Old or New Solid-State Switching?

[Coenraads]

We are in the process of converting a 1965 electro-pneumatic Casavant console to solid state. With a dearth of funds at our disposal, we acquired a Casavant console which had been converted to solid state in 1995 and are using it for parts. The Syndyne combination action still worked fine and was easily transplanted along with the Peterson stop action magnets. The Devtronix switching system also appeared to work just fine so the question arose as to whether we should transplant what is basically 1980s technology or splurge on a new computerized system. Cost being a major consideration we decided to use the Devtronix system especially since it was already wired to give us most of the couplers we needed.
It made me start to think about the advantages of old vs. new solid state technology. The Devtronix system uses diode logic, and readily available parts. Being so simple, it is easy to troubleshoot and repair. Is there really a limit to the reliability and useful life of this technology? Modern computerized systems, on the other hand, leave a technician totally reliant on the manufacturer. And 20 or 30 years down the road, will support for a computer that old still be available? And what if the supplier, like Devtronix did, goes out of business?
Your thoughts?
John

[toodles]

For the purposes of the organ relay (which is the function that Devtronix parts perform), these are very reliable, very simple systems, and components to repair them will always be available. As you indicate, in a computerized implementation, if it fails and the manufacturer is defunct, so may be your organ's control system.

The advantages of the computerized systems are pretty obvious, as touted by their manufacturers but at the cost of relying on the manufacturer for support.