time, it takes you back there too. What luck!