Does Anyone Miss The Days of Made in Japan Electronics?

88mph on 22/11/2017 - 11:46
Last edited 22/11/2017 - 12:01 by 1 other user

To quote a famous line:
Doc - No wonder this circuit failed, it says 'Made in Japan'
Marty - Whadaya mean, Doc? All the best stuff is Made in Japan

I grew up in an average household in your run of the mill average developing country. I recall in the early 80’s my father bought a Hitachi colour TV, shortly after a National top loader VCR. I recall the VCR was worked fine until the late-90’s, and was retired due to lack of tapes and popularity of VCDs, not a fault. I got my first Walkman in 1985, a Sony WM-22. Sad as it sounds, my best friend, till it’s rubbers gave way around 1997 (I wasn’t too techy at the time, else would have surely repaired it). All this stuff was Made in Japan.

When I started earning for myself in the late nineties and moved out and started buying my stuff the transition away from Japan to other Asian plants had begun. Bought a Sony TV paired with a Panasonic VCR, both assembled outside Japan, lasted 3-4 years max. Rinsed and repeated a few times over the years… Was fortunate to bag a 2nd hand Made in Japan Sony HiFi FH-B7CD in the late-90’s, still works perfectly to this day. Even survived a trip in a suitcase when I migrated down under…

Most of the stuff I buy these days always seem to have a life expectancy of 3-4 years max, if lucky. Although I try to (as sanely possible) seek Made in Japan stuff, my last success was a Panasonic Plasma VT55 series TV back in 2011, touchwood still going strong.

  • Would you pay a bit extra to get a Made in Japan item, like the glory days of the 80’s to early 2000’s?
  • Or is it a lost hope?
  • Or will Japanese companies someday realise if they could (profitably) manufacture in Japan again, people might buy their stuff with added zeal?

Interested to hear some opinions…

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • HighAndDry on 22/11/2017 - 11:51
    +45

    Never going to go back to the "good old days" I'm afraid, and pretty sure that's something that's true no matter what era you're in.

    Today's trends are towards refreshing to the newest and latest every couple of years - especially for people with money who both purchase more and are trend-setters - and so correspondingly there's a trend of increasing (pseudo-)planned obsolescence because it's more profitable to, e.g. sell something for $2,000 that lasts 3-5 years, than something for $3,000 with the same features that lasts 10 years, because odds are the people with money are going to buy the newest and latest in 3 years time anyway.

    • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 12:13
      +5

      Sadly, sounds true…

      • RedHab on 23/11/2017 - 08:02
        +4

        It is worse than that. You don't actually own much of the electronics you buy anymore - you licence it. Do you remember clicking on "I Agree"?

        This licence strictly limits what you can do with the item, who can repair it and prevents the manufacturer from being liable for anything.

    • smashed on 22/11/2017 - 12:31
      +38

      Iphone anybody…
      1.5k for a phone with a built in battery good for maybe 600 charges? And if that doesn't work then you need to force a new version of iOS to grind the phone to a halt.

      • try2bhelpful on 22/11/2017 - 12:52
        -4

        Iphones last 4 or more years before they drop them off the IOS roundabout. I've never had one of my i devices get to the point where it ground to a halt with IOS upgrades. Also, if you want to get the battery replaced you can do it for around the $120 mark. We did this with my other half's Iphone 6. We quibbled but then realised we could sell it second hand for more than that if we wanted to. I only buy a new i device when they come up with a compelling phone. In my case this is the iPhone 4 the iPhone 6+ and I'm still waiting for the next "come to Jesus" phone, which will, probably, be next year if they put the iPhone X technology across the range.

      • smartazz104 on 23/11/2017 - 19:45
        +2

        Lots of sycophants around here.

      • antler on 24/11/2017 - 17:44
        +2

        The same can be said about a Samsung device. Hey, any expensive Android device really. They all stop updating them after 2 years and your phone is left to fend for itself when it comes to security holes and bugs.

        • resisting the urge on 26/11/2017 - 23:13
          +1

          I've seen lots of Androids with support 'sunsetted' whilst some are still on the shelf in mainstream stores.

