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Got burned buying a used test box off eBay, lost $400 and a whole weekend
I thought I was being smart snagging a used IFR 4000 for cheap, like $400 cheap. Figured it would be perfect for some radio checks at home, maybe save some shop time. Get it in the mail, plug it in, and the display flickers for five seconds before going totally dead. Spent all Saturday tearing it apart, found a blown cap on the power board but couldn't get the part locally. Now it's a paperweight on my bench and I'm out the cash. Anyone else have bad luck with used avionics gear from online auctions?
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paulnguyen5d ago
@owens.laura nailed it, eBay's a total crapshoot with this stuff. Did you check if that cap is a common size you could've just swapped from a junked power supply? I've been there, it sucks but sometimes you can salvage it with a $2 part from DigiKey if you wait a few days.
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nathan_kim5d ago
Watched a buddy try to fix his car's ECU with a China special cap last month. Thing lasted about a week before it puffed up and leaked all over his garage floor. It's funny how we'll spend hundreds on name brand parts for our cars or houses but then try to save two bucks on critical electronics. I've learned the hard way that there's a difference between cheap and cheap enough to trust. Sometimes the factory part is just the smarter bet no matter how much it hurts the wallet.
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