Hazards of repair
in [Repair]
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From: Phil Hobbs on 1 Jan 2010 11:13 On 1/1/2010 6:56 AM, root wrote: > bob urz<sound(a)inetnebr.com> wrote: >> http://www.bvws.org.uk/405alive/tech/safety.html >> >> I especially like the radioactive turntable.... >> >> bob > > At one point the article cited says electricity doesn't give any > warning. It has always been my experience that I can very lightly touch > and move my finger over a hot chassis and feel a sort of vibration. I > never got a shock doing that. The UK has 240V mains, though. I wouldn't want to use the fingertip test for that. Cheers Phil Hobbs -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal ElectroOptical Innovations 55 Orchard Rd Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 845-480-2058 hobbs at electrooptical dot net http://electrooptical.net
From: Jeff Liebermann on 1 Jan 2010 12:22 On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:45:50 -0600, bob urz <sound(a)inetnebr.com> wrote: >http://www.bvws.org.uk/405alive/tech/safety.html >I especially like the radioactive turntable.... >bob Nice article on the hazardous of the repair biz but serious overkill. It reads like the warning label on most drugs, which detail every single last possible thing that might go wrong in litigious detail. For example, I have several Geiger and scintillation counters. A few years ago, I was actively looking for hot tubes and materials in antique shops and junk piles. I hardly found anything. However, like all warnings of the improbable, it only takes one near disaster to justify the warning. In the early 1960's, I was a regular customer of JJ Glass Surplus in Smog Angeles. (My fathers factory was nearby). I thought the major hazard there was having a 10 meter high pile of dead WWII radios fall on me, but soon found something else to worry about. I purchased several IFF transponders for conversion to ham frequencies. I forgot the exact model number but it looked something like this: <http://www.vk2bv.org/museum/bc966.htm> I soon discovered that the explosive detonators were still attached to one of the units. I made the mistake of telling my parents, who called the police, which evacuated the neighborhood, and eventually disarmed the radio. Somewhat later, I worked in the 2-way radio install and repair business in Smog Angeles. The average was one or two work related fatality per year. It was usually from falling off a tower or getting electrocuted by the high voltage found in all tube type transmitters. In general, it made all of us safety conscious for perhaps a few days. At another low point in my checkered career, I was doing warranty service on consumer audio. Each warranty or test failure would arrive from the distributor with a tag indicating why it had failed. One tag had an ominous warning about a shorted power cord and hot chassis. I applied all the necessary precautions, but all I could find was some distortion in one of the channels. The next unit had a tag indicating distorted audio. However, when I plugged it in, there were sparks and smoke from the unit. Some idiot had switched the tags. I soon built my first test box with circuit breakers. These days, I fix computers, printers, and whatever drifts into the shop. Not much in the way of hazards found in this stuff. Well, sharp edges on some sheet metal have given me some nasty cuts, and few volcanic capacitors, but nothing really dangerous. Most of the warnings in the article really applies to antique hardware. -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl(a)cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
From: Jeff Liebermann on 1 Jan 2010 12:53 On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:45:50 -0600, bob urz <sound(a)inetnebr.com> wrote: >http://www.bvws.org.uk/405alive/tech/safety.html > >I especially like the radioactive turntable.... >bob More on the radioactive anti-static brush for turntables. <http://www.blackcatsystems.com/science/radprod.html> <http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/cwillis/rad/brush.html> -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl(a)cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
From: stratus46 on 1 Jan 2010 13:42 On Jan 1, 9:22 am, Jeff Liebermann <je...(a)cruzio.com> wrote: <snip> > However, like all warnings of the improbable, it only takes one near > disaster to justify the warning. In the early 1960's, I was a regular > customer of JJ Glass Surplus in Smog Angeles. (My fathers factory was > nearby). I thought the major hazard there was having a 10 meter high > pile of dead WWII radios fall on me, but soon found something else to > worry about. I purchased several IFF transponders for conversion to > ham frequencies. I forgot the exact model number but it looked > something like this: > <http://www.vk2bv.org/museum/bc966.htm> > I soon discovered that the explosive detonators were still attached to > one of the units. I made the mistake of telling my parents, who > called the police, which evacuated the neighborhood, and eventually > disarmed the radio. > > Somewhat later, I worked in the 2-way radio install and repair > business in Smog Angeles. The average was one or two work related > fatality per year. It was usually from falling off a tower or getting > electrocuted by the high voltage found in all tube type transmitters. > In general, it made all of us safety conscious for perhaps a few days. > > At another low point in my checkered career, I was doing warranty > service on consumer audio. Each warranty or test failure would arrive > from the distributor with a tag indicating why it had failed. One tag > had an ominous warning about a shorted power cord and hot chassis. I > applied all the necessary precautions, but all I could find was some > distortion in one of the channels. The next unit had a tag indicating > distorted audio. However, when I plugged it in, there were sparks and > smoke from the unit. Some idiot had switched the tags. I soon built > my first test box with circuit breakers. > > These days, I fix computers, printers, and whatever drifts into the > shop. Not much in the way of hazards found in this stuff. Well, > sharp edges on some sheet metal have given me some nasty cuts, and few > volcanic capacitors, but nothing really dangerous. Most of the > warnings in the article really applies to antique hardware. > > -- > Jeff Liebermann je...(a)cruzio.com > 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com > Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com > Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 Did you see any of the HD wide shots of the rose parade this morning? The smog issue is way better than when you were here in the '60s. Happy New Year G²
From: whit3rd on 1 Jan 2010 16:45
On Jan 1, 9:22 am, Jeff Liebermann <je...(a)cruzio.com> wrote: > On Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:45:50 -0600, bob urz <so...(a)inetnebr.com> > wrote: > > >http://www.bvws.org.uk/405alive/tech/safety.html > >I especially like the radioactive turntable.... > For example, I have several Geiger and scintillation counters. A few > years ago, I was actively looking for hot tubes and materials in > antique shops and junk piles. I hardly found anything. It can be subtle. For lecture demo purposes, there's a collection of radioactives in the U. of Washington physics department, including mantles for Coleman lanterns, bright orange "Fiesta" dishes, a navy chronometer (radium dial). Many vacuum tubes have thoriated filaments or cathodes, and that's an alpha emitter so you'll not find the radioactivity until the tube is broken. That Geiger counter was aimed at a LOT of radioactive material even if it didn't click. |