This "chip" shortage is frustrating

Teken

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There’s a thread going on where people are saying microwaves have been impacted by this?!? I was in three of the local builder supplies from HD, Lowe’s, Rona & Best Buy etc.

Every major brand was represented and various models ready for buy & go. This problem is either region / model specific or people are making this a bigger issue than it is as it relates to microwaves.

The models ready to go were the college specials (small & cheap) under a $100.00. To units that were crazy expensive under the range versions going for $1250.XX?!? Not every store carries the same brands or models so they don’t have to ever compete on price but saw all of the regular brands from GE, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Bosch, Kitchen Aid, Whirlpool, No name etc.

I just don’t know . . .
 
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OK-- cool retro items posted in this one.

My first computer was from the back of COMPUTER SHOPPER--- a USA-Flex 386-sx20 with 640k of ram and a 105MB hard drive, with a vga graphics card & 512k of video ram. (& windows 3.0)

1632890153421.png

I have a Ti-30x-Stat purchased to use in a Masters-level statistics class in 1991. It still works great---I use it very rarely.... and I have NEVER changed the battery. o_O

1632889381456.png



As for the chip shortage. I have wanted to build a new computer-- and the RTX nVidia cards I was looking at a few years ago for $300 - $350 are now unavailable--- or over $1,000

crazy. So my primary computer in my office is still the one I built almost 10 years ago sporting a 2nd gen I-5 and an EVGA vid card from 9 years ago...
 
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Also---

I am in the process of replacing some old appliances in my home. The shortages are a REAL problem! Our 4 year old LG refrigerator (POS) died over a week ago. Can't get service. Can't get parts. Wait times on new refrigerators are 5 weeks to 12 weeks plus (and I won't ever touch an LG again). I REALLY lucked out and found a new fridge through BestBuy. It should be here on Thursday. I am still looking at a ~10 week wait for a new stove....
 

Arjun

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Chip shortage is frustrating, now instead of hoarding toilet paper, people have been hoarding potato chips and poker chips lately :facepalm: Makes sense though, people have survived on potatoes through famine and when the casinos close during a pandemic, poker chips paves the way to local neighborhood casinos


pun intended
 

looney2ns

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Also---

I am in the process of replacing some old appliances in my home. The shortages are a REAL problem! Our 4 year old LG refrigerator (POS) died over a week ago. Can't get service. Can't get parts. Wait times on new refrigerators are 5 weeks to 12 weeks plus (and I won't ever touch an LG again). I REALLY lucked out and found a new fridge through BestBuy. It should be here on Thursday. I am still looking at a ~10 week wait for a new stove....
Yeah, we've got a POS Lg Fridge and Dishwasher. Absolutely HORRIBLE products.
 

sebastiantombs

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Bosch dishwasher and a Sears refrigerator. A module in the fridge went at about 10 years and was a whole $75 to have replaced. Can't even hear the Bosch running, we have to listen for the water draining through the plumbing attachment at the kitchen sink to know it's actually washing dishes.
 
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Bosch dishwasher and a Sears refrigerator. A module in the fridge went at about 10 years and was a whole $75 to have replaced. Can't even hear the Bosch running, we have to listen for the water draining through the plumbing attachment at the kitchen sink to know it's actually washing dishes.
Whirlpool, Amana, Maytag, and Kitchen Aid are all the same company. They make Kenmore as well-- though LG has made some Kenmore stuff too.

Popular refrigerators, microwaves, and ranges are on a ridiculous 6 to 12 week (or more!) wait--- and it comes down to no chips for the electronics used in them.


SO---- Is CHINA purposely squeezing the semiconductor supply??
 

concord

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Last edited:
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Smilingreen

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I still have a old 8 bit TRS-80 computer somewhere, built in green plasma screen, built in keyboard, 2 5.25" floppies, with 8 pin dot matrix printer and a external 300 baud rate dialup modem. I looked into a hard drive for it back in the early 80's, but a ...."5MB" external hard drive was going to be $2400.00.
 

Smilingreen

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OK-- cool retro items posted in this one.

My first computer was from the back of COMPUTER SHOPPER--- a USA-Flex 386-sx20 with 640k of ram and a 105MB hard drive, with a vga graphics card & 512k of video ram. (& windows 3.0)

View attachment 103152

I have a Ti-30x-Stat purchased to use in a Masters-level statistics class in 1991. It still works great---I use it very rarely.... and I have NEVER changed the battery. o_O

View attachment 103151



As for the chip shortage. I have wanted to build a new computer-- and the RTX nVidia cards I was looking at a few years ago for $300 - $350 are now unavailable--- or over $1,000

crazy. So my primary computer in my office is still the one I built almost 10 years ago sporting a 2nd gen I-5 and an EVGA vid card from 9 years ago...
What??! No Math C0-processor? Ya should have doled out for the DX-version....
 

Mike A.

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OK-- cool retro items posted in this one.

My first computer was from the back of COMPUTER SHOPPER--- a USA-Flex 386-sx20 with 640k of ram and a 105MB hard drive, with a vga graphics card & 512k of video ram. (& windows 3.0)

I have a Ti-30x-Stat purchased to use in a Masters-level statistics class in 1991. It still works great---I use it very rarely.... and I have NEVER changed the battery. o_O
My first real computer (beyond Commodore, etc.) was an AST-286 with the optional 80287 math coprocessor board and a fully populated FAST memory board. It was a hot rod for its day. lol Paid about $2,500 for it in 90s dollars.



I still have and regularly use a similar old TI-36X Solar calculator of around that same vintage. Great little calculator. That one was solar so never needs batteries and does near everything that I've ever needed to do other than financial calculations. Still don't know how to use some of it. ; )




Also have an old TI-55 that I bought earlier in college to do stats. I thought that thing was awesome at the time.

 

concord

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Yeah, we've got a POS Lg Fridge and Dishwasher. Absolutely HORRIBLE products.
That's good to know, my 15 year old Hotpoint Fridge is acting up, then the dishwasher stopped working. The stove still going strong though.

The fridge had a build up ice in freezer and it blocked the air getting to the main area and ended up using the freezer portion as the cool area. Defrosted it, I took the fridge apart and cleaned everything, but apparently missed the defrost section. Finally found someone on Youtube that mentioned the defrost is at the button of the freezer portion where I didn't look. Need defrost and take it apart again to see if I can fix it, as I rather spend 100.00 and time than get a fridge that last only 10 years now. Have a GE dryer that's 25 years old, the motor died, so I bought a used motor and new belt on fleabay and been working for the last 3 year :).
 

looney2ns

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That's good to know, my 15 year old Hotpoint Fridge is acting up, then the dishwasher stopped working. The stove still going strong though.

The fridge had a build up ice in freezer and it blocked the air getting to the main area and ended up using the freezer portion as the cool area. Defrosted it, I took the fridge apart and cleaned everything, but apparently missed the defrost section. Finally found someone on Youtube that mentioned the defrost is at the button of the freezer portion where I didn't look. Need defrost and take it apart again to see if I can fix it, as I rather spend 100.00 and time than get a fridge that last only 10 years now. Have a GE dryer that's 25 years old, the motor died, so I bought a used motor and new belt on fleabay and been working for the last 3 year :).
Probably needs a new defrost timer.
 
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