Hi!

i repaired some microwaves, 20+ years ago, because they were
worth repairing. They used stainless steel for the interior, so you
didn't get peeling paint, and rust inside.

My mother bought the world's cheapest GE microwave and it lasted for a
few months past the warranty before dying in an interesting way. The
magnetron was the only thing that would start. Light, turntable and
fan remained dark. This is a good way to cook more than the food in
the oven.

I had a look and found a relay had desoldered itself from the board.
Put it back, oven springs back to life and things are good. For about
a month or two it worked. The relay was having none of that and
decided that if it would not get out of work by leaving the board, it
would turn to coal inside instead.

I was astounded that the GE oven had a service literature packet
inside it. Not a really good one, but enough to figure it out without
excessive exploration.

I got mad and drug a 60+ pound Litton oven out of storage only to find
that it worked *perfectly*. 30 years old and it works great. Used that
for a while until I found that getting a new compatible relay for the
GE was impossible. I turned the whole mess over to Best Buy, who took
the dead oven back and let me pick another.

I chose a Panasonic Inverter based oven as a replacement. (My mother
did not like the appearance of the Litton monster. Never mind that
*she* bought it.) Despite having heard the odd bad thing here on the
group, I know people who have had these for many years. And it is a
*great* oven.

William