Russian tanks are using chips from household appliances due to sanctions:
[...] In a Senate hearing on Wednesday, the US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo cited Ukrainians who found semiconductors from dishwashers and refrigerators in Russian tanks. Ukrainian officials say these are substitutes for components Russian manufacturers can't get due to international sanctions.
Raimondo said US technology exports to Russia have sunk by almost 70 percent since Russia started its invasion in late February. Moreover, spokesperson from the US Commerce department Robyn Patterson said US component shipments to Russia have fallen by 85 percent in the last year. Raimondo said the Ukrainian findings prove the sanctions are successfully diminishing Russia's war effort.
Complying with sanctions, computer companies like Intel, AMD, IBM, TSMC, and GlobalFoundries also stopped chip sales to Russia.
[...] Russia isn't the only entity cannibalizing appliances to fill chip deficiencies. Last month, ASML CEO Peter Wennik admitted that some companies are repurposing chips from washing machines to compensate for the ongoing global chip shortage.
https://www.techspot.com/news/94301-asml-ceo-companies-ripping-out-chips-washing-machines.html
Last year, TSMC chairman Mark Liu said various distributors and go-betweens had been stockpiling chips throughout the pandemic. Liu also didn't mention names, but both TSMC and ASML are close with an extensive network of partners and customers. They have long warned that geopolitical instability and sanctions imposed on countries like China and Russia would push companies to create even more chaos in the tech supply chain.
Lam Research CEO Timothy Archer echoed Wennink's remark that supply-related delays will affect how much factory equipment can be manufactured in the coming months. Even if companies like TSMC, Samsung, and Intel could somehow secure enough tooling for their new factories, major wafer suppliers won't be able to keep up with demand until 2024.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @03:56PM (2 children)
Ivan will now cool his cheese.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @07:05PM
So the Russian T-14 Armata should really be called the T-14 Amana?
(Score: 3, Touché) by driverless on Wednesday May 18 2022, @07:40AM
In capitalist America, dishwashers have tanks.
In Putinist Russia, tanks have dishwashers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @04:10PM (1 child)
When Russian tanks have to run on Linux because it's free.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday May 17 2022, @04:53PM
Win Russian tanks have to run on Linux because it's secure.
Now with the yummy goodfullness of systemd.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Snotnose on Tuesday May 17 2022, @04:18PM (28 children)
I doubt the PIC processor that runs your washing machine is capable of running a fire control system, or encrypted communications system, or any of the other high tech widgets the Russian military needs.
Then again, maybe they're drop in replaceable because the Folks in Charge (tm) bought PICs instead of ARMS, pocketing the difference, and the developers just made it work.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @04:32PM (21 children)
It's called horsepie propaganda.
The whole of Western media from the gate, has been belching how Russia is "bogged down", or "failing", when the reality on the ground is that Russia OWNS Ukraine, and has since about mid-April.
Keep watching CNN, friends. Stay Informed(tm).
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Tuesday May 17 2022, @04:43PM (15 children)
I'm sure they do, if you ignore: satellite data, all available open-source information like news outlets and on-the-ground citizen videos, the fact that there's still an active war despite Russia starting out with approximately a 3:1 advantage, Vladimir Putin publicly calling up reserves, and the fact that the Russians keep changing what they would consider victory conditions. If this had gone to plan, there wouldn't be a country called "Ukraine" functioning after day 2 of the invasion or so. They were supposed to have Volodymyr Zelenskyy's head on a pike over a month ago and complete military control of the country, and they don't, not even close.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by istartedi on Tuesday May 17 2022, @04:56PM (1 child)
I was going to say that they were expecting another Prague Spring, but then I googled and found out that it actually took the USSR over 7 months [wikipedia.org] to put that down, with a much larger force vs. no real military.
So Russian troops saying it'll be a few days and taking months is on-point but that's what makes this urgent for Ukraine. If history repeats, Russia doesn't stop and they eventually grind them down except that this time there's a huge supply of weapons and intel coming in to help the defenders. I still think Russia loses eventually, but sadly this could take years.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @05:19PM
Seven months is correct if you consider the period from 5 January (Dubček as First Secretary) to 20 August (Soviet/Warsaw Pact invasion).
