: Chafe-protected against what?

Wire on metal inside the radio. They're not tied down to anything and are
free to flap against other parts inside the radio.

: Tin on tin is every bit as good as gold on gold in the avionics environment.

OK. Sure.... and the crappy little consumer-grade EGT/CHT switches that came
with my multi-cylinder aren't actually exhibiting poor contact resistance already
after only 2.5 years either. I'm not buying it... There *IS* a reason for MIL-SPEC
components.

: What does a non-cheesy DIP socket look like? And why in the world would you
: ever socket an IC?

As you well know, there are high-quality sockets and low-quality sockets. One
wouldn't think that socketing ICs are too necessary, yet the Michel radios had them.

: How many devices have you built and marketed to avionics standards? And
: where are these standards posted or documented?

A personal attack? I would expect more. To answer the question though,
absolutely zero devices have been marketed. I've designed a few ( 5 ) to go on
experimental research rocket payloads. I have designed a number of circuits for use
in an automotive environment for a hybrid electric research vehicle ( 10 ). I have
repaired even more on the same project due to crappy construction quality of circuits
designed by previous people similar to what I've seen in Michel units. I have been
involved with designing and building electrical power electronic circuits switching
over 50kW and have seen the ramification of ill-constructed circuitry. I have been
inside a number of King, Narco, Dave Clark, and Michel avionics and the Michel units
are sub-standard in construction quality by comparison.

: You've been a grad student now for about four years as I count. Ever plan
: on finishing up?

No. I enjoy keeping an open mind and continually learning about as much as I
possibly can. I will never finish being a "student."

-Cory

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* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
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