... Is it me or does it seem strange that a motherboard for a 4 1/2 year old washer is no longer available?
That's probably by design. Why sell a motherboard when they can sell you an entirely new washer instead?
This is an area that I wish some Environmental, or Consumer or Industry group, or even the Government would get involved in.
There is just no reason that the controls for these appliances can't be based on some standards with cheap generic replacements.
I've been buying some micro-controller boards for $7 (yes, $7 retail, 2-3 qty, including shipping) that have Wi-Fi, 1 MB of flash memory, lots of digital and analog I/O, an A-D converter, etc.
Couple that with some standard switch modules, and standard displays, and a standard relay board to control solenoids, etc, and everything should be able to replaced for $10 or less.
Far too many appliances are being scrapped far before their time, because a repair is just too expensive.
I think consumers would go for it if the information were available. Like the Energy Star ratings, maybe a fact sheet that shows the replacement cost of each main component, and/or a single rating for the 'replace-ability/repair-ability' index.
Europe made the push to eliminate non-standard chargers for mobile phones. That was a good thing, it meant you didn't need to buy/replace an old working charger just because you got a new phone. It was cheaper for consumers, and more convenient, as you could borrow someone else's charger if needed. Less stuff going to a landfill, less stuff being produced. A win-win. And it didn't kill the cell phone makers.
-ERD50