          Of those that are supported, some barely receive security updates 12 months after production stops. The delay the vendors cause to get updates out is another issue as well, as is a massive reluctance to repair bugs to the point that many are left unfixed. Samsung are no better than the others, (longer/better support only happens on models that are widely sold to corporates, and it isn't exactly much longer for them). Some are landfill within a year of being made.

          Until people start asking for manufacturer's to provide guarantees on support periods, it's only going to worsen.

      • sunnyc on 24/11/2017 - 23:29
        -6

        Working phone for $1.5k rather than a phone that needs to be factory reset every half year.

    • outlander on 22/11/2017 - 22:25
      +5

      Yep. People soon will move to a subscription model, where things like TV's are rented rather than owned. Right now it's only really those who don't care or are bad at math who take it up, but once prices are low enough most people shift over. Paying a regular sum of $400 a year for the latest tv with free upgrades every 5 years is an attractive proposition for a lot of people

      • HighAndDry on 23/11/2017 - 01:46
        +5

        Good call - people already do this for mobile phones for example: 24 month contracts, upgrade to a new phone, rinse repeat.

      • 88mph on 23/11/2017 - 07:11

        I think so too, that is a model which makes sense as long as the instalment is reasonable.

      • Solarlux on 23/11/2017 - 09:15
        +23

        Just A pity that we can't do the same for the planet!!! Pay rent for a few years, totally f*** it up, pay another fee to get a new unpolluted,un-fup planet,rinse,repeat.
        Cos what we are doing with our highly consumerist action is f        ing up the planet!!!
        Not sure why this post is displaying like it is, maybe it is my very old android phone…

        • HighAndDry on 23/11/2017 - 09:53
          +13

          Asterisks format your text.

          So:

          typing "*XYZ*" will look like "XYZ";

          typing "**XYZ**" will look like "XYZ"; and

          typing "***XYZ***" will look like "XYZ".

          Click on "Formatting Help" below the comment box to bring up more options.

        • abb on 23/11/2017 - 12:09
          +7

          I think you're allowed to swear on the internet, would save you from a lot of formatting (profanity)-ups

          edit: huh, how about that, ozbargain has a (profanity) word filter

        • [Deactivated] on 23/11/2017 - 12:41
          +16

          @abb:
          If people are allowed to swear on the internet, what next?

          Violence in movies and sex on TV?

          Where are those good old fashion values, on which we used to rely?

        • IMadeYouReadThis on 23/11/2017 - 15:40
          -4

          @tshow:

          Violence in movies and sex on TV

          Doesn't that already happen?

        • Solarlux on 23/11/2017 - 15:59

          Thanks, I new it had to be something like that.

        • doctorduke on 26/11/2017 - 09:05
          +1

          @tshow: lucky there's a family guy!

    • skillet on 23/11/2017 - 09:49
      +3

      The factory equipment that assembles and solder your electronics together is still made in Japan.

    • frostman on 24/11/2017 - 08:41
      +9

      Today's trends are towards refreshing to the newest and latest every couple of years

      Maybe that applies to today's mobile phones and tablets, but the Japanese era was bigger than that. The Japanese era was about premium quality and superb build.
      It was about buying a VHS Player, Cam Corder, Camera, White Goods, and Appliances and not worrying about warranty defects and returns.
      Go to Harvey Norman and speak to the Returns department and let them tell you about their day in the office of returns for warranty & defects in the electronics and home appliance department. You can shove your 'today's trends is about newest and latest' where the sun don't shine.

      These days manufacturers in China build things just too cheap and warranty is non-existent, places like JB, Harvey, Good Guys will most likely just pay you out or offer you a free replacement if your China or Taiwan-made fridge dies within warranty, it's cheaper for them.

      The basic premise is that the world has become a greedier place due to capitalism companies just want profits in anyway shape or form. Even home-owned products such as Billabong, BONDS, Country Road, QuickSilver, you would find most of their merchandise made in China, why? Because companies dont really give a toss about principle anymore, where it's cheaper and margin-gap wide, they will go that route. If it's faulty, come back with your receipt, go through some hassle with us and we'll eventually reward you.