However, citing the wikipedia
Not that I like it, but it would be objective to say that the "Prague special operation" was successful in about one day. Clearly that was not the case for the "Kyiv special operation".
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday May 17 2022, @05:03PM (5 children)
The map on this article is pretty interesting and current. Worth a click-through.. (3 free then paywall tho) [bloomberg.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @05:25PM (4 children)
Russia can continue to throw men in to make a continued stalemate in the North.
But perhaps Ukraine might get Russia to run out of SAM's, cruise missiles and ships which would help in the West and South.
Without a navy, the supply lines to Crimea seem really long for Russia?
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday May 17 2022, @09:21PM
Current external estimates are they've lost about a third of their forces already. [forbes.com]
So they can't really just continue to throw men at the problem....
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @09:39PM (1 child)
There is the bridge. However, once Ukraine gets into the position to take it out, it will be to their tactical advantage to keep it intact
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @10:42AM
Assuming we are talking about the a bridge at Kerch, it might be a tactical advantage but not a strategic one.
The Russians need to learn to live in this century.
I mean a time where it it not ok to just go take a country.
Pushing them back to their border but not a mm more seems the best lesson for long term peace.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @03:43AM
They can in theory, but if they keep throwing men at it, they'll just go into the grinder and then into body bags. It takes a certain amount of time just to get men in a position to just be in the military. It takes time after that to get them to the point where they're at all effective. What's more, with the various embargoes going on at the moment, you also need to consider that a great number of potential conscripts are going to be needed to keep the production of supplies up.
People forget, but it takes quite a few logistical positions for every combat position in the military, even under the best of circumstances. There's also the issue with trying to maintain the propaganda campaign. Right now, they can sort of trick the people into thinking that things are working out, but only the greatest morons of all time are going to not notice when all the men under the age of 50 are mysteriously joining the military or disappearing.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 17 2022, @06:24PM (6 children)
I seem to have missed all the official Russian statements regarding victory. I see some of their propaganda, I see our own propaganda, but the official memos have escaped my notice.
I can agree with some of our own propaganda. Russia has failed almost from the start to coordinate that whole 'combined arms' thing. The most obvious example of that, are the armored columns being ambushed constantly. There should be ground pounders out in front, screening and skirmishing, and bird dogging the ambushers. When the ground pounders are cooped up inside of APCs, they are nothing more than another big, noisy target.
Russia has also failed to definitively establish air superiority.
Logistics have proven to be mostly a flop for them.
All of that considered, I don't yet see that the invasion is a real failure. Obviously, the invasion has been a lot more expensive than it could have, or should have been.
When Ukraine has kicked the last division out of Ukraine, then we can say that the invasion was most definitely a failure. As of now, Russia does in fact control quite a lot of Ukrainian territory.
(Score: 2) by vux984 on Tuesday May 17 2022, @07:27PM (1 child)
"When Ukraine has kicked the last division out of Ukraine, then we can say that the invasion was most definitely a failure."
The protracted campaign comes at massive economic, human, and materiel cost. Coupled with a loss of face internationally, and the unintended consequence of dramatically strengthening and unifying international support for NATO. This is going to harm exports of Russian arms and oil and gas exports long after the war ends.
The invasion was most definitely a failure. They'll likely salvage something from it, but that won't make it a win.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday May 17 2022, @09:28PM
Take a look at the map I posted up-thread. Just eyeball estimating looks like about 10% to me. So the claim that Russia has secure a lots of territory is being a bit....polite....about it...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @05:02PM (2 children)
Russians control some roads but they don't control the countryside.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @10:18PM (1 child)
You can say that because you are there? Or, you can say that because western propaganda sources told you that it was so?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @11:04PM
Side benefit of russia's war is seeing who the russian shills really are. We've got runaway the fake amurrican boomer, any other registered nics? Or just ACs and runaway? Oh, phoenix d00d was a little suspicious, but prolly just dat faux newbz giving him ideas.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday May 21 2022, @12:39PM
I agree with vux984. It won't take a complete removal of Russian soldiers to make this a failure. This has already become a failure because what Russia has gained isn't worth the cost it has paid. In the short term, there's that 50k casualties. In the long term, they've obtained territory that will have massive insurgency problems associated with it and they've flushed their soft power down the toilet.
