DIYbanter - View Single Post - fewer through-hole transistors available

Ralph Mowery

In article ,
says...

I was repairing a piece of old equipment, and needed a replacement RF
transistor. Checking at Digi-Key, I found very thin pickings, so i checked
a few other distributors, and found the same situation. They seemed to have
a modest choice of SMT transistors, but REALLY thin variety in T0-92 and
similar plastic packages. Not a good sign, as we have a lot of 30 - 40 year
old nuclear instrumentation here.

I worked in industry and had a lot of older instruments. Some were a
real pain to work on and the factory did not support them any more. We,
as the repair shop, told management they were just going to have to bite
the bullet and update them.

Some of the older mechanical ones were costing more for replacement
parts than new electronics, so was justified in replacing them.

Industry seems to hold onto equipment for long periods of time. We even
installed some used equipment that had a date on it of around 1920 and
refurbished dates in the 1950's.
I thin management thinks this stuff should last for ever.