In the "If it ain't broke don't fix it" department...

[Alamo]

But sooner or later I guess you have to replace it:

Air Force finally retires 8-inch floppies from missile launch control system

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Well... an 8 inch "floppy" is still pretty impressive.

 

[Vigilant]

Well... an 8 inch "floppy" is still pretty impressive.

Yes but they’ll replace it with a 2.5 or 3.5 hard one which is not nearly as impressive.

 

[MCgrease08]

Well... an 8 inch "floppy" is still pretty impressive.

Yes but they’ll replace it with a 2.5 or 3.5 hard one which is not nearly as impressive.

I love INGO.

 

[Bennettjh]

Well... an 8 inch "floppy" is still pretty impressive.

 

[KellyinAvon]

But sooner or later I guess you have to replace it:

Air Force finally retires 8-inch floppies from missile launch control system

OK, OK, OK... KellyinAvon, SMSgt, USAF (Retired) is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY embarrassed that in 2019 somebody using floppy disks of any kind that were obsolete when the flash drive was invented A LONG DAMN TIME AGO!! I mean if these ****ers were using punch cards I could show some respect, but 8-inch floppies?

WHAT THE ACTUAL ****, OVER??!! I was at Headquarters Air Combat Command 2003-2006. When I was there I remember some Cold War era types wanting to upgrade the equipment for a low-frequency communications system that went from STRATCOM in Nebraska to DC. It goes through Leipsic, Indiana and I saw it on a freakin map. That was 05 or 06. Where were the 8 inch floppy guys sayin, "We REALLY need to upgrade this ****!!" Holy crap I left HQ ACC 13 years ago and they weren't tryin to upgrade when I was there!!

 

[actaeon277]

if it works, why upgrade?

 

[Clay Pigeon]

Ahhhhh, they just went from a shower to a grower....

 

[KellyinAvon]

if it works, why upgrade?

Obsolete for 30 years? It's going to fail and there's no choice because there's no replacement without upgrading. A 1968 Hyster forklift that's been in WRM storage? As good as anything today. The computer around with the Commodore 64? Nope!

 

[Haven]

In 1996 I had to clean out a storage room for a government entity. I threw out boxes of 8" floppies because they were obsolete then. It is 20 years later now.

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

Goes right along with flying sixty year old B-52s and KC-135s.

 

[actaeon277]

Obsolete for 30 years? It's going to fail and there's no choice because there's no replacement without upgrading. A 1968 Hyster forklift that's been in WRM storage? As good as anything today. The computer around with the Commodore 64? Nope!

No replacement?
They can replace anything.
The question is.. costs.

 

[actaeon277]

I pulled parts out of navy stock that had 1959 dates.

We ordered a WWII submarine deck gun, just to see how far the order would go.
The answer would be, surprisingly far.
Far enough that many officers were unhappy because of their signatures on the ****.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Goes right along with flying sixty year old B-52s and KC-135s.

Same tail numbers, really different aircraft.

 

[KellyinAvon]

No replacement?
They can replace anything.
The question is.. costs.

20 years ago we were wearing out parts on C-130Es that were never supposed to wear out. The companies had been out of business for years. Fortunately there was this place in Tucson called the Bone Yard, and we bought A BUNCH of C-130s. The E Models have since been replaced.

 

[dprimm]

No one can hack the floppies!

maybe this time we will save time and money and route the systems through Moscow and Beijing.

 

[KellyinAvon]

No one can hack the floppies!

maybe this time we will save time and money and route the systems through Moscow and Beijing.

You need punch cards to hack floppies.

 

[actaeon277]

20 years ago we were wearing out parts on C-130Es that were never supposed to wear out. The companies had been out of business for years. Fortunately there was this place in Tucson called the Bone Yard, and we bought A BUNCH of C-130s. The E Models have since been replaced.

All the parts for my sub were obsolete. It came from a class of subs that only numbered 5. 3 were decomm'd before I joined, and the Ethan Allen was decomm'd while I was in.
So, if a part wasn't in the "system", we had to have it manufactured.
China won't make a part unless you need a million of them.
But there are American Manufactures and Machine Shops that will do it.

 

[actaeon277]

One of our Electrician's Mates (EM) was attending a specialized class, I think it was on Motor-Generators.
When the EM described how ours was different than the ones in class, and was asking about fixing a problem with our type.. the instructor told him he (our EM) was mistaken.
Our EM was not a new guy, he had worked on the sub for a while.
So he persisted.
The instructor removed him from the class for disagreeing.

After research was done, many older models of sub used techniques like the one used on our sub.
But we were the last class to use it, and new methods were deemed better.
And we were one of the oldest subs left.

 

[Vigilant]

I liked this thread way better in the beginning.