On Wed, 7 Feb 2018 23:16:57 -0800 (PST), tabbypurr@gmail.com wrote:>> Refilling a hot lantern in the dark is dangerous. LED >> lights would probably be better and easier, but I prefer mantle type >> lights because the light seems rather "relaxing" while LED's tend to >> be "harsh". Incidentally, I currently have 6 assorted Coleman >> lanterns, down from about 12 a few years ago. All are functional. >> Some of my friends are collectors and have many more.>We rarely lose power over here, and when it happens it's not >for long enough to be a real problem.In the People's Republic of Santa Cruz (California), we have successfully extended a previous 30 minute line restoration process, into a bureaucratic exercise in power politics last most of the day. I'll spare you the details. Minimum time to restore for a simple wire down is now about 3 hrs. If a tree or pole is involved, about 8 hrs.>Having maintained both electric & gas backup lighting I'd choose >gas any day, far more reliable long term.I'm undecided. When the power goes out, I usually just grab a book and spend the time reading. I can do that by either electric or gas lighting. Electric is easier, but gas or kerosene are more relaxing and romantic.>I'm not sure why you're refilling lights in the dark if >you have 12 of them.Repeating, I currently have 6 lanterns. I once had 12 lanterns. Unless I'm trying to work on some storm damage to the house at night: <http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/Storm-Damage-2011-12-03/index.html> I only run one or maybe two lanterns (upstairs and downstairs) at a time. I move it around the house as needed. I really don't think it's a good idea to refill one lantern with kerosene, while having the work area illuminated by the open flame of another lantern. If possible, I use electric illumination during refilling. However, it's still dangerous to refill a hot lantern (or generator). -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Simple useful appliance?
Started by ●February 7, 2018
Reply by ●February 8, 20182018-02-08
Reply by ●February 8, 20182018-02-08
Pimpom wrote:> On 2/8/2018 12:10 PM, Long Hair wrote:snip>> Well, you could have energized the unfinished segments with a cattle >> fence type repellant. Not likely to be a fatal lesson. About the same >> as our non-fatal taser facts. >> > > I thought of that but I didn't want to risk having someone with a > weak heart die from the shock or from falling off the top of a > 20-foot pole.Those poor thieves... You try soaking them out... You try scrubbing them out... But you still get thieves around the collar.
Reply by ●February 8, 20182018-02-08
Jeff Liebermann wrote: snip> So, you should thank the copper thieves for providing the final > incentive for Pan Cellphonia (cell phones everywhere) and not > installing additional telephone poles and wires everywhere.Well... instead of POTS, we could upgrade that to a better hard line phone in multiple dwelling buildings, and place radio interlinks between the building and the provider. Then the phones would not be the refuse problem they are, and folks could make phone calls without monthly subscription hounds. Land lines, as it were, are cheaper if done right. But yeah... no (accessible) copper in underdeveloped nations were scrap dealers have no care where the materials were sourced from. As if they did not have enough crime with the prostitution and other petty crimes that get operated. They do not need to add copper filching to that.
Reply by ●February 8, 20182018-02-08
On 8.2.18 04:20, John S wrote:> > Please provide some links to reaction radio. I could not find any. I > would like to read about it.Use the other name for it: 'regenerative receiver'. Made several of them, mostly with tubes, about 60 years ago. -- -TV
Reply by ●February 8, 20182018-02-08
Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:> On 07 Feb 2018 18:50:17 GMT, Rob <nomail@example.com> wrote: > >>Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote: >>> Developing world? A fairly high percentage of people in Africa have >>> cell phones or smartphones (to discourage POTS line copper theft): > >>Over here, making such a statement would result in you being called >>a RACIST and being trending on Twitter all day. > > If that were true, then the national telecom policy of most 3rd world > countries would also be considered "racist".You misunderstand: only white people can be racist.
Reply by ●February 8, 20182018-02-08
Pimpom <Pimpom@invalid.invalid> wrote:> On 2/8/2018 4:29 AM, bitrex wrote: >> On 02/07/2018 01:50 PM, Rob wrote: >>> Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote: >>>> Developing world? A fairly high percentage of people in Africa have >>>> cell phones or smartphones (to discourage POTS line copper theft): >>> >>> Over here, making such a statement would result in you being called >>> a RACIST and being trending on Twitter all day. >>> >> >> An unqualified statement "Africans tend to steal stuff" probably would. >> That isn't what he said >> > > The implication would be enough to set off a lot of people.And indeed it is. Here, a big row resulted from a referral to average IQ vs country, not even made directly but from the refusal to it being withspoken. Of course only because the IQ of Africans tends to be much lower in such statistics. Nobody had a problem with the IQ of Asians tending to be higher.
Reply by ●February 8, 20182018-02-08
bitrex <bitrex@de.lete.earthlink.net> wrote:> On 02/08/2018 01:28 AM, Pimpom wrote: >> On 2/8/2018 11:17 AM, bitrex wrote: >>> On 02/08/2018 12:13 AM, Pimpom wrote: >>>> On 2/8/2018 4:29 AM, bitrex wrote: >>>>> On 02/07/2018 01:50 PM, Rob wrote: >>>>>> Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote: >>>>>>> Developing world? A fairly high percentage of people in Africa have >>>>>>> cell phones or smartphones (to discourage POTS line copper theft): >>>>>> >>>>>> Over here, making such a statement would result in you being called >>>>>> a RACIST and being trending on Twitter all day. >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> An unqualified statement "Africans tend to steal stuff" probably would. >>>>> That isn't what he said >>>>> >>>> >>>> The implication would be enough to set off a lot of people. >>> >>> Americans of all political varieties have a tendency to bug out over >>> trivia a lot, it's probably partly a consequence of affluence, the kind >>> of affluence where good hard working white people would never dream of >>> stooping to stealing copper wire. >>> >>> <https://iowacoldcases.org/the-copper-theft-epidemic/> >>> >> >> What about "good hard working" non-whites or non-affluent whites? See, >> that's the kind of twist people would put into your words. >> >> I used to do a lot of consultative work for the state's power department >> starting some 35 years ago. It coincided with a time when they'd started >> electrification of rural areas in earnest. They had a lot of trouble >> with theft of aluminium conductors along the half-finished 11 and 33kV >> transmission lines. Once, some low-mid level workers asked me if they >> should feed power to the lines to discourage the thieves. I nixed the idea. >> > > Probably depends on the rationale for the theft. In the US those thefts > are primarily for money to buy drugs/addiction, and judging by some of > the stories on that site energized equipment doesn't seem to be much of > a deterrent.Look at the situation in Nigeria. Oil companies have pipelines running through the country, locals drill holes in them to steal oil, which causes pollution and accidents, killing people. And the blame goes to the oil companies for doing nothing about it.
Reply by ●February 8, 20182018-02-08
On 07/02/2018 13:03, tabbypurr@gmail.com wrote:> George said he needed a problem to think about.... here's a bit of a change from your usual design projects. > > What's the simplest useful electronic product you can think of? Excluded are small amplifiers & oscillators, those have been done. Heating items such as kettles are excluded as they won't be very useful in this situation. Reaction radios are out due to legal issues. > > By useful I mean in areas of the developing world where electricity is available to a percentage of users. The item must be makeable entirely from parts from scrap, your digikey budget is zero. So no uncommon components. > > It could be a domestic item, business item, manufacturing tool, anything of use. > > > NT >Electrolytic water purifier? Cheers -- Clive
Reply by ●February 8, 20182018-02-08
On 07/02/2018 20:44, tabbypurr@gmail.com wrote:> > Reflex and reaction are 2 different technologies. Sadly it seems the 2 refused to work well together. > > > NT >Sir Douglas Hall devised the gloriously named "Spontaflex" receiver. Reflex and regenerative (aka reaction) - later designs had an RF buffer between antenna and regenerative detector so were social to other band listeners. Naturally he reflexed the RF buffer so it also amplified AF. All fun ingenious stuff. I built one circa 1970 and still have it, works beautifully, with delicate fingers can resolve SSB speech on the 75/80m ham band. Many were published in British mag "Radio Constructor" available on americanradiohistory.com Also: <http://www.spontaflex.free-online.co.uk> piglet
Reply by ●February 8, 20182018-02-08
On 07/02/2018 18:50, Rob wrote:> Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote: >> Developing world? A fairly high percentage of people in Africa have >> cell phones or smartphones (to discourage POTS line copper theft):More because it allows them to leapfrog over fixed wire systems. In the UK it is becoming increasingly common not to have a fixed line.> Over here, making such a statement would result in you being called > a RACIST and being trending on Twitter all day.I don't know about that. It happens all over. When the copper price was higher line theft of POTS and train signalling cable was rife in the UK. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29109733 They had to change the law to make "No questions asked" metal trading illegal before things came under control. That and the price of copper plunging cut theft of such cables down considerably. -- Regards, Martin Brown
