RG>> I don't know where you get this idea from

 BL> I got it from the returns of a major service operation.

 RG> All that proves is that the motors in these machines are as
 RG> good as they ever were, but the machines are failing in other
 RG> areas due to their crappy/cheap design ;-)

  (grin). Palsonic is the cheap arse end of the market, and customers
just chuck it when they wear out. In actual fact, the *design* of the
latest VCRs is brilliant! Single board, a coupla huge micros and an
ASIC, an absolutely *magic* tuner/IF assembly, plastic frame, the
whole thing clips together so easily even a Malay can do it... and
totally tinny mechanics. When I saw it, I thought it must be a player;
there wasn't enough of it!

 BL> I was thinking of the spinning head when I wrote that, as
 BL> analogous

 RG> The heads drum motors have always be VERY reliable.. It has
 RG> been the capstan and load motors that seem to cause most of the
 RG> problems/failures.

  Exactly... and not the motors themselves so much as the mechanics
around them.

 BL> The initial failure rate is less than 2% per annum (about the
 BL> same as Dave stated for the hard drive) and the head assembly
 BL> would not be 10% of that.

 RG> They must be doing something right... When I was working with
 RG> Radio Rentals (the only place I've worked that sold new
 RG> equipment), the failure rate on machines less than 6 months old
 RG> was up around the 10% mark.

  The standard industry QA level is 4% minor, 2% major, and it's
mostly twice as good as that (except for batch faults). Palsonic is
not totally stupid like these fly-by-nighter importers or AKAI. Most
service calls are customers who can't set it up, can't understand what
the girl is telling them on the telephone free, and agree to pay $40.
Palsonic and Kmart serve the dickhead end of the market.

 BL> (in spite of all evidence to the contrary),

 RG> Why is it that when I first got into this line of work, the
 RG> average life expectancy of any particular machine is/was at
 RG> least five years. Today, it is not unusual for me to recomend
 RG> people to scrap machines that are barely 2 or 3 years old ?

  I agree with that... or 3 years, anyway. Personally, I think that's
the best thing to do with a VCR. 5 years ago, the absolute *cheap*
price for a VCR was $400 - now it's $250. The cost is still $80 a
year. The mad part is that in cheapening up the electronics, they have
made them more reliable, but at the same time they've made the
mechanics more tinny.

 BL> and in particular not as good as the Hoonomatic Vc11234-rt-3A
 BL> that was the best (whatever) ever made,

 RG> Nah... the NV180 was the best VCR ever made. ;-)

  (grin)

 RG> If people choose to live in a disposable society, why do so
 RG> many of them seem to get upset when I tell them their 3yo VCR
 RG> is uneconomical to repair ?

  Just give them another year or two and you'll never see them again.
It's the pattern. 

  Once the repair cost reaches 30% of the replacement cost, you'd be
an idiot to get it fixed. That means $80 is the maximum you can spend
on a VCR. New buyers tend to go to the bottom end of the market: keep
it till it stops and hoik it. If you look at the performance
difference between the top and bottom end, there really isn't any. In
fact, they probably use the same ICs. The top is being pushed down to
meet the bottom.

 RG> Tis a sad fact of life that people are buying disposable
 RG> products, yet at the same time they expect them to be
 RG> servicable.

  That's not my experience. They expect them to be trouble-free in
warranty and last three years. After that... what's on special at
Kmart? It may be different at the top end.

  I saw a classic the other day; a microwave returned with the paint
peeling after two years. This never happens, and there was no doubt
that we had to replace it even though it was a year outside warranty,
but the customer expected an argument, as if two years was on the
limit.

Regards,
Bob

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12
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