      The premium (original Japanese) companies will always be missed:

      • NEC
      • Sharp
      • Sanyo
      • Panasonic
      • JVC
      • Hitachi
      • 88mph on 24/11/2017 - 09:50
        +2

        Kudos frostman.
        And to be fair, I think adding Matsushita to the list instead of Panasonic, as it owned that, National and Technics.

        And Sony? Possibly the best mini hifi boom boxes in the 90's? gotta love Sony's inbuilt spectrum analysers too.

        • gezza90 on 25/11/2017 - 14:47
          +2

          What about Tyco/Taiyo rc cars?
          I used to have this and haven't come across a better and more fun rc car to date.

          Video here

        • 88mph on 25/11/2017 - 17:56
          +1

          @gezza90: Cool 🤘

        • rctoymemories on 26/11/2017 - 15:13
          +1

          @88mph: Cheers for the link to my R/C site :)

          Also, I completely agree with the OP in this thread. And for the record, the same things apply to Japanese made toys (e.g. R/C cars) of the 1980s vs today. Compare the 1980s ones (usually made in Japan or Singapore) to today's Chinese-made guff at Toys R Us, and the new ones are often a joke. Flimsy, underpowered, plasticky (not rubbery) tyres, lacking features like differentials or proper suspension, and a general sense of bad quality and zero care-factor.

          About the only surviving R/C brand which still manufactures (some) of it's products in Japan these days, is Tamiya. All the other Japanese/US/German brands are either defunct (e.g Taiyo, Shinsei, Matsushiro, AYK, Marui), manufacturing in China (e.g Kyosho, Carrera, Yokomo) or they still "exist" in name but are now owned by Chinese (e.g Associated, Nikko etc)

          Even Tamiya, who are very proudly a Japanese family company still chaired by Shunsaku Tamiya, now have a plant in the Philippines as well as the famous Shizuoka plant in Japan. But if you check their boxes, you can still find Japanese manufactured examples of many (though not all) products. And their manufacturing standards are still famously high.

    • [Deactivated] on 24/11/2017 - 18:54
      +3

      I think people are incredibly naive here. There is nothing better than right now, this is simple economic progress where consuming drives the economy and gets people to innovate new things in a very short time span. Guess what happens if you don't purchase a new phone due to engineered obscelesence? They cut costs and stop doing R&D because they don't make enough sales to invest in new things. Sure some are sneaky marketing tactics to get a buck, but all in all you end up with better products in a short time span. Seems like people prefer the days of famine where you had to haggle for every single product you bought so you can make ends meet.

      People are becoming less social and relying on mobile phones, but consumers have the choice to what they do, no one is controlling them.

      All products are getting cheaper all the time. You have the option to buy a cheaper xiaomi, but it's the consumer who wants to pay 1500 dollars for an iPhone X. No one is forcing anyone to do anything when it comes to purchasing electronics, maybe it's different for more monopoly type scenarios like telcos and pharma but there's plenty of competition in electronics.

      • D C on 24/11/2017 - 20:20
        +6

        20-odd years ago a friend Grandfather made the comment - "The best thing about the 'good old days' is the 'good old days' are gone".

        He was talking about things like VCR's and fuel-injection on cars, I'd imagine he would have been stoked when smartphones, MP3, the internet, 8K TV, tablets, 3D printers etc became commonplace.

        I've had a laser cutter sitting in my spare bedroom for the past 5 years, 20 years ago that was in the realm of science fiction.

        Now is awesome. Yesterday sucked.

        • leiiv on 26/11/2017 - 02:13
          +1

          Can you please tell us more about your laser cutter?

        • D C on 26/11/2017 - 12:15
          +1

          @leiiv: I've got 5 of them now.

          I started with the eBay 'blue box', AKA DC-III or K40. 5-6 years ago a colleague asked if I had a laser, "nope, way too expensive" and then I found they were $700 on eBay. Buy!

          These ones: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/222707812276, usual price is about $500. A4 size bed. Got 3 of those now.

          I've made heaps of stuff on those.

          Got a 50W laser a few years later, 500x300mm bed: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/222705945980. $2000.

          Latest one is 60W 700x500mm: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/322419964056. $2500.

