PDP 11 gear finally moved

[Chuck Guzis]

On 07/21/2015 06:46 PM, Tothwolf wrote:

> I dunno about that. When I've done commercial boards such as industrial
> process controllers and CPUs for customers with nearly unlimited funds,
> I charged the customer based on an hourly rate. Since I use a vacuum
> desoldering tool, changing out 10-15 aluminum electrolytics on a board
> took me not much more time than 1-2. Most of the time spent on a board
> that comes out of the field is spent on cleaning, testing (before and
> after repairs) and prep, and it only takes a few seconds to pull the
> solder off of a couple of component leads. Replacing aged electrolytics
> wholesale on these types of boards also meant I didn't need to worry
> that the same board would be back on my bench again in the next 3-6
> months. These days, I'm not taking on any new commercial work though,
> there was just too much demand due to all those shoddy far-east made
> capacitors, and it meant I pushed aside all my own projects.

Commercial/industrial boards are a whole different matter and I agree 
with you there.  The quality of the service performed is of more 
importance, often that the cost.  Consider a floppy controller board for 
a name-brand PLC.  You can get one for about $5000--not the PLC, but the 
floppy board.  The customer expects the PLC to last the life of the tool 
it's controlling--30 years is not atypical.

I've often thought that if some of the scrappers out there could 
recognize some of the stuff they ground up for precious metals, they'd 
think twice.

I might think twice about doing a board that was fragile with age, but 
otherwise, change 'em all.  Like replacing both headlight bulbs if one 
goes out--it's just a matter of time before the other one goes.

--Chuck