On Fri, 06 May 2016 16:56:39 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Fri, 06 May 2016 16:46:05 -0400, Micky
wrote:

So, does leaving the xmitter on all the time, year after year, make it
likely to wear out sooner than turning it on 2 or 3 tiems a week for
an hour or two, or more each time since I'll probably go out after
lunch and won't want to go upstairs to turn the xmitter off again?

No. Leaving it on will last longer than turning it on and off.
Electronics does not like to be power cycled. Power electronics is
worse because it doesn't like to be thermal cycled.

I had a good example of longevity. I had an SCO ODT 486DX2/66 server
running in my office 24x7 for about 15 years. I did manage to destroy
a few CPU and power supply fans (if it moves, it breaks), but most

Yes, I've noticed that. One time 40 years ago a neighbor asked me
what kind of TV to buy, and I said, All I know is don't get mechanical
tuning, get electronic. When I was over there next, it had a turret
tuner**, but I kept my mouth shut. Why did they even ask me, I
wondered.

**It was very easy to turn the knob, easier than any other that I've
seen before or since. I think it was mechanical, unless there was for
a while some sort of electronic channel selector that involved
rotating a knob. ??

everything else just ran and ran. The ancient Conner Peripherals
CP1060S 1GB drive just kept going. I was waiting for it to die so I
had an excuse to replace it, but it just kept going. I finally
scrapped it about 6 months ago for parts that I needed to fix an
ancient Omniturn machining center controller. Meanwhile, other
machines, there were turned on and off as needed, would blow something
up after about 5-7 years.

The only exception I can think of are bulging electrolytic capacitors.
They're killed by ripple current and over temperature, which is
largely a function of operating time. So, if your xmitter is full of
junk electrolytics, you might have more problems with continuous
operation.

Thanks. And thanks, Jur.