Old electronics = Quality?

[Joe Blog]

The other day i was fixing mom and dads LCD TV after it finally refused to start I i realized that only a hand full of appliances have really stood the test of time in our hands out of the truck load we have went through. As we live on a alternative power Ive always found our Dicky, temperamental power system a good judge of the quality of a items electronics for instance quite often phone chargers will only last 2 weeks tops before burning out yet Ive been given quite a few old items years that still work fine after 25/30 years that seem to be unkillable despite the massive amounts of abuse they have received. The oldest item (and probably the stuffest) i have is a black and white t.v from 1969. I was wondering what all you lot think of todays electronics in terms of quality and whether or not anybody else has any thing that has stood the test of time.

[Mistral]

The other day i was fixing mom and dads LCD TV after it finally refused to start I i realized that only a hand full of appliances have really stood the test of time in our hands out of the truck load we have went through. As we live on a alternative power Ive always found our Dicky, temperamental power system a good judge of the quality of a items electronics for instance quite often phone chargers will only last 2 weeks tops before burning out yet Ive been given quite a few old items years that still work fine after 25/30 years that seem to be unkillable despite the massive amounts of abuse they have received. The oldest item (and probably the stuffest) i have is a black and white t.v from 1969. I was wondering what all you lot think of todays electronics in terms of quality and whether or not anybody else has any thing that has stood the test of time.

I think you've got a pretty bad case of selection bias. The only stuff you're still going to see around after 20-30 years (or even longer, if you're talking about the 1960s) are going to be the things that seem unkillable, precisely because all of the stuff that broke after one or two weeks...well, broke. By contrast, you've still got all of the electronics made in the last year or two to pick from, including the dodgy stuff which will break soon and simply hasn't yet. Really, things nowadays are generally far more reliable than they used to be, dodgy practices like planned obsolescence aside. If nothing else, the transition from BJTs to MOSFETs for integrated circuitry, comprehension of thermal and mechanical patterns of breakdown, and the systemization and continuous application of modern QA processes has vastly improved reliability, in spite of vastly increased complexity that has drastically increased the absolute number of failure points in any given piece of technology. Who remembers when "Japanese" in electronics was a curse word?
And I have never seen a phone charger that broke after a couple weeks tops. Sure that isn't selection bias as well?
...
And no, I wasn't thinking "Back to the Future" when I remembered jokes about Japanese electronics. Well, maybe a little. Or a lot.

[Joe Blog]

I think you've got a pretty bad case of selection bias. The only stuff you're still going to see around after 20-30 years (or even longer, if you're talking about the 1960s) are going to be the things that seem unkillable, precisely because all of the stuff that broke after one or two weeks...well, broke. By contrast, you've still got all of the electronics made in the last year or two to pick from, including the dodgy stuff which will break soon and simply hasn't yet. Really, things nowadays are generally far more reliable than they used to be, dodgy practices like planned obsolescence aside. If nothing else, the transition from BJTs to MOSFETs for integrated circuitry, comprehension of thermal and mechanical patterns of breakdown, and the systemization and continuous application of modern QA processes has vastly improved reliability, in spite of vastly increased complexity that has drastically increased the absolute number of failure points in any given piece of technology. Who remembers when "Japanese" in electronics was a curse word?
And I have never seen a phone charger that broke after a couple weeks tops. Sure that isn't selection bias as well?
...
And no, I wasn't thinking "Back to the Future" when I remembered jokes about Japanese electronics. Well, maybe a little.

Seriously, the black and white tv will run on a 100 volts despite being rated at 220 to 240 volts, thats quality if you ask me and im am not talking about horrible valve radios and stuff like, that everything we have is integrated including the old t.v and i don't think i am being bias i am only sharing my thoughts on what i have observed. Maybe we have had a bad run of luck as most of the items we have bought have ended back at the shop.

[Aeolus Aeneas]

Well, all I can say is that the CRT TV I've been using for well over a decade still works just fine, as does the CRT monitor from the 90s I have to use because my LCD died on me a few weeks ago.

[Supreme Warrior]

well if its made in china/Korea/mexico its gonna be of poor quality and have a very random death rate.

and i completely see your point, stuff from decades past was of quality construction.

Hell even some blank media brands just a few years ago were of quality construction, like TDK brand media, they were some of the finest discs i ever had my hands on, now they are crap and chipping away.

