Surprised by how many elevators still use relay logic from the 1960s

I was digging through old manuals at a building in St. Louis last week and found out about 15% of elevators in older high rises still run on relay logic controllers. That blew my mind since I figured most had been swapped to microprocessors by now. The guy who trained me said some of those systems have been running 50+ years with just basic maintenance. I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it right? Has anyone else run into one of these old relay panels recently and had to troubleshoot them?

3 comments

3 Comments

martinez.paul10d ago

Are we really surprised old stuff still works fine though?

wells.evan10d ago

My dad's old flip phone from 2005 has a battery that lasts two weeks, but try sending a text with it when you're in a hurry. These old things worked fine for what they were, but we've moved on for a reason.

thomas.river9d ago

Charging your phone once a week sounds like a dream these days. My phone barely makes it through a full shift without hunting for an outlet. But try typing out a group message on those old T9 keyboards, total nightmare. You'd miss a button and end up saying "wanna grab pizza" instead of "wanna grab beer" and confuse everyone. Plus good luck pulling up a map when you're lost downtown. Old stuff worked fine for its time but we traded battery life for way more utility.