Author Topic: They don't build them like they used to.  (Read 2694 times)

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Offline 8ullfrog

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They don't build them like they used to.
« on: February 22, 2020, 12:11:54 PM »
My grandpa probably got this black & decker toaster oven around 1990, and it served well for many years. When he died, it was the one thing I requested. I was denied. When my grandma sold the house, I just stole it. (She had been using it as a plant stand)

 I never used the oven portion of the thing, since I figured with the milage it saw, it might just up and die if I did.

Mom didn't get the memo, and now it's dead. I decided to dissect it to see if there was anything I could do, and I was SHOCKED at the utility of design. One hex head screw to get at the workings. Side panel lifted off, everything inside besides the plug was modular, so you could essentially break the thing down like a cardboard box for cleaning.

I sprayed everything inside out with canned air, and inspected the workings. Sure enough, the Oven and Toaster portions worked off separate machinery. When you used the oven portion, a hinge was flipped that isolated the toaster portion. I figure that's where the point of failure is, but I'm not a toaster repairman. Cleaning allowed the hinge portion to operate again, so I thought I might be home clear!

… I was not home clear. The little indicator light on the front of the T-O looked like a baleful eye of a demon, and smoke billowed forth.

I unplugged the T-O, and intend to throw it out. I found out it's actually a Model 0!

Offline smokester

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Re: They don't build them like they used to.
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2020, 03:27:49 PM »
I remember about 35-40 years ago a friend of mine decided to to strip down his Amstrad Hi-Fi so he could use the amp seperately to the cassette module and the radio. To his surprise the whole system was empty barring a little PCB about the size of a packet of cigarettes which was used to control all 3 modules apart from the dials on the front.

Never seen such a piece of crap before or since - apart from the shows that Alan Sugar takes part in, that is.
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