Recall the complaints about the mysterious effectiveness of western propaganda? That's because Russia did more to enable that propaganda than any spook, wonk, or suit on the western side. Russia also will probably face years of restrictions on its ability to trade that oil and natural gas it used to sell freely to Europe. Finally, there's the blow to the reputation of the Russian military. My take is that the people who've been lauding Putin all these years just won't appreciate [understandingwar.org] continued gratuitous displays of military weakness.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @10:24PM (1 child)
i agree.
what seems to be forgotten is the nuclear option.
i don't mean THAT nuclear option but the other one: turn off the energy pipes.
that one pipe going directly from russia to germany carries energy (or the power) equivalent to 40 x 1 GW (thermal) nuclear powerplants ...
i fear that the western propaganda extolling the virtues of fighting russia for "freedom" but at the same time trying to circumvent their own sanctions on russia (thus undermining with action what they preach) will yield a mentally ill europen citizenery.
this might even plant the seed for a much bigger problem in the future ... when logic has been eroded enough that contradictions again will be the bread and butter of the new propaganda department?
having a big ocean inbetween might again be a good thing then?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday May 21 2022, @12:42PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @12:47AM
Then why has the invasion become a Russian five-year plan?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday May 18 2022, @03:33AM
Prove it then. Can your accusations of propaganda beat the evidence level of the propaganda you're complaining about?
This reminds me of the guy who when confronted [soylentnews.org] with Russian sources still blathered on about western propaganda.
My view on this is that when your accusations of propaganda can't even meet the lax standards of that alleged western propaganda, then you're wasting our time. Sure the Ukie stories about Uber-like artillery strikes, massive vehicle destruction, or cell phone heat maps may be a bit unsubstantiated, but the empty claim that "Russia OWNS Ukraine" when we can see, propaganda or not, many indications that is false (no air superiority, significant troop/equipment losses, completely retreat from the Kiev and northeast territory of Ukraine, and a war that has lasted more than two months).
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Wednesday May 18 2022, @05:46AM
The first casualty of war is the truth.
Propaganda is used by all sides, even those that theoretically don't have a stake.
But, in your case, your position is so laughably wrong that not only did you beat the horse, you set it on fire, used your pee to extinguish it, put it through the grinder, and served up grade F horse-hockey hamburgers.
However, no need to worry, Tucker Carlson is still your friend and would NEVER LIE to you.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday May 17 2022, @06:10PM (4 children)
6502 was designed to run toasters.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @06:41PM (1 child)
...as if that'll ever fly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @07:02PM
Well the turrets certainly do.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by driverless on Wednesday May 18 2022, @07:48AM (1 child)
I'm kinda wondering about the claim from the original story, how did they know some random SoC in a tank came from a dishwasher? It's not like they'll be labelled "for dishwasher use only", it's a generic part that's usable anywhere. The reports sound more like a mashup of several different stories glued together with a lot of speculation.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @04:04PM
The chips probably didn't come out of a dishwasher. Many microcontrollers are one-time programmable so they can't be reused like that. What is probably happening is that Russia is buying consumer grade parts to get around restrictions on military grade parts. The falsified paperwork may claim they are making dishwashers, or some other approved application, or more likely the journalist is just sensationalizing since automotive grade parts would probably be a better match for military use.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @12:15AM
> encrypted communications system
Haven't you heard, the Russian radios don't work, so they are using their personal cell/mobile phones. Ukranians throw shells or drones at the phone geo location. I think it was BBC that reported this, part of why the Russians have lost so many top brass (generals etc.) in the war zone.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Tuesday May 17 2022, @04:32PM (8 children)
Russia's government sure seems to be failing to understand the importance of a supply line and supply chain to ensure that the forces in the field are capable of fighting effectively. And officer discipline so that procured equipment ends up in the field rather than on eBay (with the money lining the officers' pockets, of course). Improvisation is all well and good in emergencies, but if you're relying on that for your day-to-day functioning, then you have operational problems that have to be addressed. But OK, Vlad, keep trying to attack troops armed with the latest and greatest NATO has to offer with guys armed with Maytags and Whirlpools, I'm sure it will work out great for you.
