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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!tektronix!teklds!azure!michaelk
From: michaelk@azure.UUCP (Michael Kersenbrock)
Newsgroups: net.analog,net.audio,net.ham-radio
Subject: Re: Electronics wearing out
Message-ID: <255@azure.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Jun-85 22:17:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: azure.255
Posted: Tue Jun 11 22:17:29 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Jun-85 01:11:42 EDT
References: <11251@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Distribution: net
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 26
Xref: watmath net.analog:327 net.audio:5141 net.ham-radio:2822

[]
> 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.

I own one of those amateur radio devices (actually a Kenwood).  After
five years or so, when the battery goes dead, I do not intend to 
pay out several hundred dollars to replace the radio.  I plan to pay
two dollars and replace the battery.  It's just a little lithium
cell that keeps the 4-bit CMOS uC alive when the radio is turned off.
(Actually it isn't even necessary except that you'd have to reprogram
the radio everytime you changed out the ni-cads to another battery pack).
Other uses (like terminal baud rate storage, etc) would be similar.
It may be a pain to waste several minutes every 5 years to reprogram
whatever the battery went out in, but then ...

Mike Kersenbrock
Tektronix Microcomputer Development Products
Aloha, Oregon