          First one came from China (with a busted power supply and then a busted tube, sigh) but the rest were local stock.

          The prices of the bigger models have dropped in past year or so. I'd get a bigger one but I don't have the room for it.

          The 40W are a bit rubbish (and getting somewhat worse over the year in places, eg thinner sheet metal) but y'know, laser! I'd still buy one. Out of the box they'll work fine, I'd spend $20 on a set of moly mirrors, the stock ones work fine but are easily damaged.

          There's a lot more info out there now (90% of it crap) so much easier to get started.

    • thriftybunny on 25/11/2017 - 14:37
      +1

      I'm old fashioned, still try to buy quality and use until they break… Well most of the times..
      Also quite annoying when something I like breaks often I won't be able to find the same product again…

  • plmko on 22/11/2017 - 12:04
    +12

    "Made in Japan" still exists, it's just your everyday 'affordable' stuff has been mostly replaced with Chinese goods because they've become good enough now.

    Perfect example is Sony's recently reintroduction of the Aibo robot dog. As an IoT product, only a Japanese company would have the guts to make something like that.

    • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 12:13
      +2

      Agreed, good on Sony for coming back into the game…

      • field1985 on 22/11/2017 - 19:06
        +8

        Sony just announced a 2nd model of the Playstation VR that has a modular design for upgrades/replacement parts.

        "Most of the PSVR v2's incremental upgrades shouldn't require early adopters to throw out their entire purchase just to get some minor improvements a year or less after their initial purchase. "

        This is a growing trend in tech. Imagine how much less waste there would be if products were made even a bit more modular. We are however forced to ditch perfectly good electronics to simply get small upgrades.

        https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/11/the-new-playstation-v…

        • abb on 23/11/2017 - 12:11
          +8

          Wow, an upgradeable computer, what a novel concept!

    • ozzpete on 22/11/2017 - 21:59

      I think it is just robots, that are made in japan. It seems cutting robotics is a huge industry in Japan these days .
      And no, I dont miss Japanese made electronics, cos I still have them :) I do love my Technics component stereo.
      The amplifier, tuner, tape deck 'made in Japan' . The CD player 'made in Germany' as I guess Germany made the best cd players back then.
      Has no remote (but you can plug in a wired remote, cutting edge back then) . But makes me get up and move once in a while.
      Regarding quality, I think that there is some excellent quality electronics made in China (and of course plenty of poor quality junk). It just used to be easier, just check where its made, to see expected quality.

      • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 22:21
        +9

        Just wanted to say, please don't put it out for hard rubbish if they do konk out someday, breaks my heart occasionally to see such stuff on the nature strip.
        I've actually 'rescued' 3 Panasonic VCRs (2 J Series, 1 L Series), 1 Sony mini hi-fi system, and several component pieces off my local area strips. Fixed them up, played them indoors for a while and keep em in the shed (no space indoors in my unit). I know, early signs of hoarding possibly, but it makes me feel good. Thankfully, limited to Made in Japan stuff only.

    • bchliu on 25/11/2017 - 10:33

      Made in Japan still exists and there's a market for it. It's called JDM - Japan Domestic Market. Most of the big manufacturers are still doing Japanese made for Japan's local market. If you wanna buy, take a trip to Japan and you'll get (assuming you can get past the language barrier of the device).

  • doodlebug on 22/11/2017 - 12:05
    +3

    I would gladly pay more to go back to those old days.
    In fact you can even go back even more to when things were made in USA or Australia which were even better than Made in Japan (hence the Doc quote). So bottom line is we are regressing and the spiral will not stop. Due to inflation and money printing in my opinion.

    • HighAndDry on 22/11/2017 - 12:11
      +5

      Problem is not enough people would do the same - most people would rather pay less for electronics that last a few years less, because they're more often than not going to replace it within that timeframe anyway.

      Companies follow the market, and the market follows the demands of the majority because at the end of the day, it's consumers voting with their wallets.

      • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 12:15

        Sounds like I'm a dying breed… gotta move with the times I suppose.

