If anyone has any need, I have a few of the good ol' American made parts for
sale on my webpage:
http://wc6w.50webs.com/wc6wfsw/index.html?fr44.html
73 & Good morning,
Marv WC6W
P.S.:
The creeping junk is not just present in connectors!
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Why it doesn't pay to buy crap MADE in CHINA!
While the Chinese are well known for their lead products contamined with dog
food and toys, poisoned milk products, adulterated pharmaceuticals, patent and
trademark infringement, you may be unaware of some the less onerous irritations
for which they're responsible. Here are just a few from my personal experience.
************************************************
Carbon film resistors made in CHINA (1985 - present)
Dozens of these parts have been observed to fail, at low hours, when
relatively high voltage (40-150 volts) is applied though, at a fraction of
their design power rating. See this link for an example of the repeating
trouble this can engender:
http://wc6w.50webs.com/wc6wvint/index.html?fr27.html
*************************************************
Windsor model #2360 Alarm Clock AM-FM Radio made in CHINA (1991)
This was received as a premium and it has basically functioned as a cheesy
radio but, the power/alarm on/off switch was a poor copy of a Switchcraft
design. It was problematic at best from the start and rapidly became less
reliable. I replaced it with an Alco switch which is probably worth more than
the whole radio.
Incidently, the overall construction of the radio section resembles something
made in Japan in the early 1960's. Hand soldering, parts not properly seated
in the PCB, and the leads from the power transformer were just tack soldered to
the PCB even though holes were provided for them.
*************************************************
Sesame Street 6" Mini Honker Muppet distributed by Applause Inc. and made in
CHINA (1992)
The plastic horns on this toy began to flake and degrade, while never being
exposed to the sun, and finally they fell apart without even being touched!
*************************************************
Nicad batteries made in CHINA (1994 and beyond)
They self discharge, leak, have no recharge life and fail prematurely.
I twice repaired a Norelco Shaver with batteries specifically advertised for
this application and both sets failed within 3 months. The original batteries
had lasted several years.
I have 3 IBM style computers of late 90's vintage and all three of their
memory keep alive 3.6 volt Nicads made in CHINA have failed and leaked. These
are only very gently charged and discharged in this application, as opposed to
the Shaver noted above, as so Nicads made in CHINA appear to be unsuitable in
any application.
*************************************************
VLB (Video Local Buss) IDE/Floppy Drive, Parallel/Serial Port interface cards
made in CHINA (1994)
I have 3 of these which have all failed essentially simultaneously. Separate
LSI IC's appear to provide the function for the hard drives, the floppy drives
and the ports. As there is little else on the card save these three large
parts I can only surmize that either they've failed or the PCB's have
deteriorated as some fraction of each card does still appear to function.
These were stored indoors, in low humidity, and were found to be failed upon
reuse.
*************************************************
Kitchen sink drain fitting distributed by Home Depot and made in CHINA (1995)
Upon installing, it was observed that:
1. The rim had been overformed such that it did not seat properly in the
sink resulting in an annulus of water being trapped at the juncture.
2. The fit to the tailpiece was designed such that fully half the flow was
restricted.
*************************************************
Glass Food Storage units (set of 4) made in CHINA (1995)
These were received as a gift and while the glass itself seems adequate, the
glass tops are retained by a cheesy formed wire assembly which is apparently
supposed to hold them tight and seal with an entrained white rubber gasket.
The wire frame, however, fails to exert any pressure on the gasket and thus no
seal was obtained even before the poor quality rubber dried out and cracked.
*************************************************
BNC (radio) connector made in CHINA (circa 1998)
At first glance this appeared to be a nickel plated connector with a gold
plated center contact and teflon insulation.
Upon closer inspection, the "nickel" was found not to be nickel, the "gold"
was just some kind of non-noble flashing and the "teflon" was just some variety
of white plastic.
I have since seen many other connectors with similarly fraudulent
construction often employing cast, rather than machined, shells.
***********************************************
Electron Tubes made in CHINA (Y2K+)
I've no personal experience with these but, many folk I have spoken with have
detailed horror stories of poor performance, deviation from specifications in
materials and construction, faulty internal welds, and low operating life. A
friend who builds audio amplifiers with them routinly experiences a 25% short
term failure rate. Many of these are now "branded" with American trade names
now licensed to, or pirated by, CHINA.
**********************************************
Microwave Ovens made in CHINA (Y2K+)
I've noticed as of late quite a number of relatively new Microwave Ovens
available on the "curb exchange". Just out of curioisity and with the off
chance that there might be some useful parts therein, I've recently autopsied a
few of these.
