Dull Men's Club

unless the magnetron died, it's not dead.

that's like, 10 confederacies. you should put up a statue dedicated to your microwave

There's probably a ribbon cable from the membrane. You could try buzzing out the keys and making one or adapting an ordered standard part

I also have a microwave from the 80s, got it from my dad and he bought it when he was young.

I hope it never dies. I love the Star Trek-like touchpad and the beautiful CCFL display. 😍

It's a Panasonic as well, I even have the ridiculous microwave cookbook somewhere, which contains a lot of really bad meal photos.

There's a way to rewire that with either a toggle switch, or using the door switches themselves (3 switches, by law).

https://repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_micfaq.html

Nooooo rip, Zappy did a good job

For that microwave to last that long is the testament to its durability. Actually, up until the 90s most appliances were built like tanks and so why some people hold onto them, partly they were IMHO easier to repair than supposedly "smart" appliances.

I also remember how Sony TVs during the 80s that were sold included detailed electronic schematic diagrams helpful to technicians.

If I don't find this story dull, what does it say about me?

I am barely older than this microwave and am now worried.

43 years is legendary—Zappy lived a full, honorable life 🫡

My toaster oven just died. It was so old all the numbers rubbed off and we just ran it off vibes. Guests were like, how long to make toast? And I just told them turn it till it feels right. I'm going to miss that toaster oven, it was the best.

He served his time!!

My 40 year old heat pump died last week too

My ex-wife threw away an Amana Radarange, which had a rotating reflector on the ceiling instead of a rotating plate, which I had bought in the 80's, before I "got" her. When I came home, I went to the recycling center, and was able to retrieve it. I installed it in my home office to reheat stuff, but mainly for sentimental issues.

She had a habit of throwing stuff out because she decided I didn't need it.

Good riddance (her, I mean).

The furnace in my house dates to 1987. It just survived another cold winter. My plumber says a new one would use about half as much gas and that parts are no longer available for the old one. I wish I knew whether to believe him or not.

remember PYREX, they went cheap and using soda lime glass laminated instead of borosilicate. pyrex vs PYREX, its still being sold in the EU. there are borosilicate glassware from other brands, but none of them seem to match Pyrex, just better than the soda lime variants.

OXO is just very overpriced borosilicate, if you are interested probably the closest to PYREX. i did seem some pyrex lunch containers are borosilicate?

We recently had to replace a $500 Electrolux microwave that was only 11 years old. We mistakenly thought that brand was supposed to be higher quality :(

My mom had a microwave that lasted for decades. I left home in '81, so it was bought prior to that. She was still using it when she passed in '16. That thing was huge. I remember that before my dad would sit down to the table to eat, he would open the door on it to just the right angle so he could continue watching the TV in it's reflection. The only thing wrong with it was the top and bottom rows of red LED lights had quit shining which made it a little tricky to tell how much time was left on it, but that never bothered my mom. Also, they didn't have turntables in them back then, so you had to frequently turn the food. Mom bought a wind-up platform that you'd sit the food on and you could hear it in there ticking away while it slowly turned your food. She had to give up about 2.5 inches of height for it, but that oven was so big it didn't matter...

(I was wondering how it looks like.)

Also:

Sadly your next one will be but a child when it dies.

F

Made in Japan! RIP Zappy.

You can often fix membrane switches using conductive paint. Link to example. $11.

The PCB will have a pattern of traces under each button that are interlocked kind of like fingers that don't touch or two large pads near each other. The button of the membrane has a conductive patch that completes the circuit between those traces when pressed.

Usually the conductive patch is what fails due to wearing off. So you just paint on new patches on the memnrane. If the traces are worn, they can also be repaired with copper foil, solder, and careful work with an exacto knife. I've even seen aluminum foil and super glue used as a temporary fix on the membrane.

I would probably make this a an Old Man and the Sea project if it were mine. It's just so old, it needs to keep going.