We all know the aging early Compacts are prone to leaky capacitors which are all guaranteed to fail and need replacing as they near the quarter century mark. Indeed that is one expected future repair that is likely never to be problematic, especially if one has the necessary soldering skills.
But what about the chips? While the analogue board is mostly off-the-shelf parts, not likely to become unavailable anytime soon (or at least a suitable replacement), the digital board seems a more worrisome item.
Do the IC chips have a specific lifespan? How long can they be expected to last in functional order? When or if they do fail, will they be easily replaceable? Particularly problematic are the custom ICs like the ROM & IWM.
As I ponder these details I am left with the overall thought: will these vintage compacts last another 25 years?
But what about the chips? While the analogue board is mostly off-the-shelf parts, not likely to become unavailable anytime soon (or at least a suitable replacement), the digital board seems a more worrisome item.
Do the IC chips have a specific lifespan? How long can they be expected to last in functional order? When or if they do fail, will they be easily replaceable? Particularly problematic are the custom ICs like the ROM & IWM.
As I ponder these details I am left with the overall thought: will these vintage compacts last another 25 years?