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Chip, Chip, Chip

Copyright © May 10, 2021 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.


Introduction

Automobile During the last week of April 2021 my daughter had stopped at a traffic light and she was patiently waiting for it to change to green so she could continue to her destination. Before the light turned green she was rear-ended by another vehicle. The other vehicle seriously damaged its front end and it had to be towed away. However, my daughter's car only received moderate damage to it rear end and all of its rear lights (red tail lights, backup lights, and turn signals) worked properly so she could continue to drive her car.

My daughter had acquired the car a few months earlier and it was a new 2021 model. She took it to the dealer to obtain a repair estimate. When the dealer gave her the estimate he stressed the fact that the prices for the electronic items were based on historical prices. He also said that at the current time there was at least a six-month waiting period to get replacement items that contained any type of computer chip and that he would not know the actual cost of those items until they were delivered to him. When he received the items he would call my daughter and she could schedule a time to have her car repaired. The car was safe to drive until then but some of the electronic sensor options on the rear end would not work until they were replaced with new components.

My daughter was heart-broken when she was told that she had to wait at least six-months before she could get her "new" car back into "like new" condition. She wasn't concerned about the "higher price" of the replacement chips because she had insurance on her car and if the other driver's insurance didn't pay for the damages then her insurance would pay all the expenses.


Discussion

I have been aware for some time that some critical automotive computer chips are almost non-existent in the USA. The world-famous Just-in-Time inventory strategy is bringing many new car manufacturers to their knees. The daily production of many automotive production lines has been drastically reduced, and in some cases completely stopped. An example would be production lines for any electronic component that contains one or more "chips" that are currently not available in the USA at any price.

One of my in-laws owns a new expensive 2021 automobile and one of the engine computer chips malfunctioned about two months after she acquired the car. The car has been parked in her driveway for the last few months because the car won't start and the dealer can't get the "chip" that the engine needs so that the car can start. She still has to make payments on her "new" car even though she can't drive it because if she stops making her car payments then she will seriously hurt her "credit rating." Can you imagine how she feels?

Automobiles are only one of the thousands of things that reply on computer chips. If you have watched the animated movie "The Mitchells vs the Machines" on Netflix then you may have laughed when you saw how many things actually contain one or more computer chips in the year 2021. This can be really funny in an animated movie but it is anything but funny when it has a negative impact on your personal life.

Microwave Oven
Early in the year 2020 I purchased a new microwave oven. In the first week of May of 2021 the microwave oven malfunctioned during a "pre-programmed" two-minute popcorn cooking cycle. The microwave seriously overheated and the glass turntable inside the oven burst into about ten different pieces. And a black spot about three-inches in diameter appeared on the bottom of the microwave oven below the turntable area. I disposed on the microwave because it was a little more than 12 months old and it was no longer in warranty. And I purchased a new microwave oven for about $70 and my new microwave is very similar in size to my previous microwave. Therefore I was able to correct this minor problem for a very small amount of money. And nobody was injured in my home when my previous microwave malfunctioned.


Conclusion

The current shortage of "critical" computer chips may be fixed sometime before the end of the year 2021. Or the shortage may get a lot worse.

It is also possible that the design problems with the "defective" chips may not be completely 100% resolved and the "new replacement" chips may cause a different set of problems. Or the "new replacement" chips may have an even shorter life expectancy.

I have occasionally mentioned in some of my previous articles that most people are completely and totally unprepared for any type of disruption that may have a negative long-term impact on their lives. The current shortage of "critical computer chips" and the number of "defective computer chips" that are currently just barely working could change the future in a way that is impossible to predict.

Please give some serious thought to this issue. At the current time it is still possible to purchase a few simple things that could significantly enhance your life if computer chips should become unavailable or unreliable.

One example would be to immediately purchase a good stainless steel high-quality hand-operated can opener. Can you imagine how much this could enhance your life if your current "electric" can opener suddenly stopped working? Can you imagine how you would feel if you went shopping for a hand-operated can opener a few months from now and you discovered they were no longer available and that it would be six-months or longer before they "might" be back-in-stock?

Respectfully,
Grandpappy.


Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com

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