One more on the "stupid" thread
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Some years ago I was a volunteer fireman in a small Upstate NY town. On one of our pumpers, a '58 Mack, one of the two (redundancy, y'know) battery strings (two huge 6V batteries in series) was self-discharging if the rig sat idle in the barn for more than two or three days. Determined to find out why, I went up to the firehouse one night with my multimeter. I disconnected the negative terminal and hooked up the meter. One of our younger guys was looking over my shoulder and asked whether there was any reason why I had disconnected the negitive terminal instead of the positive. Wow! Here was my chance to show off how smart I was. I explained that when working on a vehicle battery, one should always first disconnect the negative terminal, because that way, in case the wrench made contact with the vehicle's frame, there would not be a big short circuit current!
I then proceeded to demonstrate this for him by bridging my wrench from the negative battery terminal to some nearby metal. It was at that moment that I discovered that Mack trucks of that vintage had positive ground!! Ever see a box end wrench instantly get converted to an open end?? 73 Ray K2HYD _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: One more on the "stupid" thread
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I have two stupid stories....that should have caused me grave injury or more....
1. Building two 3-500Z amplifier. Working with an old Heathkit Warrior power supply that had been in a garage for about 15 years. Replaced the 866 with 3B28 Mercury Vapor Tubes. Working to optimized the Pi-Net output circuit. BAM - 3600 Volts DC across my hand. Woke up and wondered what happened. All the fuses blew which saved me from great harm. I had a couple of burn marks on the hand but that was all. Traded the amp the next week for a new TH7DXX in the box. The new owner did get it going, but I wasn't about to try that again. 2. Tower work - Summer Time - Kansas. Yellow Jackets in the mast made a huge nest. Did not like me near them. I came of the tower a little to quickly...luckily I did not break a bone, but it sure did hurt for a long time. Learned real quick that a Raid Hornet Spray is in the work belt before I go up. Never did that stupid thing again. Lee - K0WA In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply. If you don't have any Common Sense - get some and use it. If you can't find any common sense, ask for help from somebody who has some common sense. _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: One more on the "stupid" thread
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In reply to this post by Albers-2
I, too could tell my "stupid" stories that have
occured over my 41 year ham career, but I won't bore you; you're operating time is too valuable:-) But I will say that I adopted a philosophy a number of years ago that has covered me many times. It is that I always reserve the right to be wrong, i.e. stupid. See, I'm covered no matter what I do. Happy New Year to all! 73, Mark Baugh W5EZY Grenada MS __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/ _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by k0wa@swbell.net
Classic "Homers" of mine: - Climb tree, install halyard rope for antenna. Forget to tie rope ends together. Climb down tree, breeze shakes tree, short end of rope goes up and over branch..... Climb tree *again*.... - Two lovely NOS 837 tubes, ready to sell. Neat-and-clean but not-perfectly-level workbench. Concrete basement floor. One lovely NOS 837 tube, ready to sell. - "I'll back up those files tomorrow"....... 73 de Jim, N2EY _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: One more on the "stupid" thread
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In reply to this post by Albers-2
Jim wrote:
>- Two lovely NOS 837 tubes, ready to sell. Neat-and-clean but not-perfectly-level > workbench. Concrete basement floor. > >One lovely NOS 837 tube, ready to sell. Well, at least it wasn't a 211, 25, 2A3, or some other vintage tube made rare only due to vacuum tube audiofool demand. Fourty years ago, I zapped big-time my dad's Simpson 260 volt-ohm meter, having clipped the meter leads on to the the 2.5 vac output of a 110-to-2.5 volt transformer and then applying 120 vac...but unfortunately I had reversed the primary and secondary windings. If the initial voltage application didn't kill the meter, the inductive surge that occured when I pulled the AC power would have. 73, Mike / KK5F _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
the fine line between "stupid" and "curious"
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Administrator
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This thread is vaguely disturbing, but I'll add my 2 cents.