        • Slippery Fish on 23/11/2017 - 10:07
          +3

          I have a 8-9 yo Aldi tv. Lol

      • D C on 26/11/2017 - 13:53
        +1

        Most computer-related stuff (consoles, phones etc) becomes outdated (software or fashion) within a few years, but that's starting to slow down.

        Electronics are far more reliable today, they're generally let down by batteries (a non-existent problem previously) and by poor quality capacitors in switch-mode power supply, also non-existent back then.

        Batteries can be solved by making them standardised and replaceable, and capacitors by buying decent brands (doesn't always work).

        Bar those two parts there's really nothing else that will wear out in today's stuff, it'll last decades. Your 'good old days' stuff used incandescent bulbs that burned out, CRT displays that faded, brushed motors that wore out, belts that went brittle and so on.

        I've got a crappy clock-radio I paid about $20 for 35 years ago, it's still going. It'll probably out-live me. My laptop is 8 years old, I just repacked the battery with new cells (actually better than the originals). Doesn't run Fusion 360 as fast as I'd like, but eh.

        Most of this nostalgia is misplaced, you've forgotten about (or never seen) how much crap there was back then.

    • p1 ama on 22/11/2017 - 12:35
      +4

      Due to inflation and money printing in my opinion.

      How is this due to inflation and money printing? It's more likely due to the fact that technology is evolving at a much quicker pace. E.g. a TV from 2007 and 2017 are much more different than one from 1990 and 2000.

      • doodlebug on 22/11/2017 - 12:51

        Because the lower value of money puts pressure on companies, costs going up rather than going down doesn't make it easy. But yeh, its a whole range of factors….not just that obviously. my bad.

        • smashed on 22/11/2017 - 12:54

          When did costs ever go down? :)

        • HighAndDry on 22/11/2017 - 13:23

          @smashed: Middle of a huge recession. Let's NOT hope for that.

  • dcep on 22/11/2017 - 12:09
    +1

    Korea killed (almost) Japan's electronic & car industries.

    • elektron on 22/11/2017 - 12:47
      +9

      Korea was the new Japan, and China is the new Korea. A future Back to the Future (no pun intended) sequel could have the same dialog featuring a different country.

      • dcep on 22/11/2017 - 12:48
        +4

        India will be the new China

        • HighAndDry on 22/11/2017 - 12:53
          +12

          If they're lucky. But because India is a democracy and have somewhat stringent labour laws (even if they're never enforced), industry might skip India altogether (and many already are) and go straight to Africa to set up their factories.

        • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 13:09
          +2

          @0blivion: yes, looks like it. A few SBS and random YouTube docos I saw recently seem to indicate so.
          As for resources, Africa (as a continent) is well ahead of being China's best friend. Our stock analysts seem to have their head in the ground with the famous quote 'resource boom is over'.
          It's not, just cheaper and easier (corruption, military dictatorships?) to get stuff from Africa…

        • HighAndDry on 22/11/2017 - 13:14
          +1

          @88mph:

          Part of it is corruption and dictatorships, part of it is just Africa as a continent just isn't as developed and so is in the same position as China was about 10-15 years ago: Dirt cheap cost-of-living, and so also dirt cheap labour costs.

          The other part of it is still China: A lot of investment is really (Western) companies outsourcing manufacturing to Chinese companies, and those Chinese companies, instead of manufacturing in China, setting up factories and/or outsourcing to Africa because there's been a huge Government and private sector push for Chinese investment in the African continent, and that is because, as you say, Africa is still rich with mineral wealth that the Chinese Government deems strategically essential to its (China's) future development, and there's a level of synergy between:

          1. Investing in mines/resource extraction enterprises in Africa,

          2. Investing in infrastructure in Africa (both in making it more convenient to export the above minerals to China, and fostering local goodwill), and

          3. Investing in manufacturing in Africa.

        • D C on 22/11/2017 - 15:11
          +2

          They already are. India does a lot of the low-tech stuff like spanners now. China got too expensive for that so they outsourced.

          Unlike China, India doesn't do infrastructure so things might not progress further than that.

          Indian steel quality is a bit rubbish though.

        • T1OOO on 22/11/2017 - 19:00

          Africa is next. Well already happening.

