[Amps] Junk Connectors

[Radio WC6W]

 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.

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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

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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.

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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!

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  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.


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  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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.  

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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.


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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.
   

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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!!

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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.

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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.

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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.


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  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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