Re: USB microscopes for very small SMT

John Larkin wrote:
On Sat, 06 Dec 2008 08:59:10 -0800, Joerg
<notthisjoergsch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Joel Koltner wrote:
"Joerg" <notthisjoergsch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:pZj_k.9394$c45.64@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buying simple things is becoming tougher as well. For example the number of toasters without chips in them is dwindling.
But the quality of toasters has improved significantly with microcontrollers: I remember as a kid, it was uncommon to find a toaster that would let you run through multiple pieces of bread without them getting lighter and lighter on each cycle, until by the 4th or 5th cycle the entire toaster was so hot it would only "toast" for, say, 10 seconds before popping up the bread again even on the darkest setting.

Our first family toaster was the kind where you had to open the sides "just so". Then the slices would flip. If you did it wrong and wedged it smoke would come out. It had no thermostat. The tool you used to determine slice tan was on your wrist and said Timex or something on there :-)


To some extent this was probably due to our buying cheap toasters... we probably went through a half-dozen sub-$20 toasters until my mother one day bought a nice Braun unit... but of course in the store you have no way of knowing how good the toaster really is, regardless of the price.

Braun used to be good. But we found their coffee makers didn't last more than 1-1/2 years lately. So why spend extra for a name brand anymore?

My kettle, cone, and pot have been in daily use for about 15 years and
are holding up fine.

The guts of a coffee maker, a toaster, or a stove - temperature
extremes, steam, crumbs, oil - are horrendous environments for cheap
electronics.


It used to not be that way, back when more engineers knew about analog. For example, one classic mistake I find in my consulting practice is the use of too high impedances in low-energy sensing circuits. A little moisture, a little dirt, and it'll be on the fritz. The right way is to use low impedances and then pulse-measure. But it seems universities don't teach that stuff anymore.

Yesterday a friend told me a sad story: They have a double oven, friggin expensive, IIRC it's a GE. The controller up top is, unfortunately, electronic and expensive, In ten years the third one has died so now they consider this oven a total loss. That is pathetic.

Our double oven is over 35 years old. When it dies I will go to great lengths to find a replacement that is controlled via bi-metal thermostat switches. I don't want any PWM or whatever in there. Just relays, bi-metal and switches.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

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