        • outlander on 22/11/2017 - 22:15

          @T1OOO:

          Africa doesn't last long. Even starving desperate people can't compete with robotic labor

        • [Deactivated] on 23/11/2017 - 05:36

          @0blivion: China is already outsourcing their stuff to India. India's technically a "democracy" but their politics is probably on of the most corrupt democracies in the world.

        • MrGrinchy on 23/11/2017 - 16:50
          +3

          Umm, never.
          1. They are so corrupt, they cannot get anything done, its 10x worse than your local council.
          2. There are so many poor people with no skills, they will take 20 years to reach what China was in 2001.
          3. Theyre infrastructure is POS, just one Solar Flare CME will turn them into 1920.
          4. China can build up India, but India wont let them yet.

      • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 13:11
        +13

        Off topic, I would kill for a Back to the Future sequel 😀

        And before anyone says, yes, username checks out…

        • elektron on 22/11/2017 - 15:43
          +1

          Except the final instalment pretty much sucked compared to the first two

        • ozzpete on 22/11/2017 - 22:06

          Apparently the Back to The future video game, is the closest to a sequal we will get.
          I believe it is on ps4 now, but also is available for other consoles and pc I think.
          It doesnt seem the greatest video game, but when I read "for back the future fans, this is the closest to a sequal you will get" , I was sold, and now just want the video game, for continuation of these epic films

        • 88mph on 23/11/2017 - 07:19
          +1

          @ozzpete: don't lose hope (no pun intended), remember what Disney did for the SW franchise? Could trickle down to BTTF someday…

        • buckster on 23/11/2017 - 10:24

          @88mph: and in a twist Michael J Fox plays doc Brown

        • Speckled Jim on 23/11/2017 - 10:30

          And Larry can give him a shaken soda.

        • 88mph on 23/11/2017 - 10:46
          +1

          @buckster: Could very well be true, although I saw Doc on a stage show recently on some YouTube clip, he's in pretty good shape.

        • entropysbane on 25/11/2017 - 09:32

          @elektron: I liked the western one. I didn’t like the second one. Also: where’s my flying car and hover board?

        • 88mph on 28/11/2017 - 08:51

          @entropysbane: I've been asking the same thing since 2015…

      • Seraphin7 on 22/11/2017 - 13:16
        +11

        Agreed. If you actually take the Back to the Future reference back a step, "Made in Japan" (or "Jap Crap" as it was also known) was originally a symbol of stuff made on the cheap that was seen as not as good as equivalent items made in the US, UK, Australia, or other such Western countries.

        Wind forward the '80s/'90s and "Made in Japan" became (and remains) a sales positive. It became short hand for made in a high-tech country with fantastic manufacturing standards, etc., etc. Unfortunately, it has also become a by-line for "expensive". So, Japanese manufacturing starting shifting out to/was squeezed out by Korea and China.

        Korean made products/brands are now starting "to come up the value chain". While there is still a span, manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai and Kia are not seen as just "cheap alternatives". This is likely to continue to the point where "Made in Korea" will be seen as a plus.

        China is following. There is no doubt a lot of rubbish coming out of China (you only need to look at some of the sub-$1 stuff that turns up on here), but there is also a lot of quality gear emerging. If you look beyond the stuff that is clearly made to be the lowest cost in the market (with according manufacturing standards), Chinese-made products are more than reasonable quality. This quality is improving all the time.

        We should always remember that the consumer has driven down prices enormously over the years. Surprise, surprise, this cost can't be reduced without at least some impact on quality. I can recall a typical "large screen" bulky push-button CRT TV (probably about 27 inch/68 cm!) selling in the mid-80s for about $1,000. Make that $2,000 or $3,000 with inflation. You could pick up the same thing today in a wall-mountable panel display with FHD, digital tuner, remote control (!) for less than $300. Spend $3,000 and you're talking about a high-end set, 70+ inch plus with everything you could ever want outside the real cutting edge stuff.

        The real question here is what will happen next? Where will manufacturing shift to after Korea and China become cost-prohibitive and other economies with abundant and cheap labour start getting organised? We're already seeing it in textiles in Bangladesh. Indonesia? Pakistan? Brazil? Nigeria? Congo?

        • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 13:32
          +5

          Thank you, interesting insights.

        • D C on 22/11/2017 - 18:28
          +1

          @88mph: And even before that, goods imported to Europe from America were known as 'colonial crap'.

          Don't forget about survivor bias, these days you only see the high quality items from the 'good old days' and assume everything was made like that, Sony made some absolute rubbish (stuff like digital clocks etc).

          In 50 years all the GearBest junk will be landfill (well, more like 50 seconds after opening), and people will be admiring what's left of the 'Made In China' stuff.

        • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 18:51
          +2

          @D C: 😕

          I really need to find a DeLorean with a working flux capacitor… If not to relive the 'good ol days' and make a pile on the stock market.

        • WhyAmICommenting on 23/11/2017 - 16:39

          @88mph: or bubbleCoin ;)

    • The Almighty Dollar on 24/11/2017 - 13:38

      Really? I think the Japanese themselves hurt their industries temporarily because they stopped spending money. The Koreans have done little more than imitate the Japanese but sell at a lower pricepoint and a lower quality. Their reputation will not beat that of the Japanese.

      Anyway it comes down to knowledge. The Japanese make the best tech, the English make the best shoes and the Americans make the best weaponary. Everyone else is playing catch up.

      Do I miss the days of made in Japan? Not really, because it’s still there, you just have to look harder due to the amount of competitors and as always, pay a premium for premium gear.

      • entropysbane on 25/11/2017 - 09:36
        +1

        block-quote the Americans make the best weaponary

        Which is clearly not the reason we are retro fitting diesel into a yet to be redesigned French nuke. It won’t end well.

  • retiredfeline on 22/11/2017 - 12:19

    I don't know. A reel-to-reel tape recorder is rather bulky and would need a long power cord to be a personal music player. :P

    • doodlebug on 22/11/2017 - 12:25
      +1

      I spose he's referring more to the fact that they built things well back then that were made to last.

      • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 12:39

        Yes, I did, thanks.

  • pjetson on 22/11/2017 - 12:24
    +5

    Does Anyone Miss The Days of Made in Japan Electronics

    In the early days, "Made in Japan" meant much the same as "Made in China" does now. Japan got better at quality, but quality costs, so manufacturers moved their factories to lower cost countries.

    The average consumer doesn't want to pay extra for quality, and the average manufacturer doesn't want to pay first world costs.

    I have a Japanese-made colour TV that I bought when colour TV started in Australia in 1975 and it still works. Australian companies started manufacturing the exact same product in Australia soon after, and they were complete crap. Eventually, quality improved, but so did the costs of that quality. End result, no more TV manufacturing in Australia.

    As long as there is a cheaper place to make stuff, the race is always going to be on to that place.

    • elektron on 22/11/2017 - 12:50

      I have a Japanese-made colour TV that I bought when colour TV started in Australia in 1975 and it still works. Australian companies started manufacturing the exact same product in Australia soon after, and they were complete crap. Eventually, quality improved, but so did the costs of that quality. End result, no more TV manufacturing in Australia.

      The Toyota Camry, on the other hand, has made a full circle, and is now again imported to Australia from Japan.

      • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 13:39

        Don't know much about the Camry, but would be interesting to compare the quality of both models?

        • jzx100 on 22/11/2017 - 14:26
          +3

          Any Toyota made in Japan is far superior then any model made here in Australia!

        • ATangk on 22/11/2017 - 20:38

          @jzx100:
          I’d trust Lexus more than Toyota. Apparently that is where al the top performing Toyota technicians get the opportunity to go.

        • buckster on 23/11/2017 - 10:26
          +1

          @jzx100: the audits that Toyota did on the factories in Aus though were extremely stringent

        • elektron on 23/11/2017 - 12:43
          +1

          @ATangk: You're free to chose who you trust but Lexus and Toyota are both ultra-reliable brands. In fact, in the latest JD Power vehicle dependability survey they are rated 1st and 3rd respectively, separated by Porsche at number 2.

          Toyota is also ranked higher than any luxury brand, besides Lexus.

