[Hallicrafters] Re: Internet parts Supplier ?

[Joe Bob Brunson]

Egads!  C&H is going?  That used to be my favorite
store!  Since I live up in the Antelope Valley, I
don't get there nearly as often as I did when I lived
in Glendora or San Dimas, but I guess electronics has
changed.  Who here has ever replaced a surface-mount
IC in their computer?  (I haven't)  Who here has
repaired, or even had a table top radio made since
1990 repaired? (I haven't)  Who here has dug into
their flat-screen TV?  (I haven't)  

As I see it, most electronics today does not lend
itself readily to the average person servicing it. 
Drug stores and the local RadioShack don't have an IC
tester.  And the cost of components (several circuits
on one chip) is so close to the cost of a complete
unit that it makes better economic sense to throw away
the old set than repair it.  The upside is that
consumer electronics is vastly more reliable than it
was 50 years ago.  Out in my garage I have some 50-60
year old TV service publications, the advertisers in
which tout the serviceability of a particular set's
chassis.  Repair of TVs and radios was a routine fact
of life then.  Of course, there were more discrete
components, so the cost of a part was considerably
less than the replacement cost of the equipment. 
Since interest in servicing equipment was one point of
entry into electronics, that door has been effectively
closed.  Why would anyone in their right mind want to
repair something that is cheaper to replace?

WB6FQL




      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Like movies? Here's a limited-time offer: Blockbuster Total Access for one month at no cost. 
http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text4.com