[Elecraft] Tube radios and longevity

[Tom Taylor (EHOME)]

In a post about tube radios, someone mentioned that the K2 is far more
reliable than an old tube radio. I agree. I have a lot of old tube
radios (mostly Drakes) and problems develop every so often. So far, I've
been able to diagnose and fix anything that's come up. I haven't run
into any problems finding tubes, either. Probably a lot of the tubes are
original. Other than the set of original crystals going bad, I haven't
had any other problems with my K2 in two years.

What will be interesting is to see if a K2 lasts as long as this old
tube gear. Most of my old ham radios average around 40 years old and I
see nothing (other than a natural disaster) that would prevent them from
lasting decades longer or more. Will a K2 still work in 40 years? Will
parts still be available? From my experience with cheap calculators, the
LCD is certainly suspect. It will be interesting to see how many of us
will still have and use our classic K2's in 40 years. Can't wait!

Tom