        • ATangk on 24/11/2017 - 07:27

          @elektron: I mean… they are the same brand…

        • elektron on 24/11/2017 - 12:16

          @ATangk: Actually, no. Two different brands. But the same company, yes - no different to Audi, VW and Scoda, for example.

        • entropysbane on 25/11/2017 - 09:37

          Just rented a new Camry yesterday. My first thought was “oh, crap, a Camry”. Yet it was a pleasant surprise and Markedly Better.

      • berry580 on 24/11/2017 - 07:29

        Camry's made in Australia has rubbish interior that falls apart after ~10years of usage.

        • elektron on 24/11/2017 - 12:28

          Can't really comment on that except to say that while there aren't any more Camry's made in Australia, I happen to like the interior of the current Camry. In terms of the longevity / dependability - yes, I don't think the JD Power survey is based on the data from Australian-made Toyota models.

    • trongy on 22/11/2017 - 23:10
      +2

      In the early days, "Made in Japan" meant much the same as "Made in China" does now.

      True. When I was growing up in the 1970's no-one rated Japanese goods. In retrospect we know that the quality had improved, but at the time the reputation was not good because people still remembered the crappy Japanese products of the 50's and 60's. In the 1980s the reputation of Japanese products improved, and so did the presentation and marketing.

    • fwdcelica on 23/11/2017 - 10:15
      +2

      I've got an Australian made Panasonic colour TV (Cathode Ray Tube) that I bought in 2002 and it still works.
      Hooked up to the Panasonic DVD Recorder/Twin DTV Tuner (made in China)

  • Nugs on 22/11/2017 - 12:28

    i still use something similar to this in the shed, it's around 35 years old

    https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=im…

    .

  • doodlebug on 22/11/2017 - 12:29
    +1

    Yeh the theory is that where ever the factories are the products will eventually improve. So japan took a little while to get things going but eventually produced quality stuff and also at the same time continued producing lower quality goods too at a cheaper price but that's beside the point.
    So I have been thinking the same will happen to China, but after two decades we still are not seeing them producing quality products at least not to the quality I would expect. So something is not right….

    • wyndham29 on 23/11/2017 - 11:17

      I listened to an interesting podcast related to this (planet money, but I can't recall the episode). Basically the general theory is that most countries will start in the "t-shirt" phase; where they produce simple, low cost products like t-shirts. Usually, after some amount of time the country moves out of the "t-shirt" phase and begins producing more technical, complicated products. China is unique in that they have moved past the t-shirt phase, but chosen to retain production of those low cost products, leaving them in both phases simultaneously.

      • doodlebug on 23/11/2017 - 11:37

        yeh weird eh.

      • entropysbane on 25/11/2017 - 09:39

        A very big country with regions in multiple stages of development.

  • Almost Banned on 22/11/2017 - 12:29
    +4

    Yeah, you're not really pining for Made in Japan.
    You really just seem to be lamenting the quality of current cheap(er) electronics or longer lifespan electronics.
    Maybe you should wish for the days of better Chinese quality control - or even maybe less built in redundancy. The problem is technology is changing so fast nowadays that consumer electronics are superseded within a couple years. So you're really asking for old technology.

  • mskeggs on 22/11/2017 - 12:29
    +5

    I have a 1970s National shelf radio inherited from my grandfather, after my Panasonic pocket transistor lasted 20 something years. It will have the cricket on all summer.
    I also have some Panasonic cordless phones that are 15+ years old, but they will be retired when we ditch the landline in a few years when all the kids have mobiles.
    We are shopping for some sort of sound system to go in the kitchen, the Panasonic we have there wasn't made to anywhere near the same standards as in the past and one speaker has failed after 8 years or so. It was made in Malaysia, but I don't think it is so much the country of manufacture, as much as companies caring less and less about durability.

    • 88mph on 22/11/2017 - 13:15
      +1

      Also could be the Japanese work ethic and continuos drive towards quality improvement?

  • [Deactivated] on 22/11/2017 - 12:46
    +2

    Modern day PC PSU's make a point of Japanese made capacitors if the have them.

    • This Guy on 24/11/2017 - 21:01

      There was an issue with caps around 10-20 years ago that Japanese capacitors did not suffer from. Not an issue any more.

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