At about age 9, I came into possession of a 5" square, midrange TV speaker. It had heavy-duty leads, stripped, tinned, and ready to go. I wondered what 60 Hz sounded like, and there was no shortage of AC outlets in my room. Fortunately for my young ears, the speaker coil vaporized within a few seconds. 73, Wayne N6KR --- http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Mistakes (WAS: One more on the "stupid" thread)
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In reply to this post by N2EY
One key point about making mistakes is this: All of us have survived them,
at least so far. Not everyone does. Ham radio has lost a lot of great ops to falls from towers, slips out of trees or off roofs and, mostly in the past, electrocution. Electrocution is not the huge danger it was when we were routinely poking around circuits that would be energized with hundreds or thousands of volts. Still, lower voltages can produce nasty shocks under the right conditions and it's easy to get painful burns from RF or hot components when working around modern gear. In power supplies the mains voltage is absolutely deadly. The difference between a painful injury and a fatal one is sometimes very, very small. Especially when a small injury makes one jump or fall. Mistakes are a part of life. They are sometimes funny, often frustrating and always a warning. Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Yet another one for the "stupid" thread
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In reply to this post by Mark - W5EZY
I have a few dating back to the early and mid 1950s that launched my start in Ham Radio... (1) I inserted a flat bladed screw driver into a wall outlet; I was stunned to learn that I could fly, but was scared enough to avoid a repeat of that. What the heck was I thinking anyway? admittedly, I was pre-school, but still... (2) Having constructed my first 40 meter receiver, I was stringing up an end fed inverted L for it in my grandparent's pecan tree; I shimmied out on a branch a bit to far, and fell down into a fig tree that was filled with wasps - I received over 20 stings and subsequently became quite allergic to insect stings. The good news? I did not bring the antenna down with me, and it served me well for a few years, suitably initiating my Ham and SWL life. (3) a few decades later, I bridged an open ground on a pipeline (I was working on some actuators for the valves) and found that the aurora can induce quite a healthy charge - wrench glowing red, closed end opened, burnt hand in spite of leather gloves and so on. I have of course continued in my stupidity as I age... (4) More recent events that I might confess? Last year I was working on my tower, unclipped the safety lanyard to change levels; I slipped, and my fall was arrested by my left foot catching in the zig-zag of the next rung down; I was hanging inverted, my cell phone slipped out of my pocket, and I had no way to call for help. Note to self: use 2 safety lanyards or one and a fall arrestor. The good news? I am still here, and I learned to call and get real help when climbing towers, it is no longer in my area of competence (if it ever was). Cheers! 73 de Dave, W5SV _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Mike Morrow-3
OK, my daughter was going to replace the switch cover in her room. Next
thing we heard the pop of a fuse blowing and she jumped....... Ask her what happened and she said a spark jumped and the lights went out. I told her you can't do that with power on and "Don't be silly dad, I turned the switch off." I got her a bulletin from the hardware store about electrical safety that afternoon. 73 Chuck AA8VS _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Ron D'Eau Claire-2
Love this thread, makes me feel more 'normal'. However, from an earlier
post... -----Original Message----- "... In power supplies the mains voltage is absolutely deadly." The father in me yearns to leave this alone, but the physics teacher in me requires me to set this record straight. Except in pretty extreme circumstances, mains voltages (in the US where the mains run around 117 VAC) are not generally considered fatal. As we all (should) know, it ain't the voltage that does ya in, its the current. While it only takes about 24 volts to push a fatal current, it all boils down to Ohm's Law. A typically healthy person has a normal body resistance of about 100,000 ohms (a pretty low estimate), and across a 117 volt line, that's only about 0.0012 amps, a bit more than one milliamp, which is not a fatal current. It should take 50 times that much (for a second or longer if through the heart or brain) to do a person in, although you can certainly feel 1 milliamp! Even considering that 117 is RMS, and the actual voltage can be as high as 170, you should still be safe. Now, all bets are off if you're standing in a pool of water or are drenched from rain, or do everything else wrong. Best advice I ever got was from an old navy chief (when I was a young radioman), to wit: "One hand for the Navy, one hand for yourself". IOW, when working on anything that could possibly have live current, keep one hand behind your back. Completing a circuit with both hands puts your pumper in the circuit which is powered by electricity. Tom _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: the fine line between "stupid" and "curious"
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In reply to this post by wayne burdick
There's logic in this idea.
