strange remark about your collection?

Every microwave oven I've seen over here has a quite complex interlock on the door that it independant of the microcontroller syustem. No matter what the latter does, the magnetron cannot be powered up. Typically there are 3 microswitches. 2 are oepn when the door is open (w'll call those NO), the other is closed (call that NC). The circuit is something like : Live side ov mains - Control relay - NO switch --+-- NO switch -- Magnetron | Trasnformer NC switch | 0.25Ohm Resistor | Neutran side of mains----------------------------+---------------- The idea is thast for the magnetron topower up, both NO sitichs must be closed. If either is open, there are no microwaves. If both siwches fail closed and the door is open, then the NC switch puts a short across the mains and blows the fuse. Ditto, where I can. I can repair mechcnail timers, I have rather more of aproblem repairing custoim microcontrollers. (as a data point, our _old_ washing machine ran for 40 years o nthe roignal timer, it needed one cotnact repair in that time. Our new sashing machine blows the custom microcontrolelr in the mtoro control circuit about every 6 months...) The same term is used over here, Along with 'brown goods' to mean TVs, radios, etc (which traditioanlyl came in brown wooden cabinets, I guess). -tony