We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something
like:

Grimly curmudgeon re nukes:

the cheap ones are utter **** and
I'll not buy another one.

Whats wrong with them? I've not had one

A succession of three cheapies, all dead within two years.
Hinari, Swan and something else.
There's a Sharp I nearly killed with an exploding carton of milk which
has burst back into life, and that's worth fixing as it's a nice little
unit - needs the turntable motor looked at but it works ok as a
non-rotator m/wave as is.
Previously, I had /still have a 1kW Zanussi, which only needs a door
interlock - that is a good 20 years old and just works. When it was new,
it wasn't cheap and the quality is in it.