"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...
I have just had a Denon AVR1800 AV amp come across my bench. It is a
reasonably sophisticated model with six channels and Dolby Digital and DTS
modes, optical inputs and so on. It has an open circuit power transformer
primary. Enquires to the Denon spares agent came back with the surprising
news that it is "no longer available".

Now this is not what I expect from a company like Denon, given that
according to the date codes on all the components, it was only
manufactured in 1999. So what are governments doing, by forcing all of
this lead-free crap on us in the name of eco-friendliness, and squealing
about householders and their lack of recycling responsibility, and then
allowing major Japanese manufacturers to get away with stuff like this ?

I've been in the consumer electronics repair game for a very long time,
and I realise that spares can't be kept for ever, but I really think that
for an item such as this, which I'm willing to bet being a Denon, set the
owner back a pretty penny when he bought it, should be supported by them
for at least 10 years, instead of it now being an otherwise perfectly
good, piece of written-off potential landfill.

If governments *really* want to make an ecological difference with regard
to consumer electronics, then they should stop pussyfooting around with
all this ineffectual lead-free crap complete with all the reliability and
service problems that it causes, and instead, make some serious efforts to
address the issue of spare parts availability and, even more importantly,
forcing the manufacturers to supply such parts at a realistic price, which
reflects the true cost price and storage. This would save a very great
deal of equipment, world-wide, from ending up as 'uneconomical to repair'
garbage, two weeks out of warranty.

Oh, and before everyone starts on the conspiracy theories about how the
manufacturers only want it to last just out of warranty so that they can
sell you another, I don't subscribe to this line of thinking. I believe
that poor reliability is down to the manufacturers cutting the cost to the
bone on component speccing, along with poor design by
fresh-out-of-university graduates who know all of the theory and none of
the practice. As far as the cost and availability of spares go, I think
that this is basic profiteering on the former, and that both are driven by
the company bean-counters. There. That's my rant for the week ... d|:-(

Arfa


Couple of things:

Here - years ago when I got into Electronics repairs - I was told two
stories - one being companies keep parts for 5 years - the other 10, so who
knows. I'm not sure if they still follow those rules - but if they do - then
in one case - I can see where you would be SOL. On the other (10) years -
you should still be able to get them.

As to recycling - it is such a joke. When I was like 6 or so and in
Elementary School - we had "film strips" showing us "future" recycling
efforts using factories and so on to recycle all sorts of products. In say
the past 10 years - bins came out with "some of" the local garbage
contractors - to separate cans, glass, etc... - but that "fad" - died. So -
they can harp on recycling all they want - they're not enforcing it like
they think.

And I agree - this country - maybe the world - has become a dumping ground
for irrepairable electronics. "I" don't buy "anything" new - unless it is a
must.
I much prefer the old and it is a lot easier to maintain. My eyes don't
swear at me for trying to see the SMD........