Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:04:35 -0700
From: "Bill, W6WRT" <dezrat1242@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Amps] 3CX1500A vs el cheapo GS-35B
To: AMPS <amps@contesting.com>
Message-ID: <de2j18pjf2vn2fer0uvjioon4p8u6nvenk@4ax.com>
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ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
On Wed, 1 Aug 2012 14:10:57 -0400, Randy wrote:
>The timed replacement is to prevent downtime not to waste
money just because someone else is paying the bill. Its purpose is to save big
money. Think about it. At $2000 a study, 3 per hour (or more) and an average
12 hour working day = $72,000 per day gross lost if the MRI is down not to
mention the separate loss to the Radiologist who are not making money since
there are no MRI studies to read. Radiologists get incensed (in about 1 micro
second) if you mess with their income. I know this from personal experience.
Don't forget the patient who now has to reschedule their appointment. The
manufacturer knows where on the tubes failure rate curve that the sweet spot
between replacement cost and downtime exists. I have worked with Radiology
techs on equipment before and no one wants to hear that any modality is
non-functional if it can be prevented.
>
>
>Randy E. Randall AB9GO
>Network Engineer
>UC Health
>Randy.Randall@UCHealth.com
>Phone 513-585-7146
>Fax 513-585-7159
REPLY:
Everything you say confirms what I said. Everyone - not just the MRI makers -
could not care less about cost when either insurance or the gummint is paying.
If the MRI makers wanted to, they could make a quick-change module that anyone
could swap in about two minutes when the red light comes on. They're not
interested.
And that's only the beginning. It's just not a priority when money flows like
water.
73, Bill W6WRT
### Bill, you just don’t get it. Check out the detailed YC-156 tube
operating procedures
written by Eimac, for MRI use. Eimac sez to only turn it on and off no more
than ONCE
per day. And no LESS than 9 hours per day, of continuous fil usage. Our
local hospitals
were clogged up with long waiting lists for MRI + cat scans several years
ago. They wanted
to buy more machines..at 2 million per copy. I suggested to em to instead,
just operate
the existing machines from 8 am to midnight, instead of the 8AM to 5 pm
schedule.
## The machines were never turned off anyway, since they were located in close
proximity
to the energency dept ! If car accident victims etc, had to be stuffed into
a MRI machine
at midnight, they require a functioning MRI machine, ready to go. It was
explained to me
that they didn’t want to keep cycling the fils on and off all night long,
after each use, IF
the MRI was required for emergency dept use. With a 9 minute warm up, the
doctors and
techs would be just pissed..waiting for the fil to heat up.
In the end, they took the suggestion, and just hired more MRI techs and put
on a 2nd shift,
from 5 PM till 11 PM. during the week. End of back log. I needed a few
MRI’s myself, for
a kidney stone problem, and going in and out at 8PM after dinner was better
for me, vs
skipping out from work 15 miles away. My home was close by the hosp, and zero
traffic
at night, so it was a win-win for everybody.
Its called.... MTBF or mean time before failure. No brainer here. They
have an hour meter
on the fil, that is logged every day. After XXX fil hours, the tube is
swapped out on spec, its that simple.
Now if you want to push your luck, and extend the fil hrs...and the tube craps
out, and folks die as a result ,
the cost of a new tube pales in comparison. IF the MTBF is say 12 K hrs....
and you change the tube
on spec at 10 K hrs, who cares. They got their money’s worth out of the tube
anyway. Do you change the oil
in your car when the check engine light comes on after 4 years with the same
oil. You change it on spec every
6 months. You don’t want to damage the motor. Any motor can be replaced or
rebuilt. Lives cant be replaced.
Two million dollar MRI machines with a dud tube in it, when you need it in
an emergency is useless to the hosp,
tech, and the car accident victim.
Broadcast TX with tube finals will either have redundant TX, or change the
tubes on a similar fil hour schedule.
Some broadcast TX will use 2 x 25 kw tube amps..and a 50 kw combiner. One
goes bad, you still have the 2nd
TX,,, and are only down 3db. Or 2 x 5 kw amps etc. These days, its
several SS modules, and combiners.
The operating costs for a typ large hospital running 24-7-365 are massive.
An army of techs, nurses, doctors,
and dozens and dozens of cleaning staff, cafeteria folks, back up gen sets and
electricians, IT geeks, etc.
And you are worried about the cost of some rinky dink YC-156. They were
buying em by the pallet load back then.
Moot point these days. They are ALL SS now. AM + FM replacement TX’s
are also microprocessor controlled SS types.
Tubes are toast. The telco’s stopped using Eimac Klystrons for microwave
links by 1987. SS after 1987. Maintenance
dropped to almost zero.
Jim VE7RF
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