From: blockedofcourse@foo.invalid
On 1/27/2026 10:04 AM, Joe Gwinn wrote:
> On Tue, 27 Jan 2026 15:32:14 +0000, liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid
> (Liz Tuddenham) wrote:
>
>> Don Y wrote:
>>
>> [..]
>>> [Still beats the hell out of the oven that wants you to dial the number
>>> of HOURS you want, hit ENTER, dial the number of MINUTES, hit ENTER,
>>> then select whether you want to turn the oven off, maintain temperature,
>>> etc. Again, a dweeb who thought a big knob and an ENTER button
>>> could solve ALL UI issues! (gotta wonder why there are other buttons
>>> on the oven/stove given such a "universal" UI!)
>>
>> My microwave oven has a dial marked with two different sets of 'minutes'
>> markings (in different colours and fonts to clearly distinguish them).
>> One is the time in minutes during which microwaves are delivered to the
>> food, the other is the time in miuntes it will take to actually deliver
>> this energy when a lever is set to 'Defrost' and the magnetron is pulsed
>> on and off. The timer motor is connected to the magnetron circuit, so
>> it runs only when energy is actually being delivered.
>>
>> It is simple to understand, simple to use, reliable and extremely cheap
>> to make. It also has real bell that goes 'ping!'.
>
> I remember those. When was it made?
>
> Modern microwaves have a thousand choices. Or so it seems. It all
> boils down to two "knobs", RF Power Level (ten levels) and how long to
> run in minutes and seconds. The rest is pure fluff. Fortunately,
> there is a way to directly select those, and this is what we use.
Microwave ovens differ based on:
- internal volume
- maximum power level
- duty cycle algorithm
- "macro" features (presets for common items)
- accessories (e.g., temperature probe, popping corn detector, etc.)
- build quality
Ours has a "beverage" button that is great for reheating hot beverages.
It assumes a ~6 oz "dose" and allows you to indicate 1 or 2 "doses"
are required (my "tea cup" is 16 oz so I hit "BEVERAGE 2" if I poured
it and forgot to drink it or "BEVERAGE" if I've consumed about half and it
needs to be "refreshed"
Spaghetti sauce has another setting that neatly fits with the size
containers in which I store my sauce. Defrosting from frozen takes
some time as it uses a lower power level to do so.
There is a chart of common foods and snacks printed inside the
door to let you specify the type of food to cook or reheat.
I *think* it listens for the popcorn to stop popping. (we don't use
microwave popcorn)
And, can monitor the internal temperature of a turkey that is
being defrosted, etc.
And, a button to enable/disable the "keyclick".
Of course, the general purpose timer and clock (smart enough to
realize no need for AM/PM!)
[No carousel, though]
By far, the most used controls are the "add 30 seconds" (which will
turn the unit on, if off, for 30 seconds -- or, add 30 seconds to the
remaining time displayed, if on) and "CLEAR" (or "open door") to
manually stop the cycle. Much easier than manually selecting
"DURATION", a numeric value, "START" (assuming you are happy with the
default power level).
It's over 30 years old; the previous unit had a failed 50W power resistor
to provide the "low power" mode.
> One of my wife's friends recently got a new microwave, and was totally
> baffled by the choices, and was very relieved when shown the secret of
> the knobs.
Likely a typical consumer that doesn't want to understand the
product or its offerings. Instead, wants to remember how to set it
for each of the many uses to which it is applied.
(I have no idea how long "BEVERAGE 2" runs the maggie; but, DO know that
it reheats a cold cup of tea to the temperature that I would find
acceptable -- without burning my mouth on the hot liquid!)
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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