gunrunnerjohn posted:acoastline posted:What components would become obselete.From what I see on the boards you have the following . Scr/triads Capacitors resistors,Intergrated circuits, Are they going to stop making these type of components. I forgot wire and connectors
As a guy that designs boards, and has for some time, I can tell you that when a "specific" IC or similar part goes obsolete, sometimes it takes significant rework to use a replacement. At the very least, even with my little enhancement products, I've had a couple of parts that were no longer made and I had to make a board change to use a replacement.
When I worked in aerospace, parts obsolescence was a constant headache, some of those systems were designed for a 20 year lifespan, and toward the end of a production cycle, there was frequently a re-spin of the board(s) necessary to update for obsolete parts.
That being said, I didn't see any major parts on the Cruise Commander that were obsolete, but something like the opto-couplers might be, that would require a board change for the new footprint in some cases.
You are spot on. Some markets have seen major changes in sales due to IC obsolesence. One good example is the sector of firms that specialize in refurbishing /repairing vintage analog musical synthesizers. The Moogs and Arps that were made in the 70s and early 80s -- and which are valued collectibles now -- used many specialized waveform and octave generator ICs, , which went out of production when the synth manufacturers moved into digital in the late 80s. Consequently, the vintage analog repair specialists have been struggling, since the NOS chips they need are either completely unavailable or insanely expensive.
