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From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.analog,net.audio,net.ham-radio
Subject: Electronics wearing out
Message-ID: <11251@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 7-Jun-85 15:41:15 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.11251
Posted: Fri Jun  7 15:41:15 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Jun-85 03:39:30 EDT
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Organization: USAMC ALMSA
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Xref: watmath net.analog:320 net.audio:5110 net.ham-radio:2813

I have been hearing and reading disturbing things about electronic
components simply "wearing out" from use, or circuit designs which
use batteries for volatile ROMs and which will become useless after
some period of time unless deliberately maintained. The former
example includes a recent net.audio posting about the laser assembly
in a CD player having to be replaced after 5 years or so of use, and the
latter includes the control programming for the ICOM (and other brands)
of shortwave receivers and amateur equipment, wherein an on-board
battery must stay alive to keep a ROM programmed to keep the radio in
operable condition.

This troubles me. I had thought that we had a reasonable progression of
development of electronics during these days of solid-state gear
replacing tube equipment that meant longer life for any device. LED's
with essentially eternal lives replaced easily-burned-out incandescent
lamps. Transistors replaced tubes, and ICs and VLSI replaced discrete
components, and, assuming weeding out infant mortality and no actual
damage to the circuit, like overvoltage, it should continue to operate
indefinitely. Dipped caps replaced paper ones, etc.

But now I see that designers either deliberately build in inevitable
failures (the use of volatile ROMs and batteries instead of PROMs or
other permanent devices) or the solid-state stuff I was led to believe
had indefinitely-long lives really is as short-lived as vacuum tubes
(the laser diodes mentioned above).

I may be insane, but I really expect electronic equipment to operate
forever. I don't want to buy any that has built-in and inevitable
failure. I have a lot of old gear, some older than myself, that still
works. I expect this tube gear to wear out from heat and voltage
stresses but it hasn't yet. If I buy new stuff, without the tube-caused
heat and high-voltage stress, I expect it to last longer than I will!

I realize that consumer products have built-in planned obsolescence.
I'm not talking about small appliances, which I expect to die and be
replaced. I'm talking about multi-hundred-dollar equipment. Am I
totally unjustified in expecting such things to be designed to 
continue to work indefinitely without maintenance, except for 
mechanical stuff like motors, belts, pots, etc? (I would expect to
maintain anything mechanical -- purely electronic gear is different.)

Am I alone in this concern?

Regards,
Will Martin

USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin     or   ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA