Hazards of repair
in [Repair]
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From: Jeff Liebermann on 1 Jan 2010 17:32 On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 10:42:43 -0800 (PST), stratus46(a)yahoo.com wrote: >Did you see any of the HD wide shots of the rose parade this morning? I sure did. I wanted to see the Cal Poly Rose Float entry. I missed it on TV, but got it on the internet video feed: <http://www.ktla.com/entertainment/roseparade/> They won the Bob Hope Humor Award - Most Comical and Amusing. More: <http://www.asi.calpoly.edu/rose_float> <http://www.cpprosefloat.org> I worked on several floats in the late 1960's and rode inside one year. Good weather, a few clouds, and as usual, moderately cold. >The smog issue is way better than when you were here in the '60s. For sure. Cal Poly Pomona (CSU Pomona) is on the "inland empire" side of Kellogg Hill. The ocean breeze from the west blows the smog from Los Angeles over the top of the hill into the Pomona Valley. When the wind changes direction at sundown, the smog piles up against the hill. Do this action a few daze in a row and the smog was actually worse in Pomona than in L.A. It was so bad one summer (in the dorms) that visibility was only about 50ft. My eyes were tearing and breathing was difficult. I visit occasionally and have noticed that the smog situation has greatly improved. Much as I detest having my vehicle smogged, it seems to be working. >Happy New Year >G� Likewise. Happy New Tax Year.... may all your deductions be accepted by the IRS. My new years resolution is to not repeat any of the screwups of last year, and to invent new ones for this year. -- 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 18:20 On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 13:45:43 -0800 (PST), whit3rd <whit3rd(a)gmail.com> wrote: >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. For hunting radioactive antiques, I used a home made scintillation counter. I intentionally made it *NOT* look like the traditional gun for obvious reasons. It's about 10 times as sensitive as my Geiger counter and is perfect for sweeping large areas. In about 1986, I found a bottle of Radithor, which is Radium Water. I later sold it to a collector. Since about 1995 Coleman lantern mantles use Yttrium Oxide and have no radioactive material. I have some of the really old mantles that use Thorium, an Alpha particle belcher. The old mantles are fairly hot in the plastic bag which blocks most Alpha particles. However, when removed from the bag, the mantles send my counter into hysterics at about 8,000 counts per minute. >That Geiger counter was aimed at a LOT of radioactive material >even if it didn't click. My idea of fun was in 1989, when Chernobyl did the meltdown thing, I dragged a 1950's era Civil Defense Geiger counter to the local supermarket and used it to check the produce. The manager was a friend so I wasn't arrested, but I was adequately amused by all the panicky customers and irate staff. Here's another of my medical adventures with radioactivity and my 1950's era Geiger counter: <http://groups.google.com/group/sci.electronics.design/msg/d193b6ad564773d0> My favorite radioactive material is potassium (no sodium) salt. The Potassium 40 is mildly radioactive and will do about 100 counts per minute. Background is about 10 cpm. Sea salt will do about 50 counts. This is always fun to demonstrate in a health food store. -- 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: JeffM on 2 Jan 2010 01:00 Jeff Liebermann wrote: >[...]Smog Angeles >[...] >the explosive detonators were still attached to one of the units >[...] >One tag had an ominous warning about a shorted power cord >and hot chassis[...]The next unit had[...]sparks and smoke >from the unit. Some idiot had switched the tags. > A fun post to read. Happy New Year
From: Jeff Liebermann on 2 Jan 2010 03:49 On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:00:02 -0800 (PST), JeffM <jeffm_(a)email.com> wrote: >Jeff Liebermann wrote: >>[...]Smog Angeles >>[...] >>the explosive detonators were still attached to one of the units >>[...] >>One tag had an ominous warning about a shorted power cord >>and hot chassis[...]The next unit had[...]sparks and smoke >>from the unit. Some idiot had switched the tags. >> >A fun post to read. Not if you're the person involved. The whole neighborhood was very angry with me for having to evacuate for most of the day. Nothing like standing around in bath robe or pajamas for most of the day waiting for the bomb squad to declare it safe to go home. Also, the shorted power cord scared me quite nicely. Not fun. >Happy New Year Yeah right. New laws, new taxes, same old headaches. <http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-new-laws1-2010jan01,0,3437892,full.story> Long ago, one of my roommates received "Family Safety and Health" magazine. <http://www.amazon.com/Family-Safety-and-Health/dp/B00006KDVL. More correctly, it should have been called "Family Paranoia" magazine. The idea was to improve off the job safety for employees. Want to spend a nice day a the beach? Well, first you get warned about sharks, rip tide, pollution, jelly fish, sunburn, sand fleas, etc. After reading all that, if I actually made it to the beach, I probably would hide in the car. It's the same way with all the safety issues in the repair biz. They're good to know about in advance, but if you followed the list religiously, you're unlikely to enjoy the work. -- 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: N_Cook on 2 Jan 2010 07:19
Jeff Liebermann <jeffl(a)cruzio.com> wrote in message news:oausj5lhs807g6mq3v91j6mjlsfgalg53a(a)4ax.com... > On Fri, 1 Jan 2010 13:45:43 -0800 (PST), whit3rd <whit3rd(a)gmail.com> > wrote: > > >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. > > For hunting radioactive antiques, I used a home made scintillation > counter. I intentionally made it *NOT* look like the traditional gun > for obvious reasons. It's about 10 times as sensitive as my Geiger > counter and is perfect for sweeping large areas. In about 1986, I > found a bottle of Radithor, which is Radium Water. I later sold it to > a collector. > > Since about 1995 Coleman lantern mantles use Yttrium Oxide and have no > radioactive material. I have some of the really old mantles that use > Thorium, an Alpha particle belcher. The old mantles are fairly hot in > the plastic bag which blocks most Alpha particles. However, when > removed from the bag, the mantles send my counter into hysterics at > about 8,000 counts per minute. > > >That Geiger counter was aimed at a LOT of radioactive material > >even if it didn't click. > > My idea of fun was in 1989, when Chernobyl did the meltdown thing, I > dragged a 1950's era Civil Defense Geiger counter to the local > supermarket and used it to check the produce. The manager was a > friend so I wasn't arrested, but I was adequately amused by all the > panicky customers and irate staff. > > Here's another of my medical adventures with radioactivity and my > 1950's era Geiger counter: > <http://groups.google.com/group/sci.electronics.design/msg/d193b6ad564773d0> > > My favorite radioactive material is potassium (no sodium) salt. The > Potassium 40 is mildly radioactive and will do about 100 counts per > minute. Background is about 10 cpm. Sea salt will do about 50 > counts. This is always fun to demonstrate in a health food store. > > > > -- > 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 Are you related to this guy? The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy Who Built a Nuclear Reactor in His Shed " David Hahn, a boy scout, wanted to earn his science merit badge. He could have done an experiment with bicarbonate of soda, like most other kids. But he didn't. He built a nuclear reactor in his shed instead.David Hahn's gospel was The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments. While his friends were learning to play baseball or dreaming of owning their first car, David was in the middle of an increasingly hazardous trail of chemical experiments. Moving on from routine explosions that forced his work from his bedroom to the garden shed, David quickly determined to build a nuclear reactor. For this he had to make a neutron gun, dupe officials at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to provide him with information and imitate a professor of nuclear physics in order to obtain purified radioactive elements, all of which he did.David, sporting a gas mask for protection, took to the potting shed with his ever more unstable and dangerous load. His diligence and ultimate success triggered the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan: a team of men in moon suits who deconstructed the shed and loaded it and all its contents into steel drums emblazoned with radioactive warning signs. This is a true story. Through it, man's innocent obsession and fatal engagement with nuclear reactivity is told with surreal wonder. " http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1841152293?ie=UTF8&tag=zoonomian-21&linkC ode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1841152293 -- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on http://diverse.4mg.com/index.htm |