We've become step children...

[psolk 3,037]

39 minutes ago, W2DR said:

Indeed not. Sometime during WW II my Dad bought a used 1939 Oldsmobile sedan. I remember well how happy he was when the odometer turned over 50,000 miles sometime in 1950. On the original engine. A big deal at the time. I grew up learning how to change plugs and points (and don't forget the condenser) every 5-6,000 miles. I could adjust a carb and set the timing before I was 10. Kids today don't know what they're missing with all this new-fangled stuff. Remember when we were happy if a set of tires lasted 10,000 miles? I wonder if anyone still buys recaps. I bought a new Honda in 1992 and sold it when it had a mere 122,000 miles. And never needed a repair. I still occasionally talk with the friend who bought it and he's still driving it. The odometer now shows over 257,000 miles. They just don't make 'em like they used to 😃. 

 

This is actually very true...  I race a 2009 body with a 2012 moior and transmission.  In 2013 they changed the cars from steel to aluminum bodies.  Now cost of repair on the newer car often exceeds the value of the car.  On my car the weak spot is the PDK (Gearbox) and a $1200 wiring harness can cripple the entire gearbox.  Due to it being "Non-repairable"  according to Porsche that results in a 15K new gearbox.  It's absurd.  

I had bought a 60 inch TV at BestBuy 3 months ago.  It wasn't returnable anymore.  I went through tech support and we couldn't fix the issue.  An android OS firmware issue preventing me from just watching TV mind you.   Called Best Buy Elite line and they decided it was easier to come and get it for free, refund me all of my money and allowed me to just purchase another brand.  In other words, it was cheaper and easier to throw away a $500 60 inch TV than repair it... 

This is why I support right to repair so strongly.  I was just listening to the story of the Centennial lightbulb still burning in a California Fire department for 121 years now!!!  Do you know what that led to?  All of the manufacturers getting together and creating lightbulbs with a shelf life...  

https://interestingengineering.com/everlasting-lightbulbs-exist-ed

Why are no everlasting bulbs commonly available today?

As we have seen, there are quite a few examples of bulbs that are still going strong after well over 100 years of operation. So, since the technology obviously exists, you might be wondering why none are commonly available for use today?

The answer put simply, is an example of something a true conspiracy and an example of business practice called planned obsolescence. 

Planned obsolescence is a business strategy that ensures the current version of a product will become outdated, or even useless, within a set time period. The idea is that such a built-in limitation will ensure that consumers will seek replacements in the future — therefore boosting sales. 

You can see it in many products today, like smartphones, but also in less obvious things like lightbulbs. 

  Source: James Provost/Flickr

But, it wasn't always this way. Back in the days when lightbulbs were cutting-edge technology, various inventors were working hard to make them last as long as possible. Warren De la Rue, as we previously mentioned, made something of a leap in this area by enclosing the filament in a vacuum bulb. 

Later inventors, including Thomas Edison, would later experiment with different filaments, like cotton, platinum, or even bamboo, to attempt to extend the life of bulbs. A very good balance was found with tungsten which, while not the best, when combined with inert gas, offered an acceptable lifespan when balanced with manufacturing costs. 

By around the 1920s, most bulbs had lifespans approaching 2,000 hours (like today) with some pushing 2,500 — apart from the exceptional examples discussed earlier.

Things were looking up. 

But this all changed around 1924 when lightbulb manufacturers held a secret meeting in Geneva 1924. The likes of Philips, International General Electric, OSRAM, and others, all decided to form a group called the "Pheobus Cartel". Pheobus, in case you are not aware, was the Greek god of light.

  Source: Alan Cleaver/Flickr

The main objective of this cartel was to agree to control the supply of light bulbs. Each understood that if any one of them managed to develop a long-lasting light bulb, the need for replacement bulbs would likely dry up. 

Bulbs were lasting too long. Not ideal from their point of view. 

So, to combat this, all members of the cartel agreed to reduce the lifespan of bulbs on purpose. Initially, this was set to no more than 1,000 hours!

To enforce this, and prevent any one of them from breaking the agreement, samples of bulbs needed to be sent to a central authority that would test them for longevity. 

The manufacturer of any bulbs that lasted longer than the set minimum would be fined. These fines could be considerable, with a fine of 200 Swiss francs for every 1,000 bulbs sold (if the bulb lasted more than 3,000 hours). 

To ensure this wouldn't happen, engineers previously tasked with extending the lives of bulbs were suddenly tasked with doing the exact opposite. Different filaments, filament designs, and connections were tested over time and by the mid-1920s most lightbulbs lasted, on average, about 1,200 hours apiece. 