The most curious finding is that while these are typically fused for 15-20
Amps, the internal power wiring utilizes #18 wire. The National Electrical
Code stipulates that #14 wire (3 times the ampacity) should be fused for no
more than 15 amps, however, there seems to be an exemption for smaller wire if
it is insulated with 105 degree centigrade material.
The upshot of this is that these wires run hot in use. Very hot. I've seen
instances where they, and the undersized faston connnectors employed, were hot
enough to melt things to which they were attached. Things like fuse holders
and microswitches. In fact several, of these units had nothing else wrong with
them aside from this design fault.
And speaking of microswitches, I've noticed that the one's made in CHINA are
of rather poor quality -- in fact a couple of them have just plain fallen apart
upon removal from the ovens.
One last point regarding the transformers in these units. Another part run
to the max. The iron cores and the copper wires are both drastically
undersized for their power rating implying that they also run very hot likely
dissipating (wasting!) close to 100 watts. The only reason that this works for
long is that the transformer is located directly in front of the cooling fan.
***********************************************
Powerizer "Professional for Digital Camera" size AA 2250 mAH Nickel Metal
Hydride batteries made in CHINA (2002)
These were never suitable, even as new, as they powered a Hewlett Packard
Digital Camera for a mere fraction of the time than units of smaller capacity
made in Japan. As they aged a bit, they failed to power the camera at all.
***********************************************
1" steel pipe ell made in CHINA (2004)
This was so porous that when installed in a gas line it would not pass the
pressure test. The plumber who replaced it commented that this was a common
failure and that he routinely saved old American made pipe for important jobs.
Just try and find anything save this crap in a hardware store today!!
*********************************************
Westbend Stir Crazy Popcorn model 82306 (2006)
The thread that holds the stirring arm cap is molded as part of the drive
table and it can be seen/felt that mold did not quite align when cast so that
this thread is slightly oblong, making it somewhat difficult to screw on and
off the stirring arm cap. I thought that this would "wear in" with use but,
this is one case, considering the operating temperature, where the Chinese were
forced to employ some really tough plastic and so it remains difficult to this
day.
*********************************************
Lighted Doorbell Button distributed by ACE Hardware and made in CHINA (2006)
The button plastic, on this ripoff of a Nutone design, began to degrade
shortly after installation becoming rough and flaking off. Within a year,
enough plastic had sloughed off such that a user, activating the bell, punched
through the middle of the button.
Incidently, the metal parts while appearing to be brass, aren't. They are
some other kind of metal, possibly zinc, flashed with that cheap brass colored
flashing common to Chinese metal products.
I replaced this unit with an new old stock American made (with brass!) part
found at a garage sale. I fully expect it to last 20 years as did the previous
American made part.
***********************************************
Brass 10-32 Machine Screws made in CHINA (2007)
These appear to be cast parts! Possibly from yellow brass (higher zinc
percentage) rather than red brass as is traditional for screws. I fastened two
parts down with these... we shall see how they age.
***********************************************
Harry Potter Deluxe Wand distributed by Rubies's Costume Co, under license
from Warner Bros, made in CHINA. (Halloween 2008)
While recognizing that this unit is merely a toy but, the glaring lack of
concern for quality of manufacture is more than disconcerting.
1. The printed instruction enclosure, which only addressed the installation of
the batteries in six languages, directs that the cells be installed improperly
reversed. Observing the fixed contact, the spring contact and following the
embossed polarity on the wand itself was correct. The batteries fit quite
snuggly in the wand.
2. It was observed that the tip illumination LED was not properly seated in
the translucent end. Rather than returning to the store for a replacement,
removing the two screws toward the tip provided access to correct this fault.
3. Whilst reseating the LED, it was observed that one of the wires running to
the LED had been pinched in the mounting boss at the factory.
4. Next, after conjuring a few spells, a rattle developed toward the tip.
Removing the same small two screws as above revealed that the motion sensor had
come loose from its mounting. The glue used by the Chinese could provide no
purchase on the magical plastic housing.
5. Upon attempting to remove the batteries, as directed for storage, it was
found to be impossible to extract the forward cell. Complete dissassembly of
the wand was required. Trimming the forward end of the battery compartment
with a hobby knife remedied this problem.
6. It was observed whilst reworking the battery compartment that one of the
wires running to the speaker had originally been pinched in the side of the
wand at the part line.
7. Upon reassembling, the hot glue which held the speaker element in the wand
butt fell out. Again glue inappropriate to bond to magical plastic had been
employed.
Can they truly expect the good wizards to defeat the forces of Dark Magic
with such faulty paraphernalia?
*
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