Equipment lifetime.

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

What is the actual life of equipment now?
We now have cellular phones that get replaced every year or 2.
But the old landline phone can still work, even if 75 years old.
The old farmhouse is now history, replaced by a subdivision.
Telephone service was so far out that there was a telephone line extender.
This is a 2 tube affair with original tubes, built in the late 1930's or thereabouts.
The other one I came across had a mid fifties marking.
So I decided to do some research and discovered that some tube equipment can last 20 to 30 years without service.
Contrast that with some of the latest and greatest and you see that there issues with longevity.
What gives?

[NQ6U]

Well, I use an Icom IC-736 which was built in 1995 (which makes it the same age as my car, now that I think about it). Fifteen years doesn't seem all that old to me but, funny thing, none of the local hams I know other than the boat anchor guys is using anything older.

[w2amr]

My Jeep is 16 years old. My car is 38 years old. one of my motorcycles is 29 years old,the other is 13 years old. Most of my radios are at least 55 years old. I'm surrounded by old things. Even my XYL.............
nah, better not go there.

[PA5COR]

The main radio FT 847 is from 1997, the FT 100 1999, the other spare FT 847 new in box 2005.
Van is from 2000, the wife's car 1999, all in impeccable condition.
The wife from 1964, and me 1952.....

Does that mean i'm an old timer now?
;)

[kb2crk]

The main radio FT 847 is from 1997, the FT 100 1999, the other spare FT 847 new in box 2005.
Van is from 2000, the wife's car 1999, all in impeccable condition.
The wife from 1964, and me 1952.....

Does that mean i'm an old timer now?
;)

and a cradle robber too...lol

[n2ize]

Okay, here are a couple of old things right in my immediate sight that work...

1) Johnson Viking transmitter... (57 years old and still reliable).
2) HT-44 receiver (1960's ? still functional).
3) General Electric Oscillating fan (vintage 1932... ...78 years old...still runs like new...runs for hours every day in summer).
4) Diehl Junior oscillating fan (vintage 1950... still reliable...quiet...runs all night on hot nights)
.
Thats just whats in immediate sight. Plenty of other old working stuff around.

[N2CHX]

Okay, here are a couple of old things right in my immediate sight that work...

1) Johnson Viking transmitter... (57 years old and still reliable).
2) HT-44 receiver (1960's ? still functional).
3) General Electric Oscillating fan (vintage 1932... ...78 years old...still runs like new...runs for hours every day in summer).
4) Diehl Junior oscillating fan (vintage 1950... still reliable...quiet...runs all night on hot nights)
.
Thats just whats in immediate sight. Plenty of other old working stuff around.

Not even going to talk about some of the vintage stuff I have or have had. Except the Johnson Viking. The Viking Challenger was my first rig. That and an old Heathkit super-regen SW receiver. I made a lot of contacts with those two radios. For the longest time I had a single crystal, 7.129. A single crystal, a Viking Challenger and a straight key. It was 13 year old geek heaven.

[W3WN]

I am reminded of the "lifetime" warranty on some old Ethernet cards.

If the card failed after 2 years and you called to enquire about the "lifetime" warranty, you were informed that the warranty was for the life of the card. Since the card died, it had reached end of life and was therefore out of warranty.

I don't recall the brand name now off the top of my head, but I remember that the company I worked for at the time bought the cards from the local CCA office/store. CCA ended up replacing the cards -- at their cost -- with those of a different manufacturer. Gee, wonder why?

[KA5PIU]

Hello.

And that is the point.
Modern products have a limited lifetime.
An old washing machine with the roller thing appropriately called a wringer could be rebuilt nearly forever.
I know, I have one, and it works fine.
But the new and improved washer might live 10 years and get replaced, in part over energy use.
The older washers use less energy still.
I will agree that the modern washer is far safer and easier to use, no risk of getting run through the wringer. ;)
Modern radios are far safer than the 5 tube AC/DC death box of yesteryear.
But this latest Made in China? lifetimes are clearly limited.
In fact, the vast majority of the small ticket items are not intended to be serviced.
No user serviceable parts inside should now read not serviceable.
Screws are being replaced by this one way plastic brad with barbs that must be drilled out, and they are stronger than the plastic they are in.
Parts, like picture tubes, are simply unavailable, not that it matters, DTV has made the CRT obsolete.
However I really do like my new TV, runs on an external 12 volt supply and runs Linux.
The only thing constant is change.

[N2CHX]

It's good to be steampunked...