Old electronics, 2023-09.

I like old electronics. The components are larger and not so delicate. It is possible to figure out the function even though it can be cumbersome. It is possible to troubleshoot. Faulty components can be replaced. It is possible to find substitutes. Old electronics are substituted by new when more and better features are required, but the old circuit board can still perform the same things it did when it was new. 

When I started my professional career as an engineer at ASEA in Vasteras, Sweden, I became a product engineer for the first generation of thyristor controlled DC drives, RTMG. I was not the designer, but I was a support person who took care of problems in the production and with customers. 

I was not a little surprised when recently I visited the SKF factory here in Gothenburg. They had a problem with a machine and I was called in to trouble shoot. When I looked into the control cabinet, I found that the motor is controlled with an old simple DC drive, an RTMG.  I was really happy to see it again. In the binder with information about the machine were my drawings from over 50 years earlier. Even the adjacent machine had the same type of drive operating the motor. And to top it, the problem turned out to be in the electric motor, and not in the old electronics. It really is worth maintaining old electronics. Therefore, it feels good that I can offer spare parts.