  Source: Jenni C/Flickr

As planned, sales increased. Not only that but savings made in cheaper components were not translated to the consumers — prices remained relatively stable. 

So why, you might ask, didn't consumers complain? The simple answer is that they didn't know. The cartel was officially established to provide standardization and efficiency of bulbs. 

For example, they successfully developed the now ubiquitous screw thread still seen today. The cartel was initially planned to continue until the 1950s, but non-compliance among members and the outbreak of WW2 saw it ended by the early-1940s. 

Edited August 27, 2021 by psolk

[W2DR 1,859]

11 minutes ago, psolk said:

I was just listening to the story of the Centennial lightbulb still burning in a California Fire department for 121 years now!!! 

For years we lived about 7 miles from "The Lightbulb".  It's always been a fun thing to visit. It even has it's own e-mail address and website. There is a live camera here:  Livermore's Centennial Light Live Cam (centennialbulb.org) . The whole history and facts about the bulb are on that website also.

[birdguy 3,943]

45 minutes ago, W2DR said:

Remember when we were happy if a set of tires lasted 10,000 miles?

When was the last time you changed a flat?  If you were going on a long trip it was not uncommon to see someone on the side of the road changing a flat tire.  Women used to stand next to the car if she had a flat and a man would stop and change it for her.

When was the last time you saw someone hitch-hiking?  One day I found myself dead broke in Fresno and thumbed my way all the way back home to Mill Valley.  We weran't so fearful of strangers then.

Noel

[n4gix 4,947]

8 hours ago, W2DR said:

They just don't make 'em like they used to 😃. 

Well, that's  darn good thing! My 1998 Toyota Camry (I'm the second owner) had only 23k miles on it when I bought it 9 years ago. It now has ~125k miles and is on it's second set of tires since new. 

A few years ago I had the plugs, ignition wires and coils replaced, one of the O2 sensors replaced, and last month had to have two steel brake lines replaced due to pinholes near the back due to rust-through. Although it was perfectly fine, I did have the alternator upsized to 90amp to handle my radio gear.

Altogether, I've just under $4k invested in this 23 year old car!

[n4gix 4,947]

7 hours ago, W2DR said:

For years we lived about 7 miles from "The Lightbulb".  It's always been a fun thing to visit. It even has it's own e-mail address and website. There is a live camera here:  Livermore's Centennial Light Live Cam (centennialbulb.org) . The whole history and facts about the bulb are on that website also.

Interesting that the bulb appears to be running on <100 volts ac. It's not very bright!

All of my bulbs have been replaced with LED bulbs. My electric bill took a significant nose dive after the switchover.

[W2DR 1,859]

2 hours ago, n4gix said:

Interesting that the bulb appears to be running on <100 volts ac. It's not very bright!

It's still running on 120v. It's just that it's dimmed a bit in it's 1,000,000+ hour lifetime. Kind of like my memory😀. The output was 60W when new but now it's down to just a fraction over 4W.

[birdguy 3,943]

2 hours ago, n4gix said:

All of my bulbs have been replaced with LED bulbs. My electric bill took a significant nose dive after the switchover.

Mine too.  They just barely compensate for all the lights my wife forgets to turn off when she leaves a room.

Noel

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

@psolk

Interesting story about the lightbulbs, never heard that before.

People always wonder the same thing about pharmaceutical companies as well, meaning if they could actually come up with cures for common illnesses, then they’d run out of customers, so they create medicines to help or relive symptoms, but keep you on the hook to keep purchasing.

[Tim_Capps 474]

On 8/26/2021 at 10:22 AM, birdguy said:

I'm sticking with P3Dv5

I'm with you Birdguy. (I like birds, especially corvids.) It probably does have something to do with being older, but man, P3Dv5.2 looks great, there are lots of third-party add-ons, and I just can't get into MSFS. In the long haul, I wonder how much money the average P3D user spends on what devs put out compared with the average MSFS user. It might not matter, though. Most hobbies seem to be greying out and going the way of model railways and tabletop wargaming. Doesn't bother me. I've never had it better in flight simulation than with P3D. We're looking at one two-trillion dollar company and another with just 97 billion. (Hint, they're not developers.) Maybe MSFS will keep things going after you an I are flying with real wings.

[birdguy 3,943]

14 hours ago, Tim_Capps said:

Most hobbies seem to be greying out and going the way of model railways

I'd still be a model railroader and plastic airplane model builder if it weren't for my shaking hands.

Noel