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What do you consider to be the biggest technological advancement for electrical components? | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 68 comments | Search Discussion
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  • (Score: 2) by Virindi on Saturday December 15 2018, @12:31AM

    by Virindi (3484) on Saturday December 15 2018, @12:31AM (#774622)

    SMPS-powered microwaves already exist. Panasonic got a patent on the concept, they call it "Inverter Technology" (super original trademark, right? Except the output is rectified, so the name is a bit strange). There is one actual advantage: they can do faster pwm on the power to actually give you different power settings rather than just "pwming" a relay on the order of seconds. So of course they charge you more.

    And no surprise, it is much less reliable than the old type. We all know that is always the real goal, pack it with a lead-free SMPS which will short out and release magic smoke right after the warranty period is up.

    Recently I picked a recent 'inverter' model off the neighbor's trash; the waveguide tip of the magnetron was completely blown apart. It looked like someone had gone at it with an angle grinder. That is not a very common failure mode in traditional microwaves compared to failure of the control board...it makes me wonder if it was caused by SMPS failure.

    And by the way, the SMPS does still need a fan. The magnetron does as well. Even low voltage SMPS struggles to stay above 95% efficiency in real use, and we're talking about one with a several thousand volt secondary handling 1000w+. Even at 95% that would be 50w+ in the converter, plus the magnetron does heat up quite a bit on its own as well.

    If I were you I wouldn't be so keen to jump into the future when microwaves develop a tin whisker and blow up every 2 years. Like in every other consumer industry, I'm sure appliance manufacturers can't wait for this.

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