oops. I though discussion of direct-to-mains circuits were prohibited here on AAC.

Yeah... and that article certainly makes the point on why... no wonder "electrocution by radio" was a common accident in the kitchen and in bath tubes back in those days...

 

When I was about 15 years old my dad brought home a horse-cart load of about 100 old battery operated tube radios he negotiated for cheap that the local radio shop wanted to unload.

I got some power resistors and semiconductor diodes and rewired a bunch of them so they ran off AC direct-to-mains. Then we resold them in our store.

50% of the time the chassis would be live.

Little did I know what I was doing back then.

 

oops. I though discussion of direct-to-mains circuits were prohibited here on AAC.

Surely it does not relate to purely anecdotal story telling, I don't see any encouragement for anyone to indulge in specific construction using the information?
Max.

 

50% of the time the chassis would be live.

If the chassis was connected to one of the two mains wire, then wasn't it also a mater of chance which way the plug was connected to the outlet? I mean, there were no three-pronged connectors back then, and the live from the neutral was virtually indistinguishable in most household installations.

 

Surely it does not relate to purely anecdotal story telling, I don't see any encouragement for anyone to indulge in specific construction using the information?
Max.

On the contrary... it seems to me that this conversation actually discourages anyone intending to build something coupled to mains without some sort of protection.

 

Heathkits
kv

http://electronicdesign.com/blog/wh...right_2_1&YM_RID=CPG05000002060410&YM_MID=872
Max.

 

Don't forget valves vs tubes.

puffs meaning pico farads.

Or 'mickey-mikes' for μμF

 

Harking back to post 18 about old TV's, Horizontal Hold and Vertical Hold, FM discriminator coil, UHF tuner, etc.

These things and their disappearance taught me that every available adjustment reveals an uncertainty in the design. I am so happy that I don't have to chase down temperature drift in the vertical oscillator capacitors or clean the tuner contacts any more!

 

Now you have to chase down lost remotes.
Come up with a solution for that.

The solution should be obvious. Get rid of the remote.
Voice activation to turn on the TV. Kinect gestures for controls.

 

Now you have to chase down lost remotes.
Come up with a solution for that.

The solution should be obvious. Get rid of the remote.
Voice activation to turn on the TV. Kinect gestures for controls.

And, according to last moments versions, Samsung collecting whatever you said in front of their TVs, in their own records. Nice expectations...!

 

A lot of good ideas being posted today.

Hmmm...Kinetic gestures...
My dad used to get in an absolute frenzy in front of wrestling matches on TV. If we had kinetic gesture control he would have had that TV dancing on the ceiling.

If the NSA knew what he said, they would still be watching me.

Oh wait...they are.

 

Habla espanyos, Mrs. Mexciana?

 

Radio Shack

 

Reefer Madness

politically correct, its nowadays just vaguely mentioned "he has a lot of new ideas and plans recently".

But you can still say "After a month, his new plan didnt really work out".

Why is that? "He becomes really lazy for two days when he does it".

 

Gas mantles, tun dishes, blackboards (probably not pc nowadays)

 

Chalk and slate pencil.

 

Can't remember if already been covered, but Download via RS232 modem and phone line from a BBS.
And also Carbon Paper.
Max.

 

Didn't read the whole thread so my apologies if this has already been mentioned.

I used to use capacitors labeled "MMF" ("milli-milli-Farad") instead of uF or μF.

Also, is "mho" still used as a unit to describe conductance, or has that pretty much been swapped out for Siemens?

 

Can't remember if already been covered, but Download via RS232 modem and phone line from a BBS...

Via XMODEM, YMODEM, or Kermit.

 

Gas mantles, tun dishes, blackboards (probably not pc nowadays)

I currently keep a stock of gas mantles on hand for times when the power goes out and I go onto the propane standard for lighting and heat.