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What exactly is "military grade"? I occasionally see an where some company is claiming to use "military grade" components.
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In that case, probably marketing.
For use in electronic stuff that is for use by the military, they have set down many many standards. The radio they send out for soldiers to use in the field needs to be sturdier and more reliable than a SOny Walkman. SO they specifiy that parts will be able to maintain their values over certain wide temperature ranges, wide humidity ranges. That the parts can withstand certain levels of vibration and acceleration. That their values will be stable within certain ranges. SOme are hardened against EMP so that nuclear explosions in the area do not destroy the parts. SHapes and sizes are specified for exact fit.
etc etc. so when you see the term "milspec," it means military specification.
Now it may be reassuring that your tube screamer now will be stable at 40 degrees below zero and also at 150 degrees, but chances are you will not be playing at those temperatures very often. And for the life of me I don;t see how that offers any benefits over commercial grade parts which are only specified down to zero degrees.Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned. -
In my high school most of the guys getting C/D's had "Military Grades"
sorryComment
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20 mile march for you, hup one twoEducation is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.Comment
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I tend to agree. If your part has a milspec associated with it, i.e., the old AN standards, MS, JAN and so on it is traceable back to a standard.Originally posted by Enzo View Post
An example is MIL-DTL12883/1F (2003) which describes what a military octal socket should look like, measure to, and be composed of. It's informative.
One of the trends that the military folks are looking at is what they call COTS-"commercial off the shelf" items.
Another prime example is the military ME9H/U analog multimeter that graces my work bench. I don't know what they were thinkin'. It's a beauty and built like a Panzer tank but whether it is money well spent is quite another story.
What all this should tell you is that "military grade" is a meaningless marketing tool. Unless it's got a milspec or a corresponding NATO specification that it is traceable to a standard, it means nada.
For example, I was working on an amp the other day and just for s***ts and grins (old aircraft mechanics never die) I decided to see if I could still do AN wire bundle lacing. So I dragged out my AC43-13-2A and did a lacing job with AN waxed lacing cord. It looked pretty good too.
I can say that this bundle was laced in conformity with AC43-13-2A and even could sign off a repair on an aircraft, but to say it is 'military grade' is a misrepresentation.Comment
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Well said! One of my favorite lines is "Designed To Meet Mil Specs" Absolutely meaningless.Originally posted by Prairie Dawg View Post
Been quite awhile ago for me but I was responsible for Qualification Testing in accordance with specific MIL Standards. MIL-S-8805/XXX as an example. I would write the 100 page reports associated with the testing of just ONE variant of that spec. There were many variants. The testing is long, expensive and once you are granted Qualified Status, you go on a very short list of suppliers. It is a rather jealous group. You better be on that list if you want to claim qualified staus. Plus, you got to re-qualify the same products every 3 years with a subset of the original Qual Tests! Woo Hoo!
All this is to underscore my disdain when some shlub decides that for marketing reasons they put MIL GRADE or some other nonsense on their products. Makes me think less of a company when they have to resort to that.
Just needed to vent.
Thanks!
DaveComment
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Generally the idea is that mil-spec is associated with high reliability equipment. I've got several pieces of surplus around my bench, including an LCR bridge from the 50s that works perfectly and will probably survive me.
Very often "Military grade" involves spec's that mean absolutely nothing to any other end user. In electronics a lot of those spec's are for things like mildew resistance and insulation at high altitude. Those aren't going to make anything sound better.Comment
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Military-grade is meaningless, and for that matter, so is mil-spec. Why? Because even mil-spec components are put through testing before being used in critical applications. I worked in between gigs once as a mil-spec wirer/assembler, and found this out when I saw the uber-testing department "torture-chamber". It's serious stuff. THAT is why REAL military goods cost a taxpayer's arm and leg!
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