Tweaks for Geeks

Tradeoffs abound when making electronics for the mass market. These days, most of the effort goes to cost reduction. As soon as an electronic product is "good enough" most of the remaining effort goes into squeezing out the last nickel (or less). This trend homogenizes the products in the marketplace, especially since many of the products come out of the same Chinese contract-manufacturer factories (as well as the parts that go into them). An early example of electronic cost-reduction is the story of Earl "Madman" Muntz and his television sets (the article includes a discussion of the "science" of cost reduction).

Combined with the trends toward increased manufacturing capacity, integrated microprocessors, and containerized shipping and handling, this has led to some spectacular increases in the value-for-dollar of electronic equipment over time. This trend is covered in a more general sense in the article Time Well Spent--but I'm aiming for the relatively specific here.

To give you a handle on this trend: in 1952, a TV set cost between about $200 and $300, which got you a 20" diagonal black-and-white screen (what we would now call 19"). When adjusted for inflation, this is $2,200 in today's money--which would buy you a 40" HDTV receiver in color and full stereo sound today. Furthermore, the 1952 model used vacuum tubes--which were inefficient, wore out, and often had to be replaced, an expensive proposition.

Perhaps an even greater example of this trend is the VCR. In 1978, a big, bulky (so it could be assembled on a primitive robotic assembly line) Panasonic VHS VCR cost about $1000--about $2,800 in today's dollars. I just bought a decent Funai VCR for $42, about 1.5% of the earlier price--but it's also built much more cheaply. Now you see why I'm not a TV repairman anymore...

The point of this post (you were hoping there was one, right?) is that it is now possible to put value back into some cheap electronics after the fact. For those of you who know how to wield a soldering iron, swapping out the cheap parts used in some equipment for better-quality components can bring big benefits. The article Tweaks for Geeks gives an excellent example: taking a $150 DVD player, adding $100 in parts, and getting the equivalent performance of a $1500+ player. There may be a use for my electronic skills yet!