[Elecraft] OT: RFI from Front Loading Washing Machines

[Richard Ferch]

K6KR wrote:

> Yours is anecdotal evidence based on small sample dizes. The  
> manufacturers have the data for large numbers.

Frankly, I doubt whether sample size has anything to do with it. It's 
much more likely to be the ability to meet current marketplace demands 
cheaply (these include consumer preferences for "gee whiz" features, as 
well as energy efficiency criteria).

Manufacturers and consumers measure reliability in different ways. To 
the consumer, unreliability is measured by failure to function as 
desired. To the manufacturer, unreliability is measured by warranty and 
repair calls, or perhaps if the issue becomes widely enough known to 
affect consumer confidence in the product, by negative impact on sales. 
These consumer and manufacturer measures can be very different.

If the typical consumer response to a failure is to go out and buy 
another unit from the same manufacturer, perhaps even a more expensive 
model, then unreliability, at least with respect to that particular 
failure mode, is actually good for the manufacturer's balance sheet.

73,
Rich VE3KI