A lot of this is driven by the same intelligence failure that really fouled things up for the US in Iraq and Afghanistan: If your main source of information are opposition leaders who have every reason to think they'll be in charge if the government is overthrown by a foreign power, they'll tell you that "Oh, yes, it would be really easy for you to overthrow the government, and the people will be right behind you" every single time regardless of the actual situation. And of course that's exactly what certain kinds of leaders of foreign powers want to hear, figuring that they might well get what amounts to a vassal state out of it.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday May 17 2022, @05:07PM
There are definitely some signs to this outside observer that Putin's getting' high on his own yes-men supply....
US and UK governments are saying they have information that supports that hypothesis but y'know....
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 17 2022, @06:30PM (5 children)
Logistics failures seem to have been a systemic problem for Russia, dating back before the Soviet. Corruption rules, at all levels. Always has, always will. I don't see any way out of that, TBH.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @03:57AM
If anything it's gotten worse under the Putin regime. Even the Soviets weren't this bad. The only way to end it is to teach the Russian people that there is a better way. That's what broke the cycle in Ukraine. The difficulty is reaching them.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday May 18 2022, @11:07AM (3 children)
The path that I wish would work:
1. The current sanctions make things suck enough that even more citizens are prepared to risk a lot to change things.
2. Eventually, the citizens willing to risk a lot to change things overwhelm the military and police forces Vlad has working for him. That, and the weakening of those forces by the fighting in Ukraine.
3. The resulting coup leads to something resembling a real democracy, something the country has never had, with close monitoring of elections and police by international groups to make sure it has a real election and not a fake one.
4. Said real democracy enacts strong anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws right away, and enforces them.
5. A task force is set up to deal with organized crime.
Vlad, in my opinion, always saw the real threat of NATO countries near him as ideological at least as much as military: If you have people living right near you who are living much better lives than you are, you're going to want what they have, and part of what they have is democracy.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday May 18 2022, @11:38AM (2 children)
Well, the old crude adage seems to fit here. Wish in one hand, and defecate in the other, see which one fill up first. That, and, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
The American psyche doesn't work the way you wish. We continue to elect corrupt, ineffective politicians for a lifetime. The Russian psyche isn't even in the same league. Kinda like rugby vs polo? Soccer vs baseball?
Before Putin is ousted, he will have to fail even more spectacularly than the west is claiming that he has failed already. Then, he will be replaced with another strongman authoritarian. That is what the Russian people demand, after all. I can't see Russians willingly accepting anything else.
Diplomats, statesmen, philosophers, and priests all failed to prevent the Mongol invasion, the Livonian invasion, the Ottoman invasion - I can go on, right on through the Nazi invasion. History has taught Russians that you can only bargain from a position of strength, so they demand a strong leader who can take on all comers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @04:17PM (1 child)
The sad irony is that they reject actually strong leaders like Gorbachev in favour of weak ones like Putin, because looking physically strong and talking tough is more important than being a good leader. As I said before, the only way to fix it is to show the Russian people that there is a better way and teach them how to achieve it for themselves. Of course that is easier said than done because humans are stubborn, stupid creatures and will fight improvement every step of the way. Just look at American's response to single-payer healthcare as an example.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @11:07PM
"Just look at American's response to single-payer healthcare as an example."
Also how the states that support universal healthcare are the ones footing most of the bill, and the states leeching off tax payer funds are the ones against it. I wish I could still find that funny.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Wednesday May 18 2022, @07:54AM
Oh I think they understand it all too well, money go into supply chain, some money go to Aleksandr's yacht, some money go to Mikhail's dacha, some money go to Valentin's babuschka's mattress, some money go to Artem's girlfriend, some money go to Nikolai's villa in Sochi, and small remainder for recruits go to Red Army rations from 1978. Za uspeh!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @04:44PM (5 children)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-21/chip-starved-firms-are-scavenging-silicon-from-washing-machines [bloomberg.com]
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @05:08PM (3 children)
Pretty soon the washing machine companies will have to start buying second hand russian tanks to get the chips they need! It's the circle of life(cycle).