When also 9 I decided to turn my father's shortwave receiver into a transmitter by wiring a microphone in series with the mains cable. Thank goodness it was an ex-army bakelite microphone - when I pressed the button all the lights went out! Simon Brown --- http://blog.hb9drv.ch/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "wayne burdick" <[hidden email]> > > At about age 9, I came into possession of a 5" square, midrange TV > speaker. It had heavy-duty leads, stripped, tinned, and ready to go. I > wondered what 60 Hz sounded like, and there was no shortage of AC outlets > in my room. _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by crmabbott
Chuck Mabbott wrote:
> OK, my daughter was going to replace the switch cover in her room. Next > thing we heard the pop of a fuse blowing and she jumped....... Ask her > what happened and she said a spark jumped and the lights went out. I > told her you can't do that with power on and "Don't be silly dad, I > turned the switch off." > > I got her a bulletin from the hardware store about electrical safety > that afternoon. > > 73 > Chuck > AA8VS > Didn't realize there were so many blondes around until this thread started.... -- _ _ _ _ _ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ John L. Sielke ( W ) ( 2 ) ( A ) ( G ) ( N ) http://w2agn.net \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ "CRUSTY OLD CURMUDGEON - AND PROUD OF IT!" _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: the fine line between "stupid" and "curious"
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In reply to this post by Simon (HB9DRV)
I should point out that at age 9 I managed a sort of series - parallel
arrangement. The fact that I am still breathing shows that I couldn't even blow myself up properly. Simon Brown --- http://blog.hb9drv.ch/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Simon Brown (HB9DRV)" <[hidden email]> > There's logic in this idea. > > When also 9 I decided to turn my father's shortwave receiver into a > transmitter by wiring a microphone in series with the mains cable. Thank > goodness it was an ex-army bakelite microphone - when I pressed the button > all the lights went out! > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by wayne burdick
If you had experimented with earphones, all of us here would all be using
Japanese transceivers today. Eric KE6US www.ke6us.com -----Original Message----- From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of wayne burdick Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 11:31 AM To: Elecraft Reflector Subject: [Elecraft] the fine line between "stupid" and "curious" This thread is vaguely disturbing, but I'll add my 2 cents. At about age 9, I came into possession of a 5" square, midrange TV speaker. It had heavy-duty leads, stripped, tinned, and ready to go. I wondered what 60 Hz sounded like, and there was no shortage of AC outlets in my room. Fortunately for my young ears, the speaker coil vaporized within a few seconds. 73, Wayne N6KR --- http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: Yet another on the "stupid" thread
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In reply to this post by crmabbott
When I was about seven, I read books at night when I was supposed to be
sleeping, by the light of a night-light. The problem was that the night-light wasn't very bright. So what did I do? I attached the night-light to an extension power cord, and held one end of the extension cord with my teeth. One night, some of my saliva got into the plug... I don't think I tripped any circuit breakers, but the shock sure rang my bells. How did we ever survive childhood? - Rob KE7EAG K2 #5004 (almost finished) On Tue, 03 Jan 2006 13:26:17 -0800, Chuck Mabbott <[hidden email]> wrote: > OK, my daughter was going to replace the switch cover in her room. Next > thing we heard the pop of a fuse blowing and she jumped....... Ask her > what happened and she said a spark jumped and the lights went out. I > told her you can't do that with power on and "Don't be silly dad, I > turned the switch off." > > I got her a bulletin from the hardware store about electrical safety > that afternoon. > > 73 > Chuck > AA8VS _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: the fine line between "stupid" and "curious"
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In reply to this post by EricJ-2
When I was in my early teens I was working on some project or
