PARTSTORE.COM goes belly up!
- Thread starter Superduper
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monchito
Boomus Fidelis
i totaly agree with norm 
i have ham radio gear that has moderan electronic boards some smd even thou they have 8 to 10 years working without a hitch but when something goes wrong its a pain to get it fixed most of the time its a arm and a leg :annoyed: plus sometimes even the factory says they cant do anything with it no parts already too old or they will say its not worth fixing , :annoyed: :annoyed: the good ole components that were the back in the days lets fix it ,, are starting to disappear and if a company that used to be a big player in that department means that the days for our older parts to start to be non exsistant only to be replaced by the more sofisticated hard to see some mostly nano components not good but we have to live with it ,,, so i guess we have to make the best of it while it lasts 
i have ham radio gear that has moderan electronic boards some smd even thou they have 8 to 10 years working without a hitch but when something goes wrong its a pain to get it fixed most of the time its a arm and a leg :annoyed: plus sometimes even the factory says they cant do anything with it no parts already too old or they will say its not worth fixing , :annoyed: :annoyed: the good ole components that were the back in the days lets fix it ,, are starting to disappear and if a company that used to be a big player in that department means that the days for our older parts to start to be non exsistant only to be replaced by the more sofisticated hard to see some mostly nano components not good but we have to live with it ,,, so i guess we have to make the best of it while it lasts 
MasterBlaster84
Boomus Fidelis
Sucks for sure but I'm not surprised given the economy.
I've tried ordering old parts on numerous occasions from PARTSTORE.COM and every time they canceled my order then removed the parts from their website. :annoyed:
Here's an alternative that's fairly similar to PARTSTORE.COM.
http://www.encompassparts.com/
I've tried ordering old parts on numerous occasions from PARTSTORE.COM and every time they canceled my order then removed the parts from their website. :annoyed:
Here's an alternative that's fairly similar to PARTSTORE.COM.
http://www.encompassparts.com/
Ramon. We crossed the point long ago where labor costs exceeded parts to the extent where most everything today is deemed not-economical to repair if it fails and entire modules (read: completely populated PCB's) are no longer available. There once was a time when technicians truly existed to repair down to the component level. Nowadays, the technician only replaces entire modules, so if no parts, then they don't know what to do. In truth, the density of modern boards is so tight that it's very difficult, almost impossible to troubleshoot. Merely getting a probe small enough to test various locations is extremely hard to do. Then you need eagle eyes and statuesque steady fingers so as not to slip and destroy nearby adjacent components. Not that smd resistors, capacitors, IC's and transistors are not available. But rather that the lack of documentation describing service data down to that level is also an issue. Also consider that whereas components can be identified at a glance, nowadays, smd components all look the same. Resistors, capacitors, diodes, fuses, transistors -- all look like little chicklets. Lastly -- most electronics nowadays incorporate MPU and logic someplace in the system. It used to be where a resistor, capacitor, transistor all function predictably. Even IC's perform predictably. Todays IC's are smart and often include firmware that can't be replaced with a dumb device, which without appropriate programming, is no better than a brick.
While the modular parts swap type of repair is efficient, and there are some benefits such as reduced diagnostic/troubleshooting time, it takes the expertise out of the field technician ensuring that reparability is at the mercy of manufacturers discretion of whether to keep parts produced. Some manufacturers don't even sell parts or only sells to warranty service providers. Since it's not uncommon to find new warranty of 90 days or so, parts don't have to be kept or made available for very long. If it breaks, it's expected to be tossed. I guess this is the price we pay for progress.
While the modular parts swap type of repair is efficient, and there are some benefits such as reduced diagnostic/troubleshooting time, it takes the expertise out of the field technician ensuring that reparability is at the mercy of manufacturers discretion of whether to keep parts produced. Some manufacturers don't even sell parts or only sells to warranty service providers. Since it's not uncommon to find new warranty of 90 days or so, parts don't have to be kept or made available for very long. If it breaks, it's expected to be tossed. I guess this is the price we pay for progress.
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