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @06:12PM
Can't you tell? We're in the spin cycle. I hope they didn't use any chips from Iranian centrifuges.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @07:15PM
Some of those tanks that tried to cross rivers seem to be stuck on rinse cycle.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday May 17 2022, @09:30PM
From tax-free Ukrainian war salvage, hopefully! [theguardian.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday May 17 2022, @05:13PM
Yep, I was slightly confused by the plain link. That story is about manufacturers outside of Russia also resorting to scavenged chips. Slightly different 'cause they're not running a war with them but point taken.
So Russia was probably already short of chips before this whole thing went down and there's plenty of global demand so that'll make this an easy cost/benefit analysis for chipmakers to follow the sanctions because they already have way more demand than supply.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Tuesday May 17 2022, @05:23PM
Great? Why use expensive components and when you can use cheap and common once? Perhaps now they can use the tanks to make soup and the flamethrowers can make toasty snacks ... I toast therefor I am!
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Tuesday May 17 2022, @05:40PM (4 children)
The sanctions can stop oil pipes and container ships. They might even manage to stop a few trucks on major roads. What they can't do is stop some Kazakhs from packing a couple of camels with $40 million worth of micro-controllers and x86s and walk them across the 7,644-kilometre (4,750 mi) Russia-Kazakhstan border.
compiling...
(Score: 3, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday May 17 2022, @09:32PM (1 child)
If Intel can't come up with $40 million worth of chips I seriously doubt a random Kazakh can.... [cnbc.com]
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Wednesday May 18 2022, @08:41AM
Though some of the current supply chain shortages can be traced to Russian/Ukrainian aluminum, neon and palladium, it has nothing to do with the enforce-ability of the silicon sanctions or that flimsy tall tale that suggests the Russians managed to put together an industrial grade PCB recycling venture targeting PICs and such components.
Now, if someone is actually doing any recycling at that level, it's going to be the African and Chinese plants that are already extract gold from the PCBs. But that's just puts us back to camels.
Regardless, China won't abide with these sanctions for long if at all. They have a direct border with Russia and can leverage the war economy to trade directly for raws and get a significant advantage over the west in fabs and designs while the war continues.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday May 18 2022, @11:51AM (1 child)
What sanctions can do:
1. Prevent container ships and trainloads of the stuff from showing up in Vladivostok, which would make a much bigger difference than a few camels worth. Scale matters here.
2. Prevent Russia from having anything worth anything to pay the Kazakhs with, which will convince our enterprising Kazakhs to turn around or not bother making the trip in the first place.
3. Can make it so Russia needs so many chips for so many different needs that those $40 million worth of chips get shunted to non-military purposes like replacing the ones in the washing machines that just got taken out.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Wednesday May 18 2022, @03:18PM
The Russians manufacture their own passive and active components and print their own PCBs. e.g. There's a a resistor manufacturer called Kulon in St. Petersburg and KVAR makes capacitors in Serpukhov while you can find multiple PCB printers listed in the usual directories. They even manufacture their own PIC and logic. But, like everyone else, they can't pump out enough PICs while switching wafer tooling between nodes. And, specifically to Russia, they're limited to 28nm ARM and the likes so they'll need to import modern x86s and such to meet those specific needs.
Incidentally, peripheral tooling wise they're mostly self-sufficient but not to scale. That is, they have machining capabilities and used to make their own lasers, wafers and such... But, they came to depend on the Chinese for consumer market so they only have a few active lines for this sort of stuff left and will need months if not a couple of years and plenty of rubles to scale things back up.
All-in-all, they can fulfill all their non-commercial needs for years with a couple of camel hauls. Long term, they have a huge shared border with China so if the Chinese feel like it, they can screw the west over easily enough by trading Russian semiconductor raws (palladium, neon and aluminum) for finished components. That would benefit the Chinese immensely during this critical period where they're working towards chip independence since it will give them a significant advantage in the global market where while everyone else is struggling to meet demand.
compiling...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 17 2022, @06:34PM (11 children)
WTF does my washing machine even need a chip? Seriously, washing machines did the same things 50 years ago, that they do today. And, none of them had chips! Just an electric motor, operated by mostly mechanical timers.
