wrote in message
ps.com...
On Sep 11, 6:28 am, "Arfa Daily" wrote:

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 ...

I think you are about 30 degrees tangentally off the mark on the
causes, but pretty much dead-on with the results.

Keep a couple of points in mind:

a) Most "Name" manufacturers, even Denon, Sony, Yamaha, and Nakamichi
job out mostly all the content in their equipment. Vertical
integration such as in the past (Use names lost in the dimness of time
such as Philco or RCA that made _everything_ inside their equipment
except the wire from tubes to coils to speakers to the cabinet itself)
has pretty much vanished in the electronics industry.

b) Computerized manufacturing techniques within specialty
manufacturing facilities pretty much makes "similar" parts in long or
short runs commodity items vs. custom (bespoke) items after the first
50 or so roll down the line.

c) Keep in mind that WalMart is not the only end-user that chokes its
vendors and suppliers for lower prices. Consumer electronics
manufacturer end-users have an interesting technique of not paying for
inventory until it is actually installed in the item. So the supplier
is not about to make stock much further in advance than is certain to
be needed. He might not get paid for them.

So, Denon/Yamaha/Sony wants 12,000 transformers to a certain
specification. They _WILL NOT_ make them internally, but will job them
out to a transformer maker who will then deliver them *just in time*
as needed. Should the need be greater, the supplier will make more -
also just in time. Should the contract be cancelled, you can also bet
that he will have no surplus in his inventory either. Denon/Yamaha/
Sony then will make a bet on the number of spares that might be needed
(if any), buy them and then stop. They will also make an actuarial
decision as to how long they will support an item such that they might
consider a later run of such specialty parts... And that will be a
cold calculation: The cost of a later run vs. a very few ****ed off
customers who likely wanted something "new" anyway. Where do you think
that calculation will fall? Especially if that costomer can be made to
smile with a $25 gift certificate?

That they are slowly and almost inexorably putting the repair shops
out of business is simply not their concern. As to warranty issues, it
would be far cheaper for them to do again what is done in the US,
pretty much replace any failed items (under warranty) out-of-hand with
the 'latest' version and trash the failed unit rather than maintain an
actual warranty service station with technician salaries, parts,
shipping/receiving and so forth. All that they really need is the
shipping/receiving bit. Keep in mind that if *you* are paying $499.99
at Best Buy/Circuit City for a AV receiver, it likely cost Denon/
Yamaha/Sony something under $100 to make and ship.

The "Government" has not a damned thing to do with it. It is the
consumer that drives these things... and the average consumer is well-
and-truly hypnotized into believing that "old" is junk and not worth
fixing. And that same thoroughly hypnotized consumer will be damned
before he is willing to subsidize his neighbor's job by supporting
reasonable trade policies and the consequential higher prices.

As in most things, we pretty much get exactly what we deserve... and
exactly what we wish for.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA


I agree with most of what you say, but the original point was that the ball
game has changed again, and now "eco-policy" is playing a hand, and that eco
policy is government driven, because they all want to be seen to be 'doing
their bit' for saving the planet. It allows them to do more world stage
posturing, and more 'mine's bigger than yours' speeches - look at the way
Blair was before we finally got rid of him. It's as much about politics, as
it is about any genuine desire to affect the planet for the better.

The RoHS directive dealing with lead-free solder is a classic example of
government "we want to be seen to be doing something" pseudo-science driven
eco policy. If everyone in the business is totally honest, I don't think
there are very many that you would find that believed in the validity of the
science that drove this legislation in the first place, or believe even now
that the world is ecologically a better place for it, or that the equipment
is just as reliable as it was. In short, the end result in terms of eco
improvement is probably at best net zero, and more likely, it has actually
had a net negative impact due to the higher temperatures involved in
production, and the greater amount of kit being scrapped as a result of bad
joints on LSIs that render it not economically viable to repair out of
warranty. It just seemed to me that things like lead-free solder were a
dubious waste of time and money that had no discernable impact on the
environment, whereas an issue like spares availability, which would be
actually quite easy to legislate on - if only on the cost that manufacturers
sell them out at when they are still available - could have a huge and
genuine impact on the amount of kit being scrapped for what amounts to no
good reason. Does that make sense ?

Arfa