Damn thee, GE Profile Arctica!!!

micromind, great minds think alike (that doesn't sound right) I have been in the electronic and automation field over for 30 years. Like you I have beefed up and improved existing circuits. But don't blame the engineers, they do protest, but cheapen the circuits at the companies request (bean counters).

I started repairing TV's and appliances in the 70's, electron tubes and the "works in the draw" were still in fashion, I have seen manufacturers go from designing products that could easily last 20-40 years to only 7 years at best ... why? because they were loosing money on the appliance replacement business. Why seven years? experts and analysts proved that was the time necessary to build brand loyalty and keep a repeat customer.

One of the first places I saw this was in TV sets, once a market where manufacturers were proud to put their name on was reduced to "where else can we cut costs" over sea production and $100 a month labor undercut us. TV and stereos had huge power suppliies and conductive grease on big heatsinks, later it was just marginal transformers and no grease. I would add the 1 penny worth of missing grease to a repaired set and it would not fail again.

Now I digress: After the nuclear bombing of Japan the US felt bad and helped them rebuild their industrial centers which we just blew up. We (USA) helped pay for and install the state of the art technology to get their country back up and running, putting in steel mill automation systems that US Steel could only dream of. Then being an innovative and intelligent people the Japanese ran with it and never looked back.

Did I forget to mention that before all this happened the USA fat cats and CEO's also got rich and complacent, never once thinking to put some of the money back into the company they got it from.

ok i shut up now