I was in the electronic manufacturing industry for over 30 years. It is a well known fact that electronic device prices have plummeted during that time and they continue to do so.
It's hard for me to imagine that anyone over 25 years old hasn't noticed that trend.
Some examples:
1966 - Ampex: VR-6275 domestic VTR $1495.
I recall buying and RCA VCR in 1975 fro $2000.
2007 - VCRs under $100 common.
1983 - The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X phone became the first FCC-approved portable cellular telephone Price $3,995
2007 - $100 cell phones have far more features than what was available in 1983.
How about Microwave ovens?
1956 Kelvinator Home Microwave $1200
2007 - GE JEM31BK Microwave Oven Built-In - 800 W - 1 cu.ft. - Black $178
The above are not historical prices adjusted for inflation, but real sales dollars of the era. Adjusted price would be far higher.
Even the news service noticed...
USA Today
Posted 8/13/2004 4:49 PM Reuters
Decline in U.S. consumer electronics prices slowed
The report, released Thursday, showed the price for a market basket of the 27 most popular electronics goods fell to $12,399 in June, down 1% from May and down 15.6% from a year earlier. The decline in May was 3.1% from April
Cost of gadgets declines yet again
Source: Franklin Paul - REUTERS
U.S. consumer electronics prices dropped steeply in November as retailers slashed prices on products such as notebook computers, digital cameras, and flash memory cards, and declines could accelerate this year as Asian manufacturers increase some production. U.S. prices fell 6.2 percent in November from October, the biggest decline in 2004, and were down 18.3 percent from a year earlier, spurred by promotions on "Black Friday," the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving
Published on January 23, 2005, Page E02, Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
The consumer electronics survival game: as prices drop each year, what's a consumer OEM to do?(THE FLEX MARKET)
Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture, June, 2006 by Numakura, Dominique
...coupled with significant market price declines for semiconductor devices (-19%) and cellular phones (-45%).
Comparing a Dyna 2000 to points is like comparing an abacus to a TI hand held calculator.....at the least.
You need a calculator to fire spark plugs on each revolution of the crankshaft?
As for increased cost....everthing goes up. ...Are the electronics going down in price?
Not so to the former. And, an emphatic YES to the latter! See very small sample above. And, with circuit devices going down in price each year. Why do Dyna Prices continue to go up? (Other than to give themselves a raise for no increase in service, quality, or features.)
is labor....I repeat labor going down in price?
It damn well should be. That is the ongoing goal for every electronic manufacturer I've ever dealt with. (Except the ones selling to the government and military deep pockets)
Most electronic assembly is robotic, these days. Do they even assemble the units themselves? Or, is the work farmed out to an assembly house?
Is rent on facilities going down in price? Come on.
Come on yourself. Do you know if they even stock the units themselves? I don't know. But, they could just drop ship from whoever manufactures for them, direct to distributor. The only rent necessary would be for their cushy office. (I'm speculating, of course.) They may have facilities as modern as they were in the 70's, for all I know. But, if they aren't doing an ongoing cost improvement, then purchasers are subsidizing antiquated business practices.
Don't deride and condemn progress....especially in the name of economy. That's not fair or valid. 329.00 for a DIGITAL unit is cheap.
Don't lecture me on progress. The computer/electronics industry, in which I worked, is likely the most progressive industry going.
And, bandying the digital buzzword is most unimpressive. Digital became a marketing buzzword. And, for the frequencies required to spark an SOHC4, digital is the easiest way to design such a device, and cheapest if you hire mediocre engineers. A good competent analog engineer could make one with lower parts count/cost and superior functionality. But, such guys don't work for mediocre pay, nor should they.
The Digital moniker does NOT necessarily equate to progress. However, when it comes right down to base descriptions. Points ARE digital as they live is a two state world. They are open or they are closed, and you can see it without an expensive oscilloscope! So, the original SOHC4 was first delivered with a digital ignition system in that regard.
....and I'm looking to start a war here.
I'm surprised to hear you say that. I suppose you must feel really strongly about the issue? I guess sending my F head to you for rework is out of the question, now. (sigh) It's ok, I'd probably just park it, anyway, if I survived the power overload
You can ride to work with 4, bald, kinda round tires with 10 lbs of air in them for 6 months or so. You CANNOT COMPARE A DIGITAL IGNITION TO POINTS....except to say points are lame. There are MUCH better ways of getting these bikes to perform to modern standards,
Well, I respect the work you've done with the bikes, honest! I can certainly see where a A Dyna 2000 would make things easier for an engine modifier, rather than tweaking advance springs ,etc. And, if you are going to put a million dollars into a CB, then you're right, $329 is relatively cheap.
But, I CAN tell you that from an electronic manufacturing perspective, the simple Dyna-s and the Dyna-2000 are priced about double what they should be for a reasonable profit margin. There is by far more engineering and parts complexity in your garden variety cell phone than in 100 Dyna ignition systems.
That's just how I see it.
Peace.