The only real improvements in washing machines since then, are more efficient motors, and more efficient use of water. Otherwise, my washing machine is no better than the one my mother used while I crawled around the floor with my toy cars and trucks.
Come and get my chip. Just hardwire the machine to some mechanical timers, and I'll be happy.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by sgleysti on Tuesday May 17 2022, @07:00PM
While the machines could be made with mechanical timers, it's probably just more cost effective to make them with ICs. Also, the motor control schemes in a modern washer are likely more efficient than old ones but require integrated circuits to implement the motor control in a cost effective manner.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday May 17 2022, @07:59PM (7 children)
But without a chip, how could you hook up your washing machine to your Internet of Things so when your laundry is done it unlocks your front door and orders you orange juice on Amazon Prime?
Presumably newer driers also have some logic to just keep drying until it determines that moisture levels are sufficiently low.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Informative) by RS3 on Tuesday May 17 2022, @08:15PM (5 children)
A friend of mine has a drier from the late 1950s that has a moisture sensor and it works quite well.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 17 2022, @08:54PM (2 children)
That was my thought. I'm not so very sure about 1950s, but definitely 1970s. I don't know the history of those little bulbs, but I do remember that my mother's dryers were time dried, rather than using a sensor. That doesn't mean that other dryers didn't have moisture sensors, it only means that we didn't have a model with such a sensor.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @11:00PM (1 child)
Both my washer and dryer are still mechanical.
From the 60s, and they are working just fine.
If their mechanical timers go, I'll just put in a Arduino.
(Score: 2) by lentilla on Wednesday May 18 2022, @08:32AM
An Arduino... and a honking great relay, with some kind of buffer circuitry with reverse-EMF protection, and a bunch of heavy-duty wiring with crimped connectors, with the components properly secured and housed, with the entire unit bolted (and earthed) to the chassis.
Fine fighting words ("Ill just drop in an Arduino!"), but the reality is a day's work for a competent amateur to produce a one-off solution.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @03:51AM (1 child)
Modern washers and driers have a lot of sensors in them to work more efficiently. They can monitor the soap levels for example and shut things down if there's an inappropriate amount of soap. They can also often times balance their own load to minimize jumping around. Hell my mother has one that will dispense the right amount of soap on it's own as long as she keeps the reservoir full of soap.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @04:22AM
> the right amount of soap
That probably works OK as long as you use the name-brand soap. What happens when you try a lower priced store brand that is watered down?
Personally, I've found that about half the recommended amount of soap gets my clothes nicely clean. I suspect some self-interest in the recommendations on the soap bottle...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @08:26PM
But they can't use them in the state of Georgia, because they would never stop running.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 18 2022, @03:48AM
Efficiency. One of those old washing machines wouldn't be able to do things like know when you've put to much soap in and would happily fill the entire basement with as much soap as you could cram in there. They also weren't as capable of dealing with unbalanced loads as modern machines are.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Joe Desertrat on Thursday May 19 2022, @12:32AM
While they're at it take the ones from "smart" TV's.
(Score: 2) by Mojibake Tengu on Tuesday May 17 2022, @06:46PM (1 child)
I need to ask some military equipment specialist:
Can I install Gentoo on CLU from Javelin?
There are plenty of these now on black markets everywhere in Europe, cheap.
Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
(Score: 2) by Username on Tuesday May 17 2022, @09:36PM
IDK. JP5 is JTAG, that's your starting point.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday May 17 2022, @07:27PM (1 child)
Tank's internal PA sounds: "Good morning, comrade! I notice you're getting low on H.E. rounds. Shall I order you some more?"
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 17 2022, @10:33PM
Never mind, the Ukrainians seem to be about to send you some.
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Wednesday May 18 2022, @01:05PM
I'm curious as to which parts exactly were taken from "washing machines" and what exactly they were used for.
I can easily imagine power supply components, sensors, and motor control circuitry getting re-used. It is not too uncommon for Chinese "recyclers" to pull any components they think they can re-sell at some point. Lots of that kind of stuff on eBay.