[TenTec] Orion II A9 Board Failure...Again!

[Speer, Doug]

 Message: 1
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:08:49 +0300
From: "Geoffrey S. Mendelson" <gsm at mendelson.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion II A9 Board Failure...Again!
To: geraldj at storm.weather.net,	Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
	<tentec at contesting.com>
Message-ID: <20080625160849.GA15020 at cable.mendelson.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

If the low quality Chinese electrolytic capacitors are a well known
problem in the electronics industry, my question is has Ten-Tec done
anything about it for late s/n production?  I purchased a new Orion 2
within the past couple of months which represents a significant
expenditure for my ham radio hobby budget.  I would hate to think I
purchased anything less than top shelf quality.  So maybe my question is
one for Ten-Tec directly but has Ten-Tec procurement changed how they
specify and buy components for production and / or service parts to
insure they (we) are getting top quality components?


Doug, W9PN 
 
 

-----Original Message-----


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:08:49 +0300
From: "Geoffrey S. Mendelson" <gsm at mendelson.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion II A9 Board Failure...Again!
To: geraldj at storm.weather.net,	Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
	<tentec at contesting.com>
Message-ID: <20080625160849.GA15020 at cable.mendelson.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 09:23:01AM -0600, Dr. Gerald N. Johnson wrote:
> Lots of lowest bid Chinese electrolytics are poorer when new than I
find
> acceptable, so they age poorly. A few years ago there was a large
batch
> of capacitors often applied to computer motherboards that exploded
when
> power was applied for the first time. My guess is that the factory
> didn't understand the formation process and hadn't finishing making
the
> electrolytics.

This was very well documented in the press. A Tiwanese engineer worked
for a Japanese manufacturer of electrolytics. He stole the formula for
the electrolyte (the liquid inside the capacitors). His employers knew
what he was doing and gave him access to an incomplete formula. 

It worked perfectly in new capacitors but as it aged the capacitors
failed.

His Tiawanese employers underbid everyone on the market and the world 
was flooded with products that eventually failed when their capacitors 
exploded.

Geoff.
-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm at mendelson.com  N3OWJ/4X1GM


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