And dont forget Gaming consoles, they are made to die nowadays from heat, hence why a Good cooling source such as a external fan is necessary to prolong the life of the console and piss off the Company's because they wont get your money after it dies after the warranty expires..

[deadlegion]

I've got an old Samsung Syncmaster CRT monitor I still use (but I'm generally not a fan of Samsung products).
Only thing that went wrong with it was a blown fuse many years ago 'cos I was using it without surge protection back then
That kind of issue is an easy fix though.

Got a Sony Trinitron 80cm CRT TV that still works perfectly as well.
Use it in my games room for non-HD consoles (old game consoles also survive pretty well, besides the odd laser dying).

I've got an old Yamaha Pro-logic surround sound system (pre-digital) that I use in my shed.
Couple of pairs of old quality speakers that still work well.......I've repaired the woofer cones on some of them due to age.

I wouldn't say Old electronics = Quality
But Quality Old Electronics = Quality

[Joe Blog]

The biggest annoyance about modern electronics for me is the effort company's put towards making their products unfix-able, using screws with a point in the middle to stop you getting them out is a pain in the ass another trick they use is making it so that you risk damaging the cosmetic appearance of your pride a joy trying to fix it.

[Supreme Warrior]

thats right man, they do whatever possible to make the "Quality Product" break right after the warranty expires so yer up shits creak without a paddle.

[Sprung]

And dont forget Gaming consoles, they are made to die nowadays from heat, hence why a Good cooling source such as a external fan is necessary to prolong the life of the console and piss off the Company's because they wont get your money after it dies after the warranty expires..

While I agree older electronics seem to last longer, anyone who uses those aftermarket cooling fans on their consoles needs a swift kick in the softies.
Those will kill a console faster than any design problems.

[Supreme Warrior]

While I agree older electronics seem to last longer, anyone who uses those aftermarket cooling fans on their consoles needs a swift kick in the softies.
Those will kill a console faster than any design problems.

you are thinking of the 360 one, I have never had a problem with a external cooling fan, they have actually prolonged the life my systems,and i have friends who say the same .

[Sprung]

you are thinking of the 360 one, I have never had a problem with a external cooling fan, they have actually prolonged the life my systems,and i have friends who say the same .

Yes, the ones for the 360 are hideous. They sound like helicopters and direct the air away from where it needs to be...

[Supreme Warrior]

Like the wii one for example, the pissy wii internal fan is meant to blow air out the back of the system as air from the side vent comes in to cool the insides, the internal fan does NOTHING to keep it cool and many people i know have had issues with the wii overheating, got a external to snap on the back and its like a freak9in wind tunnel and keeps it cool, yes the bastards are a lil noisy but my wii staying cool is more important than a lil bit of noise, plus i mostly use headphones when playing

[Joe Blog]

Console cooling these days would probably put me off buying a new console, surely the manufacturers know of these problems when they release their products, i miss the days when pretty much anything passive cooled it seems most things run hot these days LCD TVs seem to get quite toasty considering there suppose to be efficient they sure through out a lot of heat.

Like the wii one for example, the pissy wii internal fan is meant to blow air out the back of the system as air from the side vent comes in to cool the insides, the internal fan does NOTHING to keep it cool and many people i know have had issues with the wii overheating, got a external to snap on the back and its like a freak9in wind tunnel and keeps it cool, yes the bastards are a lil noisy but my wii staying cool is more important than a lil bit of noise, plus i mostly use headphones when playing

I didn't think a wii could over heat a friend of mine has got one, i wonder if he is aware of the cooling issues......

[Knightshade]

just thought i'd say on my laptop my hard drive and motherboard crashed just before the warranty went out free fix no problem.

got the computer back 3 months later monitor went out no warranty this time cost for hp to fix the monitor $350 I only paid $500 for the whole lappy. CRT monitor that I found at a thrift store $10.

me happily being able to use my computer again priceless some things you can't buy for everything else there's good quality older electronics.

[Supreme Warrior]

indeed, it not now but down the road the heat will take its toll on the videocard and such.

and the 360 and PS3 are even worse, when i had a PS3 for a small period of time i only had the disc in the unit for say 15-30 minutes and once i removed it, it felt literally like the disc would melt in my hand, not to mention made my room into a oven.

Main issue is Intentional Faulty Design and inferior quality products made in a communist country all for the sake of saving a buck, I really REALLY HATE outsourcing.