another, that used the mains power. I remember I was always unhooking and rehooking it as I worked on it so I ended up just using a mains cord with an inline switch, that ended in a pair of aligator clips. At one point I had it all hooked up and wanted to show my parents my project, so I pushed the button and something I'd installed incorrectly on the project vaporized with the surge of AC power. Unknown to me, this surge also fused the switch contacts closed. Dissapointed I 'turned off' the switch and grabbed the aligator clips (one with each hand) to remove them from the circuit. That was my first introduction to 120VAC in one arm and out the other. It didn't knock me out but I sure jumped, and it left both hands and forearms numb for about 15 minutes. Oh and needless to say, the folks were very underwhelmed with my electronics skills. Happily they never did anything to try and put me off electronics, just encouraged me to be a little more careful. My first exposure to elecricity though came when I was much younger, perhaps only about 5. I had a little record player and one time while plugging it in, I was holding the little 2-prong plug wrong. Basicaly my thumb was touching one prong and a finger touching the other prong. The player must have had a transformer or something that was hooked into the circuit because although I got some current, it was not the least bit uncomfortable. It felt like my whole hand was being massaged from the inside. Once I 'discovered' this, I did it again a number of times, as it was a bit of a kick. I know I showed the 'trick' to my sister but I'm pretty sure I never shared that with the parents - I didn't want them to take away the record player. 73 de Stephanie va3uxb _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: the fine line between "stupid" and "curious"
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> That was my first introduction
> to 120VAC in one arm and out the other. Pah, you're all a bunch o' wimps! 240V in EU ;-) -- "Nosey" Nick Waterman, G7RZQ, k2 #5209. #include <stddisclaimer> [hidden email] The gene pool could use a little chlorine. _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: the fine line between "stupid" and "curious"
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In reply to this post by Simon (HB9DRV)
When I was 5 I brought a "hot wire" electrician's test screwdriver with
a neon bulb and resistor inside to my kindergarten vlass for Show and Tell. I told the teacher, "You just stick this screwdriver in the outlet and ..." For some reason they wouldn't let me show the class. Leigh / WA5ZNU _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: the fine line between "stupid" and "curious"
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In reply to this post by Nick Waterman
Nick Waterman wrote:
>>That was my first introduction >>to 120VAC in one arm and out the other. >> >> > >Pah, you're all a bunch o' wimps! 240V in EU ;-) > > > Power usage being equal, this would mean less current. 73 de Larry W2LJ _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
Re: the fine line between "stupid" and "curious"
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In reply to this post by Stephanie Maks
Two events in my life caused me to have a healthy respect for
electricity. The first occurred when I was 5 or 6 years old. I was home from school with the flu; and I remember that it must have been a particularly bad spell as Mom had a vaporizer going in my room. One morning as I was getting better, she told me to unplug it for the daytime. I pulled on the plug (not the wire!) and pulled and pulled and pulled; but it wouldn't budge. Being somewhat mechanically minded, I decided I needed a lever to pry it out. My sister's letter opener seemed like just the ticket. Boy, the house went dark real fast, the letter opener vaporized and I nearly messed myself! Dad was NOT happy with having to come home from work to change out the fuse in the fuse box! The second incident came at where I work now. Since incident number 1 above, I had always had a healthy respect for electricity. I repair professional photographic studio equipment for a living and am always in contact with stroboscopic packs which can deliver a flash up to 3200 Joules. Needless to day, I'm always very careful. Then came the one day that I started to repair a flash head that a photographer tried to "fix" himself - couldn't; but didn't tell me that he tried! I hooked up the head to a pack, held it in my hand and fired it. Normally, the housing is grounded. He had mistakenly wired "hot" to the housing. I think I threw that flash head across the room with enough force to throw it through the wall! My arm was numb for about 15 minutes; and after that, I always gave things a "visual" going over before trying them out. I still have a healthy respect for electricity and an even healthier respect for the fact that someone else's mistakes might cause me grave danger! 73 de Larry W2LJ _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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